The Smokin' Hot Chef!

I wouldn't care of Chef Curtis Stone couldn't even turn on a gas stove! He's that cute. Aussie openness; tousled, streaky blond hair and pale, clear eyes. Ladies, if he ever gives a cooking class, sign up!

That out of the way, "Cooking with Curtis" by Curtis Sonte Pavilion Books 157 pages plus a recipe index $29.95

Curtis has selected foods he feels appropriate for the four seasons and then gives readers three ways to cook it - Easy - four or five ingredients and minimal cooking time; Every Day Cooking - six to eight ingredients and an hour or less to prepare it and Fancy - when you want to knock family and friends eyes out of their sockets and are willing to spend an hour or more in the kitchen and maybe even use some exotic ingredients.

One of his Summer entrees are what he calls "prawns" and what we call, "Great, big shrimp."

Barbecue Prawns with Olive Oil, Lemon Juice and Fresh Parsley segues into Platter of Fruit di Mare wit Raspberry Vinaigrette which includes prawns, clams, mussels and oysters. The grand gesture is Prawns with Caramelized Endive and Endive Foam.

This book was published in 2005 which may have been mid-rage for foamed sauces which are pretty much passe today.

I'd always wondered how thee foams were created and now I know. When the sauce you've made for a dish is finished, take out about one-third of it and ... are you ready? Beat it with an egg beater!

I'm anti-foam; it looks (to me) like someone spit on my food. Still, if hot young Curtis offered me some that he'd made... I'd probably take it!