A new cookbook for dudes includes recipes for Big Lebowski-style entertaining.

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Sooner or later you knew it would appear here. Always mindful not to disappoint the collective culinary consciousness of cutting edge cuisine, we will indeed today discuss Dishwasher Salmon. It is a phenomenon already explored by many of the great thinkers of our time, so in the wake of Dear Abby, Heloise and Regis and Kathie Lee, let us examine the versatility of our home appliances in new and creative ways as they apply to dinner.

Start with a two-pound, center-cut salmon fillet, no thicker than 1 1/4 inches. Arrange fillet on a length of aluminum foil long enough to completely enrobe the fish, brush with orange juice concentrate and sprinkle with salt, pepper and thyme. Garnish with fresh orange slices. You''ll want to seal the edges tightly by folding them several times. Now stick your fish on the top rack of the dishwasher. Omitting the detergent and spot remover, hit the normal cycle button, set the table and uncork the vino.

You now have just enough time to wash your salad greens, toss them into a pillowcase, tie it off and throw it into the dryer on the "fluff" setting. You and your flaky, steamed salmon and crisp garden salad are about to win the astonished kudos of even your most jaded epicurean friends, without messing up a single pan. This is Big Lebowski-style, no-sweat entertaining at its finest, and who else but a dude coulda thought it up?

Just in time for Father''s Day, the sure-fire way to get Daddy-O''s mojo working is as close as the bookstore and under 20 clams. Dude Food: Recipes for the Modern Guy (Chronicle Books) doesn''t bear any testimonials from Escoffier on its dust jacket. But, according to authors Gideon Bosker, Karen Brooks and Reed Darmon, "male cuisine is not a high falutin'' but a high salutin'' approach to cooking, in which men indicate with a flyboy''s thumb''s up sign that their mission has been accomplished. While guys may be tough on the outside, they are a nurturing breed that knows a great meal is a surefire way to win over the hearts and stomachs of friends, loved ones, and working companions."

In the world of testosterone cuisine, "less is more and shorter is better--for a species that likes to go from zero to sixty miles per hour in less than five seconds."

From a savvy list of "dudes and don''ts," this concise little book doles out some handy insights: Do keep a well-stocked kitchen that includes good knives, a garlic press, inexpensive wine for cooking, good wine for quaffing, and a decent hunk of parmigiano-reggiano. Don''t use your smoke alarm as a timer for your roast, put Tabasco sauce on everything, or listen to Barry Manilow while doing some serious barbecue.

And of course, the epitome of dude food, the ritualistic celebration at the backyard altar of smoke and flame is duly shown homage with a recipe for "bone-gnawing, brown-sugared, lip-buzzing barbecued ribs," which starts with a bottled sauce as a base and embellishes from there.

Julia food it ain''t--The Dude''s Chocolate Cake is baked in a cast iron skillet with Hershey bars melted on top for frosting--but the You Go, Risotto does give very clear, detailed instructions for transforming arborio rice and a few other simple ingredients into an elegant, luscious main dish capable of either impressing a business associate or wooing a new love interest. Along with being entertainingly penned and peppered with fun ''50s-style retro photos and illustrations, a dude (or dudette) could actually gain a trick or two to add to the repertoire. Or, for that matter, get a repertoire.