Pierre Franey's Cooking in France

In this companion book to the new PBS series of the same name, frequent collaborators Franey and Flaste (Pierre Franey's Cooking in America) make a wide-ranging gastronomic tour of France. They visit Michelin-star chefs who are infusing new life into haute cuisine and humbler cooks, too. They also drop in on the farmers and vintners who provide the ingredients that go into making regional fare. Readers will find everything from the humble croque monsieur to medaillons de veau a la chablisienne. The common thread is use of the best and freshest ingredients. The book is divided into 19 chapters; each covers a particular region of France. Franey lists the region's specialties at the beginning of each chapter-e.g., the kouigh-amann butter cake of Brittany-but, alas, does not always provide a recipe for those mentioned. Major recipes are accompanied by a brief introduction. The authors have done a superb job of adapting regional recipes to the American kitchen and grocery store. Experienced cooks can plunge right in. There also are plenty of recipes that won't tax the inexperienced cook's abilities. An appendix lists the hotel-restaurants, bistros, vintners and suppliers Franey and Flaste visited, in case you plan your own gastronomic invasion of France. Photos not seen by PW. 50,000 first printing; BOMC Homestyle alternate. (Sept.)