I Love Corn includes recipes from world-renowned chefs including Daniel Boulud, Pichet Ong, and Dan Barber, as well as other culinary luminaries such as Martha Stewart. I Love Corn divides the dishes by section: breakfast, soups and starters, mains, and sweets. The chefs introduce each recipe with an anecdote, adding a personal touch to each flavor-filled dish. This diverse collection of recipes includes traditional favorites, such as Yankee Corn Bread or Sweet Corn and Clam Chowder, and unconventional ones, such as Fresh Corn Ice Cream or Poached Peaches and Rhubarb With Warm Corn Shortcakes.

Cheerful full-color photos of scrumptious foods light up I Love Corn with each turn of the page. Lisa also presents helpful information about corn, from how to choose the best ears in the store to freezing for the winter. Her love of corn led her to meticulously test each recipe, making sure they were easy to prepare for the home cook but still retain top-chef taste.

After going through the sudden and tragic loss of her father in 2004, Skye decided that she wanted to give back in a way that showed how thankful she was for the friends who supported her during that rough time. A portion of the proceeds for I Love Corn will be donated to the Dougy Center in Portland, OR, a national grieving center for children and families going through the loss of a loved one.

Chef JAMES LAIRD | RESAURANT SERENADE Chatham, NJ

SERVES 6

This is one of my favorite ways to prepare tacos for my friends and our patrons at Restaurant Serenade. Because of the quick cooking of the vegetables, it allows for more time on the deck and less time in the kitchen. Adding the cilantro to the warm vegetables off the heat helps create a wonderfully aromatic dish. Use good-quality tomato salsa or make your own by chopping tomatoes, onions, and jalapeño peppers. Season the salsa with salt and pepper and chopped fresh cilantro.

1 (24-count) package (4-inch wonton wrappers)
1 small zucchini, trimmed and halved
1 medium-size red pepper, seeded and quartered
2 small carrots, trimmed and halved
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon chopped fresh garlic
1/2 medium-size onion, diced
1/2 cup diced green papaya
1/2 cup fresh corn kernels (about 1 small ear)
2 cups finely chopped green cabbage
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
2 cups cooked pinto beans (or good-quality canned beans), drained and rinsed
1 cup tomato salsa (preferably fresh)

• Preheat the oven to 325˚F.
• Place each wonton wrapper over a small, overturned metal bowl to form a cup shape and bake for approximately 5 minutes each, or until crisp. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool until ready for serving.
• Slice the zucchini, red pepper, and carrots into ¼-inch slices on a mandoline or by hand.
• Preheat a wok for 30 seconds, until medium hot. Add the olive oil, garlic, and onion and cook for 1 minute. Add the zucchini, red pepper, carrots, papaya, corn, and cabbage, season with salt and pepper, and cook for 4 minutes or until the onion is slightly tender. Remove the vegetables from the heat. Add the cilantro, toss, and keep warm.
• To assemble, warm the pinto beans and put a small amount in the bottom of each wonton cup. Top with the sautéed vegetables and some salsa, and serve.
Author Note: You can use smaller wonton wrappers to make these as finger foods or passed hors d’oeuvres at a party.

Pastry chef Nicole Kaplan New York, New York

SERVES 8

STREUSEL
1/2 cup pecans
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

CAKE
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 1/4 cups cake flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
Seeds from 1 vanilla bean
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon crème fraîche
2 cups fresh blueberries

CORN BREAD STREUSEL
1/2 cup freeze-dried corn
1/2 cup almond flour
1 teaspoon cake flour
Pinch of salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

WARM BLUEBERRIES
(recipe in book)

CORN BREAD ICE CREAM
2 cups frozen corn
4 cups whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup plus 3/4 cup granulated sugar
10 large egg yolks
3/4 tablespoon salt

• Place the streusel ingredients in a food processor and grind to a rough powder. Set aside.
• Preheat the oven to 350˚F with a rack in the middle.
• With a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until soft and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the egg and egg yolk one at a time, mixing until incorporated. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and vanilla bean seeds. Alternating in three additions, add the combined dry ingredients and the crème fraîche, mixing just until each addition is incorporated.
• Layer half of the cake batter in an 8-inch square cake pan lined with parchment paper, or similar. Carefully spread the blueberries on top in a neat layer. Sprinkle with half of the streusel. Bake until the cake springs back in the center, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool on a rack. Once it is cooled completely, cut into squares.
• To serve, place a piece of the warm cake in the center of a plate. Place some Corn Bread Streusel around the cake. Top it with the warm blueberries and a scoop of corn bread ice cream. Serve immediately.

