Indulgences: One Cook's Guest for the Delicious Things in Life

The author of Growing Up on the Chocolate Diet again explores edible pleasures, in this case those that range from apricots (cold cream-of-apricot soup, hazelnut-and-apricot dacquoise) to white truffles (with pasta or scrambled eggs). An indulgence is defined as ""food that is so special that it transcends everyday eating,'' and Brody has more than a passing acquaintance with champagne, fraises des bois, lobster, Roquefort, royal Riviera pears, smoked salmon, tenderloin and white asparagus. The point of Indulgences is not so much the cooking of these high-priced delicacies but the relentlessly civilized ingestion of them. Brody's many encounters with the good life include beluga caviar served on silver dishes and spooned up with gold paddles at Petrossian in Manhattan and a chocolate birthday souffle at the Hotel Cipriani, which sits on its own private island across the harbor from Venice, Italy. Readers who don't mind vicarious thrills will enjoy the pleasant, friendly and frequently funny narrative. Illustrations. (August 26)