Shop and do good
From celebrity causes to
support for America’s soldiers

Cook like the stars
A lesser known celebrity project this season is the Hollywood Cookbook (Silverback Books, 2006, $35.) Knowing the public’s fascination with how the rich and famous live, authors Jackie Zabel and Morgan Most put together a collection of recipes that offers a glimpse into how the rich and famous eat (or so they say). The 270-page book features complete menus from 20 celebrities and six well-known chefs. We asked our celebrities to share 4 to 6 themed recipes that they themselves loved to prepare and eat. Then we tested and occasionally tweaked the recipes with the help of the professional culinary staff and students at Kitchen Academy Hollywood, says Zabel.

Each celebrity not only selected recipes they wanted to highlight but also charities that would benefit from the book’s creation. Five dollars from the sale of each book will be divided up equally to the various organizations.

Surprisingly or not, many celebrities chose recipes that require few ingredients and little preparation time. Ron Howard offers up a quick and easy dinner of bread with olive oil, an arugula rocket salad, tofu Mariana and maple coffee. Just because it’s easy to make doesn’t mean it’s boring or bland, writes Howard about his picks. Ann Hathaway, who played Andy Sachs in The Devil Wears Prada, selected a slightly more exotic menu of Mediterranean food, which she admits is simple to prepare. Actor James Denton, a.k.a. Mike Delfino in Desperate Housewives, reveals some of his tasty recipes for Southern comfort foods, including a cheese grits souffl? and baked apples.

Other celebs featured in the book include Michael J. Fox, Bob Saget and Treat Williams, who selected The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, the Scleroderma Research Foundation and Save the Children, respectively.