CORN BREAD STREUSEL
• Preheat the oven to 200˚F with a rack in the middle.
• Place the corn, both flours, and the salt in a food processor and process until powdery. Drizzle in the butter and continue blending for about 1 minute. Transfer to a standard half sheet pan (18 by 13 inches) or similar. Bake until toasty but still light in color, 7 to 10 minutes. This streusel can be stored at room temperature for up to a week in an airtight container, or frozen for an extended period of time and then gently retoasted for a few minutes before using, to refresh the flavor.

CORN BREAD ICE CREAM
• Place the corn in a large pot over medium heat and heat it to evaporate any water from the freezer. Add the milk, cream, and ½ cup of the granulated sugar and bring to a boil.
• Place the remaining ¾ cup of sugar, the yolks, and salt in a medium-size bowl and whisk together. Gently temper the eggs by pouring the hot liquid into the bowl slowly, stirring occasionally.
• Blend the mixture with an immersion blender until smooth. Strain and let cool.
• Freeze in an ice-cream maker according to its manufacturer’s instructions.

by Lisa Skye

Price: $19.99
ISBN-13: 9781449418168
ISBN-10: 1449418163
Format: Hardcover
Size: 7 1/2 x 7 1/2 in.
Page Count: 160 pages

“Fear not sugar lovers! The “Sugar Mommas” are on a mission to make sure sugar recipes stay available to everyone, all the time, in their new cookbook, Sugar, Sugar: Every Recipe Has a Story. Kimberly Reiner and Jenna Sanz-Agero (the Sugar Mommas) have added an interesting twist to their cookbook which makes it unique. As the title mentions, every recipe has a story and these stories breathe life into each instruction. Many stories tell of past generations making the same sugary creations that cooks make today. The Sugar Mommas have captured the magic behind the recipes included in the cookbook.” ––Portland Book Review http://bit.ly/AzE7DL

“The mission of the ‘Sugar Mommas’…is to bring readers vintage treats and the stories behind them. The result is a book filled with tempting cakes, pies, cookies, and candies. These ladies don’t always follow the rules, and it’s refreshing to see that their approach to baking comes with a sense of humor.” –The Philadelphia Inquirer

“We all have stories about food and family. Cookbook authors Kimberly “Momma” Reiner and Jenna Sanz-Agero understand that. They understand that while a good story won’t turn a bad recipe into a good one, it will make a good recipe live on. They also understand that food connects us because of the stories connected to it. What is tradition but a story handed down – like a recipe – from one generation to another? Reiner and Sanz-Agero have collected a pile of sweet recipes – and even sweeter stories – in their new cookbook, “Sugar, Sugar: Every Recipe Has a Story” ” ––The Rocky Mountain Telegram http://bit.ly/nkCZs2

“This is a great book for families who have recently had a child diagnosed with a gluten, dairy, nut, soy or egg allergy or are learning to juggle multiple food allergies. The book starts off with tips for food safety and reducing cross contamination. It goes on to an FAQ section with experts before moving onto the recipes. The recipe section is coded with the 5 allergens – gluten, dairy, nut, soy, egg. Each has its own color square on the edge of each page so that locating recipes with that particular allergen gone is easy to do. The recipes are broken into meals – breakfast, lunch, dinner, desserts, snacks, and parties. There are some rather neat features with this book. ” ––Reading All Year Long http://bit.ly/HNkfJw

