Tasty cookbooks for summer

Is there a better season for eating than summer? Peaches, plums and cherries are so ripe they burst out of their skins. Sweet corn is for sale on virtually every street corner. The delectable scent of burgers on the grill floats through the neighborhood.

Summer is so short, yet so tasty, that we chose special summer-themed cookbooks to review in this roundup. (OK, maybe birthday cakes are hardly unique to summer, but there's something beautiful and fragile and summery about them anyway.) Enjoy the reviews, and happy eating.

Have it your way

Stewart, Tabori And Chang

If ever a cookbook lived up to its name, it's "Burgers Every Way" by Emily Haft Bloom (Stewart, Tabori and Chang, $20). The book includes recipes for beef burgers, of course, but also chicken, veal, lamb, pork, fish and vegetarian burgers, as well as a few for salads and sides.

If you need the recipe for All-American Beef Burgers, I'm not sure any cookbook can help you (it consists of ground beef, salt and pepper). But don't skip over the Monster Fries recipe one page later — these simply spiced, baked French fries have become so popular in my circles that we've gone through two bags of potatoes in less than a week.

The simply spiced, baked Monster Fries have become so popular in my circles that we've gone through two bags of potatoes in less than a week.

Another recipe that was a big hit with my crowd was Grilled Lamb Burgers. The toughest part about this recipe was finding the ingredients required — many supermarket chains in Seattle apparently don't regularly carry ground lamb (why not? it's great!) and so I had to go to a small Middle Eastern grocery with a butcher counter to ask that they grind the meat. Another ingredient, the spice blend known as za' atar, proved even tougher to find — a Middle Eastern deli I stopped into did not have it on the shelves, but when the young man at the counter called back to his boss, the boss sold me a half-pound from his own personal supply.

With ingredients finally in hand, the lamb burgers were simple to make and delicious to eat — a nice change from the standard beef burger, complete with the book's cucumber and onion salad on the side. (The mango slushies, however, were a bit yogurty and tart for our American palates.) I'm eager to explore the other sections of the book, which offer everything from herbed chicken burgers to Asian salmon burgers to plenty of veggie burgers. You may never darken McDonald's door again.    —Gael Fashingbauer Cooper

Celebrate good times
Of all the cookbooks we considered for this roundup, Kathryn Kleinman's "Birthday Cakes: Recipes and Memories from Celebrated Bakers" (Chronicle, $25) was the most beautiful. Almost every cake is photographed, in full color and with exquisite care. It's as much a coffeetable book, to be read and savored, as it is a practical workbook of recipes.

Chronicle Books

Famous bakers from all over have shared their chosen cake recipes here — James Beard's White Mountain Cake, sprinkled with coconut; a dramatic, mountain-shaped ice-cream cake from Julia Child; a cocoa-frosted angel-food cake from Marion Cunningham (not Mrs. C. from "Happy Days," but the author of the "Fannie Farmer Cookbook"). Cunningham's angel-food cake turned out delightful and light, and the cocoa frosting was addictive.

Sometimes it was the photo that made me want to bake a specific cake, but other times it was the story that came with it. The late Laurie Colwin's Gingerbread Cake with Chocolate Icing is introduced with a hilariously satisfying story from Colwin's book "Home Cooking," telling of a too-protective mother who didn't think her baby could handle the spicy flavor of the gingerbread cake — of course, when finally given a bite, he loved it.

Perhaps the biggest hit was Maria Bruscino Sanchez's Elvis cake, a devil's-food treat laced with the King's favorite combo, peanut butter and bananas.

I tackled Maida Heater's Carrot Cake with Cream-Cheese Icing because I've long respected Heater's reputation, and carrot cake seemed like a nice, fresh, summery cake choice. I've baked carrot cakes before, of course, but this one seemed to bowl over my tasters, who proclaimed it "awesome," "to die for," and praised the rich, moist flavor. I also appreciated how easy it was.

Stephanie Greenleigh's Birthday Cupcakes didn't succeed as well. The cupcakes themselves were chocolatey and tasty, but the peppermint-spiked seven-minute frosting kind of ruined them. Even though I used less of the mint extract than the recipe called for, I thought the icing tasted like toothpaste.   

