Supper Club Chez Martha Rose: A Cookbook of Parties and Tales from Paris

Tex-Mex and Provencal cuisines could be an odd couple indeed. Yet the match made here by Paris-based caterer and vegetarian chef Shulman is a good one . After operating a supper club in Austin, Tex., for two years, in 1983 Shulman began catering another in Paris to help finance her extended sojourn there; the success of her salon spurred this book. The author wants to make entertaining a pleasure for both guests and hosts, and her voice is that of a helpful, wiser friend. The fiery Southwestern spices Shulman loves are happily married to meatless recipes inspired by chefs in Provence and Paris. Fruits and vegetables are used in season so that ingredients are affordable (important when cooking for a crowd). Her cuisine ``is a vegetarian one with fish,'' yet Shulman is ``not a fanatic.'' Still, whole-grain breads show up in every menu and even earn their own chapter. Recipe methods avoid last-minute gyrations in the kitchen, offering advice on substitutions and quick fixes when mistakes do happen. Illus trations not seen by PW. (Nov.)