Grill Italian: 100 Classic Recipes Alla Griglia

The author of Cucina Paradiso offers some valuable general information about grills (charcoal or gas) and grilling tools (wood chips and other flavor enhancers) in addition to inventively flavored dishes like Grilled Pork Chops with Juniper and Fennel Marinade. Wright makes even simple dishes interesting. Lombard-Style Mixed Grill turns out to be more than the sum of its parts: several different cuts of meat and sausage are grilled on skewers with polenta and sage leaves, then served with a creamy horseradish sauce on the side. Although the collection leans towards the red-meat side, there is also a poultry chapter (Grilled Turkey Steaks with Pomegranate Sauce), one on fish (Grilled Tuna with a Parsley-Mint Coating from Sicily) and another skimpy one on vegetables (Grilled Eggplant Roll-Ups filled with a bread-crumb stuffing). Lengthy boxes on topics like ""How to Roast a Pig"" are interesting, but the brief hints (e.g., don't move food around on the grill; cooking times will vary) dotting the pages tend to be repetitive and obvious. (Apr.)