Dorie Greenspan was credited with changing our concept of French cooking when her bestselling cookbook "Around My French Table" was published in 2010. It's a good bet that the way we think about French baking is also sure to change with the publication of Greenspan's new book, "Baking Chez Moi: Recipes From My Paris Home To Your Home Anywhere."

Author of 10 cookbooks, Greenspan is a three-time James Beard Foundation Award winner and has collaborated with many renowned chefs, including Julia Child, for whom she wrote the book "Baking with Julia." She lives New York City, Paris and on the Connecticut shoreline in Westbrook, which she says is her home base and where she does most of her recipe testing.

Greenspan gave a taste of what readers can expect in her new cookbook in a recent Day interview.

Q. Can you respond to this quote from the introduction to your book?

"Real French people don't bake! At least they don't bake anything complicated, finicky, tricky or unreliable."

A. It's exactly what the book is about. If French people are having a dinner party, they don't bake, they go to the pastry shop and buy something beautiful and wonderful, where we Americans are ambitious, enthusiastic home bakers - we're project bakers who will spend a whole weekend making some complicated dessert. That's not what the French will do.

During the week they'll make something really simple for their families. French people make very simple custards and mousses and cakes without fancy frosting and frills. I call this style of baking French comfort baking.

Q. Were you surprised to discover this?

A. Yes. My idea, like everyone else's idea of French pastry, was what you see in the beautifully polished jewel box-like pastry shops. Of course, living in Paris for so long I knew there was a difference (between what people baked at home and purchased), but I didn't realize how great the difference there was in what French home cooks will tackle. I have really good friends in France and most of them are really good cooks, but not bakers - they bake simple things.

Q. What do you do in the cookbook to make these recipes easy and enjoyable for the home cook?

A. When I'm writing recipe instructions, I like to imagine I'm in the kitchen baking with a new baker. I think of myself as sitting on the shoulder of that baker, encouraging her and giving her everything she needs to be successful. I want you to be really happy with what you've made and to be able to share it with people.

I also love when a recipe has a story or a tradition - I think it adds to its flavor. France is the size of Texas. Texas is a big state but France is a small country. It has so many regional specialties. I love doing the research. I love finding out how the recipes were created and when they're served and the customs and traditions around them.

Q. Why do you give measurements in both traditional American volume and European metric weights?

A. In France, baking is always done by weight measure. And a lot of home bakers are turning to weight rather than volume measures. Because I want everyone to get in the kitchen, I wanted to offer both. I think it will come out more consistently if you measure by weight. But these recipes are pretty forgiving. And we tested them by both volume and weight measures.

Q. Why do you tell people to get to know their ovens?

A. I have three ovens and each one has a quirk and they don't have the same quirks. When you know what idiosyncrasies your oven has, you can accommodate. Please put a thermometer in your oven!

Q. You say in the book: "Even after 40 years, France, its traditions, its food, and its pastry has the power to surprise me." Can you elaborate on that?

A. I'm still discovering things. A recipe that had me shaking my head was Desert Roses - a delightful recipe but surprising. They're cornflake treats that you can really play with and add what you like. It's basically cornflakes coated in chocolate and not even baked - far, far away from what we think of as French pastry. They're called Desert Roses because they look like the spiky clumps of gypsum that form in the desert.

Q. Can you give an example of a recipe you put your own creative twist on?

A. Gateau Basque Fantasie. A traditional gateau Basque is two layers of pastry, and traditionally the filling is either pastry cream or cherry jam. In the Basque country they put a cross in the center of the cake so you know if it's the cherry jam. I just love the construction, the flavor of the pastry crust. I decided I'd take the dough and fill it my own way. It has brown sugar and apples and grapes and dried fruit and nuts and a little orange peel - all those great fall flavors in this double-crusted cake. It's an example of me playing with tradition. Even if you've been a scared-y cat with dough, you can win with this one - it's very forgiving.

Q. You draw on seasonal ingredients for your cakes and pastries. What are some other recipes that would be nice to make in the autumn here in Connecticut?

A. Custard-y Apple Squares. They come together in 10 minutes and are so delicious. Pear Tarte with Crunchy Almond Topping, Cranberry Crackle Tart - great for Thanksgiving - oh, and Fall-Market Galette.

