Ratatouille, a vegetable stew from the south of France, is traditionally cooked on top of the stove, but grilling the vegetables adds even more flavor to the mix. The amounts of each vegetable are very flexible, but try for balance of flavors. Make more than you need because the leftovers get better and better. It's important when grilling to make sure the items are secure on skewers. If you use two parallel skewers, whether metal or soaked bamboo, the vegetables will stay more stable on the grill and will behave better when turning. Vegetables on the same skewers should be of…

When you can get great tomatoes, they don’t need much to improve on their flavor: a little salt, a little pepper, maybe a drizzle of olive oil, not to mention in a BLT with avocado. A cheesy pasta topped with uncooked tomato sauce is an easy main or side dish. Adapted from a Bon Appétit magazine too long ago to remember, this has been a family favorite from the first try. When my younger daughter was in kindergarten and was asked (as they all were) to name her favorite food, she said, quite rapturously, “Pasta With Four Cheeses and Tomato Basil…

Eating in should be at least as good as eating out, and maybe even better. There can be pleasure in the choosing and preparation of ingredients in order to end up with something you’ll proudly share. That’s the premise behind Eating In, our new Oregon Life column. In this column, we’ll explore how to get the best food on the table without unreasonable effort. This isn’t the place to learn how to bone a turkey or make tofu. While from-scrach is a good ideal, there are quite good prepared foods that deserve notice. And we’ll notice them. We’ll talk about techniques…

Make sweet and spicy summer dreams come true By Kim Davaz On a really hot day, the only thing that sounds good to eat is something cold from the freezer. Sarah Engram and Katie Luber, owners of the Seasoned Palate, which produces spice blends, have raised the flavor bar for frozen treats. In “Spice Dreams: Flavored Ice Creams and Other Frozen Treats,” they (with Nancy Meadows and Kimberly Toqe) combine ice creams, sorbets and frozen yogurts with toppings and baked items to make an almost never-ending combination of treats. The first and easiest recipe for spiced ice cream is to add…

Silver Spoon Kitchen invites cooks to take an Italian holiday By Kim Davaz I have a friend to whom Italy speaks. They have not been formally introduced and he doesn't speak Italian, but she speaks to him, inviting him to visit. "Recipes from an Italian Summer" from The Silver Spoon Kitchen will have Italy inviting you to vacation there, with many of the recipes from Sicily, Sardinia, Campania, Tuscany and the mountains of northern Italy - favorite places for Italians to go on holiday. The book begins with a guide to Italian food festivals from the first week of May in…

Steak is all about celebrating the good things in life Rick Tramonto’s latest book doesn’t hold back from splurging on ingredients for special occasions By Kim Davaz Steak is, of course, the main focus of Chicago chef Rick Tramonto’s seventh cookbook, “Steak With Friends” written with Mary Goodbody, but this cookbook is not only about steak. It’s about what steak represents, which is a celebratory meal. Steak means good times, a bit of a splurge, and good friends and family to share it with. It’s a happy food. This attitude of largesse spills over onto the other foods in “Steak With…

Yearwood family takes readers to a country kitchen By Kim Davaz If what you’re looking for is good old down-home cooking, you can’t get much more good old down-home than “Home Cooking With Trisha Yearwood: Stories and Recipes to Share With Family and Friends.” Trisha Yearwood, her mother, Gwen, and her sister Beth have brought together even more of their family’s favorite recipes in their second cookbook, combining them with family stories and cooking tips. They have everything from spring strawberry shortcake to wintery stuffed cabbage, from blueberry pancakes to a low-country boil. There’s even a Southern version of hummus made…

Baker finds whole grains add whole lot of flavor By Kim Davaz Whole-grain baking is an excellent way to introduce new grains into your diet, whether for health reasons or to try new flavors. If you’re used to baking with wheat flour, these other grains may feel similar in the bag, but they taste and react differently. You can’t just substitute teff or amaranth flour for wheat flour, any more than you can interchange white flour for whole-wheat flour and expect to get the same results. Pastry chef Kim Boyce has done the hard experimenting part, and with Amy Scattergood has…

