A James Beard Award-winning writer captures life under the Red socialist banner in this wildly inventive, tragicomic memoir of feasts, famines, and three generations
With startling beauty and sardonic wit, Anya von Bremzen tells an intimate yet epic story of life in that vanished empire known as the USSR--a place where every edible morsel was packed with emotional and political meaning.
Born in 1963, in an era of bread shortages, Anya grew up in a communal Moscow apartment where eighteen families shared one kitchen. She sang odes to Lenin, black-marketeered Juicy Fruit gum at school, watched her father brew moonshine, and, like most Soviet citizens, longed for a taste of the mythical West. It was a life by turns absurd, drab, naively joyous, melancholy--and ultimately intolerable to her anti-Soviet mother, Larisa. When Anya was ten, she and Larisa fled the political repression of Brezhnev-era Russia, arriving in Philadelphia with no winter coats and no right of return.
Now Anya occupies two parallel food universes: one where she writes about four-star restaurants, the other where a taste of humble "kolbasa" transports her back to her scarlet-blazed socialist past. To bring that past to life, in its full flavor, both bitter and sweet, Anya and Larisa, embark on a journey unlike any other: they decide to eat and cook their way through every decade of the Soviet experience--turning Larisa's kitchen into a "time machine and an incubator of memories." Together, mother and daughter re-create meals both modest and sumptuous, featuring a decadent fish pie from the pages of Chekhov, "chanakhi "(Stalin's favorite Georgian stew), blini, and more.
Through these meals, Anya tells the gripping story of three Soviet generations--
masterfully capturing the strange mix of idealism, cynicism, longing, and terror that defined Soviet life. We meet her grandfather Naum, a glamorous intelligence chief under Stalin, and her grandmother Liza, who made a perilous odyssey to icy, blockaded Leningrad to find Naum during World War II. We meet Anya's hard-drinking, sarcastic father, Sergei, who cruelly abandons his family shortly after Anya is born; and we are captivated by Larisa, the romantic dreamer who grew up dreading the black public loudspeakers trumpeting the glories of the Five-Year Plan. Their stories unfold against the vast panorama of Soviet history: Lenin's bloody grain requisitioning, World War II hunger and survival, Stalin's table manners, Khrushchev's kitchen debates, Gorbachev's disastrous anti-alcohol policies. And, ultimately, the collapse of the USSR. And all of it is bound together by Anya's passionate nostalgia, sly humor, and piercing observations.
" Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking" is that rare book that stirs our souls and our senses.

"From the Hardcover edition."

Why are most of us so woefully uninformed about our kitchen knives? We are intimidated by our knives when they are sharp, annoyed by them when they are dull, and quietly ashamed that we don't know how to use them with any competence. For a species that has been using knives for nearly as long as we have been walking upright, that's a serious problem. "An Edge in the Kitchen" is the solution, an intelligent and delightful debunking of the mysteries of kitchen knives once and for all. If you can stack blocks, you can cut restaurant-quality diced vegetables. If you can fold a paper airplane, you can sharpen your knives better than many professionals.

Veteran cook Chad Ward provides an in-depth guide to the most important tool in the kitchen, including how to choose the best kitchen knives in your price range, practical tutorials on knife skills, a step-by-step section on sharpening, and more----all illustrated with beautiful photographs throughout. Along the way you will discover what a cow sword is, and why you might want one; why chefs are abandoning their heavy knives in droves; and why the Pinch and the Claw, strange as they may sound, are in fact the best way to make precision vegetable cuts with speed and style.

"An Edge in the Kitchen" is the one and only guide to the most important tool in the kitchen.

A Little Taste of Cape Cod is a small, illustrated cookbook featuring the classic neighborhood dishes of Cape Cod. Acting as both cookbook and guidebook, A Little Taste of Cape Cod offers readers recipes for signature dishes celebrating the flavors of everyone's favorite cape. Exploring the sweet and savory dishes of Cape Cod has never been easier. This exquisitely prepared guide through the classical and modern flavors of this prime beach territory will take you on an adventure that will surely become a memorable exploration of Cape Cod's food and history. Cocktails Cape Codder Blueberry Mojito Summer Wind Bloody Mary with a Coastal Twist Appetizers & Small Bites Garlicky Mussels with Linguica and Grilled Bread Grilled Calamari Oysters with Mignonette Sauce Classic Shrimp Cocktail Smoked Bluefish Dip Soft-Shell Clams Steamed in Beer with Drawn Butter Stuffed Quahogs Soups, Sandwiches & Sides Lobster Bisque New England Clam Chowder Portuguese Kale and Sausage Soup Fried Clam Roll Lobster Roll Corn Pudding Main Courses Baby Back Ribs with Cranberry Barbecue Sauce Pork Vinha D'alhos Broiled Cod with Bread Crumbs and Lemon Butter Jamaican Jerk Chicken with Rice and Beans Mussels with Spaghetti & Red Sauce Pan-Seared Scallops with Avocado and Salsa Desserts & Baked Goods Apple Crisp Cranberry Granola Blueberry-Ginger Pie Blueberry-Lemon Pound Cake Portuguese Sweet Bread

