Duck's Cottage Newsletter

The Summer Table
Our favorite summertime cookbooks

We've handpicked a few, very good recipe collections for hot weather cooking. They all make great use of the fresh ingredients that summer bursts forth with while trying to maximize the minimal amount of summer that cooks want to devote to the kitchen.
Brooke Dojny's The New England Clam Shack Cookbook is subtitled 'Favorite recipes from clam shacks, lobster pounds & chowder houses' and that description is more than apt. Chapters include 'One-Dish Seafood Wonders' and 'Lobsters, clams and other shellfish' and recipes range from scallop rolls to fried calamari to, of course, many enticing chowders. From her hand- picked '25 Best of the Best' restaurants, Dojny brings not only 'secret' recipes but tips and hints to help everyone take full advantage of the ocean's bounty.
My personal staple is The Summer House Cookbook by Debra Ponzek and Geralyn Delaney Graham. I can't begin to say how often I use this one. It's recipes require simple ingredients, minimal time yet produce delicious results. They dubbed the book 'Easy recipes for when you have better things to do with your time' and every page reiterates that philosophy. Wonderful marinades, delectable appetizers, refreshing drinks and tons of recipes that capitalize on summer's freshest ingredients- veggies, fruit, seafood and more. Their tips on stocking a summer pantry are especially invaluable when your goal is to spend as little time in the kitchen as possible while making delectable dishes that capture the essence of summer. I promise- you'll use this again and again!
A brand new cookbook this spring was Barbara Kafka's Vegetable Love. Boasting 750 recipes, this will quickly become the kitchen bible for cooking from the garden. Kafka covers okra, cucumbers, beans, artichokes, avocadoes and more. Sections on herbs, soups and egg dishes are included as well. An invaluable and educational section of the book is the 'Cook's Guide'- 150 pages of what Kafka knows about the vegetables and herbs mentioned in the book. It seems farm stands, gardens and groceries all burst at the seams in summer with more fresh produce than we know what to do with; except now, with Vegetable Love, we do!
My favorite summer cooking appliance (in North Carolina we use it year round) is the good, old gas grill. Nothing beats it for reducing cooking to the bare basics- fire and food- while getting you out of the kitchen! Bobby Flay, the American guru of charcoal, hits the mark with his cookbook Boy Gets Grill. Flay transfers many of the recipes from his Food Network show to this book offering lots of ideas for grilling chicken, fish, duck, burgers, corn, lamb, sausages and veggies. He throws in some simple dessert, drink and salad recipes to complete the book which includes some sample menus and a guide to steak and basic procedures. If you're a grillmeister, run- don't walk- to get this book.
Our last recommendation is At Blanchard's Table: A Trip to the Beach Cookbook by Melinda and Robert Blanchard. The Blanchards authored an earlier book called A Trip to the Beach in which they document their move from Vermont to Anguilla to open a restaurant. They now travel back and forth between the two places and in this book they share the best of both worlds. While the island flavors come through in many of the simple, light recipes- like Grilled MahiMahi with Red Thai Curry Sauce and Basalmic Glazed Veal Chops- you will espy some New England standards like Baked Onions with Rye Bread and Cheddar. Chapters are interspersed with pages titled 'In A Hurry' that offer up extra quick and easy recipes for pasta, meat, appetizers and more. There are just as many good 'In a Hurry' ideas as there are good recipes in this fully loaded presentation that's a must for the summer kitchen.
We're interested to see what YOU think of our picks! Please email us at 1duckscottage@earthlink.net and let us know which book appealed to you so much that you bought it and which recipe from the book became your favorite! Joyful cooking!