Momofuku


David Chang - 2009
    A once-unrecognizable word, it's now synonymous with the award-winning restaurants of the same name in New York City: Momofuku Noodle Bar, Ssäm Bar, Ko, and Milk Bar. Chef David Chang has single-handedly revolutionized cooking in America with his use of bold Asian flavors and impeccable ingredients, his mastery of the humble ramen noodle, and his thorough devotion to pork.  Momofuku is both the story and the recipes behind the cuisine that has changed the modern-day culinary landscape. Chang relays with candor the tale of his unwitting rise to superstardom, which, though wracked with mishaps, happened at light speed. And the dishes shared in this book are coveted by all who've dined—or yearned to—at any Momofuku location (yes, the pork buns are here). This is a must-read for anyone who truly enjoys food.

The American Way of Eating: Undercover at Walmart, Applebee's, Farm Fields and the Dinner Table


Tracie McMillan - 2012
    Reporting from California fields, a Walmart produce aisle outside of Detroit, and the kitchen of a New York City Applebee's, McMillan examines the reality of our country's food industry in this "clear and essential" (The Boston Globe) work of reportage. Chronicling her own experience and that of the Mexican garlic crews, Midwestern produce managers, and Caribbean line cooks with whom she works, McMillan goes beyond the food on her plate to explore the national priorities that put it there. Fearlessly reported and beautifully written, The American Way of Eating goes beyond statistics and culture wars to deliver a book that is fiercely honest, strikingly intelligent, and compulsively readable. In making the simple case that - city or country, rich or poor - everyone wants good food, McMillan guarantees that talking about dinner will never be the same again.

A Meatloaf in Every Oven: Two Chatty Cooks, One Iconic Dish and Dozens of Recipes - from Mom's to Mario Batali's


Frank Bruni - 2017
    A MEATLOAF IN EVERY OVEN is their homage to a distinct tradition, with 50 killer recipes, from the best classic takes to riffs by world-famous chefs like Bobby Flay and Mario Batali; from Italian polpettone to Middle Eastern kibbe to curried bobotie; from the authors' own favorites to those of prominent politicians. Bruni and Steinhauer address all the controversies (Ketchup, or no? Sauté the veggies?) surrounding a dish that has legions of enthusiastic disciples and help you to troubleshoot so you never have to suffer a dry loaf again. This love letter to meatloaf incorporates history, personal anecdotes and even meatloaf sandwiches, all the while making you feel like you're cooking with two trusted and knowledgeable friends.

Sweet Invention: A History of Dessert


Michael Krondl - 2011
    Sweet Invention: A History of Dessert captures the stories of sweet makers past and present from India, the Middle East, Italy, France, Vienna, and the United States, as author Michael Krondl meets with confectioners around the globe, savoring and exploring the dessert icons of each tradition. Readers will be tantalized by the rich history of each region’s unforgettable desserts and tempted to try their own hand at a time-honored recipe. A fascinating and rewarding read for any lover of sugar, butter, and cream, Sweet Invention embraces the pleasures of dessert while unveiling the secular, metaphysical, and even sexual uses that societies have found for it.

Tiny Food Party!: Bite-Size Recipes for Miniature Meals


Teri Lyn Fisher - 2012
    (When's the last time you ate an amuse-bouche at home?) It's about time for an appetizer cookbook that has fun with the concept of tasting an entire meal in one bite!With Tiny Food Party!, Teri Lyn Fisher and Jenny Park share super quick and easy recipes for little bite-size munchies—delightfully miniature versions of all your favorite foods! Thinly slice shallots, batter and fry 'em, add with a creamy buttermilk ranch sauce, and you've got dainty Bite-Size Onion Rings. Use mini cupcake tins to bake up sweet Little Cheesecakes! Or fill small rectangles of pie dough with Nutella and marshmallow, bake until crispy, decorate with icing—and sprinkles, of course—and you've got irresistibly charming Mini Homemade Pop Tarts. Tiny Food Party! includes Adorable Appetizers, Itty Bitty Entrees, Pint-Size Desserts, and Teeny-Tiny Cocktails that you can serve in shot glasses or tea cups. With full-color photographs of every single recipe plus tips and tricks for seriously downsizing your favorite recipes scattered throughout, this lighthearted little cookbook is lots of fun!