In this beautiful festive craft book, Caroline Wendt and Pernilla Wastberg present a wealth of recipes, decorations and gifts to add a little Scandinavian magic to any Christmas! Bake tasty festive treats, from savoury breadsticks to delicious gingerbread men. Add Scandinavian flair to your home with cushions, wreaths and crocheted Santas. Decorate a Christmas tree the Swedish way, with frozen angels, knitted baubles and icing snowflakes. And share the festive cheer with perfect gifts like cookie jars and cute caramel crackers. A Swedish Christmas is packed with wonderful festive projects using all kinds of materials and techniques. Each project comes with simple, easy-to-follow instructions and beautiful photographs.

'Comfort Food for Breakups' is a beautifully written food memoir with a queer bent in which the author comes to terms with her Ukranian heritage and her lesbian identity by way of their connections to food: as sustenance, as coping mechanisms, as reminders of family history, and as objects of desire.

Food safety is a matter of intense public concern, and for good reason. Millions of annual cases of food "poisonings" raise alarm not only about the food served in restaurants and fast-food outlets but also about foods bought in supermarkets. The introduction of genetically modified foods--immediately dubbed "Frankenfoods"--only adds to the general sense of unease. Finally, the events of September 11, 2001, heightened fears by exposing the vulnerability of food and water supplies to attacks by bioterrorists. How concerned should we be about such problems? Who is responsible for preventing them? Who benefits from ignoring them? Who decides?
Marion Nestle, author of the critically acclaimed "Food Politics, "argues that ensuring safe food involves more than washing hands or cooking food to higher temperatures. It involves politics. When it comes to food safety, billions of dollars are at stake, and industry, government, and consumers collide over issues of values, economics, and political power--and not always in the public interest. Although the debates may appear to be about science, Nestle maintains that they really are about control: Who decides when a food is safe?
She demonstrates how powerful food industries oppose safety regulations, deny accountability, and blame consumers when something goes wrong, and how century-old laws for ensuring food safety no longer protect our food supply. Accessible, informed, and even-handed, "Safe Food "is for anyone who cares how food is produced and wants to know more about the real issues underlying today's headlines.

When her mother passed along a cookbook made and assembled by her grandmother, Erica Abrams Locklear thought she knew what to expect. But rather than finding a homemade cookbook full of apple stack cake, leather britches, pickled watermelon, or other "traditional" mountain recipes, Locklear discovered recipes for devil's food cake with coconut icing, grape catsup, and fig pickles. Some recipes even relied on food products like Bisquick, Swans Down flour, and Calumet baking powder. Where, Locklear wondered, did her Appalachian food script come from? And what implicit judgments had she made about her grandmother based on the foods she imagined she would have been interested in cooking? Appalachia on the Table argues, in part, that since the conception of Appalachia as a distinctly different region from the rest of the South and the United States, the foods associated with the region and its people have often been used to socially categorize and stigmatize mountain people. Rather than investigate the actual foods consumed in Appalachia, Locklear instead focuses on the representations of foods consumed, implied moral judgments about those foods, and how those judgments shape reader perceptions of those depicted. The question at the core of Locklear's analysis asks, How did the dominant culinary narrative of the region come into existence and what consequences has that narrative had for people in the mountains?

In this stunning and important work, the prominent critic, poet, and memoirist Sandra M. Gilbert explores our relationship with food and eating through discussions of literature, art, and popular culture. Focusing on contemporary practices, The Culinary Imagination traces the social, aesthetic, and political history of food from myth to modernity, from ancient sources to our current wave of food mania.

What does it mean to transform raw stuff into cooked dishes, which then become part of our own bodies; to savor festive meals yet resolve to renounce gluttony; to act as predators where in another life we might have become prey? Do the rituals of the kitchen have different meanings for men and women, for professional chefs and home cooks? Why, today, do so many of us turn so passionately toward table topics, on the page, online, and on screen? What are the philosophical implications of the food chain on which we all find ourselves?

