By Bonnie S. Benwick
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Lovely and practical: That's the rare standard met in Jeanne Kelley's soon-to-be-published cookbook, "Blue Eggs and Yellow Tomatoes: Recipes From a Modern Kitchen Garden" (Running Press, April 2008).

The author's work may be familiar to readers of Bon Appetit and Cooking Light. Kelley's culinary training at La Varenne in Paris in the mid-1980s and, more important, her long career of recipe testing surely are the reasons her cookbook food turns out looking just like its accompanying photos, which set the tone for the book's pastel-and-gingham pages.

(Note to anti-gingham types: You can get past the semi-precious look of these pages. It's a little harder to parse the light, frilly font used for recipe titles, however. A quibble.)

Kelley, 45, lives in Eagle Rock, Calif., a Los Angeles suburb that seems to be situated in a home cook's utopia. Her back yard harbors a vegetable garden and a flock of Araucana chickens, both of which inspired the cookbook's title. Ethnic specialty stores and a thriving farmers market are close by. And yet her recipes are well within the reach of an average cook who appreciates fresh flavors and wholesome fare.

In addition to more than 150 recipes, including a stellar batch of open-faced dinner sandwiches, Kelley offers her pantry list and preferences on kitchen appliances, utensils, pots and pans. Such advice is not unusual for a cookbook author to share. But Kelley's is spare, direct and personal. She's in favor of ingredient substitutions. Huzzah! She's not snooty about fresh herbs and likes to use dried thyme and marjoram. She recommends owning "at least two sets" of measuring cups; she does, to keep kitchen work flow smooth. She's devoted to her toaster oven.

The dishes pictured in "Blue Eggs" do look good enough to eat. That's because Kelley made them herself, all in 10 days' time during a marathon studio session in Philadelphia last September. Stare hard enough at the Fig and Blue Cheese Crostini for Two Seasons, and you appreciate the smart thinking of an appetizer that can work with whichever type of that fruit is available (fresh or dried; Mission or whatever's at the market). A side dish of Brussels Sprouts With Marjoram and Pine Nuts, containing shallots and a little cream, shows a depth of creativity. And Blood Orange Granita With Vanilla Ice Cream -- which can also be made with Valencia oranges -- couldn't be simpler or more stunning.

At the heart of the "Blue Eggs" appeal, however, is the sum total of Kelley's recipe collection. These recipes are keepers, as she calls them. Though some are updated versions of dishes she developed previously, much of the cookbook is made up of her new and favorite ways to cook.

Of a slightly less practical nature are the early chapter on growing a kitchen garden and the chapter on keeping chickens, which serves as an end note. They offer elemental guidance (my colleague Adrian Higgins wishes Kelley had included caveats on composting with animal manure). But they do convey the author's rounded sense of involvement with growing, gleaning and preparing the best food she can.

The author's favorite tips from her "Blue Eggs and Yellow Tomatoes: Recipes From a Modern Kitchen Garden":

Warm a pasta serving bowl: Place the bowl in the sink and set a colander above it. Drain just-cooked pasta so that its hot cooking water goes into the bowl; let it sit for 1 to 2 minutes before emptying. This will help keep the pasta warm at the table (and can be done with individual bowls as well).

Warm corn tortillas: Use tongs to hold a tortilla over a gas flame for about 5 seconds, until it is very lightly charred at the edges on one side. Turn and char on the second side, then wrap in aluminum foil. Repeat with the remaining tortillas; keep the foil packets in a warm toaster oven. This technique gives the tortillas a nice smoky flavor.

Make a risotto the "lazy" way: Add the broth all at once instead of in increments; if you stir frequently, the correct creamy texture can be achieved.

Make "one-cow" hamburgers: Instead of buying preformed beef patties for your next burgers, ask the butcher to grind a piece of chuck roast. This may alleviate concerns about safety; Kelley says her burgers taste better for it.