This pleasant, if slight, cookbook from the Scotto family (Fresco), proprietors of New York's popular Fresco by Scotto eatery, serves best as a souvenir of the restaurant with recipes drawn from the Scottos' satisfying repertoire and numerous headnotes/anecdotes recalling the fare they have served celebrities ranging from Bill Gates to Monica Lewinsky. Many dishes are old friends from Italian cuisine: Panzanella Salad, Penne with Fresh Tomato Sauce and Chicken Cacciatore. Even more are simplicity itself: Pasta Salad with Cannellini Beans and Arugula, Sicilian Couscous and Grilled Asparagus. Directions are concise, assuming that the reader knows how, for example, to clean an artichoke or create chocolate curls to garnish a cake. Some of the more extravagant restaurant recipes include Black Winter Truffle and Red Beet Ravioli and the sublime and nearly effortless Mashed Potatoes with Sevruga Caviar. Desserts include a Bill Clinton favorite: Praline Cookies, transformed into sandwiches with a scoop of cinnamon ice cream. Although their book is not a necessity, the Scottos do know how to celebrate the comforts inherent in some of the world's favorite food. (Sept.)
