For those of us who collect cookbooks seriously, big collections are ripe for recipe gridlock. With so many books to choose from some are bound to get lost in the shuffle. We grow tired of the tried and true and look for renewed inspiration.

I’ll often use the same 10 books out of hundreds until one day the recipes seem stale. Then I search for new books until I’ve built up another collection for everyday reference.

Recently I had new bookshelves built for my study at home and was able to unpack 20 or so cartons of cookbooks that had been stored in the attic. As I unpacked and arranged them on the shelves it was like being reunited with old favorites, recipes that I hadn’t looked at or made in years.

Some were like time warps, by food authors who had had their day in the sun. Examples include Giuliani’s Bugialli's Foods of Italy, The New James Beard, Pierre Franey’s Low-Calorie Gourmet, Norman van Aker’s, Feast of Sunlight, Madeleine Kaman, When French Women Cook, Paula Wolfert’s, The Cooking of South-West France and the entire collection of Lee Bailey’s cookbooks. Bailey in particular brought back amusing memories because none of his recipes worked very well. But he was a great stylist, the books were beautiful and the recipe concepts, once altered, were terrific.

For a time, part of my old collection tracked two very different cooking styles: nouvelle cuisine and British cookery, about as diametrically opposed as one can get. But I found them both very appealing for different reasons The birth of nouvelle cuisine in the 1970s was new and exciting, whereas my interest in British food was a personal foray into culinary esoterica. I’d be just as excited to try poached lobster in vanilla essence as I would to tackle the rigors of a Melton Mowbray pork pie.

For a recent dinner that I prepared at home, I served a mixed bag of these rediscoveries. I started off with a simple salad of various lettuces, dressed with a mustard emulsion and fresh tarragon. The main course was roast pork, a very novel presentation by nouvelle cuisine chef, Alain Senderens, from his book, The Three-Star Recipes of Alain Senderens. His claim to fame then was as chef/ proprietor of L’ Archestrate, which was the most prestigious restaurant in all of Paris during the 1970s. He’s still very highly regarded as one of France’s great chefs. His present Paris restaurant, Lucas Carton, is a Mecca for gourmets.

The pork is roasted on a bed of aromatics (carrots, onions and celery), with fresh tomatoes added to create braising juices. Finally, par-boiled shredded cabbage replaces the aromatics and the roast is finished cooking atop the cabbage, which braises in this delicious liquid.

When I used to make this dish I included Senderen’s puree of sweet potatoes. I found them too sweet, however, paired with the caramelized pork. It's made with a simple syrup and pureed sweet potatoes, bananas and apples--delicious but over the top. If you’re interested in the having the recipe, let me know and I will give it to you.

Instead I served my own version of pureed sweet potatoes. Roast the potato, scoop out the flesh and puree or mash with butter, heavy cream and generous amounts of salt and pepper.

For the dessert choice I went to British cookery writer and one-time TV food-show-host, Michael Smith, and his book, Fine English Cookery. It sounds truly dowdy by compaison, but his recipe for a traditional English Cheese “Pye” is an astounding creation. If you make the pie you’ll be amazed at how the simple amalgam of cottage cheese, sugar, eggs, lemon and almonds produce something so incredibly good.

Herewith are the recipes, which are fairly easy. The pork preparation is time-consuming but well worth it. The recipes that follow have been adapted slightly from their original version to work in the home kitchen.

Alain Senderen’s Caramelized Pork Shank with Cabbage

1 pork shank, weighing approximately 4 ½ pounds
½ cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons olive oil or more as needed
2 tablespoons butter
2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
l large onion, chopped roughly
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 leeks, white part only, chopped
3 tomatoes, chopped roughly
2 cups water, chicken stock or white wine
1 large cabbage

Two hours before cooking the pork, prepare it as follows: with a sharp knife, make several diagonal slits, about an inch deep, on the top and bottom of the shank. Pour table salt generously over all the surfaces of the shank and rub it into the meat. The shank should be caked in salt. Set it aside on a large platter.

