Memorial Day weekend is right around the corner and hot days are near. For many people this means firing up the grill.  Interested in shaking up your grill routine?  The library has loads of cookbooks with many new ideas -- for both meat eaters and vegetarians.

The Ultimate Ice Cream Book by Bruce Weinstein delivers over 500 recipes covering many different types of ice creams, sorbets and granitas.  He also gives ideas for recipe variations and toppings.  Pictures aren't included, but this serves as a fairly straight forward reference and would be great for beginners. 

Emily Luchetts gives us A Passion for Ice Cream and goes beyond basic ice cream recipes and instead focuses on inspired ideas for a complete dessert -- and is filled with glorious photos.  Ideas include Walnut Cookie and Caramel Ice Cream Sandwiches, Mini Meringue Baskets Filled with Pomegranate Sorbet, Frozen Key Lime Pie, and S'mores Ice Cream Cake with Cappuccino-chocolate Chip Ice Cream. 

Maybe traditional ice cream isn't your thing.  No problem!  Check out Paletas: Authentic Recipes for Mexican Ice Pops, Shaved Ice & Aguas Frescas by Fany Gerson. Paletas, or ice pops, come in two varieties: paletas de agua (water based) or paletas de leche (milk based) and all can include a wide and interesting mix of fruit and spices. I love the idea of Spicy Mango Ice or maybe a Cucumber-lime Cooler on a hot day.

Stay cool and have an excellent weekend!