The extremes of American eating--our equal urges to stuff and tostarve ourselves--are easy to blame on the excesses of modernliving. But Frederick Kaufman followed the winding road of theAmerican intestine back to that cold morning when the firstfamished Pilgrim clambered off the Mayflower, and he discovered thealarming truth: We've been this way all along. With outraged witand an incredible range of sources that includes everything fromCotton Mather's diary to interviews with Amish black-marketraw-milk dealers, Kaufman offers a highly selective,take-no-prisoners tour of American history by way of the Americanstomach. Travel with him as he tracks down our earliest foodies;discovers the secret history of Puritan purges; introduces dietgurus of the nineteenth century such as William Alcott, whobelieved that "Nothing ought to be mashed before it is eaten";traces extreme feeders from Paul Bunyan to eating-contest champDale Boone (descended from Daniel, of course); and investigates ourblithe efforts to re-create

Now you can re-create the best and most inventive sandwichesin America right in your own kitchen. In this eating tour of thenation, those gurus of the road, Jane and Michael Stern, hunt downnearly 100 examples of supreme sandwichery. You'll enjoymouthwatering discoveries from nearly every state, from California(grilled Gruycre with leeks on multigrain from a neighborhoodbakery in Los Angeles) to Maine (an overflowing, warm lobster rollfrom a seaside diner) to Florida (a Cuban: ham, pork, Swiss, andgarlicky salami with pickles, lettuce, and tomato). The Sterns havetracked down America's best muffuletta (cold cuts and cheese toppedwith a bold and briny olive salad on Italian bread) and thespecialty of Louisville, Kentucky (the Hot Brown: white turkey meatunder sizzling cheese with tomato and bacon), not to be confusedwith Hot Truck (a hot pizza sub baked open-face, a campus sensationin Ithaca, New York). Each of the legendary heroes, hoagies, wraps,grinders, blimps, gyros, and subs comes with its own qui

What's the secret to making foolproof friands? How do you bakethe perfect piped cookie dough pinwheel? And what puts the snap inthe very best ginger snaps? Find out in "Field Guide to Cookies", ahandy pocket reference to more than 100 cookie recipes, completewith the fascinating historical background (the first known recipefor brownies was published in the 1897 Sears, Roebuck Catalogue),season (April 9 is Chinese Almond Cookie Day), and helpful bakingnotes for each delicious variety, from traditional favourites tomore exotic concoctions from all over the world. Including drop,bar, piped, rolled, puffed, sandwich, savoury, and mouldedvarieties, every cookie is illustrated in glorious full colour,with step-by-step instructions on how to prepare, bake, serve, andstore your creations. Gooey, delicious, home-baked confections arejust minutes away with "Field Guide to Cookies" in your pantry!

From the legendary editor who helped shape modern cookbookpublishing-one of the food world's most admired figures-comes thisevocative and inspiring memoir. Living in Paris after World War II, Jones broke free of blandAmerican food and reveled in everyday French culinary delights. Onreturning to the States she published Julia Child's Mastering theArt of French Cooking. The rest is publishing and gastronomichistory. A new world now opened up to Jones as she discovered, withher husband Evan, the delights of American food, publishing some ofthe premier culinary luminaries of the twentieth century: fromJulia Child, James Beard, and M.F.K. Fisher to Claudia Roden, EdnaLewis, and Lidia Bastianich. Here also are fifty of Jones'sfavorite recipes collected over a lifetime of cooking-each with itsown story and special tips. The Tenth Muse is an absolutelycharming memoir by a woman who was present at the creation of theAmerican food revolution and played a pivotal role in shapingit.

The wickedly entertaining, hunger-inducing, behind-the-scenesstory of the revolution in American food that has made exoticingredients, celebrity chefs, rarefied cooking tools, anddestination restaurants familiar aspects of our everydaylives. Amazingly enough, just twenty years ago eating sushi was a daringnovelty and many Americans had never even heard of salsa. Today, wedon't bat an eye at a construction worker dipping a croissant intorobust specialty coffee, city dwellers buying just-picked farmstandproduce, or suburbanites stocking up on artisanal cheeses and extravirgin oils at supermarkets. The United States of Arugula is arollicking, revealing stew of culinary innovation, food politics,and kitchen confidences chronicling how gourmet eating in Americawent from obscure to pervasive—and became the cultural successstory of our era.