But perhaps the biggest hit was Maria Bruscino Sanchez's Elvis Cake, a devil's-food treat laced with the King's favorite combo, peanut butter and bananas. The King knew his junk food, that's for sure. — the cake was a top-ten hit. Thank you, thank you verrah much.—G.F.C.

Berry me not

Morrow

With a topic as rich and wonderful as summer berries, I expected to love "The Berry Bible: With 175 Recipes Using Cultivated and Wild, Fresh and Frozen Berries," by Janie Hibler (Morrow, $30). Unfortunately, I found the book disappointing.

Part of my disappointment may have stemmed from the book's awkward layout. To me, photos are a vital part of any cookbook, and this book has no photos of any of its dishes. There is a photo section in the center of the book, but it only shows photos of various berries. If your goal is to learn about a large variety of exotic berries, you'll appreciate the A-to-Z Berry Encyclopedia in the front of the book, which lists berries from arbutus (closely related to the blueberry) to thimbleberries (related to the raspberry).

If your goal is to learn about a large variety of exotic berries, you'll appreciate the A-to-Z Berry Encyclopedia in the front of the book.

If, however, you're hoping for some delectable dishes that you can make with the basic berries you'll find in grocery stores or at you-pick-em farms, you'll find the book to be a mixed bag. Part of the problem was just finding recipes that sounded good to me. A big bread baker, I turned with anticipation to the Breads section, only to find just one actual bread recipe, and the rest for scones, coffeecake and, oddly, French toast.

I did enjoy the simple double-hit strawberry ice cream, which resulted in a dessert that almost tasted more of sweet cream than the strawberry. The pork tenderloin salad with warm strawberry dressing was a pleaser, with the strawberries tossed in a simple balsamic dressing. But the field mushroom salad with raspberries was as bland as milk.

Berries are a wonderful summer treat, and I really wanted this book to be a aid in getting the best out of them. But for many reasons, it wouldn't be my pick.    —G.F.C.

Working for the weekend
"Best Summer Weekends Cookbook," by Jane Rodmell (Cottage Life Books, $30) is a huge cookbook that wants to cover everything. Barbecued marinated Brie? They've got it! Salade Niçoise? They've got it! Quick Thai vegetable curry? Berry margarita? Stuffed French toast? Caramel peach cobbler? Got it and more.

Cottage Life Books

Rodmell is the food columnist for Canada's Cottage Life magazine, and her recipes are intended to be simple and quick, using basic ingredients, so you can make them while spending time at a summer cottage or cabin. That's not a bad theme for a cookbook, and perhaps Rodmell's attempt to cover everything is fitting if this is, say, the only cookbook you're going to leave at a cabin year-round.

I found the book so overwhelming that I tried recipes from a variety of different sections, just trying to get a sense for its offerings. My husband adored the balsamic-glazed chicken and portobello mushrooms, a simple dish that could be served as a main course, salad, or sandwich. I served the wine-marinated steak kebabs and grilled vegetable kebabs to a group of carnivore and vegetarian friends. Some thought the wine overly flavored the meat, and not all of the vegetables cooked at the same time, but overall, the dinner was a hit. As a huge fan of egg-filled breakfast burritos, I thought I'd like the stuffed tortilla wedges, filled with beaten egg, cheese and veggies, but the recipe didn't address how difficult it was to keep the runny egg inside the tortilla and still flip the whole mess on the grill.

Rodmell’s recipes are intended to be simple and quick, using basic ingredients, so you can make them while spending time at a summer cottage or cabin.

While I wasn't so thrilled with the book's bland berry margarita, made with berry syrup that is cooked on the stove and then pureed, the other sweet treats that I tested were outstanding. The so-simple lemon squares resulted in a shortbready crust and a marvelously light, crackly top over a lemon pudding-like filling. A friend liked them so much I made him his own pan two days after baking the recipe for the first time. And I took one of Rodmell's tips and turned her chocolate-banana cake recipe into chocolate-banana cupcakes. A co-worker reported that they were delicious, and "not too bananay," and even as a fan of bananas, I agreed — the banana flavor was a nice accent, not dominant.

