The Family Circle Cookbook: New Tastes for New Times

Like Family Circle magazine, this cookbook is admirable both for its consistency and for its depth of information: much is attempted, and few stones are left unturned. Nutritional data, recipes for all parts of meals, and information on microwave and quick cooking are included. Some recipes are emphatically traditional, such as ``Old-Fashioned Corn Pudding'' and New England boiled dinner, while others are more inventive--e.g., catfish and black bean stew and sauteed cucumber. Nonetheless, despite the mass of recipes and facts, the book lacks an interesting voice. It wants for idiosyncrasy. Some other cookbooks that bear an institutional imprimatur also find individuality, distinguishing themselves through the traces of their past editions or the peculiarities of their test kitchens. This one, though, attempts to be all-new and all-inclusive, and instead seems to rumble with the sounds of focus groups and editorial boards. The result: solid, uninspiring recipes and daunting amounts of ancillary information on each page. Photos not seen by PW. Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club alternate; first serial to Family Circle. ( Sept .)