After two hours, rinse off all the salt under running water and pat the meat dry with a cloth.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Rub the sugar all over the shank to coat it completely. Place 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large roasting pan. Add more oil if necessary to coat the pan nicely. Add the pork and roast 30 minutes, basting occasionally and turning the pork 2 to 3 times to brown it evenly on all sides. Take the pork out of the pan and rinse the pan to remove any burned matter stuck to the bottom. Lower the oven temperature to 400 degrees.

In a large sauté pan add the remaining tablespoon olive oil and the butter, heat until very hot, then add the carrots, onion, garlic, celery, leeks and tomatoes. Add a sprig of thyme and bay leaf. Sauté the vegetables over moderate heat for 6 to 7 minutes to soften.

Transfer the vegetables to the clean roasting pan. Place the pork on top. Roast for 15 minutes, turn the pork over; 15 minutes later add the water or stockand continue roasting for another 15 minutes. Turn the pork right side up and continue to roast for 1 hour, basting to 2 to 3 times with the cooking liquid. Add more liquid if necessary.

Meanwhile prepare the cabbage. Remove the tough outer leaves and the central core. Slice the cabbage in half and slice into strips. Add the cabbage to a large pan of rapidly boiling salted water. Boil the strips for 3 minutes from the time the water returns to a boil. Drain, cool under running water, and drain again. Pat the cabbage dry in a cloth or two.

Remove the pork from the oven, place it on a plate and strain the cooking liquid into a bowl. Press down on the vegetables with a wooden spoon to extract all of their juices; discard the vegetables.

Rinse the roasting pan and place the strips of cabbage in it. Salt and pepper the cabbage, add the strained cooking liquid, place the pork shank on top and roast for 30 minutes more. The internal temperature of the pork should be 155 degrees for slightly pink.

Place the pork on a cutting board and slice. Place the cabbage and cooking juices on a large serving plaster, sprinkle with salt and pepper and lay the slices of pork on top.

Serves 4 to 6

Note: This can be made with a whole leg of pork (fresh ham).Double the ingredients accordingly. In a recent version I used the smoked pork shank from Spring Brook Farms (829-5977) on Greely Road in Cumberland. It was fantastic.

Wine selection: any good, full-bodied, assertive wine such as a Zinfandel, or a Bordeaux from St. Estephe. I served Chateau Meyney 1996.

Michael Smith’s Cheese Pye

Pastry
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ stick unsalted butter
¼ cup sugar
l egg yolk
1 to 3 tablespoons cold water

Filling
4 eggs
¾ cup sugar, preferably superfine
juice and grated rind of l lemon
1 pound cottage cheese
¼ cup all-purpose flour
2 ounces flaked almonds
Confectioner’s sugar

Prepare the pastry. Rub the butter into the flour as lightly as possible. Do not use a processor. Add the sugar, stirring lightly. Beat the egg yolk with 1 tablespoon water and gently mix with the dough until it just holds together. Add more water as necessary to produce a lightly moist dough.

Form into a round ball and flatten slightly. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Roll out to fit an 8- or 9-inch tart ring with a removable bottom. Butter the tart ring lightly before fitting in the pastry. Press it against the sides, trim off any excess and repair any cracks should they occur. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Cover the pastry case with buttered foil, pressing well into the sides and bottom. This will help to avoid the pastry from shrinking. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 15 minutes. Remove the foil and bake 5 minutes more or until very lightly colored.

Make the filling. Separate the eggs. Beat the yolks with the sugar until the granules are dissolved. Add the rind and lemon juice. Beat in the cheese, together with the flour.

Whip the egg whites until they stand in peaks and fold them into the cheese mixture. Pour the mixture into the baked tart, sprinkle evenly with enough almonds to nicely cover the top. Bake the tart at 300 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes or until firm to the touch. (It should jiggle just slightly.)

Turn off the heat but leave the tart to cool in the oven for 20 minutes. Remove the tart ring. When cold dredge the top with sifted confectioner’s sugar.

Serves 6 to 8

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