Silver Palate Author’s New Cookbook is a Perfect 10

Sheila Lukins will talk about her latest cookbook, “Ten: All the Foods We Love and Ten Perfect Recipes for Each,” and then demonstrate two recipes at 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 20, at the New Canaan Library.

Admission is free, but registration is recommended. Call 594-5003 or email clahey@newcanaanlibrary.org. Co-host Elm Street Books will have books available for purchase and signing.

During her demonstration, Lukins will prepare Spiced Goat Cheese Slather and Fresh Ricotta Slather.

In her book, the author lists the foods people are passionate about: steak, burgers, salsa, lobsters, chocolate, pasta, ice cream, shrimp, to name a few. She identifies 32 that she considers a perfect 10. Then she obsessively offers the ten very best recipes for each.

“ Ten” is the ten best roast chicken recipes, including Asian-Scented Orange Chicken and Pot-Roasted Chicken Santiago, and the ten best burgers, with a classic Bacon Swiss Burger with Tomato and Avocado. The ten best mashed potatoes—try her silky, sexy Lobster Mashed Potatoes. The ten best leafy salads, featuring her Frisee and Apple Salad. The ten best pastas with a Rustic Rigatoni that, when paired with a Chianti Classico or Montepulciano, will score a 10 as a weeknight dinner.

And Lukins has not neglected the sweet tooth with riches such as Brooklyn Brownies and Aunt Sabella’s Chocolate Cake with Fudge Icing in the Chocolate chapter, and a classic Marble Cake and Laurie’s Lemon Spice Cake in the Cakes and Tea Cakes chapter.

There are 24 pages of full-color photographs, boxes of her sage kitchen wisdom sprinkled throughout—featuring everything from choosing the best vanilla and picking the best pineapple to wine pairings―as well as charming commentary.

Lukins helped change the way Americans eat with her bestselling cookbook, “The Silver Palate,” which she co-authored. She also co-authored “ The New Basics” and wrote “ Celebrate!, All Around the World Cookbook” and “USA Cookbook.”

A resident of New York City, she has received numerous awards for her contributions to the food world, including being inducted into the James Beard Foundations Cookbook Hall of Fame. She is the long-time food editor and columnist for Parade magazine.