This unique culinary history of America offers a fascinating look at our past and uses long-forgotten recipes to explain how eight flavors changed how we eat. The United States boasts a culturally and ethnically diverse population which makes for a continually changing culinary landscape. 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. In Eight Flavors, Lohman sets out to explore how these influential ingredients made their way to the American table. She begins in the archives, searching through economic, scientific, political, religious, and culinary records. She pores over cookbooks and manuscripts, dating back to the eighteenth century, through modern standards like How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman. Lohman discovers when each of these eight flavors first appear in American kitchens—then she asks why. Eight Flavors introduces the explorers, merchants, botanists, farmers, writers, and chefs whose choices came to define the American palate. Lohman takes you on a journey through the past to tell us something about our present, and our future. We meet John Crowninshield a New England merchant who traveled to Sumatra in the 1790s in search of black pepper. And Edmond Albius, a twelve-year-old slave who lived on an island off the coast of Madagascar, who discovered the technique still used to pollinate vanilla orchids today. Weaving together original research, historical recipes, gorgeous illustrations and Lohman’s own adventures both in the kitchen and in the field, Eight Flavors is a delicious treat—ready to be devoured.

While traveling the globe as the host of Food Network’s hit TV shows Tyler’s Ultimate and Food 911, Tyler Florence developed a unique perspective on how Americans like to eat and cook today—and on how to help them with their daily cooking challenges. In Eat This Book, Tyler draws inspiration from kitchens around the world to enliven America’s favorite foods in more than 150 new real kitchen recipes for everyday occasions. Now you can wake up tired weeknight chicken with the zing of North African spices. Turn Sunday’s same old spaghetti dinner into an authentic Italian abbondanza with Pappardelle Bolognese and Veal Saltimbocca alla Romana. Hit a home run on game day with Fresh Tortilla Chips, Guacamole, and Farmstand Salsa. Each recipe zeroes in on the bright notes of fresh, global fare and a handful of readily available ingredients that engage the senses and spark the palate, and all are as easy to prepare as they are flavorful. From the simple pleasures of midnight fridge raids to the exotic and sophisticated, Eat This Book satisfies an array of hunger pangs in chapters that truly speak to the way we eat today: Eating introduces pantry basics with a twist, like Lemon-Caper Mayonnaise and Ginger-Soy Vinaigrette; Devouring presents snacks and cocktail bites such as Toasted Almonds in Chile Oil and Sautéed Feta Cheese; Noshing offers crowd-pleasing fare for impromptu gatherings like Cold Sesame Noodles and Grilled Pizza with Mozzarella di Bufala; Consuming lays out easy dishes for weeknight suppers, including Roasted Chicken Stuffed with Lemon and Herbs and Pan-Seared Tuna with Avocado; Tasting harvests ideas from the summer garden such as Spanish Gazpacho and Roasted Corn with Parmesan and Cayenne; Savoring serves up hot pots for cold nights, like Braised Brisket and Buttery Turnips; and Licking the plate clean showcases irresistible desserts, including Peach and Blueberry Crostata and Chocolate Tart. Packed with the excitement of a culinary wanderlust fulfilled and all the comforts of coming home again, Eat This Book proves there’s really no reason to eat out when the food from your own kitchen can be so delicious.