Q. With the holidays approaching, can you also give examples of recipes for entertaining that won't take all day in the kitchen but are sure to "wow" one's guests?

A. Try the Marquise Au Chocolat - frozen chocolate mousse - it's delicious. It's like having a party in your freezer all ready to go. Or Laurent's Slow-Roasted Spiced Pineapple. Again, it's a make-ahead. It takes minutes to put together. It's slow roasted so you baste it whenever you walk by the oven. It can be served warm, chilled or room temperature. It's the most delicious dessert and if you have left over sauce, it's great on ice cream or in a cocktail.

Q. Does the focus on healthy, low-fat food affect your recipes, or are these special treats that wouldn't be as flavorful if you cut down on sugar and butter, etc.?

A. When I made these recipes, what I thought about was flavor, texture and a sense of French-ness - so no. I didn't change anything thinking about low fat or health concerns. In France, I never heard anyone eat a dessert and say, 'Oh I feel so guilty.' I never heard anyone name a dessert 'Sinful' something. Desserts are seen as one of life's pleasures. But the portions in France are much smaller than here. My personal philosophy is that I'd rather have a small portion of something delicious, beautifully made, with great ingredients than a larger portion of something that's not as good. The French never deny themselves but they also don't overdo it.

Q. Do you have another book in the works or are you taking a break?

A. Yes, I'm working on a cookie book. It doesn't have a name right now. It will (include) cookies from everywhere and a lot from my imagination. It's great fun.

"Baking Chez Moi" by Dorie Greenspan is $40, hardcover.

LAURENT’S SLOW-ROASTED SPICED PINEAPPLE

1 large pineapple serves 6 to 8

1 ripe pineapple

1/2 cup (120 ml) freshly squeezed orange juice (from about

2 oranges)

1/2 cup (120 ml) cognac, brandy, scotch, Grand Marnier, bourbon, rum or other liquor (or an equal amount of

orange juice)

1 jar (about 12 ounces; 340 grams) apple or quince jelly, apricot jam or orange marmalade

1 moist, fragrant vanilla bean, split lengthwise (optional)

Whole spices, lightly bruised, such as a few each of star anise, cardamom, coriander, pink peppercorns, allspice or cloves (no more than 3); fresh ginger slices; a cinnamon stick (broken); a small hot pepper (just 1 or a piece of 1); and/or black peppercorns (just a few)

Center a rack in the oven and preheat to 300 degrees F.

Cut the top and bottom off the pineapple. Stand it upright and, using a sturdy knife, peel it by cutting between the fruit and skin, following the contours of the pineapple. With the tip of a paring knife, remove the "eyes" (tough dark spots). Cutting from top to bottom, quarter the pineapple and then cut away core. Place pineapple in a baking dish or small roasting pan that holds it snugly while still leaving you enough room to turn and baste the fruit.

Whisk the juice, liquor and jelly, jam, or marmalade together. Don't worry about fully incorporating the jelly - it will melt in the oven - you just want to break it up. Pour the mixture over the pineapple, toss in the vanilla bean, if you're using it, and scatter over the spices.

Bake the pineapple for about 2 hours, basting and turning it in the syrup every 20 minutes or so, until it's tender enough to pierce easily with the tip of a knife. The fruit should have absorbed enough of the syrup to seem candied.

Allow pineapple to cool until comfortably warm or reaches room temperature before serving.

Excerpted from "Baking Chez Moi" By Dorie Greenspan.

UPCOMING LOCAL BOOK SIGNINGS AND TALKS

Nov. 14, 7 p.m. - Madison Beach Hotel, 94 West Wharf Road, Madison, hosted by RJ Julia Booksellers. Ticket is $10, $5 good toward purchase of book. Register at (203) 245-3959 or

www.rjjulia.com

Dec 7, 2 p.m. - Florence Griswold Museum, 96 Lyme St., Old Lyme.

Free with museum admission. Books available for purchase. Register at (860) 434-5542 or

http://florencegriswoldmuseum.org

Dec 7, 9:30 a.m. - Books & Bagels series at Congregation Beth Shalom Rodfe Zedek, 55 East Kings Hwy., Chester. Bagels and coffee will be served. Books available for purchase. Register at (860) 526-8920 and find more info at www.cbsrz.org.