“Already challenged, parents now face some new, and potentially very serious problems, in handling the food issues their children have. Resources are growing and a new one has popped up on bookstore shelves: Allergy-Friendly Food for Families from the editors of Kiwi magazine. You can find Kiwi online and in print. They are devoted to helping families follow a green, organic path. This book is just that: a pathway tiled with recipe ideas that will entice your family to bite in while respecting their culinary constraints. Actually, the recipes here will appeal to anyone. It’s the perfect sort of book, one where you can be inspired and not have any sense of denial or compromise. I encourage you to look at Allergy-Friendly Food for Families. If it’s not your family, then someone you know can use this asset. If you doubt it, go visit your local school and check out the sign in the cafeteria!: ––Cooking by the Book http://bit.ly/HOc7IW

“The landscape of childhood has changed. In the last several years, we have seen jaw-dropping increases in the rates of allergies, autism, ADHD and asthma, earning these conditions the nickname “the 4 As” and our children the title, “Generation Rx.” Today, it is estimated that food allergies affect at least 1 out of 17 kids under the age of three, with a study showing a doubling of the peanut allergy between 1997 and 2002. And according to an October 2008 study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there has been a 265% increase in the rate of hospitalizations related to food allergic reactions. So I invite you to pull up a chair, flip through Allergy-Friendly Food for Families and soak in the love and wholesome goodness that are tucked into these pages. Because Allergy-Friendly Food for Families is an invaluable resources for those interested in protecting the health of their families. … Because with inspiration, practical suggestions, heartfelt instructions and real world solutions, Allergy-Friendly Food for Families is both a sound investment in the health of your family and a resource that will pay dividends for a lifetime.” ––Robyn O’Brien http://bit.ly/GQQQiI

“Does your family have food allergies? Do you struggle with what to feed them? Well we have a cookbook for you. Allergy Friendly Foods For Families Cookbook includes 120 Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Nut-Free, Egg-Free, and Soy-Free recipes that everyone will love.” ––Babble http://bit.ly/GCjdPQ

“At first bite this book is a mouthful – I want to gulp it all in and dive for seconds. Chef John Besh remembers a time of organic preparation: cooking for our own families and enjoying the intimacy that each chop, stir, bite inspired. He dices up one amazing legacy in his newest addition, including stunning photographic images of his own family and the meals that are prepared with them in mind and at hand.” ––San Francisco Book Review http://bit.ly/xae4q1

“My Family Table: A Passionate Plea for Home Cooking, the follow-up book to Besh’s 2009 tome, My New Orleans, presents a convincing argument for making family time as special as possible by crafting and sitting down to meals together at home. By breaking bread around the table with those you love, he says, your bonds can’t help but strengthen, particularly if you eschew packaged, instant foods and drive-through fare. “I urge you to set aside manufactured convenience and to cook real food instead. You’ll be amazed at what this elemental act does — not only for the people you feed, but for you, as well,” Besh writes. Full of spectacular photography, the 265-page book brings to life the markets Besh frequents, as well as the family of six — including four young sons — that he feeds, all while juggling work at seven restaurants. Far from complex, the food and its preparation keeps accessibility and approachability in mind, with dishes ranging from Simple Meat Ragout for Any Pasta and Stuffed French Toast, to Roast Goose with Yukon Gold Potato Dumplings.” ––Dallas News http://dallasne.ws/ySHX3l

“Of the recently published books by gourmet chefs on home cooking (e.g., Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s Home Cooking with Jean-Georges and Rick Tramonto’s Steak with Friends), James Beard Award-winning Louisiana chef John Besh’s latest is easily the most beautiful. This stunning volume is filled with intimate photographs of the Besh family in the kitchen, at the table, and outdoors with friends. Recipes like Risotto of Almost Anything and Whole Roasted Sole with Brown Butter reinforce Besh’s Jamie Oliver-like argument that practical home cooking does not require reliance on processed products. Includes some excellent holiday recipes. Highly recommended.” –Library Journal

“New Orleans chef/restaurateur John Besh has followed up his award-winning My New Orleans with a book dedicated to home cooking, and he definitely has another winner on his hands. Besh is a devoted family man, and the book is lushly illustrated with photos of the Besh clan in the kitchen, at the dinner table, entertaining friends, and cooking outdoors at a hunting and fishing camp. The photos are the first clue that this is not a ridiculously complex cookbook with recipes calling for esoteric ingredients and an entire brigade of prep cooks; it’s a work created to actually encourage home cooking, and that it does.” ––The Austin Chronicle http://bit.ly/svCJ0t

