In The Tradition of M.F.K. Fisher and Laurie Colwin, Teresa Lust writes about the preparation of food and the breaking of bread with the exuberance of an impassioned cook and the clarity of a graceful writer. The author venerates old-fashioned simplicity -- from stove-top coffee in a rustic Italian cucina to antique varieties of apples in a New Hampshire orchard. She skewers passing food trends: "Polenta is family food. Mama feeds it to her baby when his teeth are coming in. Papa feeds it to his mama when her teeth have fallen out". And she offers a smorgasbord of food trivia: The artichoke "enjoyed a long reign as an aphrodisiac because of its alleged ability to heat the body ... Catherine de Medici could not contain her scandalous predilection for artichokes". A professional chef and skilled culinary historian, Lust has created a book that is part memoir, part cookbook, and part exploration into the origins of her favorite foods and dishes. It is a celebration of home cooking and of people who know how to make meals more than just thrice-daily opportunities to refuel.Lusts chapters typically revolve around stories that include the preparation or consumption of a particular dish -- from chicken with figs and fresh thyme to spaghetti alla carbonara -- and Pass the Polenta contains an index of recipes that readers will come to treasure.

A delicious journey through Italy and a celebration of the relationship between family and food. Moving from the Italian Piedmont to the Maremma and then to Le Marche, chef Teresa Lust interweaves portraits of the people who served as her culinary guides with cultural and natural history in this charming exploration of authentic Italian cuisine. We learn how to prepare bagna cauda—a robust dipping sauce of anchovies, garlic, and olive oil—with Lust’s relatives outside Torino. We learn about making hand-stretched grissini, Italy’s iconic breadstick, the secrets of whipping up zabaione, a classic dessert of ethereal foam made with egg yolks, sugar, and marsala. Then there is acquacotta, a rustic soup that nourished generations of the area’s shepherds and cowhands. In the town of Camerano, an eighty-year-old woman reveals the art of hand-rolling pasta with a three-foot rolling pin. Underpinning Lust’s travels is our journey from chef to cook, mirroring the fact that Italians have been masters of home cooking for generations, so they are an obvious source of inspiration. Today, more and more people are rediscovering the pleasures of cooking at home, and Lust’s account—and wonderful recipes—will help readers bring an Italian sensibility to their home tables.

Not so long ago, Italian food was regarded as a poor man's gruel-little more than pizza, macaroni with sauce, and red wines in a box. Here, John Mariani shows how the Italian immigrants to America created, through perseverance and sheer necessity, an Italian-American food culture, and how it became a global obsession. The book begins with the Greek, Roman, and Middle Eastern culinary traditions before the boot-shaped peninsula was even called "Italy," then takes readers on a journey through Europe and across the ocean to America alongside the poor but hopeful Italian immigrants who slowly but surely won over the hearts and minds of Americans by way of their stomachs. Featuring evil villains such as the Atkins diet and French chefs, this is a rollicking tale of how Italian cuisine rose to its place as the most beloved fare in the world, through the lives of the people who led the charge. With savory anecdotes from these top chefs and restaurateurs: - Mario Batali - Danny Meyer - Tony Mantuano - Michael Chiarello - Giada de Laurentiis - Giuseppe Cipriani - Nigella Lawson And the trials and triumphs of these restaurants: - Da Silvano - Spiaggia - Bottega - Union Square Cafe - Maialino - Rao's - Babbo - Il Cantinori

Discover this modern vegetarian bible for delicious, nutritious food. Perfect for lifelong vegetarians, and those just getting started. Raw Thai salads, hearty quesadillas and a vegan chocolate layer cake are among the 200 recipes that make up this delicious, flavour-packed book. Covering a wide range of nourishing, vegetarian meals, chapters focus on moods and occasions such as Mornings, Grazing, Quick, Thrifty, Gatherings, Grains, Raw-ish and Afters. The marriage of healthy vegetarian recipes with an indulgent twist are intrinsic to everything Alice Hart cooks. She cooks colourful and natural ingredients with taste and enjoyment in mind and with these recipes you can turn dull Veganuary dishes into meals that zing and sparkle. The New Vegetarian will speak to everyone who loves feel-good food for your body and the planet. 'I could cook from this book every night and have the perfect supper on the table daily' Nigella Lawson

From the chef, restaurant owner, and author of the critically lauded A Girl and Her Pig comes a beautiful, full-color cookbook that offers tantalizing seasonal recipes for a wide variety of vegetables, from summer standbys such as zucchini to earthy novelties like sunchokes. A Girl and Her Greens reflects the lighter side of the renowned chef whose name is nearly synonymous with nose-to-tail eating. In recipes such as Pot-Roasted Romanesco Broccoli, Onions with Sage Pesto, and Carrots with Spices, Yogurt, and Orange Blossom Water, April Bloomfield demonstrates the basic principle of her method: that unforgettable food comes out of simple, honest ingredients, an attention to detail, and a love for the sensual pleasures of cooking and eating. Written in her appealing, down-to-earth style, A Girl and Her Greens features beautiful color photography, lively illustrations, and insightful sidebars and tips on her techniques, as well as charming narratives that reveal her sources of inspiration.

“A new kind of flavor-first vegan cooking. . . . Stunning.” —Food & Wine “The Best Cookbook Gifts for Vegans” —Vice “Best Food Books of the Year” —USA Today Reinventing plant-based eating is what Tal Ronnen is all about. At his Los Angeles restaurant, Crossroads, the menu is vegan, but there are no soybeans or bland seitan to be found. He and his executive chef, Scot Jones, turn seasonal vegetables, beans, nuts, and grains into sophisticated Mediterranean fare—think warm bowls of tomato-sauced pappardelle, plates of spicy carrot salad, and crunchy flatbreads piled high with roasted vegetables. In Crossroads, an IACP Cookbook Award finalist, Ronnen teaches readers to make his recipes and proves that the flavors we crave are easily replicated in dishes made without animal products. With accessible, unfussy recipes, Crossroads takes plant-based eating firmly out of the realm of hippie health food and into a cuisine that fits perfectly with today’s modern palate. The recipes are photographed in sumptuous detail, and with more than 100 of them for weeknight dinners, snacks and appetizers, special occasion meals, desserts, and more, this book is an indispensable resource for healthy, mindful eaters everywhere.

Create scrumptious, easy-to-make Italian desserts at home. Recipes include cassata alla Siciliana, white corn biscotti, little grappa-soaked spongecakes, and chocolate and tangerine semifreddo.