Having your friends over is no big deal when you have theperfect recipe, one that's not only foolproof but simple and thatfits into your hectic schedule. In her new cookbook, Pam Andersonshares nearly 200 perfectly convenient dishes, including * LacyCheddar Crisps -- An irresistible one-ingredient hors d'oeuvre,ready in 10 minutes. * Oven-Barbecued Pork -- Slow-cooked for 10 to12 hours. You literally make this one in your sleep. * Creamy BakedMacaroni and Cheese -- When kids are coming, why not serve the bestversion of their favorite? * Shish Kebabs -- Satisfy every guest,from vegetarians to carnivores, in the same meal. Six excitingflavoring pastes offer all the variety you need. * Easy BakedRisotto -- Elegant and effortless, with many sumptuous variations,including seafood and vegetarian. You socialize while it cooks. *Orange-Glazed Asparagus -- One of the most versatile side dishesimaginable. Ready in 8 relaxed minutes. * Molten Chocolate Cakes --15 minutes to oozy decadence. Every recipe comes with

America's favorite baker, Nancy Baggett, has been on a roadtrip around the country. Now she's back, with something for everydessert lover: the best pies, cakes, puddings, crisps, cookies, icecreams, and candies in the land. Many of her discoveries werelocally famous family secretsuntil now. They include a memorablysimple blueberry buckle from a Vermont bed-and-breakfast; a coconutchiffon cake from an island off the coast of Virginia that hasbecome a "destination dessert"; a never-before-revealed recipe forchocolate-dipped caramel candies, the fund-raising specialty of thewomen of an Episcopal church in New Mexico; and a sublime peachcobbler from a cook in the Ozarks. Baggett has tested and retestedevery recipe in her home kitchen to ensure that all cooks get thesame results. She has even included a chapter on easy gifts to makewith children, from "bars in a jar" (a homemade brownie mix) tofancifully decorated graham-cracker holiday cottages. Every recipein this lavishly photographed book comes with an

"I want my wines to tell a good story. I want them naturaland most of all, like my dear friends, I want them to speak thetruth even if we argue," says Alice Feiring. Join her as she setsoff on her one-woman crusade against the tyranny of homogenization,wine consultants, and, of course, the 100-point scoring system of acertain all-powerful wine writer. Traveling through the ancientvineyards of the Loire and Champagne, to Piedmont and Spain, shegoes in search of authentic barolo, the last old-style rioja, andthe tastiest new terroir-driven champagnes. She reveals just whatgoes into the average bottle--the reverse osmosis, the yeasts andenzymes, the sawdust and oak chips--and why she doesn’t find muchto drink in California. And she introduces rebel winemakers who areembracing old-fashioned techniques and making wines withindividuality and soul. No matter what your palate, travel the wine world with Feiringand you’ll have to ask yourself: What do I really want in myglass?

BBQ-joint owner Lulu Taylor knows pretty much everyone inMemphis who loves ribs. But one person she'd rather not know isTristan Pembroke, a snooty pageant coach with a mean streak. Whenshe finds Tristan's dead body stuffed in a closet at a party, thepolice are suspicious- especially since Lulu's developed a tastefor being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Caught in asituation stickier than molasses, Lulu must clear her name, or riskgetting fried...

Salmonella-tainted tomatoes, riots, and skyrocketing pricesare only the latest in a series of food-related crises that haveilluminated the failures of the modern food system. In "The End ofFood, "Paul Roberts investigates this system and presents astartling truth--how we make, market, and transport our food is nolonger compatible with the billions of consumers the system wasbuilt to serve. The emergence of large-scale and efficient foodproduction forever changed our relationship with food andultimately left a vulnerable and paradoxical system in place.High-volume factory systems create new risks for food-borneillness; high-yield crops generate grain, produce, and meat ofdeclining nutritional quality; and while nearly a billion peopleare overweight, roughly as many people are starving. In this vividnarrative, Roberts presents clear, stark visions of the future andhelps us prepare to make the necessary decisions to survive thedemise of food production as we know it.

Spago's pastry chef to the stars and author of the James BeardAward-winning Secrets of Baking shares the recipes that propelledher to the top of her profession Night after night at Spago inBeverly Hills, Sherry Yard dazzles the powerful, rich, and famouswith incredible desserts. Her marvelous confections have won overpatrons from Madonna to Frank Sinatra. Now the country's premierpastry chef reveals the recipes that have made her a star in herown right and won her two coveted James Beard Awards. Desserts bythe Yard begins with inspirations from Yard's childhood, such as MyFavorite White Birthday Cake with Chocolate and Butter FudgeFrosting, and culminates in the spectacular creations she makesevery year for the Academy Awards. Included here are some of Yard'smost famous recipes: the slinky crcme brulee she perfected when sheworked at New York's Rainbow Room, the coffeecake that made CamptonPlace Hotel San Francisco's most popular breakfast spot, and thesouffleed crcme fraiche pancakes with strawberry sauce s

