Summer Reading

It's usually cold, rainy afternoons and nights when we relax with our stack of books for marathon reading sessions but we haven't had that weather in these here parts for quite some time now. So, instead I've turned to beach and pool reading to stay caught up.


If you're like me you have friends with magnificent, impressive gourmet kitchens built with that last refinance they did before the crash (and if they threw in the media room are now probably in foreclosure). Mine is more compact and efficient but Chef/Author Jennifer Schaertl is proud to call hers a Crappy Little Kitchen. In her cookbook, GOURMET MEALS IN CRAPPY LITTLE KITCHENS, she provides some very nice recipes, fairly easy to make with an emphasis on the very best fresh ingredients. I've enjoyed this book a lot as I've long been a believer that source and technique make the meal. You don't need that cavern of brushed steel to produce a meal worthy of a top notch restaurant plate. While I am on the subject have you ever noticed that most of those kitchens are not used all that often? Anyway, take a look at the book. Even you can make Rum-Infused Carmelized Pork Chops.


The other read is by our friend Becky Sue Epstein and is more of a reference book you'll definitely want on your counter top cookbook collection. There are all kinds of amazing tips and tricks in this book. Did you add too much salt to the dish? Put in a sliced potato and it will absorb the salt. It also has measurement conversions - grams to ounces, etc. and recipes for everything from mouthwash to glass cleaner.

So what's on your Summer Reading list?