“The lavish photographs in John Besh’s MY FAMILY TABLE: A Passionate Plea for Home Cooking (Andrews McMeel, $35) are the opposite of Blumenthal’s, teeming with picturesque children and the telegenic father who cooks with them. Besh takes an opening shot at his modernist brethren: “So many of us chefs spend way too much of our time overmanipulating foods, attempting to turn them into things they inherently are not.” Many of his recipes, written in his warm, natural voice, are easy. Yet some are more special-occasion than the title might imply. The most useful section provides the dishes his wife challenged him to create when he “made the mistake” of questioning her “about what she was feeding our children” on weeknights, when he’s “almost never around.” So he came up with some recipes kids will eat and distracted, time-pressed cooks can make: cauliflower mac and cheese, sloppy Joe sliders, tomato soup with grilled ham and cheese. (You’ll want to stock pepper jelly, which he likes with almost everything.) These, and building-block recipes like a chicken fricassee open to endless variations and a roast chicken that can be reused throughout the week, are the ones family cooks will turn to.” ––The New York Times Book Review

Even a seasoned chef like John Besh can get in a rut when it comes to making dinner seven nights a week, so he came up with a collection of meals to remind you (and himself!) to embrace mealtime in his new book My Family Table: A Passionate Plea for Home Cooking. Since he is here during the Celebrity Potluck Party, John brings one of the book’s meals to Rach, and you can try it too - get his recipe for Tender Slow-Cooked Beef Brisket Baked Beans! ––Rachel Ray

“While home cooking may not be the key to world peace, [John Besh] convincingly argues that eating — and preparing meals — together can go a long way toward curing what ails our society. And then he offers strategies and 140 recipes that will inspire you to be part of the solution.” ––OregonLive.com http://bit.ly/sgFI8Y

“There aren’t enough superlatives to describe My Family Table. In a season of exceptional cookbooks, My Family Table stands above a dazzling crowd. The recipes are among the best to be found: clearly written and without fuss, their simplicity is based on good ingredients and techniques honed by a master chef who also loves to cook at home. Besh’s recipes are not ones that rely on a line-up of bottles, jars and cans. They are comforting, just as home food should be, but they are elegant. John Besh is a class act: in My Family Table he does not patronize home cooking, he lifts and celebrates it. Besh has also penned stories from his own cooking memories. They are compelling, because they are authentic celebrations of the home cooks who inspired him.” ––In Mama’s Kitchen http://bit.ly/rDAtf1

““A few years back, I made the mistake of asking my wife about what she was feeding our children,” Besh writes in the book. “She replied that if I was half as concerned about feeding my family as I was about serving my customers, I’d do a better job of helping her with menu ideas that were easy for her to prepare and…something the lads might actually eat. What she said hit me like a ton of bricks.” “It’s not that I didn’t cook at home,” he says. “I’d make these epic ‘me meals.’ I was showing off.” My Family Table is the result of Besh’s repentance—an easygoing homage to Southern home cooking, with some Asian, Spanish and eclectic touches thrown in. This means not one, but two fried chicken recipes, as well as ways to turn one chicken into several meals. “In parts, a chicken might feed six to eight people, but you can get more out of a whole chicken,” Besh says. “Not just the meat, but this great carcass. In the restaurant business, we do not throw out carcasses. Turn that carcass into stock. Freeze the stock in ice-cube trays. Use the roasted meat in chicken noodle panfry or incorporate it into curried anything.” It’s not all school-night food, either. Chapters are devoted to barbecue wisdom, cooking with cast iron and how to cook a fish, among other subjects.” ––Edible Austin http://bit.ly/uoX4z3

“If you are a Food Network fan you are probably familiar with chef John Besh of New Orleans LA. He is a James Beard award-winner and Food TVs Iron Chef champion who takes us into his own kitchen to talk about his passion - the importance of home cooked food for your family. In this new cookbook John Besh shows us how to put healthy meals on the table quickly and easily. He shares some very easy recipes we can use every day of the week to make healthy home cooked meals for our family. Home cooking really is healthier than packaged food. It usually contains more nutrients and has far less sodium than packaged meals. John Besh - My Family Table: A Passionate Plea for Home Cooking is a beautiful hardcover book, part cookbook, part coffee table showpiece. In it John truly shows us how much he cares about preparing fresh food for his own family and shares many of his family’s favorite recipes.” ––Cooking Nook http://bit.ly/vpGgjY

