These days, nothing is more fun - nor more socially acceptable than - "messing about in the kitchen." What with pressure cookers, electric broilers and blenders, packaged mixes, bottled sauces, every possible herb or spice from the Indies, and something new every day in the frozen food section of any supermarket, Cookery is the latest game, the newest fad.



Now that women find it's fun to cook, and men are remembering that every great name in gastronomy from Epicurus to Escoffier is masculine, the next step is Gourmet Cookery - and turning yourself into a Cordon Bleu is no longer difficult.

We are presenting a selection of great traditional dishes, as well as some "novelties." All are designed to be prepared in a limited time for the modern-day reproduction of a Lucullan Feast - and all are proportioned for four hungry gourmets.

Even ten years ago, many of these recipes could not have been included, and there is no denying that some great culinary masterpieces still cannot be prepared in only thirty minutes. Even with a pressure cooker, the true Coq au Vin, Blanquette de Veau or Boeuf BourguigNonne, while edible cannot possess the suave blend of flavors that comes from leisurely simmering.

Time is essential, too, for chilling or resting of some dishes that can easily be prepared in a few minutes. Therefore, recipes should require 30 minutes or less to prepare - but which must be allowed to stand overnight before the final minutes or preparation and service.

Here are some basic tips for a new cook:

1. It may actually be easier to prepare a glamorous dish (foreign name and all), than the run-of-the-mill dishes you've been eating all your life.

2. Read all the way through a recipe first; check to be sure ingredients are at hand. You will save time and achieve better results if you understand, in general terms, what you are going to do before you start to do it.

3. Never try to make more than one unfamiliar recipe for the same meal! A wise chef never tries a new recipe when there is "company," either. Always get the recipe under your belt at least once before you attempt to produce it with eclat for strangers.

4. Accurate measurements are essential; accurate timing is essential. Never hesitate to make your personal penciled comments next to the recipe; the annotated cookbook is a chefs most valuable possession.

5. Gourmet cookery requires the best quality in ingredient. Please, no substitutions for Real butter, real cream, the freshest mushrooms, the best olive oil - all are essential for a gourmet dish.

6. When there are four or six people for dinner, the chef dictates the schedule: Finish the drinks, wash the hands, and sit down! But for more than six people (even if they will be formally seated at the table), it's wise to plan a main dish that can only improve with overcooking!

7. Wipe meats, poultry and fish on paper toweling, rather than washing - and never season before cooking, as this toughens the flesh. Seasonings go into sauces, or should be added at the end of the plain-cooking.

8. Spaghetti sauces, curries and stews are easy ways to use up leftovers - the easiest things to stretch for unexpected guests - and the simplest things to prepare when the cook wants to enjoy the fun as well as set a distinguished meal on the table.