The Cafe Pongo Cookbook: More Than 220 Recipes from the Hudson Valley

Seven-year-old Café Pongo has made Tivoli, New York, a culinary destination. Located in the fertile Hudson Valley, the restaurant offers American fare with an international twist: food enjoyed equally by a loyal local clientele and visitors from all parts. The Café Pongo Cookbook, the work of Valerie Nehez, the restaurant's founder, captures the food and flavor of the restaurant (named after her beloved dog) in over 200 approachable recipes and many diverting anecdotes. Readers seeking formulas for countrified fare that also packs a flavor punch should welcome the book.

The chapters reflect the restaurant's morning-to-night menu: an opening section on breakfast specialties includes such winners as Poached Eggs with Zucchini Fritters and Roasted Red Pepper Coulis, and Fresh Cranberry Pancakes with Caramelized Pineapple and Ginger Compote. Other chapters--which include recipes for soups, salads, sandwiches, entrees, starters, and sides--offer such treats as Spicy African Soup with Yams and Shrimp and Hominy Cakes with Cilantro Crème Fraîche. A special section of dishes for non-meat eaters makes the book universally useful, while all will enjoy baked goods and desserts like Chocolate Espresso Torte, Maple Brioche Sticky Buns, and Crispy Crawly Blackberry Pudding (as it bakes, the batter "creeps" into the berry crevices). With drink recipes and photographs that introduce readers to the restaurant's "family," the book should become a favorite resource for simple yet sophisticated eating. --Arthur Boehm