“My Family Table is by a chef — John Besh (August, Lüke, etc.), but it’s decidedly not cheffy. Its subtitle is “A Passionate Plea for Home Cooking,” and the recipes reflect the way Besh likes to cook at home. The book is boldly organized, starting with a few very useful-looking master recipes (”Creamy Any Vegetable Soup,” “Curried Anything,” “Warm Any Fruit Crumble”). It then offers themed chapters (”Sunday Supper,” “Dinner from a Cast-Iron Pot,” “School Nights,” “How to Cook a Fish,” etc.). ” ––The Dallas Morning News Blogs http://bit.ly/runkgV

“As chefs consider the home cook, they’re making their ingredient lists less esoteric and their instructions more accessible. Even their language has become softer, more encouraging. That’s the tone John Besh takes in his new cookbook My Family Table. Besh, the chef of numerous New Orleans restaurants, including Restaurant August, Luke, and Domenica, has urgently subtitled his book as “A Passionate Plea for Home Cooking.” With this new mantra in mind, Besh’s new book is often more approachable than his 2009 My New Orleans. He populates the pages dressed down in jeans and Saints T-shirts, joined by his wife and four sons, showing you how to make perfect scrambled eggs (a shot or two of whole milk and gentle stirring), roasting sole with just six ingredients, and divulging the secret to his grandmother’s fried chicken. Besh shares slightly more complex recipes, too, like how he tackles roast goose or southern BBQ, but there’s rarely a recipe where the challenge outweighs the final product.” ––Blogs.MensHealth.com http://bit.ly/vz1kZJ

“It was an innocent question but it hit a raw nerve. John Besh asked his wife a few years back what she was feeding their four boys and got a response he didn’t expect: “She immediately replied that if I was half as concerned about feeding my family as I was about serving my customers, I’d do a better job of helping her with menu ideas that were easy for her to prepare and also happened to be something the lads might actually eat,” the James Beard Award-winning chef recalled. It was a response that was an eye-opener, said the chef of some of New Orleans’ most popular restaurants (as well as Luke in San Antonio). True: He would go to great lengths to source foods for his restaurant customers but wasn’t giving his own family’s weekday meals much consideration. He realized he had to change. He had to start thinking like everyday Americans concerned about getting a fresh, healthy meal on the table, and reconnecting with the family kitchen. The result is My Family Table: A Passionate Plea for Home Cooking. The new cookbook, which features 140 recipes, is based on a newfound consideration for a return to the kitchen and re-evaluation of the food we’re feeding our families.” ––Chron.com http://bit.ly/rVztZ9

“New Orleans chef John Besh’s new cookbook, My Family Table, is less a collection of recipes than a system for feeding a large, busy family. Leftovers from Sunday roasts are repurposed for school night dinners; master recipes for Cream of Any Vegetable Soup or Curried Anything will take care of whatever you’ve got in the crisper that Must Be Used Tonight. ” ––Eater http://bit.ly/twVrjF

“With another New Orleans restaurant opening practically every other week, chef John Besh is working hard to create a culinary empire. Luckily for the readers of his popular cookbooks, he loves cooking at home just as much as in one of his many eateries. His latest book, My Family Table: A Passionate Plea for Home Cooking, combines practical recipes with touching personal stories.” ––Punchfork http://bit.ly/v8OvtE

“John Besh‘s My Family Table: A Passionate Plea for Home Cooking with 140 Inspiring Recipes is an ambitious book. …. This smart chef presents a combination stories, recipes, and photographs of his own family meant to extort us to follow his example of cooking for a better life. John Besh is very convincing. Perhaps his own exposure to the Food Network’s The Next Iron Chef have given him a perspective on the excesses of celebrity. And part of what makes his restaurants so good is his very connection to the bayou and the growers and producers who supply him – amply portrayed in My Family Table. Even though the book is full of pictures by Maura McEvoy of his handsome family – he tries hard not to focus on glamour.” ––Super Chef http://bit.ly/uokrUW

