LOVE PORTIONS: A Cookbook for Lovers

A glamorously appointed book -- cream paper, handsome type design with the gift book rack in mind -- presenting recipes supposedly in celebration of the conjunction of Venus and margarine. There are chapters pointedly designated ""After"" (cream puffs and eclairs), ""Morning After"" (""Honey Yummies"" to sausage pancakes) and ""Love Potions"" (shrimp and lobster and caviar, etc.). Other sections deal with more staid, if continental-slanted repasts -- main dishes, soups, salads, etc., often with an extra dollop of spirits added to a fairly reasonable recipe. However, there is a generous use of prepared and instant mixes -- presumably when love is about to call one doesn't dawdle. Whether these dishes will hit groin or palate with greater efficacy will depend on the experience of the cook in both departments.