Cookbook or coffee-table book? Summer Food is both: a collection of simple, party-worthy recipes and a beautiful book of food art, with full-page color photographs. Bound in an embossed cover (no dust jacket) and printed on heavy stock that feels as sumptuous as the recipes, this is the perfect hostess gift--or present for yourself.
Originally published in Norway, Summer Food from Paul Lowe (of Sweet Paul quarterly magazine) and his co-creators, Nina Dreyer Hensley and Jim Hensley, was photographed entirely outside. Seasonal foods prepared with Scandinavian simplicity glow with the suggestion of endless blue skies. Smoked salmon, fresh herbs, grilled corn, heirloom tomatoes shout "summer!" and translate into any language. While the recipes are an homage to Lowe's heritage, the ingredients are as easy to acquire in Ohio as they are in Oslo.
This beautiful collection is straightforward and accessible, divided into chapters for the three main meals plus drinks and desserts. Many recipes have only four or five ingredients, and all include a photo and brief conversational tip. The beverage recipes epitomize the author's commitment to fresh and seasonal: every drink centers around a fruit or vegetable, including apricot-and-rosemary mimosas, and the Green Giant (veggies plus vodka).
Little personal essays interspersed throughout (The Day the Juicer Exploded; memories from his measles-recovery celebration in "Paul's Fever Party") suggest that if this nice fellow can serve fresh, seasonal dishes from breakfast through cocktails and make it look easy, so can we. --Cheryl Krocker McKeon, manager, Book Passage, San Francisco