Widely hailed as one of the most influential cookbooks of all time, this is the timeless classic guide to culinary creativity and flavor exploration, based on the wisdom of the world's most innovative chefs Eight years in the making, The Flavor Bible is a landmark book that has inspired the greatest creations of innovative cooks and chefs by serving as an indispensable guide to creativity and flavor affinities in today's kitchen. Cuisine is undergoing a startling historic transformation: With the advent of the global availability of ingredients, dishes are no longer based on geography but on flavor. This radical shift calls for a new approach to cooking -- as well as a new genre of "cookbook" that serves not to document classic dishes via recipes, but to inspire the creation of new ones based on imaginative and harmonious flavor combinations. The Flavor Bible is your guide to hundreds of ingredients along with the herbs, spices, and other seasonings that will allow you to coax the greatest possible flavor and pleasure from them. This astonishing reference distills the combined experience of dozens of America's most innovative culinarians, representing such celebrated and transformative restaurants as A Voce, Blue Hill, Café Atlántico, Chanterelle, Citronelle, Gramercy Tavern, the Herbfarm, Jardinière, Jean Georges, Le Bernardin, the Modern, and the Trellis. You'll learn to: explore the roles played by the four basic tastes -- salty, sour, bitter, and sweet -- and how to bring them into harmony; work more intuitively and effectively with ingredients by discovering which flavors have the strongest affinities for one another; brighten flavors through the use of acids -- from vinegars to citrus juices to herbs and spices such as Makrut lime and sumac; deepen or intensify flavors through layering specific ingredients and techniques; and balance the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual aspects of cooking and serving an extraordinary meal. Seasoned with tips, anecdotes, and signature dishes from the country's most respected chefs and pastry chefs, The Flavor Bible is an essential book for every kitchen library. For more inspiration in the kitchen, look for The Vegetarian Flavor Bible andKitchen Creativity.

A contemporary fantasy of mystery and death as American expats battle Japanese gods and monsters to retrieve an ancient artifact that can destroy the world. On Saturday afternoon, Nikki Delany thought, "George Wilson, in the kitchen, with a blender." By dinner, she had killed George and posted his gory murder to her blog. The next day, she put on her mourning clothes and went out to meet her best friend for lunch to discuss finding a replacement for her love interest. Nikki is a horror novelist. Her choice of career is dictated by an Obsessive Compulsive Disorder that forces her to write stories of death and destruction. She can't control it, doesn't understand it, but can use it to make money anywhere in the world. Currently "anywhere" is in Japan, hiding from her mother who sees Nikki's OCD as proof she's mentally unstable. Nikki's fragile peace starts to fall apart when the police arrest her for the murder of an American expatriate. Someone killed him with a blender. Reality starts to unravel around Nikki. She's attacked by a raccoon in a business suit. After a series of blackouts, shes accompanied by a boy that no one else can see, a boy who claims to be a god. Is she really being pursued by Japanese myths¾or is she simply going insane? What Nikki does know for sure is that the bodies are piling up, her mother has arrived in Japan to lock her up for the rest of her life¾and her novels always end with everyone dead. At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management).

The charming true story of a spirited young woman who finds adventure--and the love of her life--in Paris. "This isn't like me. I'm not the sort of girl who crosses continents to meet up with a man she hardly knows. Paris hadn't even been part of my travel plan..." A delightful, fresh twist on the travel memoir, Almost French takes us on a tour that is fraught with culture clashes but rife with deadpan humor. Sarah Turnbull's stint in Paris was only supposed to last a week. Chance had brought Sarah and Frédéric together in Bucharest, and on impulse she decided to take him up on his offer to visit him in the world's most romantic city. Sacrificing Vegemite for vichyssoise, the feisty Sydney journalist does her best to fit in, although her conversation, her laugh, and even her wardrobe advertise her foreigner status. But as she navigates the highs and lows of this strange new world, from life in a bustling quatier and surviving Parisian dinner parties to covering the haute couture fashion shows and discovering the hard way the paradoxes of France today, little by little Sarah falls under its spell: maddening, mysterious, and charged with that French specialty-séduction. An entertaining tale of being a fish out of water, Almost French is an enthralling read as Sarah Turnbull leads us on a magical tour of this seductive place-and culture-that has captured her heart

Focusing on her favorite ingredients and incorporating them into easy recipes for all occasions, Donna Hay brings a range of rich, tangy, mellow and refreshing flavors -- vanilla and chocolate, lemon and lime, ginger and chilli among them -- to your table. With photography that is as fresh and lively as the food and ideas Donna Hay is acclaimed for, this book begins with the basics, adds some inspiration and delivers dishes that you will want to cook and savor the flavor of again and again.