THE SHARED TABLE: Cooking with Spirit for Family and Friends

Pintabona, chef of New York's Tribeca Grill who famously fed hundreds of recovery workers after 9/11, shapes a diverse collection of recipes around the story of his life. Unfortunately, Pintabona's story—from his Italian-American childhood to his French and Japanese culinary training and his restaurant proprietorship—isn't as appealing as the food he celebrates. By clinging to the memoir structure, Pintabona forces readers to discover dishes according to his life's chronology, rather than in relation to ingredients, courses, seasonality or technique (though there is a list of recipes by course). When he works in France, readers learn about Îles Flottantes; when he visits Israel, they find Eggplant Cured in Lemon. The recipes include Sicilian Stuffed Calamari with Raisins and Pignoli, Japanese Yakinuku (barbecue), and Turkey Meat Loaf with Cranberry Glaze. The section devoted to working at the Tribeca Grill is more practical, where Pintabona's elaborations on cooking for crowds—with hors d'oeuvres like Chicken Skewers "Cordon Bleu" and chafing dish entrées such as Filet Mignon with Horseradish Whipped Potatoes—bring a more cohesive flow to the narrative. But still, the book is a strange hybrid. Part personal scrapbook, part international cookbook, it lacks the spirit that its likable author displayed in his earlier Tribeca Grill Cookbook . Photos. Agent, the Lescher Agency. (On sale Mar. 15)