‘Hands-on’ instructions for serious barbecuing Little grilling book is packed with recipes and information By Kim Davaz If you find yourself drawn to the outdoor grill when you should be shopping for sandpaper or light bulbs; if the aroma of your neighbor’s grill has you up against the fence; if you find yourself looking for a hat that includes an umbrella so you can grill in the rain; then Adam Perry Lang’s “BBQ 25” has your name written all over it. Lang calls “BBQ 25” the “backbone of barbecue” that includes his best recipes with the least fuss for the foods…

Alice Waters gets back to basics Anyone who is new to the kitchen would appreciate the step-by-step instructions By Kim Davaz It’s not that I don’t want to cook on Mother’s Day. It’s that I don’t want to decide what to cook, shop for it, cook it and then clean it up. “In the Green Kitchen: Techniques to Learn By Heart” by Alice Waters is a cookbook from which I’d like to be presented a meal. The book includes photographs and short presentations on basic cooking techniques (many by Waters’ friends who are well-known in the cooking world) that were part…

Make quick work of family or company meals The editors at America’s Test Kitchen have found easier ways to get sophisticated dinners on the table By Kim Davaz Needing to put a meal on the table fast doesn’t mean sacrificing great taste and an element of sophistication. Those busy and prolific editors at America’s Test Kitchen know that you might want to cook a meal nice enough for company (but not too out there for a regular family dinner) without spending the whole day in the kitchen. “The Best Simple Recipes: More Than 200 Flavorful Foolproof Recipes That Cook in 30…

Chef compiles dishes Mother would have made A Portland restaurant owner fills her book with recipes from “Mothers of the Month” By Kim Davaz The lack of good home-style cooking in restaurants led to an epiphany for Lisa Schroeder. What the world needed was good food like mothers used to make (or you wished they did). She studied at the Culinary Institute of America; slaved away at the very posh, very well-starred Le Cirque in Manhattan; then traveled through France, Italy, Spain and Morocco. In Morocco, she realized there weren’t many restaurants because Moroccans eat the foods their mothers and grandmothers…

Restaurateurs dish up taste of Barcelona Authors say the tapas and other Spanish foods in their restaurants are easy to make at home By Kim Davaz At their six Barcelona Wine Bar and Restaurants in Connecticut, owners Sasa Mahr-Batuz and Andy Pforz-heimer combine the finest ingredients imported from Spain with the freshest local produce to make their Spanish-inspired dishes. Their around-the-world life stories begin the book, touching on Mahr-Batuz’ tennis-pro days and chef Pforzheimer’s time as food editor of the fledgling “Martha Stewart Living” magazine. The magazine brought Pforzheimer back to Connecticut, where he met Mahr-Batuz and they decided to open…

Get an education while you bake up a storm Step-by-step photographs and detailed directions give cooks everything they need to know about baking By Kim Davaz “Baking: 350 Recipes and Techniques, 1,500 Photographs, One Baking Education.” There you have it. Just about everything you need to know to start baking or raising your personal baking bar, all in one place. Author James Peterson, whose 14 other cookbooks include two James Beard Award winners (“Sauces” and “Cooking”), is a cooking instructor at the Institute of Culinary Education in New York. “Baking” is indeed an education. Peterson explains every little detail of every…

Linger over ‘Venezia,’ then fire up the stove The book is a work of art; and the recipes aren’t bad, either By Kim Davaz Tessa Kiros opens her newest cookbook with a love letter to the city of Venice, in particular, its food. When you think of the food of Venice, think fresh, fresh, fresh, especially when it comes to fish; and local, including a celebratory glass of bright sparkling Prosecco to begin any meal. “Venezia” is Kiros’ third cookbook published by Andrews McMeel, following the same format and size as “Apples for Jam” and “Falling Cloudberries” (a Gourmet magazine cookbook…

Farm Chicks take readers beyond the kitchen By Kim Davaz Teri Edwards and Serena Thompson are The Farm Chicks, stay-at-home moms whose annual antique show (plus crafts and food) near Spokane caught the eye of Country Living magazine. This led to the women becoming contributing editors of Country Living, developing a line of products and now publishing a cookbook, “The Farm Chicks in the Kitchen: Live Well, Laugh Often, Cook Much.” The book starts with a tear-out stencil of an apron. Make the apron and use it when decorating baked goods or craft projects - this is both a cookbook and…

