A collection of 150 recipes selected as the best from hundreds of sources, including appetizers, soups, salads, breakfast and brunch foods, main and side dishes, breads, desserts, and drinks.

The "fresh anthology of hip American writings" (Forth Worth Morning Star-Telegram) returns this year with a spectacular array of fiction, nonfiction, and humor, drawn from traditional and alternative magazines by Dave Eggers.

The Best of the Best from the Last Decade Acclaimed by the critics, The Best American Recipes series has long been the universal choice of home cooks and professional chefs as the one infallible source of the year's most dazzling recipes. Now in The 150 Best American Recipes, two of the food world's most respected professionals pull out all the stops to create the ultimate resource: a can't-live-without-it collection of the most exciting recipes of the last decade. Out of literally tens of thousands of recipes that have appeared in print -- in cookbooks, magazines, newspapers, and even in flyers and on the Internet -- from the deservedly famous to the wonderfully obscure, from top-flight chefs to unknown but gifted cooks -- they chose the most distinctive. Then came the key step: extensive testing in their own kitchens. If the dish wasn't spectacular, it didn't make the cut. Finally, they pitted their favorites against one another and chose the winners: the very best of the best. In The 150 Best American Recipes, you'll find: Scores of brilliantly simple dishes that are sensationally delicious. The best recipes from the great chefs and cooks of the era, including Jamie Oliver, Thomas Keller, Judy Rodgers, and Alice Waters. Miraculously quick, remarkable everyday dishes that you'll want to make countless times and share with your friends. Holiday dishes that are certain to become instant traditions in your family. Valuable tips and techniques to make all your cooking easier.

Bissinger gathers together stellar prose on a dizzying array of sporting endeavors: triathlon, tennis, wrestling, bookmaking, basketball, boxing, chess, golf . . . Any reader's favorite game can be found in these pages. But every piece here transcends its subject; every piece crystallizes the emotions all great competitions evoke -- joy, fear, heartache, affection, surprise -- in both players and fans. David Grann weighs the burden of superstardom with Barry Bonds. Susy Buchanan explores demolition derby, possibly the most Darwinian sport in America. Gary Smith examines the baseball that ignited a lawsuit. Josh Sens tees up with the ultimate Zen golfer, a Tibetan lama. S. L. Price looks back at Pancho Gonzalez, one of the greatest, and likely the most irascible, tennis player ever. Michael Agovino recalls life with a bookmaking father. Stephen J. Dubner hangs out with NFL draftees at their league-mandated "rookie symposium," a mix of "motivational seminar, boot camp, and Scared Straight." These pieces and many more delve beneath the stats and the hype to unveil the raw, compelling essence of sport. Since its inception in 1915, the Best American series has become the premier annual showcase for the country's finest short fiction and nonfiction. For each volume, a series editor reads pieces from hundreds of periodicals, then selects between fifty and a hundred outstanding works. That selection is pared down to the twenty or so very best pieces by a guest editor who is widely recognized as a leading writer in his or her field. This unique system has helped make the Best American series the most respected -- and most popular -- of its kind. "This American sportswriting series is a venerable institution." -- Boston Globe Buzz Bissinger selects the very best writing on a vast variety of competitive endeavors, from baseball to weightlifting, skating to demolition derby. Herein today's foremost journalists throw revealing light on a pantheon of stars: Shaquille O'Neal, Bobby Fischer, Mike Tyson, the San Diego Chicken, and more. Rene Chun Stephen J. Dubner Elizabeth Gilbert Mark Kram Jr. Rebecca Mead Bill Plaschke S. L. Price Gary Smith

Hailed by "People," the "New York Times," "Food & Wine," and other media around the country as the perfect choice for any cook, this is the most wide-ranging and extensively home-tested collection of its kind. The 150-plus finds range from Minted Pea Soup from the British cooking sensation Jamie Oliver to sausage and biscuit nibbles from the singer George Jones. 0-618-45506-X$26.00 / Houghton Mifflin

The creator of the award-winning Beecher’s Handmade Cheese in Seattle, Kurt Beecher Dammeier knows that great food begins with the highestquality ingredients prepared simply,so their natural, intense flavors shine through. In this, his first cookbook, you’ll discover that meals based on great raw materials require fewer ingredients,take less time to prepare, are healthier for you and your family, and taste phenomenal.In Pure Flavor,Kurt shares more than 125 favorite recipes from his popular gourmet food shops and restaurant. This is fresh food that celebrates the quintessentially American flavors of the Pacific Northwest region that Kurt calls home. He shows you how pan-searing locally grown broccoli brings out its unique flavor, how an outstanding aged American Cheddar turns a bowl of tomato soup into ameal to remember, how a simple marmalade sauce can effortlessly enliven pork chops, and how asplash of light vinaigrette punctuated with lemon and basil makes any fresh fish shine. Here are recipes for everything from a winning weekend breakfast dish of Apple-Hazelnut Waffles with Northwest Berry Syrup to hearty dinners like Dungeness Crab Mac & Cheese.Kurt knows where to find plump Washington cherries, crunchy Oregon hazelnuts,and fresh Puget Sound salmon and encourages home cooks to explore the culinary bounties of their area. He even includes helpful sidebars that demystify food terms, explaining the difference between Dungeness and peekytoe crabs,farmed and wild salmon, and “natural”and “organic.” Whether it’s the sweet-tart bite of a juicy blackberryor the pungent tang of awonderful blue cheese, natural and fresh flavors can be discovered anywhere. With stunning photography and irresistible recipes, Pure Flavor will inspire you to seek out America’s pure flavors, wherever you live.

Signature recipes from greater Charleston’s top restaurants In recent years, Charleston, which hosts more than four million visitors annually, has matured into a world-class culinary destination. Now, The Charleston Chef’s Table allows locals and visitors alike to take a bit of the city’s incomparable flavor home, with profiles of more than sixty of the city’s best restaurants and a signature recipe from each. From roadside dives to upscale eateries, Southern to Chinese, Holly Herrick leaves no stone unturned as she winnows Charleston’s 1,500 restaurants down to her top picks. From fried chicken to sautéed duck livers, The Charleston Chef’s Table delivers all the goods that make Charleston such an exciting place to visit, live, and dine. Complementing the text are full-color photographs, as well as sidebars that highlight this Southern gem’s 300-year history.