The Prodigal Return Heading Home for Health and Restoration

The French word “restaurer,” which means “to restore,” is the root for restaurant. In the last twenty years restaurants in the United States (as they have been in Europe for much longer) have become a haven of relaxation and comfort in Americans’ busy lives. Families have increasingly moved away from home cooking and into convenience dining. In the recent financially stressful times, restaurateurs have noticed patrons disappearing. Diners seem to be heading in another direction for their comfort and rejuvenation: back home. This year’s cookbooks lend a helping hand to all levels of cooks who want to deal with this prodigal return.
Good cookbooks emphasize the secrets of a satisfying and healthy meal: fresh, high-quality ingredients simply—but well—prepared. Many of this year’s cookbooks offer this theme with sophistication and style. These cookbooks are practiced without being snooty, skilled but uncomplicated, entertaining but not verbose, and healthy without losing a sense of rich, satisfying flavor.
Harvard Common Press provides three cookbooks destined to be dog-eared. James Villas, a highly respected authority on American cuisine, has redefined an American classic in his Crazy for Casseroles: 275 All-American Hot-Dish Classics (IBSN 1-55832-217-5). From San Francisco Shredded Crab and Olive Bake through New Hampshire Turnip, Beet, and Hazelnut Souffl to Indian Persimmon Casserole, Villas teaches, inspires, and entices the homecook. Each recipe comes with a story that makes the reader feel as if Villas is looking over his shoulder. Next to Finnan Haddie Delmonico, Villas whispers that this is smoked haddock poached in milk. He goes on to say which brand is best, where to buy it, and how to best prepare it.
For those homecooks who want to linger less in the kitchen, Harvard also offers Victoria Wise’s The Pressure Cooker Gourmet: 225 Recipes for Great-Tasting, Long Simmered Flavors in Just Minutes (ISBN 1-55832-200-0) and Therese Volpe Laursen and Byron Laursen’s From Bangkok to Bali in 30 Minutes: 175 Fast and Easy Recipes with the Lush, Tropical Flavors of Southeast Asian and The South Seas Islands (ISBN 1-55832-234-5). Wise brings back an old American kitchen standby in a fresh way. She cooks everything from lamb shanks (in a mere thirty-five minutes) to game hens and broccoli in her pressure cooker. Most outstanding are her harmonious combinations: Chilied Pork with Golden Raisins; Dungeness Crab Chinese Style on a Bed of Dinosaur Kale and Black Beans; and Savory Coconut Custard with Chicken, Ginger, Snow Peas, and Pineapple Salsa.
The Laursens deliver on their title with a cookbook that inventively combines Southeast Asian and American pantries for quick, colorful, and deeply satisfying meals. With Laotian Spiced Gazpacho; Vietnamese Coleslaw with Shredded Chicken and Peanuts; Roast Turkey Breast with Thai Cilantro Pesto; and Roasted Salmon with Indonesian Soy-Ginger Sauce, Spinach, and Baby Corn, the authors gift readers with a book bursting with the big flavor full of contrast for which Southeast Asia is known.
Two of Artisan’s offerings are the stuff of which cooks dream. James Peterson’s Essentials of Cooking (ISBN 1-57965-336-0) is a hands-on blue ribbon winner. This cookbook (like Peterson’s many others) is all about technique—“the minor ones, which make cooking smoother, and the big ones, which will turn anyone into a cook.” Among many techniques, readers learn how to properly saut a chicken breast and poach a piece of fish. This basic knowledge frees them to turn creative. Peterson’s cardinal cookbook is a full cooking course complete with clear, color photos stuffed neatly into a book cover.
Like Peterson, Andreas Viestad is not a chef. Both are culinary educators and food writers. Viestad shares with his fellow homecooks food, recipes, and anecdotes from his native Norway in Kitchen of Light: New Scandinavian Cooking With Andreas Viestad, also from Artisan (ISBN 1-57965-216-6). Dishes like Frothy Cauliflower Soup with Chervil; Salt Cod with Peas, Mint, and Prosciutto; Roasted Dill-Scented Chicken with Leeks and Potatoes; and Pears with Ginger, Juniper Berries, and Caraway Cream reveal the creative innovations moving from Viestad like a wave through Scandinavian kitchens.
Interlink Publishing Group offers a sunny book filled with culinary eye-openers and clever commentary that will keep even the grouchiest morning diner amused. Brian Wilton’s Breakfast: 200 Recipes to Jump-Start the Day (ISBN 1-902927-38-9) begins with making “The Case for Breakfast”: breakfast skippers have higher cholesterol and obesity; they get fewer nutrients and score lower on mental performance. In short, if readers aspire to become centenarians, they need this book. Liquid starts, cereals and yogurt, fruits, breads, preserves, eggs, sausages, tomatoes and mushrooms, puddings and batters, British comfort food, fish and seafood, food for kids, and Continental and World breakfasts are all there patiently waiting for cooks to rise and shine.
