Between Friends: M.F.K. Fisher and Me

In 1977, Ferrary eagerly accepted an invitation to lunch with Fisher, extended in response to Ferrary's recent fan letter. That was the first of many visits, usually at Fisher's home in Glen Ellen, Calif., where the two women talked about wining and dining, plants and people, during the ensuing 14 years. In time Ferrary became a food writer herself, following the footsteps of the incomparable M.F.K.F., doyenne of travel/culinary arts and author of 24 books respected around the world. This adulatory memoir is brightened by descriptions of Fisher's uncommon sense, taste and sometimes acid wit, but it really tells more about Ferrary than about her friend, who, as her readers know, can be cagey, disclosing only what she chooses to make known. This tantalizing view--``a collection of appreciation''--of an elusive figure reveals little unfamiliar material but will surely please Fisher's innumerable fans. (May)