New cookbooks make holidays easier

Cookbooks that hit shelves at the holidays fulfill a double need: They provide ideas for the dining extravaganzas of the season, and they make handy gifts. So it is with two new books that arrived recently on my desk, both being sold to support good causes.

I’ve combed through them for Thanksgiving dinner ideas, and both delivered. Read on:

‘Hawaii Potters’ Guild Pot Luck Cookbook’

>> Benefits: Guild programs that introduce youths to the ceramic arts

>> Cost: $15, or $25 for the book plus a one-of-a-kind ceramic dish made by a guild member

>> Available: Cane Haul Road Craft Fair, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Kuhio Elementary School; or at the guild, 2480 Bingham St., 1 to 3 p.m. Dec. 3, 10 and 17 (the Saturdays before Christmas)

>> Call: 941-8108 or email hpg@hawaiipottersguild.org

This collection, from Hawaii Potters’ Guild members and a handful of local chefs, is more cosmopolitan than what you’ll find in most local cookbooks, and the design is more sophisticated and easier to use. Cute sketches by Esther Nowell brighten the chapter title pages — having artists among your numbers really makes for a slick end result.

Recipes lean toward the make-and-take variety, as you’d expect from the title, making the book a handy source of holiday ideas. I’ve marked a few I’d like to try: Guava Chicken, Roasted Cauliflower with Pasta and Mexicali Eggplant, just for starters.

This vegetable dish would fit in well on the Thanksgiving table and would offer an alternative to guests who are watching their carbs and can’t have the mashed potatoes.

Smashed Cauliflower

2 heads cauliflower, broken into florets

1 cup butter, divided

6 cloves garlic, minced

1-1/2 cups panko (Japanese bread crumbs)

12 crackers (such as Ritz), broken into pieces

Dash nutmeg

2 cups grated Parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper, to taste

Bring pot of salted water to boil. Add cauliflower and simmer until cooked through but slightly firm. Drain and rinse lightly. While still warm, place in large bowl with 1/2 cup of the butter and mash.

Melt 1/4 cup butter in skillet and sauté garlic lightly. Add to cauliflower.

In same skillet, melt remaining butter, add panko and stir until lightly toasted.

In a food processor combine crackers, nutmeg, cheese, salt, pepper and 1/2 cup of the toasted panko and pulse until crumbly. Fold into cauliflower mixture. Place in oven-safe dish. Top with remaining panko and keep warm in 250-degree oven until serving time. Serves 8.

Approximate nutritional analysis, per serving (not including salt to taste): 450 calories, 31 g fat, 18 g saturated fat, 80 mg cholesterol, 670 mg sodium, 32 g carbohydrate, 4 g fiber, 5 g sugar, 13 g protein

‘Flavors From a Plantation Town’

>> Benefits: Friends of Waipahu Library

>> Cost: $10

>> Available: 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesdays through Christmas at the library, 94-275 Mokuola St.

>> Mail order: Email friendsofwaipahulib@gmail.com or call 675-0358 for an order form, or get one at the library. Shipping is $5 for up to two books, $11 for three to 10. Pickup at the library can be arranged to save postage.

>> Note: Don’t try to buy from a librarian; only Friends of the Library staff can make sales

If you’ve ever lived in Waipahu, you want this cookbook. Not only do you get tons of recipes for local favorites, but also photographs of old Waipahu and a miniature history of the town. It was obviously compiled by people who love this place.

It also has something you don’t often find in community cookbooks: an excellent index. Recipes are listed by ethnic origin, type and key ingredient, making finding a new recipe very easy.

I always advocate something fresh and colorful for the Thanksgiving menu, which tends to lean toward warm, soft things in shades of brown. This salad is bright with green, orange, purple and red tones, and the coleslaw dressing is lightened by using yogurt in place of a lot of the mayonnaise. You could go all the way with the yogurt and make this a pretty healthful side dish.

Calico Coleslaw

2 cups EACH shredded red cabbage, won bok and fennel

2 cups EACH grated carrots and minced celery

1/2 cup EACH sliced red onions and dried cranberries

1 green bell pepper, thinly sliced

>> Dressing:

1 cup plain yogurt

1/2 cup mayonnaise

3 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons EACH sour cream and mustard

1 tablespoon EACH lemon juice and pepper

2 teaspoons salt

Toss salad ingredients; cover and chill 2 to 3 hours.

Combine dressing ingredients. Pour over chilled vegetables and toss. Serves 12.

Approximate nutritional analysis, per serving (not including salt to taste): 150 calories, 9 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 5 mg cholesterol, 500 mg sodium, 17 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 12 g sugar, 2 g protein

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Nutritional analysis by Joannie Dobbs, Ph.D., C.N.S. Write Betty Shimabukuro at “By Request,” Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, Honolulu 96813. Email bshimabukuro@staradvertiser.com.