Hot Vegetables (Hot Books)

With well over 200,000 copies in print, Hugh Carpenter and Teri Sandison's sizzling Hot books have become kitchen staples. The beautiful full-color photographs, delightfully simple yet sophisticated recipes, and hot, hot flavor combinations have earned this culinary team legions of devotees across the country -- and indeed, the globe -- with Hot books now in print in Norway and Denmark. So take your work, grill, or saute pan out for a spin with a few of the 50 tantalizing recipes that each of these books offers up.

Hot Vegetables is the fifth in a series by husband- and-wife team Hugh Carpenter and Teri Sandison. As in Hot Wok and Hot Chicken, Carpenter provides the intensely flavored dishes and Sandison the eye-filling photography. Tableware made by local Northern California artisans reinforces the informal but carefully composed look of this book. The information Carpenter crams into this book, along with 50 recipes, demonstrates why he is one of the most popular cooking teachers in the U.S. At the start, he gives "mini-lessons" on grilling, stir-frying, deep-frying, and other methods for perfecting cooked vegetables.

Asian and fusion cooking are Carpenter's specialties, so his Thai Eggplant Ratatouille made with coconut milk and Carrot Risotto Sparked with Asian Chile Oil are tried and tested delights. Other flavor- enhancing cooking techniques he perfects are stir-frying, sautéing, and deep-frying. Some dishes are quite involved--such as the Pot Sticker Dumplings Stuffed with Spinach and Mushrooms. Others require a minimum of effort, like a Creamy Lemon Garlic salad dressing or Carpenter's imaginative Orange Wok Sauce.

Hot Vegetables ensures that eating the recommended five to nine servings of fresh vegetables and fruits each day is a joy for your taste buds. --Dana Jacobi