Year of No Sugar


Eve O. Schaub - 2014
    Do you know where your sugar is coming from?Most likely everywhere. Sure, it's in ice cream and cookies, but what scared Eve O. Schaub was the secret world of sugar--hidden in bacon, crackers, salad dressing, pasta sauce, chicken broth, and baby food.With her eyes open by the work of obesity expert Dr. Robert Lustig and others, Eve challenged her husband and two school-age daughters to join her on a quest to eat no added sugar for an entire year.Along the way, Eve uncovered the real costs of our sugar-heavy American diet--including diabetes, obesity, and increased incidences of health problems such as heart disease and cancer. The stories, tips, and recipes she shares throw fresh light on questionable nutritional advice we've been following for years and show that it is possible to eat at restaurants and go grocery shopping--with less and even no added sugar.Year of No Sugar is what the conversation about "kicking the sugar addiction" looks like for a real American family--a roller coaster of unexpected discoveries and challenges.

Fabio's Italian Kitchen


Fabio Viviani - 2013
    Now he shares the best of Italian home cooking while telling the story of his hardscrabble childhood, his success as a chef in the United States, and the women in his family who inspired him. In more than 150 delicious recipes, Viviani takes us from his family home, where his great-grandmother taught him to make staples like Italian Apple Cake and Homemade Ricotta, to the kitchen of a local trattoria, where he honed his craft cooking restaurant favorites like Gnocchi and the Perfect Tiramisu, and then across Italy where he studied each region's finest recipes, from Piedmont's Braised Ossobuco to Emilia Romagna's Perfect Meat Sauce. A gorgeously illustrated cookbook, Fabio's Italian Kitchen is a celebration of food and family that brings all the joy, fun, and flair that Fabio Viviani embodies to your kitchen. Fabio Viviani was born in Florence, Italy, and became a sous chef at Il Pallaio, a trattoria in Firenze, at the age of sixteen. He now works as the owner and executive chef of Cafe Firenze, a renowned Italian restaurant in Ventura County, California, and Osteria Firenze, a Los Angeles Italian eatery. He has appeared on Top Chef (season five), Top Chef All Stars, and Life After Top Chef. From growing up in a Florentine housing project to charming millions on Top Chef, Italian chef Fabio Viviani blends his amazing personal story with his favorite recipes from his home country. Fabio shares the best of Italian home cooking while telling the story of his own, hardscrabble Italian childhood (and subsequent success upon arrival in US) and especially the women in his life mother and great grandmother who taught him to cook and inspired him. The book will feature photos and over 150 recipes with stories, including Viviani staples (Italian Apple Cake, 7 Flavors Meat), restaurant favorites (Gnocchi, the Perfect Tiramisu), and recipes from his travels and apprenticeships across different regions of Italy (Braised Ossobuco from Piedmont, the Perfect Meat Sauce from Emilia Romagna).

The Art of Eating


M.F.K. Fisher - 1954
    Fisher, whose wit and fulsome opinions on food and those who produce it, comment upon it, and consume it are as apt today as they were several decades ago, when she composed them. Why did she choose food and hunger she was asked, and she replied, 'When I write about hunger, I am really writing about love and the hunger for it, and warmth, and the love of it . . . and then the warmth and richness and fine reality of hunger satisfied.

Rachel Khoo's Kitchen Notebook


Rachel Khoo - 2015
    From a Ham Hock Tiffin Box to Slow Roasted Pork Belly with Sloe Gin, and Rhubarb and Custard Millefeuille, Rachel Khoo's Kitchen Notebook will inspire even the most jaded cook to try something new.

Maman's Homesick Pie: A Persian Heart in an American Kitchen


Donia Bijan - 2011
    In 1978, when the Islamic revolution in Iran threatened their safety, they fled to California's Bay Area, where the familiar flavors of Bijan's mother's cooking formed a bridge to the life they left behind. Now, through the prism of food, award-winning chef Donia Bijan unwinds her own story, finding that at the heart of it all is her mother, whose love and support enabled Bijan to realize her dreams. From the Persian world of her youth to the American life she embraced as a teenager to her years at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris (studying under the infamous Madame Brassart) to apprenticeships in France's three-star kitchens and finally back to San Francisco, where she opened her own celebrated bistro, Bijan evokes a vibrant kaleidoscope of cultures and cuisines. And she shares thirty inspired recipes from her childhood (Saffron Yogurt Rice with Chicken and Eggplant and Orange Cardamom Cookies), her French training (Ratatouille with Black Olives and Fried Bread and Purple Plum Skillet Tart), and her cooking career (Roast Duck Legs with Dates and Warm Lentil Salad and Rose Petal Ice Cream). An exhilarating, heartfelt memoir, Maman's Homesick Pie is also a reminder of the women who encourage us to shine.

