Eating Between the Lines

The Best American Recipes 2000

Houghton Mifflin, 304 pp., $26

To the rest of the country, Texans boast big hair and big appetites. I'd say we're big on fun. If you agree, you'll probably be eager to show off your beauty parlor skills and fashion with a completely outrageous version of Ann Richard's cotton candy hairdo -- coiffed in meringue over a Texas lemon bombe from our own Chef Jeff Blank of Hudson's on the Bend. This Texas-size dessert may be overkill even for those of the bigger-is-better mindset. Serving 16 whopping portions, it calls for four sticks of butter, 24 eggs, 12 lemons, and two quarts of ice cream. It's the most frivolous recipe you'll find in the recently released cookbook The Best American Recipes 2000.

The remainder of the recipes in this collection are some of the smartest of the year. What seems smart to the two nationally renowned food editors compiling this book will seem pretty wise to most of you, too. A cookbook with a great recipe on every page is worth its weight in gold. This one tops the scales. It's a book for cooks who want to know that any dish they chose to make from it will be superb. The recipes range from classic to exotic, but all are either fast or foolproof, making this one of the season's finest cookbook values.

These "best-of" recipes are those the editors considered the year's most essential from prestigious books, magazines, newspapers, and Web sites. They tested hundreds before allowing any to make the cut. Although occasionally lured by prominent names and trends, the editors stay true to their commitment to home cooks by selecting simple, quality recipes with vibrant flavors and practicality. Most of the recipes are ones they couldn't wait to make again, the ones you won't want to wait before trying.

My copy is already irreparably dog-eared to mark recipes I can't wait to make, such as Mexican pistachio soup, hot avocado soup with poblanos, green chile puff, apple and country ham risotto with cider, Chinese lemon chicken, apricot pistachio bars, and chicken roasted with orange, rosemary, and bay leaves. I've planned entertaining menus and family suppers around dozens of others. The collection is so useful it doesn't matter that a few of my own favorite "bests" of the year weren't included.

Cooks on your holiday gift list will love this book, but be a friend and give it to them early. If they're like me, they'll want to make their entire holiday dinner from its recipes: Italian pumpkin soup with amaretto; tangerine-glazed turkey with sausage-apple-cranberry stuffing; creamy anchos and onions; maple-braised turnips; green beans with parsley-pecan pesto; creamy mashed potatoes; garlicy cranberry chutney; and fresh ginger cake with spicy spiked caramel pears. There are also enough fantastic cookie recipes to fill dozens of holiday cookie tins. While you're picking up this cookbook for food-loving friends, be smart and add yourself to your gift list. Your copy will soon be dog-eared like mine, and we'll all be having great fun in the kitchen.