The Pillar House Cookbook

This fine collection blends, with delicacy and finesse, New England and classical cuisines. Developed by Gibson for the Pillar House Restaurant in Newton Lower Falls, Mass., these recipes are well within the abilities of confident home cooks yet will interest experienced chefs also. Notes in margins complement the recipes: handling a consomme raft, breaking up lobster shells for bisque and characteristics of creme fraiche are all discussed at the appropriate moment. Lobster strudel with tomato Armagnac sauce and salmon tortellini in vodka cream are among the starters; salads include spinach and feta cheese with warm bacon dressing and smoked turkey with avocado. Veal saute with crab and tarragon sauce, roast rack of lamb with rosemary-Pommery sauce and poached fillet of salmon with lemon-thyme sauce are particularly enticing main courses. Accompanying them is a selection of side dishes such as garlic creamed potatoes and brown rice with spicy pecans, as well as breads, including dill and onion rolls and pecan rolls. Raspberries au gratin or cappuccino torte draw the meal to a close. Larousse is the author of Edible Art ; Gibson, a former Pillar House chef. Illustrations not seen by PW. (Feb.)