New cookbooks promise meals in short order

By J.M. HIRSCH
ASSOCIATED PRESS
When it comes to getting dinner on the table, speed isn't enough. Americans have come to demand gourmet style and flavors from cookbooks that promise fast and easy meals. How does the latest crop hold up?
"Hands-off Cooking" by Ann Martin Rolke (Wiley, 2007, 17.95)
The gist here is that the best fast meals are those that need not be tended to. And so while Rolke's recipes aren't fast by the Rachael Ray 30-minute-standard (the caramelized-onion brisket takes almost seven hours), they are designed to require little hands-on time.
Which is why rather than total start-to-finish times, Rolke offers what she calls hands-off time with each recipe. This does leave prep time a mystery, but she believes it's better to know how long you won't spend at the stove while the recipe cooks.
The book's overall design is utilitarian, but there is nothing visually appealing about the book. The recipes are a mix of ethnic and American comfort (from chickpea-potato curry to Texas chili meatloaf) and are easy to follow.
Rolke's orange marmalade chicken was delicious. Chicken breasts are marinated in a blend of marmalade, soy sauce, garlic and lime juice. However, following her instruction to broil them for 20 minutes left them scorched. Twelve minutes was fine.
"Quick Fix Meals" by Robin Miller (Taunton Press, 2007, 18.95)
Miller's strength is inventiveness. Rather than the usual starters-entrees-sides-dessert format, her book is organized around approaches she designed to speed or ease dinner efforts. For example, the second chapter: In The Bag.
While the recipes in this chapter can be followed start to finish, they are intended to create partially cooked meals that are stored for later. Such as the seafood pomodoro with linguini, in which the sauce and pasta are cooked, then frozen for later use with seafood.
This is do-ahead cooking for the rest of us (that is, those who roll their eyes at the once-a-month cooking trend).
The third chapter is equally handy -- Morph It. Here Miller (who also is host of Food Network's show by the same title as her book) offers one main recipe, then several others with which to use up the leftovers of the first.
However, thinking outside the recipe box isn't always enough. Testing of Miller's penne with ham, green peas and oregano found it flat, lacking flavor and desperately in need of cheese (grated Parmesan worked well). Balsamic roasted asparagus took twice as long to cook as her recipe recommended.
Miller's recipes shouldn't be followed blindly, but her methods are reasonable and many people will find them helpful.
"No Fuss Dinners" by Caroline Marson (Ryland Peters & amp; Small, 2006, 24.95)
Simple and sensual. This is food that is easy to pull together and looks and tastes good enough to serve company. As in, blackened salmon salad, Spanish sausage and butter bean tagine, and Mediterranean chunky fish stew with cheese toasts.
Especially nice is the chapter on no-cook deli dinners. Though the title is misleading (some recipes involve cooking, but it is minor, such as boiling pasta or baking pizza), this chapter helps you make the most of all those luscious prepared items at the deli.
For example, making pizza from prepared crusts topped with oil-packed canned tuna, marinated artichoke hearts, roasted bell peppers, thinly sliced red onion and buffalo mozzarella cheese.
There also is a short section on how to make and use sauces and dressings to liven up a meal. Included are various pestos, flavored butters (including a delicious anchovy and caper version), and marinades and spice rubs.
The quick Thai chicken curry was simple to assemble and utterly delicious. Those with a sensitive palate will want to ease up on the Thai green curry paste.
"Food Made Fast: Weeknight" from Williams-Sonoma (Oxmoor House, 2006, 17.95)
Williams-Sonoma (along with recipe developer Melanie Barnard) offer attractive and simple dishes organized into three chapters -- 20-minute meals, 30-minute meals and the so-called "make more to store."
The book is stylish and the recipes are simple and appealing (five-spice scallops with noodles, farfalle with salsa cruda and balsamic chicken and peppers among them). But vegetarians will find few options that contain neither meat nor seafood.
A section at the back of the book on shopping and pantry tips for making weeknight cooking easier is nice. Beyond just helpful, the list of pantry staples is reasonable. Too many similar lists in other books call for ingredients most home cooks won't use frequently.
The spring vegetable risotto, which features zucchini, peas and fresh mint, was great. Creamy and savory, yet still light enough to merit the "spring" in the title. Chopped thin asparagus would be an easy substitute for the zucchini.
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