DATE: Sunday, July 20, 1997                 TAG: 9707160055

SECTION: FLAVOR                  PAGE: F3   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY ADAM BERNSTEIN, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   59 lines

COOKBOOK OFFERINGS GRACE INTERNET, BOOKSTORE SHELVES

WITH THE U.S. Supreme Court's decision this month to keep the Internet free from government regulation, it truly remains as many see it: an open frontier not unlike the Old West.

Our first of four diverse cookbook contenders readily pounces on the comparison.

Pace Wild Wild Web. If one can ignore the straining folksy humor that greets viewers at every turn, there's a gem of a Web site at www.pacefoods.com, rife with more than 100 recipes. The catch: They all involve picante sauce by - guess who? - Pace foods.

The recipes, for vegetarians as well as carnivores, are accessible and well-organized. Appetizers, soups, entrees - low-fat and traditional - are easily delineated, along with helpful pictures of the final product.

This site is based on the belief, obviously, that there's nothing picante sauce can't improve, `` 'Cept, maybe pecan pie.''

Best thing is, pardner, it's free, beyond your Internet bill.

More Cooking with Old Bay. Or, how to market your spice so it's compatible with anything save root beer.

Actually, the roughly 50 recipes that grace this soft-cover, digest-sized book confine themselves mostly to chicken and fish, although the company says the seasoning ``adds pizzazz'' to popcorn and corn-on-the-cob.

The recipes are organized by region, including a few from local restaurants such as Blue Pete's in Virginia Beach and Cafe 21 in Norfolk. There are no pictures to accompany the recipes. The book sells for $3.95; call (800) 8-OLDBAY.

You may also order it from that crab mecca of the Midwest, St. Louis. Send your check or money order for $8.45 to: OLD BAY Bounty from the Bay, P.O. Box 15062, St. Louis, Mo. 63110

Southern Living Summer. Another soft-cover, digest-sized collection of recipes, this time with a welcome sweep of 123 mostly traditional American dishes.

It's colorful and features all sorts of appetizers (cream cheese-olive sandwiches), entrees (grilled rosemary swordfish), desserts (strawberry shortcake) and even drinks (peach melba sundae shake).

Visually, it is tremendously appealing. It may lack in international adventure, but it sure gets back to the basics with a tasty fury.

The book retails for $2.99 at most grocery store magazine racks.

Heinz Successful Pickling Guide. Never prickly, always pragmatic, this very, very slim book contains a helpful guide to pickle trouble-shooting and about 30 recipes. If you ever wanted to pickle any kind of fruit or vegetable, possibly create a chutney or relish, here's your chance.

One drawback is the lack of pictures, although the recipes are straightforward and rarely run over a paragraph long.

For a free copy, write: Canning & Pickling Made Easy, P.O. Box 57, Pittsburgh, Pa. 15230. ILLUSTRATION: Photos

These cookbooks are available from manufacturers.

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