The Perfect Pie: A Handbook for Pie Lovers


Dennis Weaver - 2014
    See tips, techniques and recipes galore to help you make the perfect pie. Have you always had trouble making a perfect crust? Find advice from the experts right here! Never make an "ok" pie crust ever again. You'll see recipes for fruit pies, cream and custard pies, and other pies such as pink lemonade pie and strawberry rhubarb pie. Get over 30 pages of nothing but helpful tips, techniques and recipes to make the perfect pie.

Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen


Julie Powell - 2005
    She needs something to break the monotony of her life, and she invents a deranged assignment. She will take her mother's dog-eared copy of Julia Child's 1961 classic Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and she will cook all 524 recipes. In the span of one year. At first she thinks it will be easy. But as she moves from the simple Potage Parmentier (potato soup) into the more complicated realm of aspics and crépes, she realizes there’s more to Mastering the Art of French Cooking than meets the eye. With Julia’s stern warble always in her ear, Julie haunts the local butcher, buying kidneys and sweetbreads. She sends her husband on late-night runs for yet more butter and rarely serves dinner before midnight. She discovers how to mold the perfect Orange Bavarian, the trick to extracting marrow from bone, and the intense pleasure of eating liver. And somewhere along the line she realizes she has turned her kitchen into a miracle of creation and cuisine. She has eclipsed her life’s ordinariness through spectacular humor, hysteria, and perseverance.

And a Bottle of Rum: A History of the New World in Ten Cocktails


Wayne Curtis - 2006
    With a chapter for each of ten cocktails--from the grog sailors drank on the high seas in the 1700s to the mojitos of modern club hoppers--Wayne Curtis reveals that the homely spirit once distilled from the industrial waste of the exploding sugar trade has managed to infiltrate every stratum of New World society. Curtis takes us from the taverns of the American colonies, where rum delivered both a cheap wallop and cash for the Revolution, to the plundering pirate ships off the coast of Central America, to the watering holes of pre-Castro Cuba, and to the kitsch-laden tiki bars of 1950s America. Here are sugar barons and their armies conquering the Caribbean, Paul Revere stopping for a nip during his famous ride, Prohibitionists marching against "demon rum," Hemingway fattening his liver with Havana daiquiris, and today's bartenders reviving old favorites like Planter's Punch. In an age of microbrewed beer and single-malt whiskeys, rum--once the swill of the common man--has found its way into the tasting rooms of the most discriminating drinkers. Awash with local color and wry humor, "And a Bottle of Rum" is an affectionate toast to this most American of liquors, a chameleon spirit that has been constantly reinvented over the centuries by tavern keepers, bootleggers, lounge lizards, and marketing gurus. Complete with cocktail recipes for would-be epicurean time-travelers, this is history at its most intoxicating.

Caribbean Food Made Easy


Levi Roots - 2009
    This book's 100 recipes include many Caribbean favourites, often modernized with a delicious twist.

Gastroanomalies: Questionable Culinary Creations from the Golden Age of American Cookery


James Lileks - 2007
    150 full-color photos.

Six Thousand Years of Bread: Its Holy and Unholy History


Heinrich Eduard Jacob - 1943
    Bread's role in politics, religion, technology, and beyond.

