More Back of the Box Gourmet: From Spamburgers to Toll House Pies--A Nostalgic Collection of More Than 120 Hit Recipes from American Food Packages

McLaughlin, coauthor of The Silver Palate Cookbook , also did well by this book's predecessor, and so here is more of, roughly, the same: a recipe for buffalo wings that requires Lipton's onion soup mix, Imperial margarine and Wish-bone blue cheese dressing; another, for ``Rich Lemon Bars,'' that calls for Realemon juice; and ``Philly'' pound cake with Philadelphia Brand Cream Cheese in it. Brand names can make the heart grow fonder; some junk can be our friend. Or maybe it's the idea that what people grew up on they never quite outgrow. them. Anyway, this book impels a return to stock items that may tempt more than reward; temptation, however, may bring its own reward. So try ``Toffee Fantasy Pie,'' courtesy of the Heath Bar, or Manhattan meat balls, ``gilded'' with Kraft Barbecue Sauce. Some things sound too disgusting to consider, and which is which should be left to individual judgment. Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club alternate. (Jan.)