Pair of authors mix it up for home bartenders By Kim Davaz There is something innately festive about drinking sparkling wine. Maybe it’s the special glasses or those marvelous bubbles, but just looking at the bottle says special occasion. That occasion might be a graduation, a marriage proposal or wedding, the birth of a child or an I’m-so-glad-you’re-here moment, but sparkling wine also is nice on ordinary days. In “The Bubbly Bar: Champagne and Sparkling Wine Cocktails for Every Occasion,” Maria Hunt explains that true Champagne can come only from the Champagne region of France. Everything else is sparkling wine. All…

British baker contends bread should be made at home By Kim Davaz Bread. It’s a basic food that is at home at any meal. British master baker Andrew Whitley wants it to be on your table, made by your own hands, as often as possible. With this in mind, Whitley has written “Bread Matters: The State of Modern Bread and a Definitive Guide to Baking Your Own.” Full of tables and lists and schedules, this is a cookbook to make daily bread baking a reasonable possibility. Whitley’s opinion of modern bread is not high: He despairs of the sad loaves most…

Nigella makes any size celebration spectacular Holiday cookbook covers dinner for two or a feast for the entire extended family By Kim Davaz “Nigella Christmas” by Nigella Lawson is a celebration between two covers, with everything necessary, kitchen-wise, for a spectacular Christmas. I should backtrack: While you can make a spectacular Christmas feast à la Lawson, she by no means limits your holiday festivities to the top of the “wow” meter. There is just as much attention paid to a quiet little dinner or brunch and cozy drinks as there is to the break-the-bank, 8 1/2 -pound standing rib roast beef…

‘Grand Central’ makes baking a breeze By Kim Davaz Although we are knee-deep in prime baking season, let’s try to spread the butter and sugar wealth around. Start now, but keep up the good work throughout the year. You will be thanked richly. The Grand Central Bakery in Portland was named one of the top 10 bakeries in the country by Bon Appétit magazine. Co-owner Piper Davis learned to cook from her mother, Gwyneth Bassetti, founder of the bakery. In “The Grand Central Baking Book” written with chef and food writer Ellen Jackson, Davis shares the recipes and techniques that won…

Table for one By Kim Davaz While in college, I once worked with a young woman who had majored in home economics. Every night, she told me, she made a complete meal that she ate sitting at a nicely set table. All by herself. I was very impressed that she considered such niceties to be essential. Fifty-one percent of the people living in New York City live alone, according to Judith Jones in her latest cookbook, “The Pleasures of Cooking for One.” Cooking for one is not a chore, Jones insists, but a pleasure. In addition to cooking meals on ordinary…

Authors spice up everyday dishes By Kim Davaz Sara Engram and Katie Luber love spices and herbs. They use the term spices to mean both spices and herbs. Some chefs consider the seeds and bark of plants to be spices and the leaves and stems to be herbs. Let’s not quibble. Call them all spices and use them often. Engram and Luber love spices so much, they started a company that makes little one-teaspoon packets sold online at tspspices .com and through stores such as Smart Spice. (You can find them in Portland at Zupan’s Market.) All are organic. To encourage…

Visit the flavors of Scandinavia By Kim Davaz “The Scandinavian Cookbook” is Trina Hahnemann’s yearlong journey through the beauty and food of Scandinavia, month by month, beginning in January. In her past life, Hahnemann was a caterer to people you may have heard of: Elton John, the Rolling Stones and Bruce Springsteen. These days, the chef and food writer lives in Denmark, where she owns cafes, including one in the Danish House of Parliament. Each month includes the foods that are best during that time of year, be it gooseberries in August, apples in October or root vegetables in the winter.…

Generous chef shares secrets to better brunches By Kim Davaz Brunch, says chef Ron Silver in “Bubby’s Brunch Cookbook” is a flexible, forgiving and fun meal both to make and to eat. His restaurant, Bubby’s in New York City, is anything but fancy. That’s not his style. He prefers to feed people with the kind of food he grew up eating at home. While plenty of fancy people you’d recognize in a second eat at Bubby’s, there are also plenty of people you’d never notice. All of them love Bubby’s food. Silver is a generous soul, never hesitating to give out…