Paleo Takeout: Restaurant Favorites Without the Junk


Russ Crandall - 2015
    Not to mention that nothing is easier than picking up takeout, hitting the drive-thru, or ordering delivery, but at what cost? Paleo Takeout: Restaurant Favorites without the Guilt delivers much healthier but equally satisfying alternatives, offering delectable recipes that mimic the flavors of our drive-thru and delivery favorites--Paleo style! Russ Crandall teaches you step-by-step how to prepare each meal in under an hour--leaving no sacrifice of taste or time.In Paleo Takeout, Crandall re-creates everyone's favorite takeout meals using wholesome ingredients and some seriously inventive techniques giving you the opportunity to revisit your favorite restaurant classics, with all of the gratification and none of the regret! Inside Paleo Takeout, you'll find over 150 recipes inspired by beloved restaurant experiences: Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Thai, Vietnamese, Indian, Italian, Mexican, Greek, and American cuisines are all represented. Looking to re-create your local Chinese joint's best dishes? Choose from over 25 takeout favorites, like Sweet and Sour Chicken, Beef and Broccoli, Egg Foo Young, Char Siu, Chow Mein, and Spring Rolls. In the mood for curry tonight? Take your pick among your favorite Thai, Indian, and Japanese curry dishes. How about game-day wings made in 20 different ways, pizza that's better than delivery, or quick and easy burrito bowls? We've got you covered and then some.Using the same simple techniques that he learned while working in the restaurant industry, Crandall teaches you how to build a full-course meal in less than an hour. Simply put, Paleo Takeout: Restaurant Favorites without the Guilt proves that eating right in a way that satisfies even the choosiest of healthy eaters is not only possible, but also a lot of fun!

Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant: Confessions of Cooking for One and Dining Alone


Jenni Ferrari-Adler - 2007
     If, sooner or later, we all face the prospect of eating alone, then Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant provides the perfect set of instructions. In this unique collection, twenty-six writers and foodies invite readers into their kitchens to reflect on the secret meals they make for themselves when no one else is looking: the indulgent truffled egg sandwich, the comforting bowl of black beans, the bracing anchovy fillet on buttered toast. From Italy to New York to Cape Cod to Thailand, from M. F. K. Fisher to Steve Almond to Nora Ephron, the experiences collected in this book are as diverse, moving, hilarious, and uplifting as the meals they describe. Haruki Murakami finds solace in spaghetti. Ephron mends a broken heart with mashed potatoes in bed. Ann Patchett trades the gourmet food she cooks for others for endless snacks involving saltines. Marcella Hazan, responsible for bringing sophisticated Italian cuisine into American homes, craves a simple grilled ham-and-cheese sandwich. Courtney Eldridge, divorced from a fancy chef, reconnects with the salsa she learned to cook from her cash-strapped mother. Rosa Jurjevics reflects on the influence of her mother, Laurie Colwin, as she stocks her home with salty treats. Almost all of the essays include recipes, making this book the perfect companion for a happy, lonely-or just hungry-evening home alone. Part solace, part celebration, part handbook, Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant offers a wealth of company, inspiration, and humor-and, finally, recipes that require no division or subtraction.

Healthy Cooking for Two (or Just You): Low-Fat Recipes with Half the Fuss and Double the Taste: A Cookbook


Frances Price - 1997
    Healthy Cooking for Two (or Just You) by Frances Price offers:* More than 200 creative, low-fat recipes for today's smaller households* Unique two-column recipe format for hassle-free preparation* Tips on shopping for one or two, and streamlining your kitchen* Full nutrient analysis with every recipe* Special chapter of delicious, no-fuss menus* Plenty of 30-minute recipes-- plus meatless meals, divine desserts, tip-packed boxes and more

The Secret Lives of Baked Goods: Sweet Stories & Recipes for America's Favorite Desserts


Jessie Oleson Moore - 2013
    Moore has put her sweet-sleuthing skills to work uncovering the fascinating histories and tastiest recipes for America's favorite sweets, including whoopee pies, chocolate chip cookies, Baked Alaska, and New York cheesecake. From romantic musings on how desserts got their names to sugar-fueled scandals, these classic recipes and photographs are guaranteed to offer food for thought and leave you with plenty of room for dessert.