Michel Richard's Home Cooking with a French Accent

Richard's culinary star began to rise with the debut of his restaurant, Citrus, in Los Angeles in 1987. Now, five restaurants later, and working in collaboration with Zeidler ( The Gourmet Jewish Cook ) and journalist Weimer, he brings his love of food to the page. Richard may be classically trained, but he firmly believes in experimenting with taste and texture to develop something new: he borrows often from diverse cultures and cuisines to create the unexpected (e.g., cream cheese gnocchi with corn spinach). Some of these recipes hearken back to his northern French roots while others are California-influenced. But no matter what the inspiration, Richard has done a superb job of adapting restaurant recipes for the average kitchen. He makes it clear, nonetheless, that a recipe is just a guide, not a guarantee. Turning out a delectable meal is the responsibility of the cook. And there are no substitutes for good preparation or for an innate feel for food. Each recipe includes a brief introduction and excellent preparation and do-ahead suggestions. Some recipes sound deceptively simple, because they call for only a few ingredients, but to achieve the result Richard wants requires serious labor--and skill. (Mushroom tarts with garlic cream call for boiling and rinsing garlic three times.) His enthusiasm is so infectious, however, and his recipes are so well-written, that even the inexperienced may gear up to try chicken kataifi with purple sauce--it's too intriguing not to. Photos not seen by PW . (Sept.)