In The Culinary Imagination, Gilbert addresses these powerful questions through meditations on myths and memoirs, children s books, novels, poems, food blogs, paintings, TV shows, and movies. Discussing figures from Rex Stout to Julia Child and Andy Warhol, from M. F. K. Fisher and Sylvia Plath to Alice Waters and Peter Singer, she analyzes the politics and poetics of our daily bread, investigating our complex self-definitions as producers, consumers, and connoisseurs of food. The result is an ambitious, lively, and learned examination of the ways in which our culture s artists have represented food across a range of genres."

Take the edge off with over 100 recipes that feature one of the hottest trends in craft cocktails: CBD, the non-psychoactive extract from marijuana that aids anxiety, pain relief, and insomnia. Whether this is an ingredient completely new to you or one that you want to know how best to use, let Sailene Ossman, a fixture in the Los Angeles cannabis scene since the mid-90s who has gone from underground hero to celebrated expert explain CBD in all its forms and how best to use it to address individuals' needs. Whether you want to add depth to a traditional mixed drink or are in need of stress-relieving juice, CBD Cocktails is an essential resource for using this dynamic ingredient.

As a food photographer for 40 years, Joe Glyda has shot everything from appetizers to entrees to desserts. In Food Photography, author Glyda brings his experience as a teacher and professional photographer to the page, instructing photographers how to light food, use unique camera angles, and work with styles and trends to create timeless and mouth-watering images. Including setup diagrams, toolkits and instruction for editorial imagery, recipe and cookbook images, as well as images for packaging, this book is an essential resource for taking photographs that creatively meet your client's needs. Including invaluable advice on building your team and working with art directors and clients, this one-of-a-kind book is essential for students of commercial photography, food bloggers and professional photographers alike.

Stellen Sie sich vor, Sie sitzen am Mittelmeer in einer Taverne, die FA1/4A e im Sand, nippen an einem Wein und genieA en, je nachdem, wo Sie gerade sitzen, exotische Tabbouleh, kAstliche Lasagne oder griechischen Joghurt mit Honig und WalnA1/4ssen. Diese und viele weitere KAstlichkeiten der mediterranen KA1/4che kAnnen Sie sich mit diesem Buch in die eigene KA1/4che holen. Und das ganz ohne schlechtes Gewissen, denn die mediterrane KA1/4che ist bekAmmlich und gesund und eignet sich deshalb auch gut zum Abnehmen. Also ran an den Herd! A ber 150 Rezepte mit Zutatenliste, Schritt-fA1/4r-Schritt-Anleitungen und NAhrwertangaben erwarten Sie.

Using a simple five-minute base recipe, you can make the “brilliant” (Andrew Zimmern), “astonishingly good” (Ruth Reichl) flavors of the innovative “ice cream gods” (Bon Appétit) Salt & Straw at home.

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST COOKBOOKS OF THE SEASON BY Eater • Delish • Epicurious

Based out of Portland, Oregon, Salt & Straw is the brainchild of two cousins, Tyler and Kim Malek, who had a vision but no recipes. They turned to their friends for advice—chefs, chocolatiers, brewers, and food experts of all kinds—and what came out is a super-simple base that takes five minutes to make, and an ice cream company that sees new flavors and inspiration everywhere they look.

Using that base recipe, you can make dozens of Salt & Straw’s most beloved, unique (and a little controversial) flavors, including Sea Salt with Caramel Ribbons, Roasted Strawberry and Toasted White Chocolate, and Buttered Mashed Potatoes and Gravy.

But more importantly, this book reveals what they’ve learned, how to tap your own creativity, and how to invent flavors of your own, based on whatever you see around you. Because ice cream isn’t just a thing you eat, it’s a way to live.

From its pre-Christian origins to the present, food has always been central to Christmas; a feast at which tradition, nostalgia, innovation, symbolism, and indulgence all come together at the table. This book explores the rich story of Christmas food and feasting, tracing the history of how our festive menu evolved and inherited elements of pagan ritual, medieval traditions, early modern innovations, Victorian romanticism, and contemporary commercialism. Although it makes reference to global traditions, it focuses specifically on the story of how the British Christmas meal evolved, both on its native shores and beyond. It considers the origins, form, and structure of the modern British Christmas dinner, with its codified menu and iconic festive dishes and drinks. It also tells the story of what happened to that meal as it was taken throughout the Empire, becoming entrenched in places most strongly associated with the British Diaspora. In these places, spread across the Globe, keeping a very precise model of Christmas became a key marker of cultural identity. This British Christmas was not unchanging, though; rather, it adapted to new environments, and merged with the Christmases of other cultures encountered to create new traditions. Looking beyond Britain, to places strongly associated with its Diaspora, such as the United States of America, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, helps us to understand the cultural significance and meaning of this feast with more complexity. With recipes and menus, this work will help modern readers understand the feasts of Christmas past, and perhaps incorporate some of those old dishes into Christmas-present festivities.