“Crammed with 500 recipes at under 500 calories each, every one using five ingredients or less, Robin Takes 5 (Andrews McMeel, 2011) is the only cookbook you need for work week dinners. Created and compiled by Robin Miller, the host of Food Network’s Quick Fix Meals, the vast collection of globally-inspired dishes shows you don’t need much to create a fabulous meal – just fresh ingredients and a little ingenuity.” ––Grandparents.com http://bit.ly/y069tG

“From the host of Quick-Fix Meals on Food Network, Robin Miller’s newest cookbook is a must have if you like fast recipes that are also good for you.” ––Taste and Tell http://bit.ly/AkW302

“In my wildest dreams it never dawned on me that delicious dinners could be made with only five ingredients. … That’s why I was intrigued when I recently was offered a review copy of Robin Miller’s Robin Takes 5, which is a cookbook of 500 recipes with five ingredients or less and 500 calories or less. … I think this book would be perfect for someone who is just starting out cooking, or maybe someone who wants to cook at home but doesn’t have a lot of time to commit to it; however, I also think it has its uses for people who cook regularly. For me, this book was a great source of meal inspiration.” ––An Edible Mosaic http://bit.ly/zUcl8L

“The book boosts 500 recipes that have a maximum of five ingredients (not counting oil, salt and pepper). For the most part, these are easy recipes, and they are sophisticated enough to appeal to parents who want more than chicken nuggets and pizza. About 380 of the recipes are for dinner entrees, including cashew-crusted chicken with roasted jalapeno chutney, gruyere-wrapped steaks with port wine glaze, crunchy Asian slaw with fried noodles, and bittersweet fudge with dried cherries. … Icons set off recipes that are perfect for entertaining or have low sodium. All recipes, including desserts, contain less than 500 calories, and many contain less than 500 milligrams of sodium.” ––Winston Salem Journal http://bit.ly/yutBqn

“[Robin Takes 5] is chock-full of concoctions with five ingredients or less. Plus the recipes all have less than 500 calories per serving. The book’s 500 simple-to-prepare recipes range from soups, side dishes, and pizzas to hundreds of entrees and more than 50 desserts. Every recipe is approachable, and uses ingredients that can be found at local supermarkets.” –The Orange County Register http://bit.ly/tevSXH

“This tasty collection from Robin Miller, star of the Food Network’s Quick Fix Meals, shows how to make delicious, healthy and fast meals with only a handful of ingredients. A natural for my beach bag or busy days back home, this handy time-saver includes 500 recipes, each weighing in at 500 calories or less. Plus, thanks to Robin’s background as a nutritionist, each one includes nutritional information and they’re all sodium-conscious. Many selections include less than 500 milligrams of sodium and there’s even a helpful icon that makes it simple to spot the lowest-sodium dishes. Although geared to help you control both calories and sodium, the cookbook doesn’t scrimp on flavor or variety. ––Boomer Brief http://bit.ly/uFoeFi

“The pleasures of Tomatoland are real. They’re strong but subtle and sustained. Mr. Estabrook’s prose contains a mix of sweetness and acid, like a perfect homegrown tomato itself.”
—Dwight Garner, The New York Times

“If you care about social justice—or eat tomatoes—read this account of the past, present, and future of a ubiquitous fruit.”
—Corby Kummer, TheAtlantic.com

“Tomatoland (is) in the tradition of the best muckraking journalism, from Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle to Eric Schlosser’s Fast Food Nation.”
— Jane Black, The Washington Post

“Masterful.”
—Mark Bittman, New York Times Opinion blog

“Eye-opening exposé . . . thought-provoking.”
—Publishers Weekly

“Estabrook adds some new dimensions to the outrageous . . . story of an industry that touches nearly every one of us living in fast-food nation.”
—David Von Drehle, Time magazine blog Swampland

