Lifestyle

The Sweet Spot: Asian-Inspired Desserts
Pichet Ong and Genevieve Ko, foreword by Jean-George Vongerichten. Morrow, $29.95 (320p) ISBN 978-0-06-085767-7

Finding a compilation of Asian-inspired desserts isn't always an easy task, as baking sections tend to be chockfull of Italian and French influenced titles. The good news is Ong (owner of NYC's P*ong) presents more than 100 accessible, top-notch recipes inspired from such countries as Japan (Honey Castella, or kasutera), China (Peanut Turnovers) and India (Pistachio Rose Thumbprint Cookies). Popular desserts from New York's famed Spice Market (where Ong has consulted)— Chocolate and Vietnamese Coffee Tart and Jasmine Rice Pudding—lend themselves to frequent repetition. Twists on American favorites such as the Cracker Jack–like Spiced Caramel Popcorn made with mukawa (Indian candied fennel seed) and Coconut "Twinkie" Cupcakes with Lemon Filling are presented alongside adaptations of recipes from renowned pastry chefs and include Dragon Devil's Food Cupcakes (Elizabeth Falkner) and Chocolate-Mango Cheesecake Parfait with Macadamia Cookie Crumbs (Vicki Wells). Those unfamiliar with Asian ingredients can read up on everything from mochi flour to mangosteens in the Sweet Asian Pantry chapter. Recipe steps are numbered, and each selection includes a chef's tip—where to find ingredients, technique advice, cultural notes. A sleek design with color photos makes this a visual treat as well as a culinary one. (June)

Mark Bittman's Quick and Easy Recipes from The New York Times
Mark Bittman. Broadway, $19.95 (448p) ISBN 978-0-7679-2623-2

Culling 350 recipes from his New York Times "The Minimalist" column, Bittman offers a go-to volume for anyone who enjoys cooking simply. His recipes are easy to follow and execute, but they maintain a level of sophistication and freshness that many super-quick cookbooks lack. All recipes are marked with a realistic estimate of how much time they require, start to finish: Chicken with Coconut and Lime takes 20 minutes; Sparkling Cider Poached Fish takes 15 minutes; Coq au Vin with Prunes takes an hour. Several of the longer-duration entries don't require much hands-on work; the Bread Pudding with Shiitake Mushrooms, requires "about 1 hour, largely unattended" and the Braised and Brown Lamb with Peaches needs "about 1 ½ hours, largely unattended." Simple sauces, condiments and desserts such as Dried Fruit Poached in Port and Ginger Pots de Crème round out the selection of mostly dinner-appropriate recipes, which are perfect for home cooks who want to put tasty, impressive meals on the table frequently and without much fuss. (May)

Roadfood Sandwiches: Recipes and Lore from Our Favorite Shops Coast to Coast
Jane and Michael Stern. Houghton Mifflin, $14.95 (272p) ISBN 978-0-618-72898-5

American food enthusiasts Jane and Michael Stern (Roadfood) are back, this time sharing their favorite sandwiches served at their favorite restaurants across the U.States. Why focus solely on sandwiches?: "What could be more truly democratically American than a meal at which you don't have to worry about which fork to use or what wine to serve?" The Sterns offer up recipes as well as extensive history because they believe "that a sandwich is far more interesting when you know who makes it, who invented it, who eats it, and where and how it's served." They list traditional sandwiches unique to specific regions like the Hot Brown of Kentucky ("white turkey meat under a spill of sizzling cheese sauce, slices of tomato, and strips of bacon, all piled on toast") as well as more inventive, unusual combos like Peanut Butter and Bacon served at Becky's Diner in Portland, Maine. The Sterns passionately describe each sandwich in a playful and enticing manner: of the Catfish Po' Boy from Middendorf's in Akers, La., "breaded in cornmeal and fried, the ultra thin strips knot into crunchy curlicues and bows like pale gold bunting." Both fun and informative, this book is a delight. (May)

Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art, 25th Anniversary Edition
Shizuo Tsuji. Kodansha, $45 (508p) ISBN 978-4-7700-3049-8

Easily the most comprehensive and exhaustive look at Japanese cuisine available, this groundbreaking classic marks its quarter-century anniversary in a revised edition with a new foreword by Gourmet editor-in-chief Ruth Reichl and a new preface by the late Tsuji's son, Yoshiki Tsuji. Part cookbook, part philosophical treatise, this highly acclaimed collection offers a wealth of insight for amateurs and experts alike. Every technique associated with Japanese food is described step by step in great detail, along with illustrations to guide the reader through everything from filleting fish or cleaning an octopus to rolling omelets. Sections on the Japanese meal, ingredients and selecting and cutting fish, chicken and vegetables offer great insight into the culture as well as the food. The recipe section of the book is divided by cooking method rather than food type, including grilled and pan-fried, steamed, simmered and deep-fried. Dishes range from the simple, Pan-Broiled Salmon, to the more complex, Nagasaki-Style Braised Pork, and many dishes are vegetarian. Sushi and sashimi are covered in depth, as are knives, the proper way to slice the fish, and decorative presentations. A complete guide to Japanese cooking, this collection is must-have for anyone interested in Japanese food or culture. (Apr.)

Let's Cook Japanese Food!: Everyday Recipes for Home Cooking
Amy Kaneko. Chronicle, $22.95 (168p) ISBN 978-0-8118-4832-9

Home-style Japanese cooking is demystified in this refreshing and informative cookbook. After marrying into a Japanese family, the American author was taken under her mother-in-law's wing to learn the ins and outs of Japanese cooking. Here she presents her acquired knowledge in an appealingly designed book with Japanese graphic motifs and color photos. The recipes themselves are a mix of family favorites and restaurant dishes Kaneko learned to recreate at home. Yet readers will see few of the familiar foods available in Japanese restaurants in the U.S. Instead, the book illustrates how to make dense, exotic creations like a sumo wrestler's stew with fish, bacon, chicken and tofu, as well as Yoshuko (fusion) dishes combining Japanese and Western influences, like Beef and Onions in Tomato Gravy over Rice. In the first few pages, Kaneko identifies the basic ingredients and equipment needed. Chapters devoted to Tofu and Eggs; Vegetables, Fish and Shellfish; Meat and Poultry; and Rice Noodles and Dumplings intersperse recipes with boxes that highlight Japanese traditions. Though she includes a labor-intensive Okonomiyaki (a pan-fried dish), Kaneko recognizes the home chef's limits: she readily employs the concept of mottai nai (don't waste) and saves readers time with suggestions for reusing leftovers. (Apr.)

The Blood Pressure Cure: 8 Weeks to Lower Blood Pressure Without Prescription Drugs
Robert Kowalski. Wiley, $24.95 (288p) ISBN 978-0-470-12416-1

In 1978, at age 35, medical journalist Kowalski (The 8-Week Cholesterol Cure) suffered a heart attack and later underwent two coronary bypass surgeries. Here, he relates how he lost weight, quit smoking, managed stress, lowered blood pressure and cholesterol levels and avoided medications and their side effects. Kowalski recommends ways to monitor blood pressure, combat the metabolic syndrome that leads to heart disease and diabetes (abdominal obesity, high cholesterol and triglycerides, insulin resistance, inflammation, etc.) and raise levels of HDL (good) cholesterol. He provides basic diet and exercise guidelines, details the components of proper electrolyte balance (sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium) and describes potent natural remedies, including arginine, pycnogenol and grapeseed extract. There are sections on children's health and risks and a review of current prescription drugs for those who must take them. Kowalski's use of clichés and case studies bogs down the text somewhat. Still, readers facing poor prognoses will gain a hopeful perspective on the future from the author's experiences. (May)