Escape from L.A. just the ticket By Kim Davaz Gesine Bullock-Prado lived in Los Angeles and experienced everything that the L.A. lifestyle implies. As head of her sister’s production company (yes, Sandra Bullock, here known as Sandy), Bullock-Prado lived life in the fast lane in L.A. Not Los Angeles, where certainly many lovely people live, but capital L capital A - the land of excess, power lunches, the latest fashions and scripts being offered by everyone and his dog for her sister’s consideration. Did anyone care about her or was she merely a conduit to her sister? In “Confections of a…

Find a favorite page from the past in ‘Best Lost Suppers’ By Kim Davaz One afternoon in New Jersey, my father, two young cousins and I decided to make rice pudding. It’s hard to find a restaurant or grocery store deli counter in New Jersey that doesn’t offer rice pudding. I found a recipe for rice pudding in “Cook’s Country Best Lost Suppers” by the editors at America’s Test Kitchen. As written, the recipe was very good, but not quite what we wanted. We made a copy of the page for noting changes as we made them. It took several batches…

Neelys sprinkle life story with recipes By Kim Davaz When it comes to cute, it’s hard to beat Pat and Gina Neely as seen on their Food Network shows, “Down Home With the Neelys” and “Road Tasted With the Neelys.” They delight in each other and they make it hard for viewers not to delight in them. They’ve collaborated with Paula Disbrowe on “Down Home With the Neelys: A Southern Family Cookbook.” It’s their life story with photos and recipes. Their barbecue seasoning and barbecue sauce appear again and again through the book, even showing up in the Neely version of…

Having too many tomatoes is a delicious dilemma By Kim Davaz Tomatoes, sun-warmed and sweet: It’s summer held in your hand. This part of summer can last well into September, if the weather holds. A neighbor has a tangle of tomato plants in her backyard, lounging in the sun. Some are large and some are small. Some look like peppers but are an unknown variety of long. narrow tomato, the plants a gift from a mutual friend. Even the tomato vines and leaves carry a strong tomato scent that clings to your hands. In one of the essays between chapters of…

Child’s ‘Wisdom’ is a dividend of new film A paperback version of “Julia’s Kitchen Wisdom” capitalizes on new interest By Kim Davaz A paperback version of Julia Child’s 2001 book, “Julia’s Kitchen Wisdom: Essential Techniques and Recipes From a Lifetime of Cooking,” has been released as a result of the new movie, “Julie and Julia.” The film is based on the book “Julie and Julia” by Julie Powell about cooking her way through Child’s iconic books, “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” and “My Life in France.” Think of this new release as the grown-up equivalent of a toy tie-in to…

Nine books on barbecue not enough for these cooks By Kim Davaz Some days it’s too hot to eat. Some days it’s too hot to think about eating. When it’s that hot, for some, restaurants with air conditioning come to mind. It makes me think about barbecue. Barbecue and sweet tea and fried okra. And slaw. You have to have slaw. Barbecue is more than a meal: It’s a passion. Just ask Ardie Davis and Paul Kirk. These two have nine cookbooks between them on the subject and they’re nowhere near finished. They’ve collaborated on “America’s Best BBQ: 100 Recipes From…

Kitchen store owner shares memories By Kim Davaz If there’s anyone who would know her way around a kitchen, it’s the owner of a kitchen store. Or many kitchen stores. Renée Behnke and her husband Carl bought the original Sur La Table kitchen store in Seattle’s Pike Place Market in 1995, and now have more than 75 Sur La Tables. Behnke grew up in a family who valued good food, and she begins her cookbook “Memorable Recipes to Share With Family and Friends” with some of her own food memories. The introduction continues with a guide to planning parties as well…

Recipes sprinkled into fascinating story of boat people By Kim Davaz “Secrets of the Red Lantern” isn’t a warm memoir of a happy kitchen. Instead, it has hardship (Nguyen family members were among the first boat people to leave Vietnam after the Americans left), embarrassment (think of being a child and daily having to transport a goat leg in a rattletrap grocery cart) and a father with impossible standards. After leaving Vietnam in a handmade boat and going through two refugee camps, the family emigrated to Australia. Eventually more of the extended family came to Australia, often living with the Nguyens…

Strawberry jam, complete with custom labels, was the order of the day for Eliot, Olivia and Grammy.

