Menu No 8: Shrimp, Corn, Pumpkin, Chili, Orange, Vanilla

Smart, thoughtful, and sophisticated, this is part of a series of small books ((5" x 7", 36 pages), which offer cooks a creative menu to share with a small group of friends or family (four to six people depending on how heartily they eat).

The books themselves are simply designed and printed, though the recipes show flair. The menu the recipes comprise is never routine. In this case the core ingredients of shrimp, corn, pumpkin, chili, orange, and vanilla become:

• Applejack and maple cocktail
• Pumpkin soup
• Shrimp Mozambique with cornbread
• Sauteed cauliflower with pepita-chili paste and cotija
• Grand marnier souffle with creme anglaise

Almost everyone who has bought one Menu has bought another and then another.

Paperback.