It’s the Cheese, Basically

There are some things that cannot be improved on. Invariably, they are the simplest. A glass of wine. A loaf of bread. A peach. A piece of cheese. As a cook, you can add things to them, but you should be ever-mindful that all you’re doing is ornamentation.

That’s kind of a backhanded way of introducing two new books that are worthy of attention. Both Laura Werlin’s “New American Cheese” (Stewart, Tabori and Chang, $35) and Janet Fletcher’s “The Cheese Course” (Chronicle Books, $19.95) have much to recommend them. But both are undercut by a recipe-dictated approach that seems to view cheese as nothing more than another ingredient.

In the case of Werlin’s book, that undermines a fine introduction covering various movements in American cheese, how to select cheese, how to store cheese and how to serve and pair cheese with other foods. In addition, there is a short overview of various important American cheese makers, including information on how you can order their products (given a modem and a Visa card, it seems you can have even the most obscure artisanal cheese delivered to your doorstep in days). The recipes, on the other hand, are clunky and uninspired (cheese enchiladas anyone?). The book would be much better without them.

That’s not true for Fletcher’s book. She’s got great taste and a real cheese-lover’s sensibility. Even the most hidebound cheese lover has to be tempted by the dishes she offers: baked ricotta with parsley salad, Crescenza with golden raisin toast, Lebanese yogurt cheese with za’atar and olives. On the other hand, most of the recipes are really more like accompaniments to cheese--what used to be called “serve-alongs”--and the introductory material is cursory.

Memo to the next author: The cheese stands alone.