THE CAF PONGO COOKBOOK: More than 230 Recipes from the Hudson Valley

Fans of the funky Café Pongo in Tivoli, N.Y.—named after Pongo the dog—will appreciate favorites available in this fun cookbook. Recipes are billed as regional, ranging from Mexican (Sopa Posole with Hominy and Roasted Tomatillos) to French (Potatoes au Gratin with Fresh Parsley, and Stilton) to fusion (Curried Crab Salpicon on Blue Corn Tortillas, from Nehez's eight years running a Santa Fe restaurant). Chicken and meat dishes are the real strengths in the entrée chapter, although vegetarian and seafood dishes are well represented. Salads like Beet and Shaved Fennel Salad with Clementine Vinaigrette or Spinach Salad with Grilled Red Onion Vinaigrette are highlights. A dessert section includes the eponymous Pongaroons and recipes for everything from Creepy Crawly Blackberry Pudding to two different biscotti and an easy, decadent Chocolate Espresso Torte. Recipes range in difficulty, and ingredients run the gamut: Poppy Seed Almond Hotcakes with Maple Cream is worth the effort, but why does it call for Bisquick when the rest of the recipe is from scratch? Conforming to restaurant cookbook–type, portions are vague or not always adjusted for home cooking. Yet Nehez's humorous narrative ("When I roll out pie dough, it comes out either round or looking like the outline of France or Texas") gives this book lots of character. (Sept.)