Hedgerows, moors, meadows and woods - these hold a veritable feast for the forager. In this hugely informative and witty handbook, John Wright reveals how to spot the free and delicious pickings to be found in the British countryside, and how to prepare and cook them. First John touches on the basics for the hedgerow forager, with an introduction to conservation, safety, the law, and all the equipment that you may need. Next he guides you through the tasty edible species to be found. Each one is accompanied by photographs for identification, along with their conservation status, habitat, distribution, season, taste, texture and cooking methods - not forgetting, of course, some fascinating asides and diversions about their taxonomy and history. Fifty species are covered, including bilberries, blackberries, raspberries, common mallow, dandelions, hedge garlic, horseradish, pignuts, nettles, sloes, sweet chestnuts, water mint, bulrushes and wild cherries. After this there is a section describing the poisonous species to steer clear of, with identifying photographs as well as warnings about nasty 'lookalikes'. Finally, there are thirty delicious recipes to show how you can make the most of your (edible) findings.Introduced by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, "Hedgerow" is an indispensable household reference, and an essential book to have by your side for every trip into the countryside.

Create a memorable and delicious serving board for any season or occasion with Dips, Spreads, Nosh. Featuring board building advice from charcuterie experts like Murray's Cheese, Publican Market, The Cheese Store of Beverly Hills, Vermont Creamery, and many more, hosting has never been this easy. With full board recipes, easy-to-follow instructions, and full-color photography, as well as over 100 serving board recipes for any occasion, including Rustic Bakery Feta and Herb Quick Bread, Peanut Satay Dip, Elevated Party Mix, and more, you'll never have a boring spread! Whether you're looking for the gift for the hostess who has everything or want to expand your own entertaining collection, this book is sure to please.

Cast iron cooking is back in vogue From America's most chic restaurants to the countless kitchens of avid home cooks, everyone is rediscovering the joy of cooking with classic cast iron. Cast iron cooking has always been a kitchen favorite with its even heating, great heat retention and its flexibility to go outdoors and grill or cook over an open fire. According to "Esquire "magazine, cast iron cookware "will enrich your eggs and burgers, it's impossible to break and it will last longer than you."
And now with The "Lodge Cast Iron Cookbook," every cook will learn the simple, savory secrets of cast iron cookery. From the kitchens of Lodge, America's leading manufacturer of cast iron cookware, this unique cookbook offers over 200 mouthwatering recipes. The delectable dishes range from breakfast specials to the secrets of great fried food, to soups and stews, biscuits and baked goods, fish, veggies and finally those sweet finales. And the book features favorite cast iron cooking recipes by well-known cooks such as Bill and Cheryl Jamison, Nick Malgieri and Allison Fishman. Special cooking lessons include cast iron cooking basics and how to enjoy open air cooking and grilling.
This special culinary delight features great cooking stories and intriguing vignettes on the history and legend and lore of cast iron cooking. Each unique recipe, culled from cooks across the country, is illustrated with four-color photography. Published in a special flexible binding, this cookbook will be a keepsake treasured by all cooks.

Learn how to de-stress, relax and connect with the wildness you can find on your doorstep even in urban and suburban settings Increasing workload, nervous tension, trouble sleeping? Wondering whether there is more to life? You're not having a mid-life crisis. Like so many others, you are feeling the call of the wild. Today's urban living makes it easy for us to feel divorced from nature. This practical book is filled with 52 varied and inspiring activities illustrated with beautiful colour photographs that will get you out and about whatever the weather. Featuring a combination of creative, culinary, herbal and mindful projects, all with nature at their heart, you'll be surprised how much wildness you can find on your doorstep when you know where to look. Organised by month, Urban Wild's simple, seasonal, step-by-step activities open the door to nature in urban and suburban landscapes to help you increase your potential for health and wellbeing and take your first steps on a journey of discovery towards a lifelong connection with the natural world.