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Celebrity status: Annie R. McCarter. Morsels Bowled Over By Greg Cahill DO YOU LIKE SOUP? Great bowls of steaming hot soup? Refreshing cups of chilled gazpacho? A hearty minestrone? Shrimp bisque? Purée of roasted eggplant and garlic soup? Creamed chestnut soup with fresh ginger? How about a nice posole-poblano soup with smoked pork and jalapeno jack cheese? The CIA at Greystone in Napa County has them all, ready for those cool fall days and nights, in The CIA Book of Soups (Lebhar-Friedman, 2001), edited by Mary D. Donovan and S. Armentrout: broths, cream soups, cold soups, chowders, and puréed soups, plus accompaniments (croutons, buttermilk biscuits, palmiers with prosciutto, et al.). That's 130 tasty and surprisingly simple recipes from the kitchens and classrooms of the nation's premier cooking institute, along with a few pointers on soup basics. Just in time for soup season (hey, that's year round, buddy!). Hmmmm. Dive in . . . . . On the Shelf A COOKBOOK of favorites from Wal-Mart staff? Believe it. And while most of the recipes in the Wal*Mart Family Cookbook (Try-Foods Int'l, 2001) fit the church potluck mold, there is a scrumptious-sounding entry from Annie R. McCarter of Santa Rosa dubbed Annie & Tyrone's Illusional Rocky Road Brownies. Sounds cosmic and deelish: made from scratch, loaded with chocolate and nuts, and at 248 calories per serving, these have just got to be good! McCarter becomes the star at her store at a book signing on Saturday, Oct. 6, from 1 to 3 p.m., at Wal-Mart, 4625 Redwood Drive, Rohnert Park. [ North Bay | Metroactive Central | Archives ]