PATRICIA YEO: COOKING FROM A TO Z

Executive chef Yeo pairs up with Moskin to deliver her take on fusion cuisine. Drawing on influences from her Malaysian upbringing and from new American cuisine styles, Yeo, who trained under Flay, plays on her New York restaurant name AZ for the title to the volume. Starting with her food philosophy of layering flavors "sweet and sour, spicy and tangy, smoky and pungent," she leads off with the ingredients she uses and basic recipes, such as Sticky Rice and Chicken Stock, which she incorporates in subsequent recipes. While many of the dishes have long ingredient lists, the methodology is often simple, as with the tasty Cold Spicy Sesame Noodles with Crisp Vegetables and the Yuzu-Basil Salad. However, many recipes involve several steps and rely on other recipes for a single dish (such as the Boneless Chicken Dhansak with Lentils and Pistachio-Golden Raisin Pilaf). Still, flavorsome results can be had for little effort as with the Onion-Sesame Sticky Rice, the Spicy-Sweet Mango Salad and the Wasabi Cucumber Salad. As a restaurant-based cookbook, the resulting volume provides tastes and ideas for the more experienced cook who wants to produce at home the flavors of the modern fusion eating place. (Nov.)