Contains delightful explorations of food and cooking, among which are the collection's namesake essay and many other gems; with black-and-white photographs and illustrations.

    But a young historical gastronomist named Sarah Lohman discovered that American food is united by eight flavors: black pepper, vanilla, curry powder, chili powder, soy sauce, garlic, MSG, and Sriracha. Lohman sets out to explore how these influential ingredients made their way to the American table. Eight Flavors introduces the explorers, merchants, botanists, farmers, writers, and chefs whose choices came to define the American palate.

    And really, how often do folks nowadays need to hitch up a mule and wagon and leave civilization and Teflon-coated saute pans behind? True, cast iron is old; it's been around since the Middle Ages. And it is heavy. No one can dispute that even a small, cast-iron pot has a heft to it that no other cookware has. Nevertheless, cast-iron cookware has a place in today's kitchens, and that doesn't mean simply hanging on the wall for decoration. Cast iron has much to offer modern-day cooks; it's easy to use, easy to care for, economical, versatile, and durable, and let's face it, it has a nostalgic appeal that no other cookware has. But more compelling than all those reasons is that it's a great cookware that makes great food. In fact, most cast-iron cooks will tell you that food cooked in cast iron tastes better than food cooked in anything else!Cast-Iron Cooking For Dummies is for those cooks who may want to inject a little adventure and variety into their cooking. If you've never even thought of using cast-iron cookware, or you have a few cast-iron pots lying around, you'll discover all you need to know about making great food using cast iron. Here just a sampling of what you'll find in Cast-Iron Cooking For Dummies: Selecting the right cast-iron cookware for you Seasoning a new cast-iron pan Caring for your cast-iron cookware Discovering techniques to enhance your cast-iron cooking Enjoying cast-iron cooking in the Great Outdoors Tons of delicious recipes, from main and side dishes to desserts and international dishes Top Ten lists on ways to make your cast-iron cookware last longer, the best dishes suited for cast iron, and tips for achieving success in cast-iron cooking So, whether you're a cooking novice or an experienced chef, you can find plenty of enjoyment from cooking with cast iron - and Cast-Iron Cooking For Dummies can show you the way.

    Cooking is the way we express our love for one another....I feel so lucky and blessed by the strong support and wonderful memories -- and the incredible recipes -- that my family has brought me. They are the heart and soul of this book."" -- FROM THE INTRODUCTIONNothing is more important to Paula Deen than her family, and nothing makes that big family happier than sitting down to a meal together. In "Paula Deen's The Deen Family Cookbook, " Paula and the Deens, Hiers, Groovers, and Orts share their recipes and memories.Paula's beloved Aunt Peggy makes an Old-Fashioned Meat Loaf that's as good in sandwiches the next day as it is for dinner. Baby brother Bubba Hiers brings his Beer and Onion Biscuits to the table, and his daughter, Corrie, makes a simple but luscious Lemony, Buttery Baked Fish that's perfect for a weeknight dinner. (Her Carrot-Pecan Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting are pretty tasty, too ) Son Jamie makes Huevos Rancheros, perfect for brunch, or try Bobby's Whole Wheat and Honey Pancakes. Husband Michael Groover knows his way around a grill: try his Company's Coming Grilled Steak and Veggie Supper for easy entertaining, and finish the evening with his Irish Coffee.Of course, there was no way The Lady herself was going to let her relatives have all the fun: Paula is, after all, "Paula." She shares her recipe for the Ham and Chutney Biscuit Fingers she puts on the table at every family party as well as the Eggplant and Sausage Lasagna that went a long way toward getting the boys to eat their vegetables. And while there's plenty of butter, bacon, and mayonnaise in these pages, you'll find some of the lighter recipes that Paula enjoys, too: Seared Scallops with Pineapple-Cucumber Salsa is her first choice for a healthful but romantic supper with Michael, and Oven-Fried Chicken Breasts with Honey-Yogurt Drizzle lets Paula indulge in her favorite foods without guilt "and" with room for dessert.With more than 140 recipes and dozens of beautiful color photographs, there's something here for everyone. So invite over all those aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends, and treat them to some home cooking, Deen family style.

    Those on the go love being able to throw wholesome ingredients into a cooker, close the lid and come home to a hot, satisfying meal at the end of the day. However, most slow cooker cookbooks feature recipes using meat, poultry and fish, and include only a few vegetarian recipes.125 Best Vegetarian Slow Cooker Recipes features outstanding vegetarian recipes including:Cannelloni with Tomato Eggplant SauceThree-Bean Chili with BulgurLouisiana RatatouilleRice and Bean Casserole with Cheese and ChiliesCreamy Leek, Potato and Mushroom Stew with Blue CheeseSucculent SuccotashPotato-and-Cauliflower Dal with Spicy ShallotsCider Baked BeansMeatless MoussakaMushroom and Artichoke Lasagna.Also provided is useful information about the basics of slow cooking and tips like using whole leaf herbs and spices. Common pantry ingredients are particularly helpful in turning out great-tasting and innovative slow cooker food.

    Chemistry professor and syndicated Washington Post food columnist Robert L. Wolke provides over 100 reliable and witty explanations, while debunking misconceptions and helping you to see through confusing advertising and labeling.

    But all of the recipes in Dining In have one thing in common: they make even the most oven-phobic or restaurant-crazed person want to stay home and cook. They prove that casual doesn't have to mean boring, simple doesn't have to be uninspired, and that more steps or ingredients don't always translate to a better plate of food.Vegetable-forward but with an affinity for a mean steak and a deep regard for fresh fish, Dining In is all about building flavor and saving time. Alison's ingenuity seduces seasoned cooks, while her warm, edgy writing makes these recipes practical and approachable enough for the novice. With 125 recipes for effortlessly chic dishes that are full of quick-trick techniques (think slathering roast chicken in anchovy butter, roasting citrus to ramp up the flavor, and keeping boiled potatoes in the fridge for instant crispy smashed potatoes), she proves that dining in brings you just as much joy as eating out.

