New cookbooks for summer savoring

The hole story
Diverse eaters should be thankful they don’t have to dine with John T. Edge. His latest book, “Donuts: An American Passion” (Putnam, $20), maintains the same obsessively single-minded focus as three of his prior books (“Fried Chicken,” “Apple Pie,” “Hamburgers & Fries.”) Edge, the director of the University of Mississippi’s Southern Foodways Alliance, has tried in each book to capture the glory of a uniquely American treat, to understand its nuances and varied forms, its role in the culture.

“Donuts” ... well, shouldn’t be hard to figure out what the book is about, should it?  Edge criss-crosses the nation, sampling deep-fried treats from Massachusetts (jelly-filled long johns) to Hawaii (Portuguese-inspired malassadas). Along the way, he considers every regional variant and historic reference, from New Orleans beignets to Dutch olykoeks. Regional artisans and corporate obsessions (Krispy Kreme) alike get their due, and Edge has done his homework to extract a colorful cultural history of fried dough through the decades. Aside from some overly rhapsodic moments of prose, he tells his tale concisely and colorfully.

And yes, there are recipes — everything from Lassie Loops, inspired by the Salvation Army women in World War I who made donuts a symbol of home for the doughboys, to donut soup, inspired by Chicago’s postmodern Moto restaurant. These are all fine and good, if you have a yen for playing with hot oil and dripping dough.  But as Edge makes clear, part of the American experience is the trip to the donut shop. And, as he documents, there is always a new generation of immigrants (Cambodians in the 1970s, for instance) setting up shop on a nearby corner, ready to make your donut dreams come true.    —Jon Bonné

Viva Italia
Everything seems to slow down in the summertime. Cooks who want to stretch out their meals, but not the time they spend in the kitchen, will find a lot of inspiration in Ursula Ferrigno’s “Trattoria: A Passion For Italian Food” (Running Press, $30). Ferrigno's book embraces the food of Italy’s family-run restaurants, complete with photographs and mini-essays on trattorias and foods from each region of the country.

Running Press Book Publishers

The travelogue approach makes traditional and familiar Italian dishes seem sexy and fresh as with a lasagne from Verona which uses radicchio in place of spinach. Mouthwatering photographs and Ferrigno's breezy tone are a huge part of the appeal. At times she gets too casual, however, switching randomly between weight and volume in her ingredient listings, requesting "tasty" goat cheese in another (as opposed to flavorless cheese?). The recipes are still easy to read, though, and those tested were nearly foolproof. 

While the pasta section is loaded with flavorful choices, standouts are to be found among the appetizers, sandwiches and vegetables.  Nothing could be more elegant than miniature omelets with ricotta, loaded with herbs and light enough for the hottest summer day.  Picnickers will love the foccaccia sandwiches and an unbelievably rich potato cake stuffed with cheeses and salami.  Gardeners will appreciate the many vegetable recipes — there are enough zucchini recipes, from baked and stuffed to the base of a zesty soup with spaghetti, to get through the most bountiful bumper crop.

The trattoria philosophy of seasonal ingredients and simple technique seems tailor-made for a time when produce is at its best and cooks want to take it easy—this summer, Ferrigno’s passion is hard to resist.    —Hannah Meehan Spector

Talkin' 'bout my grill
The Culinary Institute of America takes a no-nonsense approach to book publishing, and so its latest effort, “Grilling : Exciting International Flavors from the World's Premier Culinary College” (Lebhar-Friedman Books, $35) cuts out the usual bragging and wistful memories of slow-cooked meat in favor of brass tacks.  Where it succeeds best is in documenting cooking techniques and in page after page of helpful tips, like the proper mise en place for grilling (though using that term seems so very wrong when standing out by the grill), which wood works best and how to make a temporary, jury-rigged smoker. Why they even acknowledge the existence of molded single-piece tongs is beyond me, but hey, it’s their book.

Redefining the summer beach book Nonfiction tales of lawn love, competitive chow New cookbooks for summer savoring

What didn’t work so well were the recipes. The technique for barbecued spareribs with an apricot-ancho glaze was perfect, but the recipe was far too elaborate for its own good, as was the glaze, which fussily relied on 15 ingredients and ended up way too sweet. Even a triple dose of vinegar didn’t help restore a passable tang. Given how long some grilling efforts take (the ribs required a lengthy dry rub and then over 90 minutes on the grill), the authors would have been well served to include cooking times. In another experiment, polenta cakes (which needed more water than the recipe called for) were grilled with nary a drop of oil to keep them from sticking.

True, the book is meant to celebrate “international flavors,” but too many recipes invoked a faux-exotic tone for exoticism’s sake, like grilled vegetables "with Three Mediterranean Sauces." Others used the grill as a mere technicality, almost as a pointless exercise in literalism. Just because you can put a griddle on a grill top and use it to make French toast doesn’t mean you should.    —J.B.

Jon Bonné is MSNBC.com's Lifestyle editor. Joan Wolfe works in the Editorial Development group at MSNBC.com. Hannah Meehan Spector is a writer in Los Angeles.

MORE FROM BOOKS

Grisham: Printed books are endangered species

Grisham: Printed books are endangered species Palin book tour avoids Democratic strongholds Poet Lord Byron’s letters sell for $455,000 Seriously! Beer sparked Norm’s ‘Cheers’ career Tycoon tales and Darwin get award nominations ‘Wild Things’ author isn’t wild about Hollywood   Add Books headlines to your news reader: