The Barbecue Bible

Now the biggest and the best recipe collection for the grill is getting better: Announcing the full-color edition of The Barbecue! Bible, the 900,000-copy bestseller and winner of the IACP/Julia Child Cookbook Award.

Redesigned inside and out for its 10th anniversary, The Barbecue! Bible now includes full-color photographs illustrating food preparation, grilling techniques, ingredients, and of course those irresistible finished dishes. A new section has been added with answers to the most frequently asked grilling questions, plus Steven’s proven tips, quick solutions to common mistakes, and more.

About the Author: Steven Raichlen America’s “master griller” (Esquire). In addition to his bestselling, award-winning Barbecue! Bible cookbooks, articles by him appear regularly in Food & Wine, Bon Appetit, and other magazines and newspapers. He was host of PBS’s popular series Barbecue University at the Greenbrier, now out on DVD. Bon Appetit named him Cooking Teacher of the Year (2003). He lives and grills in Coconut Grove, Florida, and on Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts.

The Firehouse Grilling Cookbook

Among my 20+ grilling cookbooks, this is the one to which I always turn when I want to put something good on the table with a minimum of fuss. Joe Bonanno shares with us his experience as a firehouse chef, and that of a number of other firefighters from around the country, in this remarkably good basic book. The recipes are straightforward, using ingredients that are readily available in most places. His chapters on grilling basics and safety tips are very helpful. The collection of marinade recipes is one of the best, and widest-ranging, to be found in the galaxy of grillbooks. The “Mexican Cerveza and Cilantro” marinade contributed by Richard Duden, an NYC Ladderman, is terrific; to get real flavor, be sure to use a lager (Bohemia and Dos Equis come to mind) as called for, not some thin swill like Corona. While one might assume that a firehouse cookbook would focus on beef and pork, the recipes for grilled veggies, fish, shellfish, lamb, chicken, and turkey are varied and uniformly excellent. There are a number of tasty salsa and salad recipes as well. The publisher has made this a particularly useable book by essentially eliminating the bad page turns that plague many otherwise good grill books (notably those of the Jamisons) and by including clear step-by-step instructions for taking the user from prep to palate. (Who really wants to deal with page turns when one’s hands have marinade, sauce, or whatever on them?). Joe’s Healthy Firehouse Cookbook is also highly recommended.

About the Author: Joseph T. Bonanno Jr. comes from a family of New York City firefighters and is an eighteen-year veteran of the department. He is a certified fitness instructor and personal trainer and is certified in sports nutrition by the International Sports Medicine Association. He is the author of The Healthy Firehouse Cookbook.

Grill Pan Cookbook

This cookbook is definitely not a Charcoal Grilling or BBQ cookbook but when you can’t get outside to use the charcoal grill get yourself a grill pan and grill away inside the comfort of your home. This is a great cookbook because of it’s variety and simplicity. It has a wide range of receipes (appetizers and main dishes; seafood, vegetables, and meats) that are not overwhelmingly complex. Most require readily available ingredients. It’s not overly basic, but simple enough to use everyday; unlike some cookbooks that are targeted to someone who can afford to be in the kitchen all day. A good addition to your kitchen.

About the Author: Jamée Ruth has worked as a television food stylist and personal chef to numerous entertainment celebrities. A highly regarded expert on culinary equipment, she has made frequent guest appearances on television and radio programs. Based in New York, she is the author of the Cookware Cookbook.

The NFL Gameday Cookbook

Get ready for a full season of professional football with this great cookbook. You’ll have plenty of food during every game this season with over 150 recipes to choose from. The author also includes brief facts about each team and a blurb about food in the city. You can mix and match recipes from throughout the book for a football party (or any other party), or you can follow the suggestions for the Bears game-day party (including Nachos Ai Chihuahua, which I can say from personal experience is both easy to make and popular with a crowd). Get everything from appetizers,meat rubs to sandwiches and desserts to drinks in this cookbook that features mouthwatering pictures.

About the Author: Ray “Dr BBQ” Lampe is a professional chef and author of many barbecue cookbooks who has appeared on several shows as the “BBQ Champion.” He lives in Lakeland, Florida.

Ribs, Chops, Steaks and Wings

Here is a lip-smackin’ love song to everyone’s favorite cuts of meat with more than 40 easy-to-prepare recipes. This cookbook covers it all: ribs that are fall-off-the-bone tender, juicy chops, steaks (from porterhouse to skirt to filet mignon and more), and wings sweet, spicy, tangy, and everything in between! “Dr. BBQ” walks the reader through the basics of how to light a grill and what tools are most handy when dealing with meat. No grill? No problem! An indoor broiler or grill pan will get great results too. With recipes for rubs, sauces and salsas to season each beautifully charred rib, chop, steak, or wing, this irresistible cookbook will have grillmasters everywhere living in hog heaven. 44 handy recipes to turn to when wanting to stray a bit from traditional tailgate grill grub.

About the Author: Ray Lampe
Under his nom de flame, Dr. BBQ, he shows up regularly on the Food Network, runs his own Web site, judges cook-offs, serves as spokesman for the National Pork Board, and has now written his sixth cookbook.

Smoke and Spice

Nine years and a half million copies after its first edition, this handy resource for barbecue done the right way returns in an expanded volume. The Jamisons have added an extra 100 recipes as well as 20 new recipe variations.

Barbecue is not about grilling food fast over high heat. That’s something else, delicious in its own right, but something else entirely. Barbecue is about marginal cuts of meat (for the most part), about smoke, about fires burning so low and slow you hardly ever see the flicker of a flame. Barbecue is about succulent pork ribs as dark as sin just falling off the bone and dripping with glorious sweet pork godliness. Or enjoying the effects that 12 to 18 hours of smoking has on beef brisket.

About the Author:Cheryl and Bill Jamison, leading authorities on barbecue, American home cooking, and the food and culture of the Southwest, are among the nation’s most lauded culinary professionals. They have written several cookbooks, including Sublime Smoke, Born to Grill, Texas Home Cooking.

Weber’s Real Grilling

Another Grilling cookbook by Weber’s author Jamie Purviance. He shares some bang-up recipes for grilled red meat, pork, poultry, fish, vegetables, side dishes and even desserts. He keeps things simple, but revels in perfecting each dish. So instructions for making a hamburger-whether it’s a Cheeseburger of Champions, a Bacon and Swiss Burger, or a Double-Decker Mushroom Beef Burger-describe which kind of meat to buy, how big each patty should be and what to do in order to get “beautifully grilled burgers.” This upmarket yet non-threatening grilling text is sure to please anyone new to grilling as well as old hands who want to brush up their skills.

About the Author:Jamie Purviance graduated from Stanford University and the Culinary Institute of America (with high honors before launching his career as a food writer for major magazines and newspapers, such as Bon Appetit, Better Homes and Gardens, Cooking Light, Eating Well, Fine Cooking, Town & Country, and the Los Angeles Times.