The Cafe Pongo Cookbook: More Than 220 Recipes from the Hudson Valley [Hardcover]

Valerie Nehez (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 28, 2001

North of the hustle and bustle of New York City lies an oasis of small-town America, the quiet Hudson River Valley hamlet of Tivoli. Virtually abandoned after its boom years at the beginning of the twentieth century, when steamships carried workers across the river to factories in Saugerties, this "no stoplight" town has gone through a renaissance along its main thoroughfare, and visitors find themselves relaxing and eating great food inside the welcoming doors of funky, casual Cafe Pongo.

"The Cafe Pongo Cookbook" captures the relaxed style and sophisticated cuisine of the restaurant with more than 220 recipes adapted for the home cook, including Poppy Seed Almond Hot Cakes with Maple Cream and Almonds, Beet and Shaved Fennel Salad with Clementine Vinaigrette, Shrimp and Hominy Cakes with Cilantro Creme Fraiche, Pan-Seared Penne and Greens with Feta and Pine Nuts, Barbecued Lemon Chicken with Crushed Cumin and Coriander Seeds, Steak with Caramelized Onions and Merlot Reduction, and Bread Pudding with Golden Raisins and Apricot Glaze.

In her warm and inviting voice, Valerie Nehez, the original chef/owner of Cafe Pongo, recounts her memories and brings her culinary know-how to each dish, making you feel almost as comfortable re-creating the recipes as you would be relaxing in a wooden chair inside the restaurant.

With over 25 black-and-white photographs throughout, "The Cafe Pongo Cookbook" will make you feel nostalgic for the restaurant and the Hudson Valley, whether you've been there before or only visited vicariously through this book.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Seven-year-old Café Pongo has made Tivoli, New York, a culinary destination. Located in the fertile Hudson Valley, the restaurant offers American fare with an international twist: food enjoyed equally by a loyal local clientele and visitors from all parts. The Café Pongo Cookbook, the work of Valerie Nehez, the restaurant's founder, captures the food and flavor of the restaurant (named after her beloved dog) in over 200 approachable recipes and many diverting anecdotes. Readers seeking formulas for countrified fare that also packs a flavor punch should welcome the book.

The chapters reflect the restaurant's morning-to-night menu: an opening section on breakfast specialties includes such winners as Poached Eggs with Zucchini Fritters and Roasted Red Pepper Coulis, and Fresh Cranberry Pancakes with Caramelized Pineapple and Ginger Compote. Other chapters--which include recipes for soups, salads, sandwiches, entrees, starters, and sides--offer such treats as Spicy African Soup with Yams and Shrimp and Hominy Cakes with Cilantro Crème Fraîche. A special section of dishes for non-meat eaters makes the book universally useful, while all will enjoy baked goods and desserts like Chocolate Espresso Torte, Maple Brioche Sticky Buns, and Crispy Crawly Blackberry Pudding (as it bakes, the batter "creeps" into the berry crevices). With drink recipes and photographs that introduce readers to the restaurant's "family," the book should become a favorite resource for simple yet sophisticated eating. --Arthur Boehm

From Publishers Weekly

Fans of the funky Caf‚ Pongo in Tivoli, N.Y. named after Pongo the dog will appreciate favorites available in this fun cookbook. Recipes are billed as regional, ranging from Mexican (Sopa Posole with Hominy and Roasted Tomatillos) to French (Potatoes au Gratin with Fresh Parsley, and Stilton) to fusion (Curried Crab Salpicon on Blue Corn Tortillas, from Nehez's eight years running a Santa Fe restaurant). Chicken and meat dishes are the real strengths in the entr‚e chapter, although vegetarian and seafood dishes are well represented. Salads like Beet and Shaved Fennel Salad with Clementine Vinaigrette or Spinach Salad with Grilled Red Onion Vinaigrette are highlights. A dessert section includes the eponymous Pongaroons and recipes for everything from Creepy Crawly Blackberry Pudding to two different biscotti and an easy, decadent Chocolate Espresso Torte. Recipes range in difficulty, and ingredients run the gamut: Poppy Seed Almond Hotcakes with Maple Cream is worth the effort, but why does it call for Bisquick when the rest of the recipe is from scratch? Conforming to restaurant cookbook-type, portions are vague or not always adjusted for home cooking. Yet Nehez's humorous narrative ("When I roll out pie dough, it comes out either round or looking like the outline of France or Texas") gives this book lots of character.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster; First edition. edition (August 28, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684871378
• ISBN-13: 978-0684871370
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 7.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #937,926 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful resource, January 3, 2002

By 

S. S. Sharma (Philadelphia, PA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Cafe Pongo Cookbook: More Than 220 Recipes from the Hudson Valley (Hardcover)

I thought The Cafe Pongo Cookbook was extremely well written and very informative. The author's style and the book's layout made the recipes come alive. I could almost taste the various dishes as I read and couldn't wait to get into the kitchen to try them myself. I found that the directions were very easy to follow and the dishes turned out to be every bit as good as they sounded. I highly recommend this book for anybody who lives to try something just a little bit different from the 'run of the mill'. I even gave an entire dinner part based on the recipes in the book and it was a huge success! Give this book a try, I can guarantee you wont be disappointed!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Reads Like a Letter to a Friend, December 21, 2001

By 

GERALDINE BRODSKY (RHINEBECK, NEW YORK United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Cafe Pongo Cookbook: More Than 220 Recipes from the Hudson Valley (Hardcover)

Delightful cookbook with personal notes from the author which gives the feeling of shared treasures. The recipes are the product of a very inventive chef with an eclectic approach and an obvious passion for food. Also interesting were the comments about the sleepy Hudson Valley Village of Tivoli and the renaissance created in that town by the author and her former partner when they opened the doors to Santa Fe, her first restaurant.

5.0 out of 5 stars Unexpected turn into the culinary world, April 11, 2011

By 

K. Sedota (Dallas, TX) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Cafe Pongo Cookbook: More Than 220 Recipes from the Hudson Valley (Hardcover)

Of all the books I've read this one has had the most profound effect on me. It doesn't rate in my top 3 but this book more than any other launched me into a world that I've stuck with. I was never one for cook books. I had a few but mostly these were special purpose books like how to cook game. I was on a low fat kick at one time and I started looking for ways to liven up dinners. While browsing the cookbook section for some unknown reason I was drawn to this one. I still don't know why. It is by comparison a small book, unremarable in it's design, and unassuming in its intent. The recipes proved to be approchable, interesting, and tasty and ever since then I've been on a food book buying binge. Although I have over 300 books in my modest library this first book has remained a go to source for inspiration when other, newer works have been relegated to 'secondary storage'. If you can find it I am sure you will enjoy it.