Witty, one-of-a-kind imaginative cupcake designs using candiesfrom the local convenience store. America's favorite foodphotography team, responsible for the covers of America's topmagazines, shows how to create funny, scary, and sophisticatedmasterpieces, using a zipper lock bag and common candies and snackitems.With these easy-to-follow techniques, even the mostkitchen-challenged cooks can - raise a big-top circus cupcake tierfor a kid's birthday - plant candy vegetables on Oreo earthcupcakes for a garden party - trot out a line of confectionery"pupcakes" for a dog fancier - serve sausage and pepperoni pizzacupcakes for April Fool's Day - bewitch trick-or-treaters withchilly ghost chocolate cupcakes - create holidays on icing withturkey cupcake place cards, a white cupcake Christmas wreath, andEaster egg cupcakes No baking skills or fancy pastry equipment isrequired. Spotting the familiar items in the hundreds of brilliantphotos is at least half the fun.

James Beard was the "dean of American cookery" ( New YorkTimes ), and he put practically everything he learned aboutcooking into this single magnificent--now classic--cookbook. JAMESBEARD'S AMERICAN COOKERY includes more than fifteen hundred of hisfavorite and most successful recipes, as well as advice on dozensof cooking questions, from choosing meats and vegetables topreserving fruit and making real cheeseburgers. Acelebration of the roots of cooking in the American style, thisrepackaged edition features the original text and colorillustrations, and a new foreword by Tom Colicchio. Like Mastering the Art of French Cooking and The Joy ofCooking , it is a standard reference no kitchen is completewithout.

Part memoir, part guidebook, part cookbook, and all partshilarious, Two for the Road shares the lessons the Sterns havelearned during thirty years of sampling regional fare on America'sback roads. If you want a great restaurant, forget the YellowPages, ask the local cop--and avoid anything that calls itself"world famous." Sure bets are places with a giant plastic pig onthe roof or pictures of Jesus on the walls. As the Sterns searchfor the Holy Grail of barbecue, they relate achingly funnyadventures and misadventures, and what emerges is a big picture ofAmerica, revealing exotic eating customs that flourish right underour noses.

Everyone loves potatoes. This book transports cooks beyond theusual side dishes and introduces them to the secrets andspecialties of great chefs and cooks the world over. Finamore showshow to prepare spectacularly simple appetizers, including dips,chips, and showstopping cocktail potatoes made from a few ordinaryingredients. He presents dozens of soups and salads, including richSummer Vichyssoise and Herb Garden Potato Salad. There are morethan fifty main-dish possibilities, such as Sunday Lamb with ProperRoast Potatoes and Chicken Stuffed with Potatoes and ShiitakeMushrooms not to mention a sophisticated rendition of Shepherd'sPie. The potato turns up as the hidden ingredient in such breads asPotato Cheddar Bread with Chives and in such desserts as moistFarmhouse Chocolate Cake. Finamore shows how to master crisp steakfries, silky mashes, and sumptuous gratins. A bonus feature of thebook is the sweet potato, in dishes from a delightfully nostalgicBaked Sweet Potatoes with Marshmallow to an urbane Semi

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

Celebrated French chef Pierre Gagnaire offers 175 classicand yet refined recipes for everyday and special occasions, fromlazy brunches to midnight feasts. Revered for pushing theboundaries of taste and texture, Gagnaire transforms old favoriteswith a twist of originality in recipes designed for the casualcook. Four chapters include ideas for mealtimes and entertaining,from French Toast and Lemon-Rhubarb Marmalade to GrilledLine-Caught Bass to Bell Pepper Cocktails or Raspberries withParmesan. The creative recipes of this master chef will expand therepertoire of the home cook—novice or accomplished—and provide afresh, new home-dining experience

Hailed by the New York Times, Esquire, and the AtlanticMonthly as one of the best delicatessens in the country,Zingerman"s is a trusted source for superior ingredients — and anequally dependable supplier of information about food. Now, AriWeinzweig, the founder of Zingerman"s, shares two decades ofknowledge gained in his pursuit of the world"s finest foodproducts: oils, vinegar, and olives; bread, pasta, and rice;cheeses and cured meats; seasonings like salt, pepper, and saffron;vanilla, chocolate, and tea.

31-year-old Nancy Trejos was supposed to be an expert onhandling her money - after all, she's the personal financecolumnist for one of the nation's leading newspapers, TheWashington Post . But a few months ago, she found herself inher own dire financial straits. Faced with a mountain of bills,debt, and no way to pay her rent, she was forced to call herparents to ask them for a loan. That night was a wake-up call - shevowed to get herself out of debt and into financial solvency. In Hot Broke Messes , Trejos takes readers along with heron her journey. She meets with a financial planner and a therapistto deal with all the issues young people face today - from creditcard debt and student loans, to impulse buying and emotionalspending, to the cost of having a social life, to buying a housewith someone during a potentially impermanent relationship andmore. Trejos learns what causes these problems in herself, how shecan fix them, and how she can pass that advice on to other youngpeople going through the same exp