SMORGASBORD: Kitchen on fire . . . Dead celebrity cookbook . . . Bake and Take Day

Kitchen on fire

Whoever thought this was a nation of noncooking Food Network-devotees may want to rethink that — at least in the Bay Area, where culinary schools are booming and cookbooks are so popular, they’ve spawned their own book club genre.

The renowned French Culinary Institute launched its West Coast campus last year in Campbell, Calif. A new home-cooking school is opening this spring in Lafayette, Calif. And at Berkeley’s Kitchen on Fire, the cooking classes were selling out so quickly, owners Olivier Said — former co-owner of Berkeley’s Cesar tapas bar — and chef MikeC. opened a second school in a massive warehouse across town.

And it was those filled-to-the-brim cooking classes that inspired their new cookbook, “Kitchen on Fire: Mastering the Art of Cooking in 12 Weeks (Or Less)” (Da Capo Press, 442 pages, $35). It’s a book that is rich in technique and light on the recipes, MikeC. said, because chefs don’t use recipes and neither, he said, will you.

Dead celebrity cookbook

If you’re contemplating a bite of Greer Garson’s capirotada, the dish by the Oscar-winning star of the 1942 film “Mrs. Miniver,” you should get Frank DeCaro’s “The Dead Celebrity Cookbook” (HCI Books (370 pages, $19.95 paper).

The archaic mix of white bread, Colby cheese, raisins and sugar-cinnamon syrup is just one the recipes in the cookbook of the former “Daily Show” film critic and Sirius Radio talk show host.

The goal of the book, which has more than 145 recipes from deceased stars, is to help a new generation of pop culture fans rediscover them and their work. You will find Humphrey Bogart’s coconut Spanish cream; Rock Hudson’s cannoli; Charlton Heston’s cheese tuna puff; Johnny Cash’s pan-fried okra and Elizabeth Taylor’s chicken with avocado and mushrooms.

“The only thing irreverent is the title,” DeCaro said. “It’s 150 love letters. I’m crazy about these celebrities.”

Bake and Take Day

Are you looking for a good service project for your organization? Or are you just in the mood to treat someone?

If the answer is yes, you should take part in Bake and Take Day on March 24.

Participants are invited to bake cheese sticks and 100 percent whole wheat sugar cookie recipes developed for this year by the North Dakota Wheat Commission or to bake another favorite and give it away.

To obtain free recipe brochures and matching stickers for packages of baked goods, send your name, mailing address and the quantity of brochures needed to Bake and Take, North Dakota Wheat Commission, 2401 46th Ave S.E., Suite 104, Mandan N.D. 58554-4928. Or send email to ndwheat@ndwheat.com.

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