A Holiday Library for Cooks

Our selection of the most interesting new cookbooks

“The Tra Vigne Cookbook: Seasons in the California Wine Country” by Michael Chiarello (Chronicle Books, $35).

Not only is this book divided into seasonal cooking sections, it is then divided again. Each section has four foods typical of the season--for example, autumn’s mushrooms, greens, onions and eggplants--and then four to seven recipes for each food. The recipes, while somewhat “cheffy,” at times containing several sub-recipes, are for the most part simple ones meant to take advantage of the best of each season’s harvest. There’s a roasted winter squash with sage and molasses, lemon-braised artichokes and soft polenta with pancetta and broccoli rabe.

Chiarello offers chef’s notes on virtually every recipe, which provide tips on cooking and serving each dish. The book also has a section on the restaurant’s classic dishes, most of which are no more complicated than the main section of the book.