GOOD TASTES.

COOKBOOK: So you love ice cream sundaes - for the delicious eating or wonderful memories they stir. To get the scoop on the topic, get your hands on ``A Month of Sundaes'' by Michael Turback (Red Rock Press; $19.95). The book has a little history, stories, lore and 150 recipes for the American treat from throughout the country. Among them are ice creams, toppings, sauces, syrups and sundae bases.

How about whipping up a Spotted Dog Sundae, a Pink Flamingo or a Blum's Cof-Fiesta? Just thinking about those Black and White and Tin Roof Sundaes I grew up on makes me want to whip one up. No doubt you have your favorites, too.

- Natalie Haughton

DESIGNER COOKIES: We loved the beautiful designer custom-decorated sugar cookies from Rolling in Dough, a company started two years ago by sisters Michelle and Jennifer Szilvagyi (born and raised in Trenton, Mich.) after they baked the cookies as gifts for friends. With bakeries in Burbank and Michigan, the company offers cookies for all occasions (birthday parties, corporate events, movie premieres, weddings, etc.) and specializes in personalization.

Among the standard selections are great-looking patriotic cookies (flags, hearts, stars and bears) as well as angels, ladybugs, butterflies, flowers and more. And they taste good - not usually the case with this style of cookie.

A 3-inch cookie is $3, a 4-inch $4.50, 5-inch $6 - and if you order a dozen, there's a 10 percent discount. A 12-inch chocolate chip or white chocolate chip pizza cookie is $20.

The company will arrange the cookies for gifts, promotions and the like in baskets, boxes, mugs, on trays, etc. A dozen 3-inch cookies in a basket cost $42 (excluding shipping) while three 3-inch cookies in a coffee mug go for $15. To order, call [phone] or go to the company's Web site at www.rollingindoughcookies.com. You'll can also view numerous different cookie designs on the site.

- N. H.

NEW: Klondike has introduced several new ice cream novelties. They include the Big Bear No Sugar Added Vanilla Sandwich, which has 50 percent less fat and 20 percent fewer calories than the regular Klondike sandwich. Each Big Bear is 3.75 fl. ounces - and packed six to a box with a suggested retail price of $3.79.

Klondike Ice Cream Cones with Oreo Cookie Pieces or Ice Cream Cones with Reese's Peanut Butter Cups are packed in four-packs of 4-fl.-ounce cones and retail for $3.79 per box. We found them disappointing and lacking flavor.

Our favorite was the Klondike Planters Caramel & Peanut Ice Cream Bar with a layer of roasted peanuts and caramel atop the ice cream and underneath a chocolate coating. Suggested retail is $3.79 for a six-pack of 4-fl.-ounce bars. The same ingredients can be found in a 4-fl.-ounce bar on a stick in convenience stories for around $1.19 each.

- N.H.

FREEBIE LEAFLET

The latest brochure in American Institute for Cancer Research's New American Palate series is Veggies. The 40-page brochure offers information on serving sizes (a 1/2-cup serving looks like half a baseball, for instance), selection, storage and preparation. Also included are 22 recipes, such as like Bok Choy With Sauteed Mushrooms and Shallots, Tri-Colored Peppers With Herbs, Roasted Beets With Dill Dressing, Baked Greek Tomatoes and Snow Peas With Cashews - all accompanied with per-serving nutritional information.

To order a free copy, call [phone], Ext. 74, or go to www.aicr.org.

- N.H.

GRAND TASTING DINNER

Restaurateur and chef Wolfgang Puck and Spago Beverly Hills executive chef Lee Hefter have assembled a culinary dream team for the third annual Chefs' Grand Tasting Dinner, 6:30 p.m. Sept. 29 at Spago Beverly Hills.

Guest chefs cooking the evening's fixed-price multicourse menu will include Paul Bocuse, Lyon, France; Paul Prudhomme, K-Paul's Louisiana Kitchen, New Orleans; Eric Ripert, Le Bernardin, New York; Sirio Maccioni and Marc Poidevin, Le Cirque & Circo, New York and Las Vegas; Claudia Fleming, Gramercy Tavern, New York; and more. Proceeds from the dinner will benefit the Meals on Wheels Programs of Los Angeles.

Tickets are $500 per person, all inclusive of beverages (and wines to match each course), gratuity and tax. For reservations, call Tracey Spillane at Spago at [phone].

- N.H.

CAPTION(S):

5 photos

Photo:

(1) no caption (Book: ``A Month of Sundaes'')

(2) no caption (Rolling in Dough cookies)

(3 -- 4) no caption (Klondike ice cream)

(5) no caption (New American Plate Veggies)