Steering us toward summer
Linda Greenlaw's second collection of recipes, The Maine Summers Cookbook (Viking Studio; $30), is full of drinks, snacks, and meals "for delicious, sun-filled days" - refreshing cocktails and spritzers, dips and salads, and grilled main dishes, many of which feature fresh fish. It's a bit of a tease, this time of year, the way the book (co-written with Greenlaw's mother, Martha) calls to mind languid, warmer days spent on porches or down by the dock...We can practically taste the avocado and radish salad, an inspiration from Linda's friend Carol Reynolds, relished alongside a juicy burger or simple lobster roll. The blackened swordfish with blueberry chutney, which honors not only classic Maine ingredients but also Linda's background as a swordfish boat captain, would make the perfect entrée at a family reunion up to camp. Gift this book now to the folks with whom you most enjoy spending those lazy, long days of summer, and spend the next few months planning your Memorial Day cookout.