Secrets of a Former Fat Girl: How to Drop Two, Four (or More!) Dress Sizes—and Find Yourself Along The Way
Lisa Delaney. Hudson Street, $21.95 (272p) ISBN 978-1-59463-033-0

Despite her lack of medical credentials, "Former Fat Girl" Delaney (a freelance journalist currently writing for Health magazine) is convincing simply because she has not only lost weight but has kept it off. She has figured out how to go from size 16 to size 2 jeans and maintain a healthy, slim figure for decades. Instead of talking diets, Delaney focuses on motivation. It's essential to feel like you have control over your life; you have to believe you can change, she insists. After talking about the Jazzercise class that first gave her that "I can" feeling, Delaney offers some practical advice so readers can go beyond losing weight to realizing a better self-image. Keep your new eating/exercising regimen a secret, she advises, as family and friends may be surprisingly resistant to your changes. Be firm and exclude foods or situations you know you can't handle. Visualize the life you want for yourself. Even if her advice is not terribly new, Delaney mixes optimism and realism in such manageable proportions, she may give readers just the boost they need. (Apr.)

What the Other Mothers Know: A Practical Guide to Child Rearing Told in a Really Nice Funny Way That Won't Make You Feel like a Complete Idiot the Way All Those Other Parenting Books Do
Michele Gendelman,
Ilene Graff,
Donna Rosenstein. Harper, $12.95 paper (208p) ISBN 978-0-06-113986-4

Gendelman, a comedy writer; Graff, a singer and actress; and Rosenstein, a casting director (combined mothers of four children), put their heads together to create this jaunty volume about the secrets "other mothers" know. Interviewing friends, colleagues, relatives and acquaintances in an intimate, casual manner, the three authors seek to provide a "maternal E-Z Pass" for inexperienced mothers. Advising novice moms to "always ask other moms for guidance, even if you don't know them personally," the authors believe that experienced parents will harbor tips and methods that new moms can't possibly know. Indeed, the authors do unearth plenty of worthy nuggets, such as sharing babysitting with another mom to get the grocery shopping done solo, or keeping a car seat in each family vehicle. But they also stumble upon some advice that, while original, seems questionable (e.g., use a speakerphone while expressing milk in the office (why not just take a time-out?); offer a toddler Daddy's ancient outdated baby underwear as a potty-training incentive). Written in a breezy, fun-loving style, the authors concentrate on the early years, working their way up to school-age kids. This self-described "mother of all mothering books" contains some useful and unique ideas, but it certainly won't stand alone on the parenting shelf. (Apr.)

Even June Cleaver Would Forget the Juice Box: Cut Yourself Some Slack (and Still Raise Great Kids) in the Age of Extreme Parenting
Ann Dunnewold. Health Communications, $14.95 (301p) ISBN 978-0-7573-0546-7

Psychologist Dunnewold (The Postpartum Survival Guide) is an expert on postpartum depression, but her latest work focuses on the long-range blues that follow when moms engage in "extreme parenting." According to Dunnewold, society's current parenting standards are "preposterous," and the result is mothers (and more than a few dads) who are driven by anxiety and self-blame. Dunnewold argues that many contemporary mothers "over perfect, over protect and over produce," running themselves ragged and judging themselves too harshly. She suggests a new parenting paradigm, in which mothers learn to let go of the quest for perfection and accept being "perfectly good." The author shows mothers how to replace internal monologues of self-criticism with positive mantras (e.g., "There are no perfect mothers") and coaches moms to aim for a realistic balance (somewhere between June and Roseanne). While Dunnewold tends to quote too heavily from other books and mainstream magazine articles, she's at her best when she coins her own conclusions: "June Cleaver never played reasoning games with Wally to increase his problem-solving skills, or arranged playdates for Beaver." With a no-nonsense approach, Dunnewold validates a mother's choice to set her own standards and be "the mother she wants to be," warts and all. (Apr.)