So what's cooking?

Byline: Hilarie Stelfox ,

One of the problems with celebrity chef cookbooks - particularly those from the really posh end of the market - is that they are packed with just too many fancy recipes that require meticulous attention to detail, rarified ingredients and an entire day to prepare.

However, if packaged in smaller quantities and carefully selected, such recipes do not seem so daunting. Le Gavroche, Ten Recipes From One of the World's Great Restaurants, is a much more manageable, bite-sized cookbook.

Compiled by Michel Roux Junior, who has run his father's Gavroche Restaurant since 1991, the book features such delights as Spicy Fresh Crab Salad, Scallops in a Cream Rosemary Sauce and Iced Red Berry Souffl.

Yes, the recipes do require care, but they look so mouthwatering that they must surely be worth the effort.

Le Gavroche, Ten Recipes, is published by Weidenfeld and Nicolson at pounds 5.99 in a mini hardback.

* Perfect Pies is another in this mini series. Featuring the forgotten art of pie-making it covers everything from fruit pies to pork pies. It's a small but mouthwatering collection of colourfully-illustrated dishes, with tips for making the perfect pastry. Perfect Pies by Tamasin Day-Lewis is also published by Wiedenfeld and Nicolson at pounds 5.99.

* Lazier cooks might prefer the labour-saving Cheat Your Way to Gourmet Eating.

Discover how to use canned sauces and ingredients alongside the fresh for fast food that looks good and, hopefully, tastes good. From Grilled Goats' Cheese to Limoges Potato Pie and Peace and Marron Brle, it's a hotpotch of dishes with eclectic origins but bound to have something to suit everyone. Don't expect haute cuisine though from a book that suggests using shop-bought plain naan bread as a quick pizza base or a packet of mushroom risotto mix to "ensure a creamy, authentic texture."

Cheat Your Way to Gourmet Eating by Carolyn Humphries is published by Foulsham at pounds 12.99.