Just when it seems that Rachel Ray and Giada DeLaurentis have cuted up cooking beyond return, there are, thankfully, some others pulling it back from the perky oblivion. Not that there's anything wrong with being perky. It's just that there's something so "All-American baby-sitter" about both of them, that I can't take them seriously past the gourmet peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. When Ray starts in about EVOO (extra-virgin olive oil) my eye starts to twitch. And Giada, with the soft-focus cover photo, hey wait a minute, there's no food anywhere to be seen... oh, okay, the asparagus is covered up by her name.

Following my comment about pb&j sandwiches and the tendency in both divas of tele-cooking towards cooking in the italian vernacular, my thoughts lean to a book that came out last summer called Simple Italian Sandwiches: Recipes from America's Favorite Panini Bar. The cover photo shows a delicious looking panini being pulled apart with the mozzarella replete with bits of basil and tomato stretching languidly between the two grilled sides. Whew. On the inside it covers some fairly amazing combinations, all of which give the grilled cheese a run for its money. Although, I suppose not everyone has a panini grill or even a panini-fied George Forman grill. I certainly don't, so I just have to make these sandwiches with a heavy hand and a spatula without the aesthetically pleasing grill marks.

Another niche cookbook I've been particularly fond of lately is Arabesque by Claudia Roden who is well known for her cookbooks of the Mediterranean region. These books are always steeped in the history and culture of the particular region she is focused on, informing every bite with the layers of narrative and flavor. Roden focuses on the three very different culinary traditions of Morocco, Turkey, and Lebanon. Tagines, kebabs, and mezze that reflect the ancient menus of these countries are represented and updated to reflect more current influences. This is not only a wonderful cookbook, it is also I book I've sat down on the couch with and read. Claudia Roden is every bit as much a cultural historian as she is a cook.

Now going a totally different direction, I've been meaning to talk about a book that caught my attention some time ago largely because I used to work with a whole gaggle of vegans, but also because DC's premier vegan bakery Sticky Fingers has moved into my neighborhood and so my interest in the quality of vegan bakery has increased significantly. Yes, I'm talking about Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. Darling of the vegan foodie world Isa Chandra Moskowitz has returned with a book that gives vegans a spot in the food fad that is cupcakes. She's been featured in the New York Times and the Washington Post talking about veganism in general and cupcakes in particular. Of course she also has her own public access cooking show called Post-Punk Kitchen, which can also be viewed at http://www.theppk.com/, dedicated to pretty much whatever she feels like cooking. I haven't yet baked anything from the book, I'll admit, but I have heard some very positive reviews from some very discerning bakers. I do have a list of which ones I am going to make, starting with the Carrot Cake Cupcakes and the Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with Cinnamon Icing.

Thanks for entertaining my all over the map indulgence in cookery this week. All the deep-freeze weather kept me inside and a close friend of my kitchen. But now with spring in the air and ice mounds melting at a rapid rate I guess it's out of the kitchen and back into the world. Unless it drops back down to freezing tomorrow.