Eating out is a treat, but it can also be fattening, especially in the best restaurants. While such indulgences are entertaining, and sometimes necessary, occasionally most of us want to try our hand at duplicating some of our favorite restaurant dishes at home. If time is not always on your side or if you're counting calories, fat grams, or cholesterol, you'll want to consider the recipes in Chez Moi. They are based on the elegant dining of four-star restaurants nationwide, but they've been doctored by Elaine Magee to fit the healthy and hasty kitchen at home.

With just a few ingredient adjustment, fabulous recipes from some of the best known kitchens in the country can be transformed into healthy, low fat dishes. Totally decadent desserts still taste decadent after they've been changed, and while they may not be called low fat, they have at most half the calories.

There is something here for every palate and time manager. You will find regional flavors and recipes of high culinary sophistication. Some are exotic, and others use generic ingredients. There are comfort foods like coconut meringue pie, scones, muffins and cornbread too.

ELAINE MAGEE is a registered dietitian who believes taste and nutrition can go hand in hand. Her syndicated column The Recipe Doctor is featured in Knight Ridder publications. Her many books include Fight Fat and Win, 200 Kid-Tested Ways to Lower the Fat in Your Child's Favorite Foods, Taste vs. Fat, Someone's in the Kitchen with Mommy, and Lighten Up. She lives near San Francisco, California.