    Ten years ago a young Brooklyn chef was making a name for herself by dishing up amazing vegan meals -- no fuss, no b.s., just easy, cheap, delicious food. Several books -- including Veganomicon, Appetite for Reduction, Isa Does It, and Superfun Times Holiday Cookbook -- later, the punk rock priestess of all things tasty and animal-free returns to her roots-and we're not just talking tubers. The book that started it all is back, with new recipes, ways to make those awesome favorites even awesomer, more in-the-kitchen tips with Fizzle--and full-color photos of those amazing dishes throughout. With tips for taming your tofu, doing away with dairy, and getting rid of the eggs, you'll find recipes for: "Fronch" Toast; Biscuits and White Bean Sausage Gravy; Chile sin Carne al Mole; Apple Pie-Crumb Cake Muffins; Three Kinds of Knishes (Knish Madness!); Revolutionary Spanish Omelet; Tempeh Reuben; Braised Cauliflower with Three-Seed Sauce; Ethiopian Seitan and Peppers; No-Bake Black Bottom-Peanut Butter Silk Pie; Coconut Heaven Cupcakes . . . and more. So much more.

    From the name that generations have grown to trust.This new paperback edition brings together the tools we need to prepare quick and nutritious meals and includes nutritional information with every recipe. More than 150 color photos, step-by-step drawings, and easy-to-use charts make this the complete cookbook for the busy 90s!

    Doctors have extolled the virtues of the Mediterranean diet for decades, but no chef has given home cooks the recipes they'll want to make again and again -- until now. In Live to Eat, Michael Psilakis modernizes the food of his heritage to prove that clean, healthy meals can also be comforting and easy to prepare. Cooking the Mediterranean way means deliciousness, not deprivation: a nearly endless array of satisfying weeknight meals for your family can start with just seven easy-to-find staples, from Greek yogurt to simple tomato sauce.

    Unlike other food science books, we make a direct and practical connection between the science and the cooking. We divide the book into 50 core principles, support them through detailed yet friendly explanations, bring them alive with color illustrations and inventive experiments, and reinforce them through recipes that put the principle to work. At Cook's Illustrated, we've been asking why in the kitchen for over 20 years and often find our answers in science. We believe good science makes great food and that understanding basic science will make you a great cook.

    Curtis Stone, host of Top Chef Masters and Around the World in 80 Plates, provides a culinary road map of time-saving kitchen solutions and delicious dishes for every day of the week.

    In Barefoot Contessa Foolproof, the Food Network star takes easy a step further, sharing her secrets for pulling off deeply satisfying meals that have that “wow!” factor we all crave.Start with delicious Dukes Cosmopolitans made with freshly squeezed lemon juice, plus Jalapeño Cheddar Crackers that everyone will devour. Lunches include Hot Smoked Salmon, Lobster & Potato Salad, and Easy Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese Croutons, all featuring old-fashioned flavors with the volume turned up. Elegant Slow-Roasted Filet of Beef with Basil Parmesan Mayonnaise and show-stopping Seared Scallops & Potato Celery Root Purée are just two of the many fabulous dinner recipes. And your guests will always remember the desserts, from Sticky Toffee Date Cake with Bourbon Glaze to Salted Caramel Brownies.For Ina, “foolproof” means more than just making one dish successfully; it’s also about planning a menu, including coordinating everything so it all gets to the table at the same time. In Barefoot Contessa Foolproof, Ina shows you how to make a game plan so everything is served hot while you keep your cool. There are notes throughout detailing where a recipe can go wrong to keep you on track, plus tips for making recipes in advance. It’s as though Ina is there in the kitchen with you guiding you every step of the way.With 150 gorgeous color photographs and Ina’s invaluable tips, Barefoot Contessa Foolproof is a stunning yet infinitely practical cookbook that home cooks will turn to again and again.

    Whether charting the rise of our love affair with Chinese food through San Francisco’s fabled The Mandarin, evoking the richness of Italian food through Mamma Leone’s, or chronicling the rise and fall of French haute cuisine through Henri Soulé’s Le Pavillon, food historian Paul Freedman uses each restaurant to tell a wider story of race and class, immigration and assimilation. Freedman also treats us to a scintillating history of the then-revolutionary Schrafft’s, a chain of convivial lunch spots that catered to women, and that bygone favorite, Howard Johnson’s, which pioneered midcentury, on-the-road dining, only to be swept aside by McDonald's. Lavishly designed with more than 100 photographs and images, including original menus, Ten Restaurants That Changed America is a significant and highly entertaining social history.

    City Tavern was the social, political, and economic center of late 18th-century Philadelphia. Called the “most genteel” tavern in America by John Adams, it gained fame as the gathering place for members of the Continental Congresses and the Constitutional Convention, and for officials of the early Federal Government.With more than 300 tempting, simple-to-make recipes and full-color photography, City Tavern will help home chefs and history buffs alike recreate the same dishes enjoyed by George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin. Featuring traditional favorites such as West Indies pepperpot soup, roasted duckling with chutney, Martha Washington’s recipe for chocolate mousse cake, and Thomas Jefferson’s own recipe for sweet-potato biscuits, this book’s recipes are sure to entice adults and children alike, while simultaneously providing them with a wealth of fascinating American and culinary history!More than just a cookbook, City Tavern is a treasury of American history.