Forever Summer (Style Network's)

From Publishers Weekly Setting the warm, relaxed tone befitting the season, U.K. food goddess Lawson (Nigella Bites) presents her newest volume as an ode to summer, to freshness, and, in gray weather, to a time to "conjure up the sun, some light, a lazy feeling of having all the wide-skied time in the world to sit back and eat warmly with friends." Befitting a book of simply prepared summer dishes, Lawson takes her inspiration from such warm climes as southern Europe, the Middle East and southeast Asia. For starters, Lawson offers Grilled Eggplant with Feta, Mint and Chilli, where the ingredients are rolled inside the thinly sliced eggplant, and then moves on to Flatbread Pizzas, whose dough is made with za'atar, a mixture of thyme, sumac and sesame. Her pastas and salads are innovative and wonderfully fresh, such as Linguine with Chilli, Crab and Watercress; Watermelon, Feta and Black Olive Salad; or Shrimp and Black Rice Salad with Vietnamese Dressing. Main courses include Keralan Fish Curry with Lemon Rice, as well as Porchetta, which is chopped pork shoulder cooked with fennel, garlic and rosemary and sandwiched within a ciabatta roll. Winding down the meal, Lawson serves such cooling fare as Figs for a Thousand and One Nights, which are broiled and then pulled open until they look like "young birds squawking to be fed worms by their mommy" before they are drizzled with rose water, orange water and sugar. As viewers of her shows will notice, the book's photos-of both Nigella and the food-are just as cool and luscious as the recipes themselves. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. "Brings to life the sensual aspects of cooking, helping you understand the pleasure of the journey." -- New York Times "Nigella Lawson has done more than anyone recently to revive the art of cooking for the sheer fun of it." -- Bon Appetit "Nigella is an icon." -- Gourmet "Vivid and fresh." -- People Nigella Lawson 's Forever Summer begins airing on the Style Network in April. She has a regular column in the New York Times Dining In section, which is distributed nationally. In 2002, she was awarded "Tastemaker of the Year" at Bon Appetit 's 5th Annual American Food & Entertaining Awards. She lives in London. Read more