Recipe For Making Trouble

By Lisa McLaughlin

A controversial new book has sparked a backlash, prompt-ing a store in Minneapolis, Minn., to abruptly rescind a speaking invitation to the author. Is it a racy Henry Miller--style novel? A political screed? A Howard Stern tell-all? No, the Rrated tome arousing concerns about obscene language and public decency is, of all things, a cookbook.

But Anthony Bourdain's Les Halles Cookbook is not your average cooking manual. Bourdain, never one to hold back, once referred to vegetarians as "the enemy of everything good and decent in the human spirit." The book is written in the same brusque style, and its language can get a little profane. The introduction to poulet roti gently proclaims, "If you can't properly roast a damn chicken then you're one helpless, hopeless, sorry-ass bivalve in an apron." Pearl onions are "little f____ers." And butter should be formed into a log "like you would roll a joint" for the faux-filet au beurre rouge. Betty Crocker he's not.

But if you can get past all the cussing, this cookbook could be your new best friend in the kitchen. Bourdain's passion for food is contagious, and his precise instructions go a long way toward helping make classic bistro cooking, from frisee aux lardons to boeuf bourguignon, less intimidating for the home cook. Don't worry--the book comes in a brown paper wrapper. --By Lisa McLaughlin