Long Island Books: A Double-Review

"Sicilian Vegetarian Cooking"

John Penza

Illustrated by

Miriam Dougenis.

Ten Speed Press, $16.95

Vegetarian cooking has always had two big advantages - healthfulness and economy - but there was a time when the cookbooks that extolled vegetarian virtues were as boring as they were earnest.

Strong on nutburgers and root vegetables, they might just as well have suggested eating one's Birkenstocks.

Not anymore. As more of us are eating lighter, so the cookbooks launched to entice us are lighter and brighter and livelier, too. Among them is John Penza's new book, "Sicilian Vegetarian Cooking."

Little Butter, No Milk

Following upon the well-received "Sicilian American Pasta," Mr. Penza, who lives in Bridgehampton and is more widely known as the novelist John Okas, has turned his hand to lighter and more healthful recipes with a Sicilian snap.

There is little butter and no milk in the recipes, which cover soups, appetizers, pasta, pizza, salads, rice, polenta, and egg dishes, plus a few desserts.

There are new variations on old favorites, such as a lentil soup that uses porcini mushrooms instead of bacon or sausage for a meaty flavor, and tempting new ideas, such as a hearty escarole soup with cheese ravioli or a soup made with portobello mushrooms and polenta.

Surprises

While the recipes for pizza don't have many surprises, there are plenty of others that do.

What about penne in a spicy tomato and Grand Marnier sauce or grilled polenta squares with a topping of white beans, arugula, and mozzarella, or an invigorating fennel, orange, and mozzarella salad?

Then there are rather more demanding recipes, such as a rice pie that calls for rice with eggs, pecorino, provolone, and ground almonds baked with a covering of fried eggplant in a hot onion, garlic, and tomato sauce.

Sounds good.

Drawings To Drool By

The book also supplies instructions for essential stuff you will need along the way - mayonnaise, a good vegetable stock, basic tomato sauce, pizza dough - so the beginner won't have to resort to other cookbooks.

But what makes this book irresistible, as those who bought Mr. Penza's earlier book will agree, are the illustrations by Miriam Dougenis of Sag Harbor.

Fat purple aubergines, fiery squash blossoms, butter-colored corn, tablecloths striped in Mediterranean blue, and the kind of ripe red tomatoes we fantasize about all winter long - Ms. Dougenis can paint food that makes you drool, makes you want to start cooking at once, and certainly makes you anxious to shell out a reasonable $16.95 at the cash register.

"Pancakes A to Z"

Marie Simmons

Houghton Mifflin, $15

As Marie Simmons notes in her introduction to "Pancakes A to Z," the batter-based food, also known as flapjacks, hotcakes, and griddlecakes conjures up memories of fire department-sponsored breakfasts all over small-town America, which would include the many hosted over the years right here.

What better food to honor with a little cookbook of its own?

Try to think of a kind of pancake for every letter of the alphabet. You're probably hard-pressed (if not, maybe you should be writing your own cookbook). But Ms. Simmons, a part-time resident of Sag Harbor, has managed to, with a creativity that reminds us that pancakes are not just that breakfast staple topped with maple syrup.

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Through Ms. Simmons's interpretations, pancakes can be served for breakfast, yes, but also as appetizers, a light lunch, even dinner, and dessert.

And, all-American though they may be, they in fact draw from culinary traditions around the world, "from the crisp lentil patties of southern India to the buckwheat blini of Russia and delicate crˆpes of France."

How about starting a chilly winter day with a helping of banana sour cream pancakes with cinnamon maple syrup? Or savory little corn pancakes topped with a dollop of sour cream and crowned with black caviar served at your New Year's party?

Mashed-Potato Pancakes?

An egg pancake paired with greens and curls of Parmesan as a light lunch treat? Mashed-potato pancakes jazzed up with shredded cheese, mustard, and scallion to accompany your grilled meats for dinner?

Cocoa pancake-ettes with Susan's fudge sauce, a chocolatey choice clearly for dessert?

A few simple tips for the perfect pancake - for example, stir, don't beat, the batter - round out this concise little book. It is the third in an "A to Z" series by Ms. Simmons: Bar cookies and muffins have already been done, and word is a book on puddings is in the mixer.