While I don't have a summer cabin myself, they're enormously popular in my home state of Minnesota, where every familyseems to own a lake cabin where they spend precious summer weekends. Overall, the recipes I tried lived up to their promise of being quick and fairly simple. While I'm not sure portobello mushrooms would be available at a grocery store in Minnesota's lake country, there are enough recipes to choose from that this shouldn't be a problem. And Rodmell offers plenty of photos, recipe variations, and general cooking tips to make her book more than just a list of recipes.    —G.F.C.

Flame on
The editors at Cook’s Illustrated are detail freaks, so it should come as no surprise that their latest book, "Steaks, Chops, Roasts, and Ribs" (America’s Test Kitchen, $35) occasionally verges on information overload.

America’s Test Kitchen

Most meat-focused books focus on grilling and barbeque, and theirs doesn’t skimp. Open-fire recipes show cooks how to sear and then cook the meat.

But they aren’t totally lured by the call of the open flame. Indoor cooks should find plenty of options in detailed sections on braising, stir-frying, stews, cutlets and the like, all logically divided and given a desirous title like, "I Want to Cook Ham, Sausages, or Bacon." (That last one is likely to get dog-eared.)

Not only was their bratwurst and sauerkraut a total hit, I appreciated their ability to shave 90 minutes off a two-hour cooking time.

The CI staff prides itself on endless experimentation, and it often pays off. Not only was their bratwurst and sauerkraut a total hit, I appreciated their ability to shave 90 minutes off a two-hour cooking time. Nor do they ignore the home cook’s budget. A detailed osso buco recipe is accompanied by one for a similar stew, should you not want to buy a whole shank for each guest.

Their extended discussion on the virtues of different meat cuts, complete with trademark line diagrams, is worth half the purchase price alone; ditto the little sidebars on topics like the taste sensation of spiciness or "Stir-Frying 101."

If anything, the detail can be too much at times. The test-kitchen humorlessness leaves the romance of cooking at the door, and doesn’t always result in perfection: Outdoor grillers may still want to trust their instincts when it comes to temperatures and heat settings. (Steaks and a butterflied lamb leg came out perfectly, but I had to deviate from their recommendations.)

Still, this would enhance any devoted meat lover’s library. You’ll learn something new, whether you want to or not.    —Jon Bonné

You say tomato, I say to-mah-to
Lawrence Davis-Hollander has a thing for tomatoes.  This much is undeniable from even the first few pages of "The Tomato Festival Cookbook" (Storey Publishing, $17), less a cookbook than Davis-Hollander’s reverie and rant on the virtues of this “universally loved” fruit.

Storey Publishing

As founder of the Eastern Native Seed Conservancy, he is a tomato partisan — a staunch defender of heirloom varieties, the names of which he bandies about with great skill, and a sharp critic of the modern hybrid, which he all but accuses of being responsible for the tomato’s general decline into mediocrity.

His extensive knowledge and experience in the field provides wonderful insights into tomatoes’ many varieties and colors. He has prepared a rich stew: everything from how ketchup got its name to detailed instructions on growing heirlooms and preserving seeds.  For the tomato geek, this is heady stuff.

Many call for specific varieties hard to find outside the backyard; I don’t think my grocer regularly stocks Cherokee Purples.

Unfortunately, much of this is clouded by his clear belief that tomatoes are meant for the backyard, not the supermarket. His celebration of the obscure is laudable, but not helpful to modern consumers just looking for something to cook.

That said, some recipes are quite useful. The spicy romesco sauce was delicious, tomato pancakes were a surprise hit and I was delighted with a balsamic-miso dressing for tomato salad.  But they are compiled from too many sources, and so lack consistency in their details and clarity. Many call for specific varieties hard to find outside the backyard; I don’t think my grocer regularly stocks Cherokee Purples. Some are just weird. (Tomato custard pie?)

Interspersed among the book’s charming line art are useful tips, like how to properly seed a tomato and how to boil off the skin. Other tomato experts get room to share their thoughts. But at least one key topic was overlooked: whatever methods he surely has derived for properly cutting the darn things so they look as good in a dish as they do on the vine.  —J.B.

Gael Fashingbauer Cooper is MSNBC.com's Books Editor. Jon Bonné covers the business of food and wine for MSNBC.com.

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