The Natural Cuisine of Georges Blanc: Georges Blanc

With more than twice as many color photographs as recipes (350 vs. 150), this lavish, oversize volume may be more at home on the coffee table than the kitchen counter. Illustrations ranging from prepared dishes to wildflowers and landscapes complement a collection of recipes in which sheer artistry predominates. Every dish, even an item as simple as little stuffed cabbages or red radish soup with tapioca, is marked by highly stylized presentation. Focusing on fresh produce and seafood, the recipes are lucidly written and within the abilities of serious home cooks. Fresh spinach with skillet-roasted salmon, squash blossom beignets with fried parsley, and wild mushroom ravioli with herb sauce number among the vegetable and seafood dishes. Fresh fruits are presented in such recipes as pear charlotte with fresh figs and pineapple fritters with macerated kiwi. Blanc presides over La Mere Blanc, a three-star (Michelin) restaurant in Burgundy; Baker photographed Martha Stewart's Weddings. Author tour. (October 14)