Dr. Nagler's Body Maintenance and Repair Book

Cajun food, the bayou cousin of the more urbane Creole fareis usually cooked outdoors because Louisiana's climate is warm year-round; the neighbors can drop in with ease; and the bulky equipment and vast quantities of food don't fit in most kitchens. For his fourth cookbook, PBS-TV host Wilson has scaled down his recipes, but not the personality that earned him a reputation as the ""Cajun Julia Child.'' In photographs by his wife, we see Wilson at his backyard fryer, dining at his sister Olivette's house and eating crawfish from the back of a pickup truck. Clearly, no food stylist got near the plate of bread pudding on the picnic table or the potato salad, photographed in a mixing bowl and captioned: ``You can tole dat I'm going on a picque-nique. I got my potato salad already made.'' Rather than seeming affected, all of this works wonderfully to provide a context for the unusual recipes. Typically, cayenne pepper, onions, garlic and parsley are used to flavor the region's bounty of fish and game. The recipes emphasize shellfish, meats and vegetables, and include such dishes as barbecued goat, baked tongue, turtle stew and deep-fried dove bosom. Most recipes, however, are distinctive renditions of familiar foods. (December 1)