Surprise-Inside Cakes: Amazing Cakes for Every Occasion--with a Little Something Extra Inside


Amanda Rettke - 2013
    Whether it's a striking all-white cake with a secret rainbow heart baked inside, a birthday cake complete with a surprise balloon in the middle, or the gorgeous rose cake that took the blogging world by storm, Amanda's creations are downright revolutionary—and tons of fun! In Surprise-Inside Cakes, she gives us fresh new ways to enjoy life's greatest occasions, with themes and cakes including:Celebrating Family—Stripe Birthday Cake, Paw Print Cake, Rainbow Cake Celebrating You—Leopard Cake, Herringbone Cake, Cowboy Boot Cake Celebrating Love—Kiss Cake, Ring Cake, Sunset Cake Celebrating Holidays—Jack-o'-lantern Cake, Rudolph Cake, Holiday Candle Cake Celebrating Life—Football Cake, Cherry Cake, Smiley Face CakeFeaturing a few classic favorite cakes from her blog and more than forty brand-new cakes—along with her easy-to-follow instructions and step-by-step photo tutorials—Surprise-Inside Cakes shows you how to replicate these incredible designs in your own kitchen.To make these dazzling cakes, you can start with one of Amanda's delicious, foolproof recipes for cakes and frostings, or use a boxed cake mix or favorite family recipe. With tips on how to bake a level cake, tricks using household items such as rulers, biscuit cutters, and cookie cutters to carve and shape cakes, and Amanda's simple yet stunning frosting and decorating ideas, you'll not only be re-creating these amazing cakes for occasions large and small, you'll soon be using her techniques to create your own surprises!And your friends and family will be thrilled and delighted when a beautiful cake opens to reveal a special gift inside.

Ritz and Escoffier: The Hotelier, the Chef, and the Rise of the Leisure Class


Luke Barr - 2018
    It's a charming tale of success, scandal, and redemption--complete with an unexpected villain.

Mozart in the Jungle: Sex, Drugs, and Classical Music


Blair Tindall - 2005
    In a book that inspired the Amazon Original series starring Gael Garcia Bernal and Malcolm McDowell, oboist Blair Tindall recounts her decades-long professional career as a classical musician--from the recitals and Broadway orchestra performances to the secret life of musicians who survive hand to mouth in the backbiting New York classical music scene, where musicians trade sexual favors for plum jobs and assignments in orchestras across the city. Tindall and her fellow journeymen musicians often play drunk, high, or hopelessly hungover, live in decrepit apartments, and perform in hazardous conditions-- working-class musicians who schlep across the city between low-paying gigs, without health-care benefits or retirement plans, a stark contrast to the rarefied experiences of overpaid classical musician superstars. An incisive, no-holds-barred account, Mozart in the Jungle is the first true, behind-the-scenes look at what goes on backstage and in the Broadway pit.

Apricots on the Nile: A Memoir with Recipes


Colette Rossant - 1999
    From the moment she arrives at her grandparents' belle époque mansion by the Nile, the five-year-old Colette finds companionship and comfort among the other "outsiders" in her home away from home -- the cooks and servants in the kitchen. The chef, Ahmet, lets Colette taste the ful; she learns how to make sambusaks for her new friends; and she shops for semits and other treats in the Khan-al-Khalili market. Colette is beginning to understand how her family's culture is linked to the kitchen...and soon she will claim Egypt's food, landscape, and people as her own. Apricots on the Nile is a loving testament to Colette's adopted homeland. With dozens of original recipes and family photographs, Colette's coming-of-age memoir is a splendid exploration of old Cairo in all its flavor, variety, and wide-eyed wonder.

Tokyo Cult Recipes


Maori Murota - 2014
    Maori Murota, a Japanese cook who was born and bred in Tokyo, is passionate about the Japanese cooking she learned from her mother, and wants to share the dishes eaten in homes and local restaurants across the city. From the cult classics of sushi and miso to the perfect rice, gyoza, ramen, donburi, bento, tonkatsu, and mochi, Tokyo Cult Recipes will transport you to the heart of the city and its food culture. Following on from the best-selling New York Cult Recipes and Venice Cult Recipes, Tokyo Cult Recipes is another beautifully illustrated recipe book and travel guide in one, with bespoke photography of Tokyo food markets, street scenes, kitchens and food producers. About the authorMaori Murota grew up in Tokyo and is a freelance Japanese cook now based in France, specialising in Japanese family cooking. Maori has worked as a chef at Parisian restaurants D\o and Bento at La Conserverie. She is now an event caterer and private chef, giving classes in Japanese home cooking.

