PAGES : Cooking Up a Good Read

Wait a minute. Is this book a novel? Or is it a collection of sensual recipes, a cookbook for those who believe that food processors should be sold as personal enhancement devices and shipped in plain brown wrappers?

In fact, Jacqueline Deval’s new “Reckless Appetites” is a little of both, a “culinary romance” about a girl named Pomme. Pomme’s dual pursuits are the perfect meal--and the perfect lover. Accordingly, she seeks advice on food and love in the pages of Colette and Flaubert in order to create an irresistible menu of seduction. Among the recipes Pomme uncovers are Charles Beaudelaire’s formula for hashish jam, Charles Dickens’ personal plan for champagne punch and Emily Dickinson’s legendary gingerbread.

Pomme’s ardent inquiry also produces historical trivia to warm the heart or saucepan of any serious foodie. For example, try stopping traffic at your next Italian dinner by pointing out that Lord Byron sailed down the Grand Canal in Venice with his lover while nibbling polenta that she warmed between her breasts.

“Reckless Appetites” is Ecco Press’ lead title for the 1993 fall list. Whether booksellers display the book under the heading of “fiction” or “cookbook” remains to be seen.