Best Summer Weekends Cookbook [Hardcover]

A sunny source of culinary inspiration. (Susan Sampson Toronto Star 20040901)

A delicious assortment of crispy, tangy, veggie-filled and seafood-loaded salads... all perfect of warm, sunny weather. (Carolyn Jung San Jose Mercury News 20040714)

A reliable and satisfying collection of near-comfort foods that make summer cooking a breeze. (Michael Hastings Winston-Salem Journal 20040811)

Innovative ideas for meals... quick tricks to help turn out fabulous food fast. (Canadian Press 20040519)

A gorgeous compilation of more than 75 appealing recipes, with lots of photos, quick tips and entertaining ideas. (Lisa McManus Quincy Patriot Ledger 20050824)

Revolves around seasonal goods... and quick dishes that can be whipped up with a few staples at hand. (Lorena D. Johnson Calgary Sun 20040526)

My favorite [new cookbook]... it's beautiful and chock full of recipes I can't wait to try. (Gail Ciampa Providence RI Journal 200408)

Rodmell keeps the kitchen cool and the food exciting. (Phoenix Home and Garden 20040623)

This fine cookbook offers much more than just simple barbecue fare.... the perfect summer companion for busy cooks. (Jim Carlson Country Decorating Ideas 20040602)

A whole summer's worth of ideas and tips for meals that please everyone... fabulous recipes. (Linda Turk Thunder Bay Chronicle Journal 200808)

More important, these are recipes where a substantial amount of the work can be done ahead of time. (Myrna Collins Appleton Post-Crescent 20110317)

It was with great joy that this cook discovered [Rodmell's] sinfully easy and delicious recipe for 'Thai Green Curry Wings.' (Jan DeKnock Omaha World-Herald )

Nicely designed recipe pages with big photos. (Gregory Hahn and Julie Sarasqeta Idaho Statesman )

Each recipe has ideas for variations and substitutions... fabulous food fast... relaxed, simple cooking using fresh, seasonal ingredients. (Judith Ruan Muskoka Magazine )

This weighty tome can take pride of place with the best of your generalist cookbooks. (Monica Stark January Magazine )

This is food that's easy and uncomplicated, seasonal and fun, but drop-dead delicious. (Laura Robin Ottawa Citizen )

Entertaining at the cottage may never have been easier. (The Cottager )

A weekend cookbook for city use as well, or for making dishes in the city for transport to the cottage. (Dean Tudor gothicepicures.blogspot.com )

Innovative ideas for meals... quick tricks to help turn out fabulous food fast.

This is food that's easy and uncomplicated, seasonal and fun, but drop-dead delicious.

My favorite [new cookbook]... it's beautiful and chock full of recipes I can't wait to try.

Each recipe has ideas for variations and substitutions... fabulous food fast... relaxed, simple cooking using fresh, seasonal ingredients.

Nicely designed recipe pages with big photos.

Rodmell keeps the kitchen cool and the food exciting.

It was with great joy that this cook discovered [Rodmell's] sinfully easy and delicious recipe for "Thai Green Curry Wings."

More important, these are recipes where a substantial amount of the work can be done ahead of time.

A sunny source of culinary inspiration.

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.

(20040609)

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

(20040627)

Jane Rodmell is the food columnist for Cottage Life magazine and a cookbook author as well as a recipe developer and food researcher for over twenty years.

(20040616)

Sample Recipe from Chapter 2: Great Grilling

Pico de Gallo

Pico de Gallo is a refreshing Mexican-style uncooked salsa that tastes best when made just before serving. (Luckily, it takes only minutes to prepare.) It's an essential topping for fajitas (p. 74) and a good accompaniment to grilled fish, but it's also great on burgers or served on its own as a dip with corn chips.

