Happy Cooking: More Light Classics from Today's Gourmet

Gathers recipes for appetizers, main dishes, side dishes, breads, and desserts, and includes a nutritional analysis of each meal

Fans of the PBS series featuring Pepin as "Today's Gourmet" will rave about this third companion cookbook. The author captures the joie de vivre that characterizes his on-screen persona in the chapter prefaces to the volume. A chapter on menus is followed by featured recipes, clustered as first courses, main courses, side dishes, desserts, breads and basics. Pepin does not outlaw butter or chickens with skins intact: he favors a more modest approach to cultivating good health through a varied diet that is full in flavor yet not overly rich. A salad of braised shiitake mushrooms, glazed with garlicky dressing and served atop a bed of radicchio and Belgian endive, presents the meaty texture of the mushrooms to full advantage. Many of the main courses stretch the calorie-rich meats and shellfish with the addition of grains, legumes and vegetables, as in a stew of lima beans, mussels and spinach. Complete nutritional information accompanies recipes, even the simplest. Pepin satisfies sweet tooths with desserts that emphasize fresh or dried fruits, such as a farina Bavarian cream cake with apricot sauce. When appropriate, recipes include portion sizes and suggested garnishes.
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