Elegant Peasant C

Thomas, a Cordon Bleu-trained chef and cooking instructor at California State University in Sonoma and Marin counties, offers a spirited interpretation of traditional peasant cuisine. Her charming, anecdotal collection emphasizes innovative pairings of unusual ingredients, jazzing up even the most prosaic stew. Lowly beef shanks achieve nearly aristocratic status when teamed up with fresh plums and ginger sauce. Lasagne is served with chicken and marsala wine, and fish fillets with macadamia nuts and Guinness stout. The delicious, easily completed recipes are accompanied by simple, generic line drawings. This is unfortunate because offerings like cold carrot soup garnished with guacamole or mussels in saffron sauce with zucchini timbales surely would tempt the eye as well as the palate. (September)