Spring into the kitchen with new cookbooks

Asian accent
If you're looking for the ultimate Vietnamese recipe compendium, you won't find it in Nancie McDermott's "Quick and Easy Vietnamese" (Chronicle, $20). But if you'd like some simple dishes with Vietnamese origins that could fit easily into a modern American kitchen, you're more on track.

One guest made me repeat the simple recipe for lemongrass beef over and over, disbelieving how such simple steps and ingredients could result in such tender, tasty meat. Chicken simmered in caramel sauce was a restaurant-quality offering that took perhaps 15 minutes, start to finish. While I tend to associate chicken curry with Indian recipes, curries are popular in Vietnam as well, and this simple dish, spiked with lemongrass and chunks of sweet potatoes, was another dinnertime hit. The only main-course misfire was Vietnamese meat loaf, which used dried bean-thread noodles instead of breadcrumbs as a filler, and resulted in an odd, rubbery texture.

From the sweets and drinks chapter, warm banana-coconut pudding with tapioca pearls sounded wonderful, but the resulting dish was less what we think of as pudding and more a watery coconut-milk based broth with bobbing banana pieces. But overall, even if you've never thought you could make Vietnamese food at home, this book is a delightful way to get started.    —G.F.C.

Appetizers with the ‘wow’ factor
For those who enthusiastically order dinner off appetizer menus, Marguerite Marceau Henderson has written a cookbook just for you. “Small Plates — Appetizers as Meals” (Gibbs Smith, $19) leads cooks on a multicultural tasting journey as instructive as it is pleasurable. Henderson, a successful restaurateur, caterer and cooking instructor, aims not for an “I’m full” sigh, but for a “Wow!” excitement built on flavor, variety, color and texture.

Henderson sold me with the heavenly asparagus, peas and chive risotto. The asparagus, a favorite-of-spring-vegetable, came out perfectly after a quick sauté with olive oil and salt. Crisp yet tender, a little sweet, a divine match with the risotto.

I will admit initial doubt; a quick look through the Breadstuffs chapter revealed a heavy reliance on store-bought puff pastry. And I was not reassured when the grilled pizza margherita called for pizza dough in a tube. Fortunately, many recipes proved themselves. Pear and gorgonzola crostada, both sweet and salty, earned raves. Sicilian Swiss chard, pancetta and beans satisfied with layers of contrasting flavor and texture. Hot wasabi added welcome bite to sesame-coated tuna with wasabi mayonnaise. The most festive dish, Cajun shrimp and andouille salad, sparkled, combining spinach and red peppers with spicy shrimp and sausage, blue cheese, walnuts, an orange vinaigrette and — surprise! — pomegranate seeds.

I wasn’t as thrilled with the coconut curry chicken; for all the spices it seemed bland, a dish dependent on condiments. And it made a huge tureen. It’s with this recipe that I learned to ignore the number of servings listed and look instead at the ingredient amounts. To be fair, Henderson notes her recipes are but a guideline and encourages deviation according to one's specific tastes and desires. For those who can improvise a tad and not be bound by pre-determined measurements, the book's a winner.    —Joan Wolfe

MORE FROM SUMMER BOOKS 2006

Redefining the summer beach book

Redefining the summer beach book New cookbooks for summer savoring Nonfiction tales of lawn love, competitive chow   Add Summer books 2006 headlines to your news reader: