Wilton, Conn. ? After graduating from the University of Wisconsin in restaurant management, Cindy Pawlcyn moved to Napa Valley, Calif., in 1983 and opened Mustards Grill, the first of more than a dozen restaurants she eventually opened.

That famous original establishment is named in the title of the new cookbook, “Mustards Grill Napa Valley Cookbook,” that Pawlcyn has written with Brigid Callinan (Ten Speed Press, $39.95).

The book, which won a James Beard Foundation award this year in the Americana category, codifies the style of innovative California cuisine that Pawlcyn has developed.

The book-jacket blurb proclaims that “folks started calling Mustards Grill a ‘truck stop deluxe.”‘ In the book itself, Pawlcyn says she has always thought of Mustards Grill “as a cross between a roadside rib joint and a French country restaurant.”

The book is organized into chapters covering appetizers, soups, salads, dishes from the smoker and grill, sandwiches, and desserts. As with reading Pawlcyn’s restaurant menus, when I read the book’s recipes my mouth started to water.

Ten Speed Press tends to create handsome books and this one is no exception, with fine photography by Laurie Smith and Jonathan Chester.

In a telephone interview, Pawlcyn said the book had taken three years to write. Every recipe was sent to a panel of 18 people across the country for testing the testers represented different levels of cooking skills, some more proficient than others.

I mentioned that some recipes had fairly lengthy ingredient lists. Pawlcyn agreed, but said that everyone wanted their favorite recipe in the book and so she felt she needed to put them in.

Also, even though the recipe for Chinese chicken salad with sesame noodles and rice vinegar cucumbers is quite long, she pointed out that each of the component parts would work well on its own. The tahini dressing included in the salad would make any salad taste more special, she said.

In addition to Mustards, Pawlcyn also opened the highly acclaimed Fog City Diner in San Francisco and wrote “The Fog City Diner Cookbook.”

Then in 2000 she sold out of most of her restaurants, Pawlcyn said, because “I got tired of the commute to the San Francisco Bay area.”

She used to be part of a restaurant group, she explained. Now, with Mustards Grill, “I am in charge of everything. I like to learn and I keep learning even about which parts I like and don’t like. I have more time in my restaurant that I can spend with the bakers and line cooks.

“I love to cook all parts of it, from selecting the menu items, to meeting the farmers, to finding new products, or who has the best meat. I have a lot of experience with opening restaurants, but I wanted the chance to perfect a restaurant.”

Besides owning Mustards, she owns Miramonte, also in Napa Valley, which has more of a Latin flavor.

Pawlcyn grew up eating and cooking made-from-scratch food, she said. Her father had a garden that he started planting each January; her mother often baked homemade bread, and their children were encouraged to cook.

Pawlcyn’s mother gave her Julia Child’s two-volume set of “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” when she was 13 years old. She still cooks from it today. (She is not the first top chef I have talked with who launched a culinary career using this book.)

I asked her if she had any advice for people who wanted to cook well, and her response was prompt and clear.

“Do it,” she said. “Don’t go to fast-food places. Pay attention to your ingredients. Eat good stuff.”

How better to start following those recommendations than by trying some of Pawlcyn’s own recipes?

Sweet-and-Sour Coleslaw

1/2 to 3/4 head green cabbage, thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
2 carrots, grated
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon celery or cumin seeds, toasted and ground
1 teaspoon dry mustard powder
1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup cider or distilled vinegar
2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

Put the cabbage, bell pepper and carrots in a large bowl and mix well.

To make the dressing: Combine the sugar, celery seeds, mustard, salt, and pepper in a small saucepan. Gradually whisk in the vinegar and olive oil to avoid lumps. Bring to a boil over high heat and cook for 1 minute. Pour the hot dressing over the slaw and toss, mixing well. Cover and refrigerate until needed.

Makes 6 servings.

Erasto’s Chili and Orange Black Beans

1 pound black beans (2 1/2 cups), picked over and well washed
2 to 3 bay leaves
1 epazote sprig (2 to 3 inches) or 1 tablespoon dried epazote leaves or dried Mexican oregano
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 and 1/3 cups diced onion
3 or 4 cloves garlic, minced
1 pasilla chili or 1 Anaheim chili (if you prefer less heat), diced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
Grated zest and juice of 1 orange
Grated zest and juice of 1/2 lemon or lime
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds, toasted and ground
1 1/2 teaspoons red chili flakes
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
salt

Put the beans in a large pot and add water to cover by three times their depth. Add the bay leaves and epazote and bring to a boil. Skim the surface of any foam that rises and reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook for about 1 hour, until tender. Drain, reserving half of the liquid for the finished dish and discarding the rest.

Select a pot large enough to hold everything. Heat the olive oil in the pan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic and saute for 2 to 3 minutes, until translucent. Add the diced chili and bell pepper, and cook, stirring, for 5 to 8 minutes, until tender.

Stir in the citrus zests, cumin, chili flakes, black pepper, and salt to taste. Add the beans and the reserved cooking liquid, stir well, and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, adding more water as needed to keep the beans moist, tender, and slightly saucy, but not watery. Add the citrus juices, taste for seasoning, and add salt if needed.

Makes 6 servings.

Chocolate Pecan Jack Daniel’s Cake With Jack Daniel’s Chocolate Sauce

2 cups pecan pieces
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
6 ounces semisweet chocolate
1/4 cup Jack Daniel’s whiskey
8 large eggs, separated
1 cup sugar
Tiny pinch of salt

For the Jack Daniel’s Chocolate Sauce:

8 ounces good-quality semisweet chocolate, chopped into small pieces
1/2 cup unsalted butter
3 tablespoons Jack Daniel’s whiskey
3/4 cup corn syrup
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
Optional garnishes: confectioners’ sugar; ice cream; whipped cream, flavored with vanilla extract

To make the cake: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Butter and flour a 10-inch springform pan.

Spread the pecans on a baking sheet and toast for about 12 minutes, until very fragrant. Let cool, then grind the nuts in a food processor or chop finely.

Combine the butter, chocolate and whiskey in a large, heatproof bowl. Place over a saucepan of simmering water, and stir occasionally until melted and uniform. Remove from the heat.

Put the egg yolks and 3/4 cup of the sugar in an electric mixer fitted with the whip attachment. Beat on high speed until very thick and pale. Stir the ground pecans into the chocolate mixture, then fold in the whipped yolks.

In a clean bowl, with a clean whip attachment, beat the egg whites on high speed until foamy. Slowly add the remaining 1/4 cup sugar and the salt, and whip on high speed until soft peaks form. In three batches, quickly but gently fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture, maintaining as much volume as possible. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until the cake springs back when pressed gently in the center. Cool completely on a rack, then remove the sides of the pan.

To make the sauce: Combine the chocolate, butter, whiskey and corn syrup in a heatproof bowl and set over barely simmering water. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate and butter are melted. Remove from the heat and stir in the cream.

To serve, cut the cake into the desired number of portions. Place each slice on a pool of warm chocolate sauce and dust liberally with confectioners’ sugar. Place a big scoop of ice cream alongside and a dollop of whipped cream on top.

Makes one 10-inch cake, 10 to 12 normal servings.