Joanne Weir's More Cooking in the Wine Country: 100 New Recipes for Living and Entertaining

In this companion volume to her first wine-country cuisine book, Weir Cooking: Recipes from the Wine Country, Weir, a San Francisco chef who hosts a PBS cooking show, invites readers to sample the flavors of northern California through Mediterranean cooking. Weir's recipes are lusty and unpretentious, emphasizing fresh, seasonal ingredients, and her lucid writing makes seamlessly accessible the few that are more complex. With relaxed, reassuring confidence, Weir guides the reader through such challenges as making ""the perfect risotto"" and peeling fava beans, and she pays special attention to the blending of sweet, salty, sour and bitter and the result is magical. Endive with Gorgonzola, Caramelized Onions and Fig Jam; Heirloom Tomato Bisque; Hazelnut-crusted Salmon with Fennel Salad; and Summer Bread Pudding with Berries are luscious, startling in their contrasts. Weir's wine recommendations for each dish Shiraz with risotto, pinot noir with Turkish Pizza are as well considered as the recipes themselves: ""We must make small celebrations of whatever catches our fancy."" For those who love to live and eat well, Mediterranean or Californian-style, this book is reason enough to celebrate. Agent, Doe Coover. (Apr. 18) Forecast: Weir releases this delightful, artistic and accessible cookbook in anticipation of the April 26 airing of Weir Cooking in the Wine Country II on PBS. The mediagenic Weir is fast becoming a household name, particularly because her style is both instructive and inspiring; like her first volume, this companion work should be a popular seller.