Cookbook review: The Relaxed Kitchen

By Tom Mentzer
Scripps Howard News Service
November 12, 2007

Anyone who has played host knows that entertaining can be traumatic. Whether a buffet for 20 or an intimate dinner party for six, cooking for a crowd is nerve-wracking.

Take French chef Francois Vatel. While preparing a banquet for 2,000 in honor of Louis XIV, Vatel's fish didn't arrive. The agony was so great, he stepped out of the kitchen and stabbed himself to death.

Cookbook review: Adventures of an Italian Food Lover: With Recipes from 254 of My Very Best Friends

By Tom Mentzer
Scripps Howard News Service
October 15, 2007

Food and travel are funny creatures. One of the best ways to get to know a culture is through its food, restaurants, cafes and bars. Photos may yellow, but flavors and smells can linger for a lifetime.

So it's no surprise that many ethnic cookbooks spend a lot of time talking about the countries where the food comes from. But few cookbooks delve as deeply into a country as Adventures of an Italian Food Lover: With Recipes from 254 of My Very Best Friends ($32.50, Clarkson Potter).

Cookbook review: Chocolate & Zucchini: Daily Adventures in a Parisian Kitchen

By Tom Mentzer
Scripps Howard News Service
September 11, 2007

Now that "freedom fries" are just a bad memory, France can once again be hip. And just in time for a delightful new cookbook, Chocolate & Zucchini: Daily Adventures in a Parisian Kitchen (Broadway, $18.95).

The book is by Clotilde Dusoulier, also the mastermind behind the popular food blog chocolateandzucchini.com.

Cookbook review: The New York Times Country Weekend Cookbook

By Tom Mentzer
Scripps Howard News Service
August 21, 2007

If "The New York Times Country Weekend Cookbook" (St. Martin's Press, $32) were a movie, it would be a Rat Pack classic, circa early 1960s. This book pulls recipes from dozens of today's most celebrated chefs into one volume.

Cookbook review: The Greyston Bakery Cookbook

By Tom Mentzer
Scripps Howard News Service
August 6, 2007

There's nothing better than a warm, gooey chocolate brownie. Unless it comes with a healthy dose of social consciousness, that is.

The Greyston Bakery Cookbook (Rodale Books, $26) offers just that, dishing up more than 80 recipes developed during its 25-year history of brownie-infused social action.

Cookbook review: Authentic Mexican: Regional Cooking From the Heart of Mexico

By Tom Mentzer
Scripps Howard News Service
July 16, 2007

Americans may be divided on the politics of immigration with its Southern neighbor, but there seems no arguing that Mexicans make some pretty tasty food. Restaurants are popping up all over that show off authentic south-of-the-border cuisine at its best.

Cookbook review: Vegetables

By Tom Mentzer
Scripps Howard News Service
June 9, 2007

It may take an apple a day to keep that doctor at bay, but a whole bunch of veggies sure won't hurt.

Luckily the masters at the Culinary Institute of America are offering us a new guide toward vegetable nirvana, aptly named Vegetables (Lebhar-Friedman Books, $40).

Cookbook review: The Complete Book of Small-Batch Preserving: Over 300 Delicious Recipes to Use Year-Round

By Tom Mentzer
Scripps Howard News Service
June 11, 2007

Preserving fruits and vegetables has picked up a rather dusty flavor over the past few decades. With grocery stores now stocking just about any item of produce imaginable year-round, we don't need to store fruit and veg for the colder months.

But that doesn't mean we shouldn't.

Cookbook review: 150 Things to Make with Roast Chicken--and 50 Ways to Roast It

By Tom Mentzer
Scripps Howard News Service
June 4, 2007

In 1928, Republicans promised a chicken in every pot. Eight decades later, cookbook author Tony Rosenfeld is offering a chicken for every plate.

In 150 Things to Make with Roast Chicken--and 50 Ways to Roast It, (Taunton, $14.95) Rosenfeld offers a feathered twist on the quick-cooking craze: roast two chickens on the weekend, eat one for dinner and save the other for an assortment of weeknight meals.

Cookbook review: Weber's Charcoal Grilling: The Art of Cooking With Live Fire
Cookbook review: Barbecue Nation: 350 Hot-Off-the-Grill, Tried-and-True Recipes from America's Backyard
Cookbook review: King of the Q's Blue Plate BBQ

By Tom Mentzer
Scripps Howard News Service
May 28, 2007

Summer is rearing its head, and that means grills are firing up around the country. Three new cookbooks offer a mess of recipes for millions of backyard cooks.