4 large, ripe tomatoes, diced

1 small onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2-3 fresh jalapeño peppers, finely chopped, veins and seeds removed

3 tbsp (45 ml) fresh coriander or flat leafed parsley, finely chopped

1 tbsp (15 ml) fresh basil, chopped OR 1/2 tsp (2ml) dried basil

2 tbsp (30 ml) fresh lime juice

2 tbsp (30 ml) safflower or olive oil

salt

1. Combine all ingredients. Toss lightly

Makes 2 cups (500 ml)

TIP:
Some field tomatoes have thin skins, and peeling them is a matter of choice. Others, like the plum varieties, have tough skins that require peeling. A proven technique is to have a pot of water boiling on the stove. Drop in a tomatoe and count to 10. Lift the tomato out, and drop into cold water or hold under the tap. Cut a cross on the smooth end and the skin will slip off in large sections. Cut out the core at the stem end. The process takes about 10 seconds, so slip another tomato into the pot as you take one out.

(200405)

Introduction

Great summer weekends invariably include great food. There is a problem, however: All things considered, I would rather spend my weekend lazing on the deck with a good book than wrestling with grocery carts at the store, or dicing for hours in the kitchen. The cook wants to relax, too!

This cookbook is designed to help you easily create uncomplicated, wonderful-tasting food for your summer weekends. It combines updated versions of favourite recipes from my previous two books, Cottage Life's Summer Weekend Cookbook and More Summer Weekends, with many new recipes and tips, to give you a whole summer's worth of ideas and inspiration for entertaining relatives and friends, and feeding the family, too. The focus is on relaxed, simple cooking using fresh, seasonal ingredients. Many of the dishes can be made partly or entirely ahead -- the tips with the recipes tell you how -- so that last-minute fuss is kept to a minimum.

The recipes are also meant to be flexible: They include ideas for variations and substitutions for those times you don't have a particular ingredient on hand. And you'll find suggestions of what I like to serve with various dishes, making it easy for you to put together a whole meal.

Since many of the recipes were first developed for my column in Cottage Life magazine -- and cottages aren't always equipped with all the conveniences of home -- they don't rely on a lot of fancy kitchen equipment. Although a food processor or blender often makes life easier (especially when cooking for large groups), I still rely on my good chopping knife and trusty pestle and mortar. Because cooking outdoors is an essential part of summer, a good number of recipes use the grill. Not only does barbecuing help keep things cool inside, but the barbecue also becomes a focal point for social activity Friends gather round to review the day's events, plan what they're going to do tomorrow -- and give advice to the cook, of course.

The recipes in this collection rely on a core group of basic ingredients (see "Stocking the Cupboard," which begins on the next page), supplemented by seasonal vegetables and fruits, meat, and fish. While Mediterranean and south-of-the-border flavors remain among my favorites, more and more often the food my family and I like to eat includes spices and flavorings from other cuisines, particularly Thai, other Asian, and north African. But the recipes remain simple, and I provide options in case an out-of-the-ordinary ingredient isn't available in your supermarket.

Lastly, though the recipes are mostly based on healthy, fresh food, there are some that are definitely special-occasion dishes. For sure, Caramel Pecan Sticky Buns and Chocolate Raspberry Terrine are not on the spa food list, but it is the weekend after all, and no one needs to eat a big piece.

The preparation and enjoyment of good food is best shared with good friends -- likewise, the creation of a cookbook. My sincere thanks to Ann Vanderhoof and Steve Manley, a talented editorial/design team beyond compare; to photographer Bob Wigington and food stylist Ruth Gangbar, who always make food look irresistible; to Heather Holbrook, for her lively illustrations; to Penny Caldwell, Al Zikovitz, Wendela Roberts, and all the creative folk at Cottage Life magazine, who provide consistent support and encouragement; to the magazine's enthusiastic recipe-contest contributors; to Sari Bercovitch, for making the all-important index work; and to my inspiring and much-appreciated cooking companions. Among them are chef Julie St. Jean, who shares the passion for fabulous food and the pursuit of ultimate flavor and who spent hours in the kitchen testing many of the recipes in this book; master baker Jill Snider; David Moore, skilled artisan bread-baker; Sue Bowman; David Cousins; Mario Totaro; and the many talented chefs and bakers at All the Best.

I hope your summer weekends are long and lovely, and filled with good friends and good food. Enjoy the book.

-- Jane Rodmell

(200407)