Waiter Rant: Thanks for the Tip-Confessions of a Cynical Waiter


Steve Dublanica - 2008
    The remaining twenty percent, however, are socially maladjusted psychopaths. WAITER RANT offers the server's unique point of view, replete with tales of customer stupidity, arrogant misbehavior, and unseen bits of human grace transpiring in the most unlikely places. Through outrageous stories, The Waiter reveals the secrets to getting good service, proper tipping etiquette, and how to keep him from spitting in your food. The Waiter also shares his ongoing struggle, at age thirty-eight, to figure out if he can finally leave the first job at which he's really thrived."The other shoe finally drops. The front-of-the-house version of Kitchen Confidential; a painfully funny, excruciatingly true-life account of the waiter's life. As useful as it is entertaining. You will never look at your waiter the same way again�and will never tip less than 20%." --Anthony Bourdain, author of Kitchen Confidential"I really enjoyed WAITER RANT. The book is engaging and funny, a story told from my polar opposite perspective. I will now do my best to act better as a Chef -- and I dare say, I'll never be rude to a waiter again, as long as I live."--John DeLucie, Chef of The Waverly Inn

I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence


Amy Sedaris - 2006
    Take a cue from entertaining expert Amy Sedaris and host an unforgettable fete that will have your guests raving. No matter the style or size of the gathering-from the straightforward to the bizarre-I Like You provides jackpot recipes and solid advice laced with Amy's blisteringly funny take on entertaining, plus four-color photos and enlightening sidebars on everything it takes to pull off a party with extraordinary flair. You don't even need to be a host or hostess to benefit-Amy offers tips for guests, too!  (Number one: don't be fifteen minutes early.) Readers will discover unique dishes to serve alcoholics (Broiled Frozen Chicken Wings with Applesauce), the secret to a successful children's party (a half-hour time limit, games included), plus a whole appendix chock-full of arts and crafts ideas (from a mini-pantyhose plant-hanger to a do-it-yourself calf stretcher), and much, much more!

Lunch in Paris: A Love Story, with Recipes


Elizabeth Bard - 2010
    Was it love at first sight? Or was it the way her knife slid effortlessly through her pave au poivre, the steak's pink juices puddling into the buttery pepper sauce? Lunch In Paris is a memoir about a young American woman caught up in two passionate love affairs--one with her new beau, Gwendal, the other with French cuisine. Packing her bags for a new life in the world's most romantic city, Elizabeth is plunged into a world of bustling open-air markets, hipster bistros, and size 2 femmes fatales. She learns to gut her first fish (with a little help from Jane Austen), soothe pangs of homesickness (with the rise of a chocolate souffle) and develops a crush on her local butcher (who bears a striking resemblance to Matt Dillon). Elizabeth finds that the deeper she immerses herself in the world of French cuisine, the more Paris itself begins to translate. French culture, she discovers, is not unlike a well-ripened cheese-there may be a crusty exterior, until you cut through to the melting, piquant heart. Peppered with mouth-watering recipes for summer ratatouille, swordfish tartare and molten chocolate cakes, Lunch in Paris is a story of falling in love, redefining success and discovering what it truly means to be at home. In the delicious tradition of memoirs like A Year in Provence and Under the Tuscan Sun, this book is the perfect treat for anyone who has dreamed that lunch in Paris could change their life.

Fresh Off the Boat


Eddie Huang - 2013
    Eddie Huang was raised by a wild family of FOB (“fresh off the boat”) immigrants—his father a cocksure restaurateur with a dark past back in Taiwan, his mother a fierce protector and constant threat. Young Eddie tried his hand at everything mainstream America threw his way, from white Jesus to macaroni and cheese, but finally found his home as leader of a rainbow coalition of lost boys up to no good: skate punks, dealers, hip-hop junkies, and sneaker freaks. This is the story of a Chinese-American kid in a could-be-anywhere cul-de-sac blazing his way through America’s deviant subcultures, trying to find himself, ten thousand miles from his legacy and anchored only by his conflicted love for his family and his passion for food. Funny, moving, and stylistically inventive, Fresh Off the Boat is more than a radical reimagining of the immigrant memoir—it’s the exhilarating story of every American outsider who finds his destiny in the margins.

Lidia's Italy in America


Lidia Matticchio Bastianich - 2011
    Traveling around the United States, Lidia visits Italian American communities that created something new out of the recipes passed down from their ancestors. As she explores this utterly delectable and distinctive cuisine, Lidia shows us that every kitchen is different, every Italian community distinct, and little clues are buried in each dish: the Sicilian-style semolina bread and briny olives in New Orleans Muffuletta Sandwiches, the Neapolitan crust of New York pizza, and mushrooms (abundant in the United States, but scarce in Italy) stuffed with breadcrumbs, just as peppers or tomatoes are. Lidia shows us how this cuisine is an original American creation that redefines what we know as Italian food while always paying tribute to Italy, and she gives recognition where it is long overdue to the many industrious Italians across the country who have honored the traditions of their homeland in a delicious new style. And of course, there are Lidia’s irresistible recipes, including ·        Baltimore Crab Cakes ·        Pittsburgh’s Primanti’s Sandwiches ·        Chicago Deep-Dish Pizza ·        Eggplant Parmigiana from the Bronx ·        Gloucester Baked Halibut ·        Chicken Trombino from Philadelphia ·        authentic Italian American Meatloaf, and Spaghetti and Meatballs ·        Prickly Pear Granita from California ·        and, of course, a handful of cheesecakes and cookies that you’d recognize in any classic Italian bakery This is a loving exploration of a fascinating cuisine—as only Lidia could give us.