Summer only comes once a year. Make it count.
Summer days and weekends are best spent outside. That''s when
cooks look for recipes that can be easily prepared and served at
the cottage or at home, in the country or in the city.
Those recipes and more are all right here, in Best
Summer Weekends Cookbook. This edition combines the best
of the popular Summer Weekend Cookbook and More Summer Weekends
Cookbook and adds seventy-five new recipes. Whether entertaining
neighbors or guests staying for the weekend, cooking for the
family, or hosting a once-a-summer everybody come gathering, this
compendium will become an indispensable kitchen companion, and at
352 pages, it is a superb resource.
Recipe sections include:
- Appetizers, starters and sundown snacks
- Fresh barbecuing ideas
- Salads and side dishes
- Make-ahead main courses
- Light bites
- Breakfast and brunch
- Sweet stuff and desserts.
Each recipe also has ideas for variations and substitutions for
those times you don''t have a particular ingredient on hand.
Make-ahead tips reduce kitchen work so you can enjoy your guests''
company. The appetizing color photographs will make it hard to
resist trying every dish. A new collection of Quick Tricks will
help you produce fabulous dishes fast.
Over the years I''ve discovered the trick to creating good food
with a minimum of anxiety and fuss is to have some good basic
ingredients on hand. That applies whether you are cooking at home,
out of town, or on the road. You''ll find my list of essentials at
the front of Best Summer Weekends Cookbook, and
all the recipes then work from this core group of ingredients. Just
add the meat, fish, seasonal produce, cheese and dairy items for
your selected menu, and you''re ready for the weekend.
Readers of my other cookbooks tell me that they love all the
tips and tricks with each recipe. I''ve introduced lots of new ones
in this book -- tips on selecting ingredients, making recipes
ahead, variations and substitutions, and other ideas for producing
great food that will make your friends think you slaved for hours.
(You don''t have to tell them how easy it was!)
One of my favorite ways to entertain in the summer is to get
together with friends for drinks and snacks outdoors. Best
Summer Weekends Cookbook includes lots of easy-to-prepare
"sundown snacks," and even a few summer cocktails, all guaranteed
to get the evening off to a great start. The barbecue is a key tool
for summer cooking, so you''ll find 60 pages of grilling recipes,
marinades, spice rubs, and bastes -- with a handy chart to inspire
you and help you to put things together. There are heaps of fresh
ideas for summer salads too, with suggestions for turning them into
main dishes that will please both vegetarians and meat-eaters. And
when it comes to desserts, I love to feature the glorious fruits of
summer with favorites such as Raspberry Cream Crunch Pie, Caramel
Peach Cobbler, Plum Crumble Squares, and Frozen Chocolate Raspberry
Terrine.
In every chapter you''ll feast your eyes on gorgeous color
photos. I know they will make your mouth water and you will not be
able to resist heading straight to the kitchen to start cooking
right away.
I wish you great times and great food this summer. Enjoy and
have fun.
Jane Rodmel
A guide to summer cooking and entertaining that won't frazzle the cook, this book combines the best from Rodmell's "Summer Weekend" and "More Summer Weekend" cookbooks and adds 75 new recipes
