From a simple one-story cabin in the piney woods of the Panhandle to a high-rise condo along the glistening waterways, Cracker cooking in Florida has evolved with our tastes and times. When supplies were limited and the workday arduous, black coffee with leftover cornbread might serve as breakfast. Today's bounty and life's relative ease bring mornings with lattes and biscotti, biscuits and sausage gravy. What's on the plate has changed, but our heritage infuses who we are. As we follow the path laid out by gastronomic pioneers, this culinary quest, guided by sixth-generation Cracker Joy Sheffield Harris, will whet your appetite with recipes and sumptuous reflections. Pull up a chair and dig in.

The new star of the culinary galaxy is South Florida, declares The New York Times. And no wonder. Out of America's tropical melting pot comes an inventive cuisine bursting with flavor--and now Steven Raichlen, an award-winning food writer, shares the best of it in Miami Spice. With 200 recipes and firsthand reports from around the state, Miami Spice captures the irresistible convergence of Latin, Caribbean, and Cuban influences with Florida's cornucopia of stone crabs, snapper, plantains, star fruit, and other exotic native ingredients (most of which can be found today in supermarkets around the country). Main selection of the Book-of-the-Month Club's HomeStyle Books. Winner of a 1993 IACP/Julia Child Cookbook Award.

The first edition of Florida's Living Beaches (2007) was widely praised. Now, the second edition of this supremely comprehensive guide has even more to satisfy the curious beachcomber, including expanded content and additional accounts with more than 1800 full-color photographs, maps, and illustrations. It heralds the living things and metaphorical life along the state's 700 miles of sandy beaches. The expanded second edition now identifies and explains over 1400 curiosities, with lavishly illustrated accounts organized into Beach Features, Beach Animals, Beach Plants, Beach Minerals, and Hand of Man.

Since the original Best of the Best from Florida Cookbook was released in 1986, hundreds of wonderful new cookbooks have evolved from Florida's diverse cuisine. So many, in fact, that the editors felt Florida should be revisited with the release of a brand-new cookbook featuring a completely new collection of the most popular recipes from the Sunshine State's leading cookbooks. Best of the Best from Florida offers such delightful recipes as tender, flaky Baked Snapper Fillets, zesty Sandpipers Onion Tart, and refreshing Key Lime Rum Pie.