The next four cookbooks guide readers directly to health. Most gourmets cringe and think salad and tofu when they hear the term “spa food.” In The Golden Door Cooks Light & Easy: Delicious Recipes from America’s Premier Spa (ISBN 1-58685-254-X) from Gibbs Smith, Chef Michel Stroot has written a cookbook that will prove to those skeptics that healthy food can also be wonderfully creative and satisfying. He inspires cooks with recipes like Mahi Mahi with Grapefruit, Tarragon and Shallot Sauce, and Herbed Quinoa; Chicken, Mango, and Anaheim Chili Quesadillas; and Chocolate Mocha Flan. This is a comprehensive book that will delight those wanting to trim down. Nothing is forbidden in the spa world; it’s just reduced.
Linda Hymes, a Cordon Bleu trained chef and a professional ballerina for fifteen years, offers The Dancing Gourmet: Recipes to Keep You on Your Toes! (ISBN 0-9719782-0-4) from Lindergaff Publishing. Hymes combines both her dancer’s knowledge of nutrition and the gourmet’s need of food that tastes good. With her photographer-husband, Derek Gaffney, she has created a cookbook rich with gourmet recipes bursting with flavor and life, like Indian Spiced Grilled Chicken, Southwestern Black Bean and Polenta Burritos with Fresh Tomato Salsa, and Asian Noodle Soup with Grilled Chicken. Each recipe comes with anecdotes from travel and dance or tips on ingredients.
Great Healthy Food for Strong Bones: 120 Delicious Recipes using Calcium-Rich Ingredients (ISBN 1-55297-652-1) by Fiona Hunter and Emma-Lee Gow, from Firefly, entices aging baby-boomers into getting more calcium into their diets with an expertly written and photographed cookbook. Hunter, a nutritionist, and Gow, a home economist, have created uncomplicated but modern recipes that will appeal to an entire family, like Shrimp and Spinach Roulade, Roasted Thai-Style Tofu with Stir-Fried Vegetables, and Carrot Cake with Marscarpone Topping.
Eating for Pregnancy: An Essential Guide to Nutrition with Recipes for the Whole Family (ISBN 1-56924-511-8) by Catherine Jones and Rose Ann Hudson, R.D., L.D. is a revelation of what is good for baby. From an overview on nutrition and pregnancy through the recipes (which are packed with easy-to-access information on foods, preventing hypoglycemia, a nutrition breakdown, and even a paragraph on pica), to pages of tips designed for weight and health-conscious mothers-to-be, this book is a must-have. The recipes reflect an appealing, fresh-and-light approach with dishes like Greek-Style Chicken, Egg and Lemon Soup, Roasted Salmon with Papaya Salsa, and Flank Steak with Salsa Verde. There is a section for vegetarian mothers-to-be with enticing dishes like Sauted Tofu and Portobello Mushrooms on a Bed of Greens and Southern Style Sweet Potato Casserole.
For more of naturally healthy Asian cuisine, Periplus offers two sleek and gorgeous books that are happy in the kitchen or on the coffee table. The Food of Asia: Fabulous Recipes from Every Corner of Asia! with text by Kong Foong Ling (ISBN 0-7946-0146-4) is an intriguing travelogue and culinary journey through twelve distinctly different regions of Asia and Southeast Asia. Each section follows a pleasing and easy-to-use format of short historical and social introduction to the region, a few suggested menus, a helpful key of the essential flavors of each cuisine, and recipes. This magical book is well illustrated with photos that you can almost taste, of dishes like Japanese Spinach with Sesame Dressing and Malaysian Shrimp Sambal.
Shunju New Japanese Cuisine: Sensational Recipes from Tokyo’s Most Famous Restaurant by Takashi Sugimoto and Marcia Iwatate (ISBN 962-593-618-1) is a highly skilled work both in design and recipes. Readers enter the traditional, seasonal world of the Japanese food esthetic with dishes like Seared Autumn Bonito Sashimi with Apple Mustard Dressing, Wild Mushroom Hotpot, Chilled Green Soybean Soup, and Summer Starter with Spicy Miso Dip. From start to finish, the authors’ new work is a gift, beautifully wrapped for anyone who loves Japanese cuisine.
Healthy home-cooked food has never looked and tasted so good. Although homecooks have rejected unrealistic, long-winded cookbooks that push them to search for obscure ingredients, they are grateful for guidance through the quagmire of information on health, cooking, and diet. With ethnic influences and more knowledge on nutrition, these new cookbooks have matured into fine, useful guides worthy to sit on any homecook’s bookshelf. Let the feasting begin.