Glories of the Vegetarian Table: A Collection of Contemporary Vegetarian Recipes and Menus

Reflecting eclectic taste, solid culinary ability and an element of panache, Hazen's bill of fare will best suit those who cook for the sheer pleasure of it. Her fondness for high-fat items, particularly cheese, will cause health-conscious readers to limit many dishes to occasional use. However, tomato and cheddar cheese soup, fried cheese with corn, tomato and pepper salsa, or vegetable frittata with five-olive paste are tempting indeed. While not excessively difficult, some recipes require lengthy preparation. Eggplant rollatini with roasted red pepper sauce, pumpkin ravioli with hazelnut cream and sorrel sauce, wild rice mushroom fritters with port beurre rouge and summer vegetable crepe packages with herbed creme fraiche are not for cooks rushing to get dinner on the table. Hazen does offer some simple dishes, but awkwardly, even apologetically; she says she never intended to include her caramelized pearl onions with pasta shells, made with ``humble leftovers.'' Formerly the assistant chef at San Francisco's Greens Restaurant, Hazen is a caterer, teacher and food stylist. Illustrations not seen by PW. (Feb.)