Let’s be truthful, no one wants to cook during the hot summer months.  Heating up the kitchen with the stove or oven is just not too appetizing; it probably explains the long lines at fast-food restaurants.  There are ways to get around the problem when the thought of another chicken sandwich or burger is just un-appetizing; the library has loads of cookbooks to make that possible. 

 

First, salads are certainly at their best in the summer months with all the fresh produce.  America’s Test Kitchen offers you all the help you could ever need with “The Complete Salad Cookbook.”  It provides a fresh guide to 200 plus dishes using greens, vegetables, grains, proteins and more.  Not just the traditional salads of tossed greens these feature grains, meats, and vegetables tossed with cold or warm dressings.  There is a recipe for Spinach Pesto Pasta Salad as well Celery Root, Celery and Apple Slaw.  There are plenty of recipes for steak, chicken and seafood salads for those husbands who demand meat in their meals. 

 

“The Complete Salad Cookbook” is accompanied by full-color, very delicious appearing photographs, and should offer one cool way out of a hot kitchen.     

 

And for all of those who consider summer as grilling season, please try Guy Fieri’s “Guy on Fire” with recipes for grilling, tailgating, camping and more. There are 130 recipes for everything from Spicy Cracked Chile Crab to Crispy Zucchini Planks with Parmesan and Aioli. 

 

If you are tired of just burgers and hot dogs, “Guy on Fire” is going to open a new world for you.