The top tier of my never-ending stack of cookbooks, right now:

• Oaxaca al Gusto:  An Infinite Gastronomy by Diana Kennedy.  Ten years in the making, Kennedy documents the niches and specialities of Oaxaca, the geographically diverse Mexican state.  Filled with intriguing, intensely local ingredients and techniques, it’s not the sort of book to inspire weeknight suppers.  It will enlighten and inspire, and it made me wonder about the persistence of pre-Columbian foodways in Mexico.  (Which eventually will lead to more books, I’m sure.)
• Asian Dumplings by Andrea Nguyen.  If you read this blog, you know I’m an Andrea Nguyen fan….her previous book, Into the Vietnamese Kitchen, is an excellent introduction to the country’s foodways as practiced by Vietnamese-Americans.  Asian Dumplings, published by Ten Speed Press, is well-designed, logically organized, and bursting with easy-to-follow recipes.  The book covers sweet and savory filled doughs from gyoza and char sio bao to Thai curry puffs, Filipino turon banana rolls and tapioca dumplings.  Typically, I purchase pre-made wonton skins….this book has inspired me to tackle the homemade version.

I’m also looking at Robb Walsh’s The Texas Cowboy Cookbook, and his  Tex-Mex Grill and Barbacoa Cookbook, and Francis Mallmann’s Seven Fires.  Since the weather’s turned cool at last, the last three are providing much-needed inspiration to fire up my Big Green Egg after a long, hot-weather hiatus.