Amazon.com (ISBN 0563364769, Hardcover)

Delia Smith is a British phenomenon. Offering confidence-inspiring cooking instruction on TV and in print--more than 11 million copies of her books have sold--she's a U.K. culinary superstar known to cause national product shortages when she plugs ingredients. Delia Smith's Summer Collection, the American edition of her British bestseller, offers more than 120 easy recipes plus menus for a wide range of hot-weather dishes. It also includes innovative suggestions for grilling, meat and vegetarian barbecue strategies, and a selection of formulas for fruit preserves, among other light-handed instruction. Smith's friendly, in-the-trenches-with-you volubility and her evident food savvy should make the book a happy addition to U.S. cookbook libraries.

Recognizing the trepidation with which Americans may approach British recipes, Smith asserts the fine taste of her formulas and her intention to proceed "with lively optimism." She needn't have worried. Recipes such as Roasted Tomato Soup with a Purée of Basil, Barbecued Sardines with Summer Herb Sauce, and Angel Hair Pasta with Thai Spiced Shrimp make for happy dining here. Especially noteworthy sweets include Summer Fruit Millefeuille, Lemon Meringue Ice Cream, and Compote of Fresh Figs in Muscat Wine with Vanilla Custard. Though Smith offers some "returned-to-you" American recipes that can't be said to advance the culinary argument, even these are well conceived, and who would reject her hot fudge sundae, blueberry and pecan muffins, or half-pounders (more than a quarter-pound improvement on our burger specialty). With 50 color photos of the food in all its glory, this large-format book is as easy to welcome as its popular author. --Arthur Boehm