Barefoot Contessa sticks to simple and delicious By Kim Davaz Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa, has to be one of the happiest cooks on the Food Network. She’s never without a smile or a laugh. What’s not to be happy about? She lives in a gorgeous house - which always appears to be surrounded by blooming hydrangeas - she has a never-ending supply of elegantly understated, pressed outfits, her handsome and talented friends drop by with flowers and carry home food, and her husband is as delighted with her as she is with him. Life is good. Garten has been writing…

When the barbecue calls, get serious with Adam Lang By Kim Davaz Chef Adam Perry Lang’s first cookbook is “Serious Barbecue: Smoke, Char, Baste & Brush Your Way to Great Outdoor Cooking” written with JJ Goode and Amy Vogler. This Culinary Institute of America-trained chef began his restaurant work in fancy French restaurants, but decided that barbecue is his true calling. Lang does not limit his barbecue. He includes both indirect, low-heat, long-cooking barbecue - what purists may argue is the only barbecue - and direct, high-heat grilling. It’s all about the flavor, and Lang uses whichever method works best for…

Cooking for two has never been easier By Kim Davaz There is no challenge too large or too small for the America’s Test Kitchen crew. In “Cooking for Two 2009: The Years’ Best Recipes Cut Down to Size,” they’ve begun a new annual cookbook to make life easier (and more delicious) for those who want to cook for two. Cooking for two, especially if you’ve been used to cooking for more, can be a challenge. How much to buy? What about leftovers? Relax. The America’s Test Kitchen crew has figured this all out. The “Smart Shoppers Guide” at the beginning gives…

Sit on the patio when reading ‘Hot and Spicy’ By Kim Davaz I don’t often want to rush the changing seasons. I actually like our cold, wet winters as much as the gorgeous springs, warm summers and glorious falls. While reading “Mediterranean Hot and Spicy: Healthy, Fast and Zesty Recipes From Southern Italy, Greece, Spain, the Middle East and North Africa” by Aglaia Kremezi during a particularly wet spell, I was tempted to eat outside, and started to wish for warmer evenings. You can, of course, eat the foods from “Mediterranean Hot and Spicy” indoors, but they are made to be…

Editors of Relish compile their best By Kim Davaz “Good food matters” is a favorite saying of a friend of Jill Melton, the editor of newspaper-insert Relish magazine. Melton and the rest of the editors at Relish agree, and they’ve put the favorites of their good food of the past three years into “The Best of Relish: Celebrating America’s Love of Food.” The recipes are relatively fast without resorting to too many prepared foods. They call for canned beans and broth, maybe some prepared pie crust and prepared pizza crust dough for kids’ pizzas, but for the most part, this is…

Francky and Mike sent Kim a pair of “Super Gloves, Hot Gloves,” from the UK.

Magazine’s latest takes us to market By Kim Davaz Eating Well magazine is dedicated to helping us consume the healthiest and best-tasting food possible. The latest cookbook from the magazine focuses on recipes using the seasonal local foods found in a farmers’ market. A handful of farmers’ markets picked by the magazines’ readers as the best are featured, and the Portland Farmers’ Market made the list. The introduction is full of useful information on nutrition. Colorful charts help explain which nutrients come from which foods, and how to balance your diet. A list tells which produce you should always try to…

British chef’s essays are as delightful as his recipes By Kim Davaz It wasn’t until some British friends discussing what would be made for dinner took “a packet of mince” from the freezer that I realized that the mince in “The Owl and the Pussycat” was ground beef, not mincemeat. I’d always envisioned the owl and the pussycat dining on wedges of mincemeat pie, full of chopped apples and spices, served with slices of preserved quince. We ate Spaghetti Bolognese that night and I thought of the owl and the pussycat, slurping saucy noodles from their runcible spoons. If I had…

