From Booklist
High-spirited, egalitarian, and eclectic describe aspects of the California Pizza Kitchen style. In addition to the melange of distinctive ingredients one finds on this restaurant chain's pizza menus, other appealing victuals are featured. The newest effort by restaurateurs Flax and Rosenfield presents adventurous ways of preparing popular ethnic foods, such as spring rolls that meld teriyaki chicken with tortillas and Thai satay sauce. Spaghetti is transformed by a dousing of Kung Pao sauce for a spicy twist on an Italian theme. Creative appetizers, pastas, salads, soups, and sandwiches are accompanied by a handful of delectable desserts. Employees of the restaurant chain contribute commentary here and there to enhance this, the California Pizza Kitchen's second cookbook. Alice Joyce


Book Description
At California Pizza Kitchen restaurants across the country, many of the favorite dishes (and most-requested recipes) are not the pizzas! Customers keep coming back for the boldly flavored pastas, soups, salads, and side dishes. The follow-up to the bestselling California Pizza Kitchen Cookbook, this new cookbook serves CPK customers just what they ordered -- secret restaurant recipes, never available before. With gorgeous color photographs of the finished dishes throughout the book, CPK fans will be tempted by recipes for Oriental Chicken Salad, Spinach Artichoke Dip, and Kung Pao Spaghetti, to name just a few.The new cookbook will include stories and anecdotes from CPK employees from around the country about favorite recipes, customers, and more. In the generous spirit they're best known for, CPK owners Larry Flax and Rick Rosenfield will donate all royalties and proceeds from sales of the book in the restaurants to children's charities.Just like the first CPK cookbook, expect Pasta, Salads, Soups, and Sides to be one of the hottest cookbooks of the year. The CPK chain of restaurants is bigger than ever, and thi5 new hook will be published in the cool California style that has made the first book and the restaurants themselves so popular.


About the Author
Larry Flax and Rick Rosenfield, co-founders of California Pizza Kitchen, were friends and law partners before they opened the first CPK in Beverly Hills in 1985. The chain now includes more than eighty-five restaurants nationwide.


Excerpted from California Pizza Kitchen : Pasta, Salads, Soups, and Sides by Larry Flax, Rick Rosenfield, California Pizza Kitchen. Copyright © 1999. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved
Grilled Sausage and Pepper PenneMakes 4 to 6 servingsCPK employees consistently rate this among their top-three personal favorites. Just like our Chicken Sausage and Pepper Sandwich, it captures the abondanza of Italian trattoria food. With the wide variety of fresh sausages available today, you can produce many different versions of this recipe. But we still prefer it with old-fashioned Italian-style sausages seasoned with sweet-tasting fennel seeds and spicy flecks of crushed red chili pepper.About 3 cups Marinara Sauce 8 fresh sweet-and-spicy italian sausage links, about 6 ounces each 1 pound dry penne 1/4 cup olive oil3/4 medium white onion, thinly sliced3/4 medium yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced3/4 medium red bell pepper, thinly sliced2teaspoons salt1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese1. Preheat a stovetop grill or the broiler. Grill or broil the sausages until cooked through and nicely browned, about 12 minutes. Let them cool for a few minutes, then place in a covered container and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, at least 1 hour. With a sharp knife, cut each link at a 45-degree angle into 1/4-inch-thick elliptical slices. Set aside in the refrigerator.2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a rapid boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente, 8 to 9 minutes.3. While the pasta is cooking, heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion and peppers and cook, stirring occasionally, just until the vegetables become limp, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the sausage slices and cook, stirring, about 1 minute more. Stir in the Marinara Sauce, salt, and pepper and bring the sauce to a simmer. When it begins to simmer, sprinkle and stir in the Parmesan cheese.4. Drain the pasta thoroughly and immediately toss it with the sauce in a large mixing or serving bowl. Serve family-style or transfer to individual serving bowls, evenly distributing the sausage and vegetables.Roasted Garlic PasteMakes about 1/2 cupRoasted gently in the oven, garlic caramelizes, developing a rich, sweet flavor a world apart from its more familiar, pungent personality. This paste, which flavors several of our most popular pasta dishes, is easy to make. It keeps well in the refrigerator for several days, stored in an airtight container with its surface smoothed flat and completely covered with a film of olive oil.2/3 cup coarsely chopped fresh garlic 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil 2 to 4 tablespoons cold water1. Preheat the oven to 325 F.2. In a mixing bowl, toss the garlic pieces with the olive oil to coat evenly. Spread the garlic pieces evenly on the bottom of a small baking pan and roast until their edges begin to brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove the pan, and with a spoon or spatula, scrape up and turn the garlic; then return the pan to the oven and roast until the garlic is uniformly golden brown, about 15 minutes more. Set aside to cool completely.3. Put the roasted garlic pieces and 2 tablespoons of the water in a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Process, scraping the bowl down occasionally, until the garlic is pureed to a paste with the consistency of smooth peanut butter. If necessary, add the remaining water. Transfer to a bowl, cover, and refrigerate until ready to use.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

At California Pizza Kitchen restaurants across the country, many of the favorite dishes (and most-requested recipes) are not the pizzas! Customers keep coming back for the boldly flavored pastas, soups, salads, and side dishes. The follow-up to the bestselling California Pizza Kitchen Cookbook, this new cookbook serves CPK customers just what they ordered — secret restaurant recipes, never available before. With gorgeous color photographs of the finished dishes throughout the book, CPK fans will be tempted by recipes for Oriental Chicken Salad, Spinach Artichoke Dip, and Kung Pao Spaghetti, to name just a few.

The new cookbook will include stories and anecdotes from CPK employees from around the country about favorite recipes, customers, and more. In the generous spirit they're best known for, CPK owners Larry Flax and Rick Rosenfield will donate all royalties and proceeds from sales of the book in the restaurants to children's charities.

Just like the first CPK cookbook, expect Pasta, Salads, Soups, and Sides to be one of the hottest cookbooks of the year. The CPK chain of restaurants is bigger than ever, and thi5 new hook will be published in the cool California style that has made the first book and the restaurants themselves so popular.