NEW & NOTEWORTHY.

Smear tactics: H.J. Heinz's Blastin' Green ketchup has landed on store shelves. But will it take off with kids?

It's the color kids told the company they wanted, packaged in a snazzy new easy-squirt bottle designed to fit small hands and to send the ketchup out in a thin stream so kids can, well, play with it. (Fair warning, moms and dads.)

The green ketchup isn't made with green tomatoes, by the way. It's made with red tomatoes tinted with blue and yellow food coloring. It comes in 24-ounce squeeze bottles and is $1.79. By the way, the company has also packaged red tomato ketchup in the same style squirt bottles.

- Detroit Free Press 

Hot off the press: ``Wolfgang Puck's Pizza, Pasta and More'' (Random House; $35). This is Puck's fourth cookbook. Among the more than 90 recipes are signature dishes like Caesar Chicken Pizza, Smoked Salmon Pizza, My Grandma's Ravioli, and Crispy Calamari With Chinese Noodles and Spicy Garlic Sauce. These are creations from Spago, Chinois on Main, Postrio, Granita, Trattoria del Lupo (in Las Vegas) and the Wolfgang Puck Cafes. Recipes run the gamut from short to long ingredient lists along with simple to more complex preparation directions. Some of the recipes appear easier than others.

Although Puck includes recipes for a variety of pasta and pizza doughs, you can streamline the recipes by using store-bought, if desired. The ``more'' in the recipe title refers to salads and soups and basics including stocks, sauces, dressings and condiments. There's plenty to feast on in this volume, from the interesting black and white photographs of Puck engrossed in the kitchen to the gorgeous color photographs of several of the finished dishes. Many of the recipes sound tempting - so if you want to learn some of this Los Angeles chef and restaurateur's kitchen secrets, pick up a copy of this volume soon.

And if you want to get in the holiday cooking mood, don't miss Puck's holiday special - ``Wolfgang Celebrates!'' - at 6 p.m. Dec. 10 (repeating at 9 p.m. and again at 1 p.m. Dec. 16) on the Food Network.

- Natalie Haughton

More Martha: Martha Stewart and Kmart have teamed up once again and are now introducing the Martha Stewart Everyday Kitchen line of products. It includes everything you need for wonderful meals every day, says Stewart. Among the cooking items are stainless steel, aluminum and cast iron cookware, metal bakeware, glass and ceramic ovenware, tools, utensils, glass storageware, cutlery, cutting boards and tea kettles. In the entertaining category, you'll find items like dinnerware, stainless-steel flatware and glassware in a variety of patterns.

- N.H.

Tops in Paris and London: ``Zagat 2001 Paris Restaurant Survey'' has given Taillevent restaurant, located in the Eighth District of the city, the No. 1 ranking for popularity, food and service. More than 1,200 Parisians dined at 950 restaurants to determine the rankings. Incidentally, the average dining cost was $40.97. (The average cost of the 20 most expensive Paris restaurants: $98.12). London is not far behind Paris in both cost categories, but Tokyo is higher.

In ``Zagat 2001 London Restaurant Survey,'' the Ivy in Leicester Square was the most popular restaurant, followed by Nobu at Hyde Park Corner. For food, Gordon Ramsay in Sloane Square and Le Manoir Aux Quatre'Saisons outside London tied for the top spot where the average cost of a meal is 67 pounds (approximately $105). The books are $11.95 each and can be ordered by calling [phone] or through www.zagat.com.

- N.H.

Tequila sunset?

Bad news from Margaritaville: Up to 40 percent of the firms making Mexico's tequila may halt production because of a chronic shortage of their main raw ingredient, the cactus-like agave plant. The growth in world consumption of tequila ``is threatening tequila production in the next few years,'' says the governor of Jalisco, the heartland of Mexico's tequila industry. Supply is unlikely to recover quickly because the agave plant needs up to 10 years to mature.

- Wire Services

SCHOLARSHIPS

The International Association of Culinary Professionals, a 4,000-member group of cooks, food writers and other culinary professionals is offering a variety of culinary scholarships (eight total for culinary students as well as professionals) for 2001-2002.

Applications are available by calling [phone] or logging on the IACP Web site at www.iacp.com. Completed applications are due Dec. 1. Winners will be notified in February and March. Scholarships must be used between July 1 and June 30, 2002.

Here's a sampling of what's offered. The IACP Foundation ``Culinary Concert'' Award is a $12,500 cash award for a beginning or currently enrolled student in a nationally accredited culinary school. The Julia Child Scholarship and IACP Foundation Award is a $10,000 cash prize for independent culinary study in France by a culinary professional.

- N.H.

CAPTION(S):

4 photos

Photo:

(1) no caption (Heinz's Blastin' Green ketchup)

(2) no caption (``Wolfgang Puck's Pizza, Pasta and More'')

(3) no caption (Martha Stewart Everyday Kitchen)

(4) no caption (``Zagat 2001 Paris Restaurant Survey'')