Follow Directions!

Have you ever read a cookbook just for the fun of it? They're up there with atlases for pure, time-wasting bliss.

Earlier I was idling through my copy of "Talk About Good! -- Le Livre de la Cuisine de Lafayette," half-thinking tonight might be a good night for jambalaya, so what better place to turn than a bunch of Louisiana Junior Leaguers?

I love this cookbook for many reasons, among them the fact that all of the recipes have been submitted by locals and are attributed to women with names like "Mrs. Jefferson Davis Beauregard Ashley Wilkes IV." (Apparently Southern women give up their own first names when they get married.) Many of the recipes are unashamed of their canned ingredients and dairy fats ("1 Block of Butter," "1/2 pound Velveeta cheese"). Some assume a readership familiar with local cooking customs ("Make a roux.") A lot of them don't even require cooking!

Today I'm going to share -- verbatim -- a recipe from the "Mardi Gras" section of the book. Them Southerners do like to get their drink on!

BOWLE A LA KUMP
(A Festive German Wine Punch)
Submitted by Charles H. Stewart, M.D.

At 8 A.M., take one liter of German white wine (Zellar, Schwarte Katz, or Niersteiner Domtal, etc.). Pour into a large pitcher over 2 pints of fresh strawberries. Place in refrigerator. Three hours prior to serving, place 2 liters of white wine, 1 liter of champagne in the freezer. Immediately prior to serving, add these to the original strawberry-wine mixture. Place all in a large punch bowl. Dry ice may be added for effect -- but does not alter the flavor. Serves 4 lusty drinkers, or 8 bon vivants, or 16 "party drinkers".