Herb and Spice Cookbook: A Seasoning Celebration

The imaginative use of herbs and spices is one of the main tenets of ""New American Cooking,'' but these recipesranging from hors d'oeuvres to dessertsreflect more enthusiastic naivete than sound culinary judgment and experience. In the best dishescream of fresh vegetable soup with sorrel; Bibb lettuce with chervil lemon-cream dressingthe Londons (The Fish-Lovers' Cookbook, etc.) judiciously incorporate one or two complementary flavorings. But in many recipesfresh tomato soup with lovage, basil and dill; split peas with shallots, marjoram, tarragon and clovesthe ingredients fight (and sometimes annihilate) each other. The early chapters with tips on growing, harvesting and storing herbs and spices are helpful, but such information can be found in better detail in a variety of gardening and herbal books. Illustrations. (September 22)