Plan your menus and fire up the grill

NEW YORK -- On those sad days when rain falls, compensate for grill deprival by boning up on the latest cookout books. Then when the weather's right, you'll be newly primed to go.

Your choices are legion among the helpful tomes jostling each other on the shelves. You probably already have the classics of earlier years. So check out the new books -- if it's too hard to choose which to start with, toss a coin or look at author photos. Trust the ones who look really well fed.

Here are a few titles to keep in mind, mostly recent. You'll notice purists defining strict descriptive terms for live fire cooking, barbecuing and grilling. But really, as one cookbook author reminds us, what matters most is what tastes best.

"Let the Flames Begin" (Norton, 2003) is by Chris Schlesinger and John Willoughby, the estimable authors of "Thrill of the Grill" (Morrow, 1990), winner of a James Beard award.

"This book is all about cooking over live fire -- cooking with a fire you've built yourself from wood or charcoal rather than one you've ignited by turning a knob," the authors write in the introduction. Putting food over live fire is the only way to get that true, ineffable grilled flavor, they say.

The clarity and thoroughness of the text, packed with information, sprinkled with helpful illustrations, make this a fine source.

Schlesinger and Willoughby wade into their subject with gusto. They define and set out a dozen basic techniques: six methods of cooking (including cold smoking, barbecuing, grilling); three steps in cooking (starting the fire, getting organized, checking for doneness); and three ways to add flavor (using salt and pepper, rubs and pastes, and glazes and sauces). They share insights about live fires' distinct personalities and about tools.

Then there are enough original, spirited recipes to ensure no one goes hungry -- more than 250, ranging from Turkish eggplant dip to Thai-style mussels, chicken wings and smoke-roasted standing rib roast of beef. They include serious mustards, s'mores for grown-ups, and 10 margarita variations.

Schlesinger is a Massachusetts chef-restaurateur, and Willoughby is executive editor of Gourmet magazine in New York City.

"Smoke & Spice: Cooking With Smoke, the Real Way to Barbecue" (Harvard Common Press, 2003), by Cheryl and Bill Jamison, is an updated version of their best-selling 1995 Beard-award winning cookbook.

The Jamisons, based in Santa Fe, N.M., extol "real" barbecue: "To get real with barbecue, you have to return to the roots, and that means celebrating a meal with friends and family by smoking food slow and low over smoldering wood."

They refer to what they call the common mistake of calling high-heat grilling barbecue simply because it's done outdoors. Those who know the difference "are certain to be passionate about the distinction," the authors included.

"The cooking isn't more complicated than grilling -- just the taste -- and it's actually much more fun," they write.

The book's Part I shares "secrets of success," including information on fuels, tools and smoking. Part II is all about seasoning and cooking, with 100 new recipes among more than double that total. Part III is devoted to more recipes, for sauces, side dishes, desserts and drinks.

Also in the purist vein is "Celebrating Barbecue" (Simon and Schuster, 2002) by Dotty Griffith, restaurant critic for The Dallas Morning News and cookbook author. She distinguishes among the four regional styles of authentic barbecue (Carolina, Memphis, Texas and Kansas City) and provides 85 "classic" recipes.

"Grilling America" (ReganBooks, 2003) by Rick Browne has an upbeat show-biz air as befits the author and host of a PBS television food series, "Barbecue America," who does his research roaming the country in his 35-foot motor home.

The book is constructed around these forays from coast to coast, by way of barbecue competitions and grilling gatherings, collecting recipes along the way.

On the subject of defining barbecue, the "slow and low" purists versus quick "grillers," Browne says breezily: "They're both right." What's most important, he says, is how the results taste.

His recipes range from cedar-plank swordfish with pineapple salsa, from Oregon, to Uncle John's beer and potato salad from California. There's also room for vegetarians' fare.

Browne lives in Ridgefield, Wash. He is also a professional photographer; his own lively photos illustrate his book.

"Barbecue Biscuits & Beans: Chuck Wagon Cooking" (Bright Sky Press, 2002) by Bill Cauble and Cliff Teinert, Texas ranchers, derives from a cooking style far removed from suburban deck or back yard.

The aim of the book is to share outdoor recipes long favored by cowboys and have been adapted for others to try. Don't believe that a cowboy will eat just anything, Cauble says: "It's got to be good and filling."

He rebuilt an old chuck wagon and started using authentic materials and methods to recreate chuck wagon cooking at a Texan ranching heritage center.

Teinert, too, has been involved with preservation of chuck wagon cooking, both its history and contemporary cookoff styles.

The recipes embrace all these influences, calling for a variety of cooking techniques, from barbecuing to campfires, indoor ovens and stovetops. Ingredients include venison, game hens and chorizo. The text is illustrated with plenty of color photos, of food and of chefs in cowboy hats.

"Fish and Shellfish Grilled and Smoked" (Harvard Common Press, 2002) is by Karen Adler and Judith M. Fertig, who are based in Kansas City. Adler is a barbecue-grilling book publisher and author; Fertig is an award-winning cookbook writer, and columnist for the Kansas City Star.

Four sections of the book cover fish and shellfish grilling and smoking respectively, giving first basic information, then recipes. A final section offers rubs, marinades, bastes, sauces, salsas, relishes and sides.

In keeping with today's interest in borrowing and combining regional and ethnic flavors, the recipes include grill-seared ahi tuna with tahini-wasabi vinaigrette; fresh corn and smoked clam cakes with ancho chili sauce; and Asian leaf-wrapped snapper with tamarind sauce.

"Good Housekeeping Grilling Cookbook" (Hearst Books, 2003) promises "the best recipes you'll ever taste," in a streamlined presentation.

The how-to introduction is condensed into five pithy pages, followed by about 70 recipes giving you a choice from pizzas and salads to burgers, Cornish hens, filet mignon or catfish; there are also about a dozen rubs, sauces and relishes.

The large-format book has plenty of full-page color photos; each recipe comes with preparation times and nutrition analysis.

"Fire Up the Grill!" (Filipacci, 2003) comes from Woman's Day, with a selection of "more than 75 recipes for great dining outdoors."

Here's a good example of handy practicality. No mystique, no exhaustive survey of tradition, techniques and tools. Each recipe tells you what heat and grill set-up you need, as well as preparation and cooking times and nutrition analysis. Nearly every recipe has a full-page color photograph, and tips and hints are stacked into page margins.

The recipes range from standards, steak and ribs, to the familiar but different -- salmon with peach salsa and coleslaw, for example, and chicken with peanut sate sauce. There's a section of sides and a sweet selection of fruity desserts.

FROM THE PROS

What professionals have to say about barbecue:COOKBOOK AUTHOR

STEVEN RAICHLEN

Keep grills hot, clean and well-oiled.

Set up three grill zones: hot, medium and cool with the burner off.

Use tongs, not a barbecue fork, to turn meat so as to avoid poking holes in the meat and letting out some juices.

Baste steak with a little olive oil or rub butter on it when it comes off the grill. "That little bit of fat seems to bring out the flavor."

Let a steak or chop rest a couple of minutes before you cut into it so that the meat relaxes and the juices come back in.TV CHEF AND COOKBOOK

AUTHOR GALE GAND

Clean your grill well at the end of the season so that it's ready to go the first time you get another chance to cook outdoors.

Keep an extra tank of propane on hand.TV CHEF AND COOKBOOK

AUTHOR RICK BAYLESS

Consider using flavored or smoked woods on the charcoal grill.

Oil your food rather than your grill grate unless the grate is cast iron.COOKBOOK AUTHOR

RICK TRAMONTO

Allow the food to cook a while before flipping it.

SOURCE:The Associated Press