cover image Hot Potatoes

Hot Potatoes

Enid Nemy. Doubleday Books, $15 (55pp) ISBN 978-0-385-46884-8

When things seem uncertain, people often reach for their favorite food to see them through. For some, this might mean chicken soup, but for the 21 notables in Nemy's book, the potato wins. In this follow-up to her Couch and Other Potatoes , Nemy, a longtime New York Times writer, has culled potato recipes and whims from the likes of Joan Rivers, former New York City mayor Ed Koch and Robin Leach. Recipes range from Leach's caviar-drenched baked potato to a plain tuna-stuffed potato from Ann Landers. The contributors also reminisce about potatoes and how best to enjoy their particular dish: Times columnist Anna Quindlen likes to eat her ``couch potato'' for one while watching a nighttime soap or a Hepburn-Tracy movie. In addition, the tiny book includes cooking advice and potato lore. The Idaho Potato Commission has kicked in six recipes, including Idaho potato chocolate cake (perhaps it could be dished up with a serving of Andy Rooney's potato ice cream on the side). No recipe here should faze even the most inexperienced cook. Illustrations not seen by PW. (Mar.)