These intelligent, searching essays are a passionate meditation on food, character, and place.

    The page are filled with recipes. Each is a memory, a fantasy, a hope for the future. Written by undernourished and starving women in the Czechoslovakian ghetto/concentration camp of Terezin (also known as Theresienstadt), the recipes give instructions for making beloved dishes in the rich, robust Czech tradition. Sometimes steps or ingredients are missing, the gaps a painful illustration of the condition and situation in which the authors lived. Reprinting the contents of the original hand-sewn copybook, In Memory's Kitchen: A Legacy from the Women of Terezin is a beautiful memorial to the brave women who defied Hitler by preserving a part of their heritage and a part of themselves. Despite the harsh conditions in the Nazis' "model" ghetto - which in reality was a way station to Auschwitz and other death camps - cultural, intellectual, and artistic life did exist within the walls of the ghetto. Like the heart-breaking book ... I never saw another butterfly ... which contains the poetry and drawings of the children of Terezin, the handwritten cookbook is proof that the Nazis could not break the spirit of the Jewish people.

    Now Darina Allen--the "Queen of Irish Cooking" who cooked breakfast for President Clinton and 150 guests last St. Patrick's Day--presents more than 250 wondrous Irish recipes, from traditional festival food to manor fare.

    Lauden was given the 1997 Jane Grigson Award, presented to the book that, more than any other entered in the competition, exemplifies distinguished scholarship.Hawaii has one of the richest culinary heritages in the United States. Its contemporary regional cuisine, known as local food by residents, is a truly amazing fusion of diverse culinary influences. Rachel Laudan takes readers on a thoughtful, wide-ranging tour of Hawaii's farms and gardens, fish auctions and vegetable markets, fairs and carnivals, mom-and-pop stores and lunch wagons, to uncover the delightful complexities and incongruities in Hawaii's culinary history.More than 150 recipes, photographs, a bibliography of Hawaii's cookbooks, and an extensive glossary make The Food of Paradise an invaluable resource for cooks, food historians, and Hawaiiana buffs.

    Expelled from Spain during the Inquisition, the Sephardic Jews scattered to all corners of the Mediterranean. Their strong traditions and varied cultural experience combined with the fertile climate in which they settled, created one of the most flavorful and distinctive cuisines in the world. It is a melding of delicious flavors from all around the warm salt waters of the Mediterranean -- Portugal, Spain, Italy, France, Algeria, Greece, Morocco, Israel and the remains of the Ottoman Empire.In each distant place the Sephardic Jews cooked inventive and delightful meals whose flavor comes more from herbs and spices than from fat. The core ingredients -- fresh fruits, spices, olives, nuts, tomatoes, fennel, eggs and seafood -- are as tasty as they are versatile.The tempting recipes in this book include Canton de Sardellas, a delicious anchovy salad from Portugal, Sopa de Spinaca y Lentijas, a spicy and delicate soup from Macedonia, Sopada con Bamias, a hot and sweet braised beef with okra from Egypt, and the incomparable Los Site Kilos -- Bread of the Seven Heavens -- whose layers represent the connection between this world and the next.Alongside his recipes Rabbi Sternberg relates the rich history and lore of the Sephardic Jews, to whom hospitality is one of the most important virtues. "When visiting the home of a Jew from a Mediterranean country, one is usually greeted with an apology from the host or hostess for the poor and limited quality of the food being served," says Rabbi Sternberg. "The apology is generally followed by a lavish buffet with a dazzling array of mouthwatering appetizers and salads." Rabbi Sternberg also explains Jewish Holiday traditions and culinary celebrations, from Sabbath dinners to observation of the High Holy Days.Generously illustrated, easy to follow, and sprinkled with Sephardic folktales, Rabbi Sternberg's book is certain to become the mainstay in the kitchens of people who like Mediterranean cooking, lighter eating and just plain good food.Rabbi Sternberg is the executive director of the Holocaust Museum and Learning Center in St. Louis, Missouri. He is also the author of Yiddish Cuisine.

    This comprehensive work explores the culinary evolution of cultures ranging from Mesopotamia to modern America, and explores every aspect of food history, from the dietary rules of the ancient Hebrews to the contributions of Arab cookery. Written by leading world authorities, this volume gives a unique perspective on the social and cultural mores of humankind through the ages, offering cooks, culinary scholars, and food lovers a banquet of information on which to feast.

    With it, he discovered, were 150 neglected olive trees. His neighbours helped him bring his grove back to life - and with it a passion grew in him to discover all there was to know about the olive.

    Celebrating the winter season, fond memories and nourishing home cooking, this delightful book combines the richness of tradition with classic, festive recipes for Herbed Cream-Corn Cornbread, Old Fashioned Butterscotch Cookies, Aunt Irene's Winter Apple Pie, and Grandpa's Oyster Soup.

    The volume presents over 100 recipes, drawn from actual medieval manuscripts, together with preparation instructions. The authors help place these enticing recipes in context through a short survey of medieval dining behavior, and they give practical menu suggestions for preparing simple meals or banquets that incorporate these delightfully tasty dishes.Chapters include an overview of early French culinary traditions, foodstuffs that were used, and methods of preparation. Early French Cookery also discusses the equipment of the kitchens and dining rooms that were used, and characterizes those who prepared the food and those who consumed it.The recipes are set out in a modern format, with quantities given in both metric and standard U.S. measurements. Recipes are grouped by category: appetizers, vegetables, fish dishes, desserts, and so forth.Early French Cookery concludes with a fascinating look at a day in the life of a contemporary master chef at a duke's court. We watch Master Chiquart organize the purchase, storage, preparation, and serving of the food consumed by a duke and his dozens of family members, courtiers, staff and servants--and all done without benefit of grocery stores, refrigeration, labor-saving electric appliances, or running water.Early French Cookery will be of interest to a wide variety of people, from those who like to hold unusual parties to those who are interested in the economics of the middle ages.D. Eleanor Scully is an occasional lecturer at the Stratford Chef School and advisor to Wilfrid Laurier University on Medieval and Renaissance cooking and customs. Terence Scully is Professor of French Language and Literature, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario.

    This book shares the baking secrets of Natives Americans, ranch house cooks, chuck wagon chefs, and wagon train homemakers, with over a hundred tried and true Old West recipes updated and kitchen tested.

    Describes methods for brewing, baking, dairy work, distilling, and storage, and discusses the evolution of the cooking fire and kitchen range, roles of kit