Cooking for Your Evil Twin: Devilishly Tempting Recipes for the Modern Woman

``Somewhere inside you lurks an Evil Twin. Spot a chocolate torte on a bad day and she calls you a siren.'' Written so that you can ``feed your Twin,'' this book by Frank, a contributor to the Portland Oregonian , is meant as an antidote to dietary discipline, an escape from good works, and as short-term indulgence when you need it most. The author mixes in brief comic essays with her recipes; the joking around is compulsive, sometimes funny, sometimes clunky. And some of the food is truly decadent: the chocolate bar sandwich, for instance, stuffs milk chocolate inside two (buttered) bread slices, then fries them (``Goes well with beer''), and ``Midge's Metaphysical Chocolate Caramels'' are only slightly more wholesome. Plainly, the book is meant to be excessive, while also occasionally inserting vaguely healthy recipes in with the chocolate lavishness (a pronounced theme). ``Our Lady of Perpetual Misery Corn Chowder'' is one of these--it actually includes vegetables. ``Most of the time,'' advises Frank, ``your Evil Twin should have her way with you. Petulant little hussy, she will act out anyway, run her course, and retreat until Mercury has a bellyful of retrograde.'' Like it or not, Frank helps the Evil Twin out. (Apr.)