“Tomatoland makes you second-guess your food choices. That Florida red tomato you’re eating? Yeah, it’s probably gassed to make it that red color, and it also may have been picked by slaves. Not so tasty, eh?”
—Carey Polis, The Huffington Post

“Read award-winning journalist Barry Estabrook’s Tomatoland, and you won’t look at a tomato in the same way again . . . Estabrook presents a cogent case for reform, challenging everyone to stand up for what is good not only for the taste buds and the wallet, but also for the soul.”
—Epicurious.com

“This is the sort of book you want—need—to finish in one or two servings as it will forever change the way you look at the $6 burger.”
—LA Weekly

“Tomatoland has a moral force that I won’t soon forget. Estabrook makes it clear that the choice we make between a plastic-tasting supermarket tomato and fragrant organic farmer’s market tomato . . . says everything about our humanity, and our conception of America as a nation.”
—Michele Owens, Kirkus Book Reviews

“In the tradition of Michael Pollan and Eric Schlosser, Estabrook gives us the darker side of the fruit we so love. Readers who may not have been turned off the winter version of our collectively favorite fruit will certainly find reason here to pause before making a selection at the supermarket. Choose well, Estabrook reminds us.”
—ForeWord Reviews

“Our favorite fruit may not be quite as innocuous and delicious as it appears.”
—Salon.com

“Vital information that every conscientious eater—and parents of eaters—ought to know.”
—CivilEats.com

“A must read for everyone who eats. I don’t care if you are in the commodity cattle business or feed your own family with a small garden. I don’t care if you are a policy maker, extension professional, molecular biologist, industrial mogul, minister, teacher, or what have you. Tomatoland illustrates how fundamentally bankrupt our current commodity-based, industrial food systems have become and offers a glimmer of hope for a food future that’s healthful for all involved. Read it and try not to weep.”
—Grit Magazine

“Put Tomatoland on your reading menu. It will surprise and perhaps enrage you, but its final flavor is hopeful.”
—St. Petersburg Times

“The buzz about Tomatoland, a scathing indictment of South Florida’s tomato industry, keeps growing.”
—The Oregonian

“You can really stop at any point during the narrative and decide that you’ve bought your last supermarket tomato, but Estabrook is just warming up . . . a brisk read, engrossing as it is enraging.” —TheDailyGreen.com

ROOTS
Author Barry Estabrook follows the path of a small, wild, nearly inedible berry native to the harsh coastal deserts of Ecuador, Peru, and Chile as it migrates to what is now Mexico, then to Europe, and eventually to the United States, where it is now our second-most-popular produce item.

A TOMATO GROWS IN FLORIDA
With its high levels of humidity, voracious insects, and nutrient-deficient soil, Florida is one of the worst places you could choose to grow tomatoes commercially. Yet the state grows 90 percent of the tomatoes sold in the United States at certain times of year. How do growers do it? With tons of pesticides, herbicides, and chemical fertilizers—and a high environmental and human cost.

CHEMICAL WARFARE
During a two-month period in the agricultural town of Immokalee, FL, three horribly disfigured babies were born. Their mothers were neighbors who toiled in the same tomato field where they were often sprayed with chemicals when they were pregnant. While looking at the broader picture of the misuse of agricultural chemicals in Florida, this chapter tells the story of the lawyer who battled one of the country’s largest agricultural companies in an attempt to bring justice to one of those babies.

FROM THE HANDS OF A SLAVE
If you have ever eaten a tomato during the winter months, you have eaten a fruit picked by a slave. That is not hyperbole. Human trafficking is all too common in Florida.

AN UNFAIR FIGHT
Even under the best circumstances, Florida tomato workers are subject to the worst labor abuses in the country. Paid strictly for the amount they harvest and denied all benefits, union protection, and overtime, they are lucky to earn the minimum wage. A grassroots group battles the huge tomato growers and their fast-food and institutional customers to secure a one-penny-per pound raise for pickers—enough to lift them out of poverty.

A PENNY PER POUND
When grower Joe Procacci developed a tomato that could withstand the rigors of being grown, packed, and shipped commercially but still deliver taste, the Florida Tomato Committee, a cartel-like organization that has Orwellian powers over tomato production in the state, forbade him to sell it. And when two tomato producers offered to pay their workers one penny more per pound for the tomatoes, the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange threatened them with fines.