If going vegan, soup a good way to get started By Kim Davaz Soups are a great way to get more vegetables into the family diet. Even if you aren’t usually vegetarian, there may be times when you might need some vegetarian meals (during Lent or times of health or economic difficulties) and soup is a good place to start. Nava Atlas has reworked her book “Vegetarian Soups for All Seasons” to reflect her family’s change from ovo-lacto vegetarian to vegan in “Vegan Soups and Hearty Stews for All Seasons.” In the introduction, Atlas strongly encourages eating organic produce, grown locally…

Italian chef takes readers on tour of life and kitchen By Kim Davaz “Urban Italian: Simple Recipes and True Stories From a Life in Food” is an energetic and ambitious look at the professional and home kitchens of chef Andrew Carmellini. Written with his wife, Gwen Hyman, “Urban Italian” is a combination of elaborate and simple dishes, cooking tips and stories of cooking in varied situations. Carmellini’s introduction is a whirlwind tour of his life in food: his first job at an Italian restaurant in Cleveland; culinary school in New York; a move to Italy for a mushroom search, much cooking…

Delicious stories fill Amish cookbook By Kim Davaz Sometimes a cookbook is as much a collection of stories as it is a collection of recipes. “The Amish Cook at Home: Simple Pleasures of Food, Family and Faith” is that sort of cookbook. Written by Lovina Eicher - writer of the Amish Cook syndicated newspaper column - with her editor Kevin Williams, the book follows her family and community through the year, beginning with the spring. Photographer Betsy Blanton’s respectful and beautiful photographs of Eicher’s family and farm enhance the family’s stories. Williams’ introduction tells how as a young writer in Indiana,…

Valentine’s Day: Don’t fail to kiss the cook By Kim Davaz Based on “The Best Places to Kiss Northwest” travel guide, Carol Freiberg’s “The Best Places to Kiss Cookbook” will give you plenty of romantic ideas for St. Valentine’s Day. Romance is in the eye of the beholder. One person’s romance might be a secluded coastal inn, another might prefer a city hotel with lots of room service. Someone else might find a trip to Jerry’s for Moss-B-Gone and a big broom very romantic. Jerry’s Home Improvement stores didn’t make the list, but plenty of places in the southern Willamette Valley…

‘Organic Marin’ will have you planning a garden or a trip By Kim Davaz If you’re a gardener, you’ve probably already worn the covers off your seed catalogs and have lists upon lists of potential crops for this coming summer. My annual contact with seed catalogs is theoretical; I’ve been thinking about getting some, because mostly I like to think about planting a garden. Successfully having moved beyond herbs and tomatoes to lettuce and beets last year has encouraged me to be even more adventurous this year. Our compost bin is regularly filled with tea bags, coffee grounds and vegetable trimmings…

Bon Appétit does it again with recipes that fit a busy life By Kim Davaz I can’t tell you how often I’ve eaten something delicious at a friend’s house and have been told, “It’s from Bon Appétit.” That’s understandable. Several of my family’s favorite recipes have come from Bon Appétit magazine, too, including the best chocolate chip pie, a cheesy pasta with an uncooked tomato sauce, and a spicy hot sauce known in the family as Chicken Sauce. I don’t even remember what it was called originally, but it got its name because we serve it mostly with chicken (though it…

COTTAGE GROVE - As the door to Fleur De Lis Patisserie & Cafe opens at 7 a.m., the welcoming aroma of baked pastries is almost visible. A mural by Springfield artist Janeile Emery shows a display of pastries with Paris’ cathedral of Notre Dame in the background. A song by Stevie Wonder fades into the voice of a male radio announcer speaking French. How appropriate that a Paris pop music station from the Internet supplies the background music at Fleur De Lis. Baker Eric Jegat has been at work since before night owls go to bed, sliding trays of croissants into…

By Kim Davaz My sister called to tell me that Julia Child had died. I felt I’d lost a friend, knowing her through the familiarity that comes from years of seeing someone in your living room, albeit on television. Child cooked on TV for almost 50 years. And while her body slowly bowed over time, her voice retained its distinctive, enchanting warble, closing each episode with a cheery, “Bon appetit!” From the first time I saw Child on public television’s “The French Chef” - tall, confident, cooking her way through all manner of foods exotic to a girl in elementary school…