THE NEW FRENCH COOKING: Minceur Cuisine Extraordinaire

Aulicino is an amateur chef and an aficionado of the new minceur cuisine. Less pretentious and considerably more practical than de Groot (see below), he incorporates such handy items as Pam cookware spray for lubricating pots and pans, and plastic Brown-ln-Bags for stewing meats in their own juices (instead of the membraneous bags or bladders of animals). Enthusiastically eclectic, he adapts not only French haute cuisine but British, Italian, Middle Eastern, and even South African dishes to the new cooking methods. The ""rules"" are simple, the possibilities for improvisation limitless. Egg whites, vegetable purees, and arrowroot are used to thicken and bind sauces in place of egg yolks and flour; vegetables are cooked al dente; meats are browned and often cooked au sec using only natural moisture; deglazing and reducing herbed pan liquids gives the foods a special fillip. Exacting but accessible, with dishes that should please almost anyone.