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EAT THEIR WORDS EAT THEIR WORDS

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By BRITTANY CANASI

The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 18, 2008

"Hungry Girl," by Lisa Lillien (St. Martin's Griffin, $18)

Calorie counting is by far the easiest way to kill the fun in cooking. But Lillien and her "Hungry Girl" gurus came up with surprisingly (sometimes) tasty meals with nauseatingly upbeat names such as "Bestest Baked Apples" and "Weeeee ...Veggie Wheels!"

While some of the dinners are a bit questionable (an "oat-standing" veggie patty?), the breakfast section is pretty impressive. Yet, with its Pepto-pink pages and sometimes-overboard peppy attitude about dieting, I was left with nothing more than a craving for a steak with a side of extra calories.

"Fish Without a Doubt," by Rick Moonen and Roy Finamore (Houghton Mifflin, $35)

If ever there was a definitive book on fish, this could be it. Moonen and Finamore created both a handbook and cookbook all in one, giving the best tips on buying fish as well as delectable ways to cook them.

The book caters to both the fish rookie and the seasoned chef. It starts with a guide explaining everything from each species' taste to a step-by-step picture guide for filleting, then transitions to a trove of seafood recipes that would satisfy even the pickiest of palates. The sole stuffed with crab made my mouth water - and I wasn't even hungry.

"The Sneaky Chef: How to Cheat on Your Man (in the Kitchen)," by Missy Chase Lapine (Running Press, $20)

Does the man in your life resemble a pouting 5-year-old at the dinner table? Lapine's new book offers up solutions by showing how to hide nutritious ingredients. Even a Bloody Mary becomes better for you - with the help of a little hidden cauliflower.

While some of the recipes are pretty ingenious, others remind me of when my mom used to - unsuccessfully - sneak medicine into my apple juice. (Does spinach really hide well in French toast?) You won't find any gourmet recipes here, but you have to give props to Lapine for ever-so-sneakily introducing healthy foods to the finicky eater.

"Local Flavors," by Deborah Madison (Broadway Books, $26)

Madison travels to more than 100 farmers markets across the country, combining local ingredients and regional flair in appetizing and imaginative dishes.

Most of the recipes are vegetarian, but you don't need meat to make an amazing meal - just ask the braised root vegetables and lentils. Madison's writing is as colorful as the photographs, and by the end of the book, Madison had me Googling my nearest farmers market.

Brittany Canasi

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