Puff Pastry

As winter's chill leaves us, culinary thoughts turn from stews and hearty soups to lighter foods. A delicate puff-pastry, such as this Vegetable Shortcake, can serve as a prelude to an elegant dinner or as an entree for Sunday brunch. This seemingly lavish presentation is really quite simple to make. Almost everything can be prepared ahead, leaving little but the pleasure of assembling each plate for serving time.

The holiday season may be nearing the end, but there's still time to invite a few friends to drop around for a holiday brunch or Bowl-watching party. Just an informal get together, maybe, but one you want remembered. Forget the platters of ham and turkey and the usual fish mousses and dips. Instead, offer your guests something decidedly different. Serve them a fancy feast in something they certainly won't come across every day . . . an edible bowl.

The chief construction engineer at the Soviet Union's Balakovo Atomic Energy Station was furious. Pipes for the power plant had been delivered and they were simply no good. The metal did not meet specifications and was filled with air pockets and other clearly visible defects. "A piece of puff pastry made of steel!" the irate engineer complained to a deputy minister of ferrous metallurgy. He was even blunter with the pipe manufacturer: "Complete junk! After all, it is (for) a nuclear plant!"

Frozen puff pastry sheets are a boon to busy hostesses. Use them for this easy elegant tart. Thaw and roll out puff pastry sheet to 24x12-inch rectangle. Place on ungreased baking sheet. Brush with apricot jam. Fold edges over about 1 inch all around and press down lightly. Arrange well drained cling peach slices in 2 rows over jam. Sprinkle with almonds. Bake at 400 degrees about 30 minutes, until pastry is puffy and golden. Serve warm and top with sweetened whipped cream.

The dessert cart in fine restaurants seems to come alive in the 32-full page color photos in Barron's new addition to their best-selling cookbook series. Fancy European pastries from Napoleons to Gateau Saint Honore, as well as traditional American apple pie, brownies and cheesecakes, are included in the recipe repertoire. Munn, a baking instructor at the New York Restaurant School, clearly spells out every recipe in large type with comprehensive but brief step-by-step directions.

Verdon who was White House chef during the Kennedy and Johnson administrations and now owns Le Trianon restaurant in San Francisco, does the American cook a favor by translating complex restaurant techniques for home use in much the same way Julia Child tried to do in less detail.