Plank cooking is the simplest way to infuse food with a subtle aroma and flavor of smoke. 25 Essentials: Techniques for Planking is all you need to start.

The cooking technique simply called planking has already taken the Pacific Northwest by storm and has been getting a major foothold in high-end restaurants nationwide. However, unlike grilling and smoking, planking is an indirect grilling method which gives rise to unique difficulties.

You don't need a fancy rig, special equipment, or complicated directions to start planking. All you really need is a board and 25 Essentials: Techniques for Planking to ensure that your favorite meats are cooked to perfection and infused with just the right amount of smokey aroma and flavor.

With this easy-to-follow manual, you will learn to plank-roasting fish, poultry, pork, and much more. A few of the temping recipes you'll find here include:

• Griddle-Planked Brie with Amaretto-Peach Chutney and Cranberry Conserve
• Plank-Roasted Pears with Blue Cheese
• Cheese- and Herb-Stuffed Planked Portobello Mushrooms
• Garlic and Rosemary-Slathered Planked Pork Chops

Planking is the perfect new skill to bring to weekend trips to the cabin, the perfect piece of flair to impress at your next cookout, or simply create delicious, complex food to enjoy, and 25 Essentials: Techniques for Planking is the perfect primer.

Karen Adler is a food writer, culinary instructor, and publisher. As a culinary instructor, Adler specializes in outdoor cooking-fish, game, meat, and vegetables. She has taught at more than a dozen institutions and venues, including Viking Culinary Centers, A Southern Season in Chapel Hill, Central Market Cooking Schools in Texas, Cooks of Crocus Hill in Minneapolis/St. Paul, KitchenArt in West Lafayette, Indiana, and Copia in Napa, California. She has written for numerous publications including Q magazine, Backyard Living, Barbecue Today, Cooking Pleasures, and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. She has appeared on local and national television and radio. Adler has authored or co-authored more than 14 books with 9 titles specializing in barbecue.

Judith M. Fertig is a bestselling and award-winning cookbook author. She lives in Shawnee Mission, Kansas, where she develops recipes that celebrate the rich culinary traditions of the Heartland. A recognized authority on regional Midwestern cuisine and an experienced cookbook author and food writer, she has studied at the Cordon Bleu in London and La Varenne in Paris. Prairie Home Breads follows Fertig's definitive Prairie Home Cooking, a collection of recipes inspired by the abundant produce of the Midwestern states, including wild and heirloom fruits and vegetables, game, grains, and beef. The bestselling Prairie Home Cooking was a 1999 nominee for both the IACP Cookbook Award and the James Beard Book Award. Fertig is also the author of the award-winning Pure Prairie: Farm Fresh and Wildly Delicious Foods from the Prairie, as well as several books on barbeque with co-author Karen Adler.