MATTERS OF TASTE
Two plant breeders at the University of Florida have spent their careers attempting to develop tomatoes that can be grown cheaply under commercial conditions and conform to the strict size and shape requirements of the exchange. If they succeed, we all will be able to enjoy what is now an oxymoron: a good-tasting supermarket tomato.

BUILDING A BETTER TOMATO
Some dedicated individuals have struggled for decades to improve Florida’s tomato industry. They include a workers’ group that is slowly winning improved labor conditions, an organic grower who proved that tomatoes in Florida need not be bathed in a witch’s brew of chemicals, a developer who has built clean and affordable housing for thousands of migrants, and a teacher who built a statewide network of early childhood education centers for workers’ children.

TOMATOMAN
Tim Stark admits that he is half crazed, but by turning the logic of industrial agriculture on its head, the Pennsylvania farmer grows tomatoes for the finest chefs in New York and provides a decent living for his family and his workers.

WILD THINGS
With approximate geographic coordinates from Roger Chetelat, a tomato geneticist at the University of California, the author ventures across barren Peruvian deserts in search of the wild relatives of the tomato. Returning to the source imparts lessons that the modern tomato industry should heed.

AFTERWORD (new)
Estabrook goes to “Tomato School” with a crew of harvesters at a large Florida producer to learn about their rights and responsibilities under the Fair Food Agreement, signed by the Florida tomato growers and the Coalition of Immokalee workers in late 2010. The agreement represents a sea-change: Time clocks now keep exact track of hours worked, there is zero tolerance for human trafficking and sexual abuse, and workers are trained in health and safety measures. Unfortunately, the supermarket chains refuse to participate. The coalition has now taken its campaign to the nation’s largest grocery retailers.

The story ends with Tomatoland, a hard look at today’s agribusiness systems, which produce industrial tomatoes as lacking in nutrition as they are flavor. Of all the fruits and vegetables we eat, none suffers at the hand of factory farming more than a tomato grown in the winter fields of Florida, which accounts for one-third of the fresh tomatoes grown in the United States. Modern agribusiness can’t deliver a decent-tasting tomato in large part because it’s essentially against the law; regulations set by the Florida Tomato Committee determine what a tomato should look like, and the older, tasty varieties don’t conform to the rules of color and shape.

As Barry explains in this fact-filled yet approachable book, consumers and society pay a price when we take taste and thought out of our food purchases:

• The tomato got its start in the arid climates of South America, making Florida’s humid weather possibly the worst place for tomato growing. This results in heavy use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides.
• The underpaid workers in Florida’s tomato fields are exposed to chemicals daily, with a toll including cancers, respiratory ailments, and severe birth defects among newborns. That’s not all—one assistant U.S. attorney referred to Florida’s tomato fields as “ground zero for modern-day slavery,” complete with beatings and being “sold” to crew bosses to pay debts.
• A tomato today contains less vitamin C, thiamin, niacin, and calcium and 14 times as much sodium as its 1960s counterpart.

There’s no doubt Americans, or anyone who longs for the flavor and texture of a truly home-grown tomato, will want to hear the messages of Tomatoland. Tomatoes are our second-most popular produce behind lettuce, with Americans buying $5 billion worth of commercially grown fresh tomatoes in 2009. And nearly nine out of 10 backyard gardens include tomatoes.

After reading Tomatoland, we should never look at a tomato the same way again, or settle for inferior produce.

How Modern Industrial Agriculture Destroyed Our Most Alluring Fruit

by Barry Estabrook
Price: $15.99
ISBN-13: 9781449423452
ISBN-10: 1449423450
Format: Paperback
Size: 5.5 x 8.5 in.
Page Count: 256 pages

Serves 4

Most people think of crêpes as breakfast food, but I prefer a savory breakfast. The tart yogurt filling and the buttermilk in the batter balance really well with the sweet raspberries.

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 1/4 cups milk
1/4 cup buttermilk
4 tablespoons clarified butter
Zest of 3 lemons
1 1/2 cups plain unsweetened yogurt
2 tablespoons honey
Freshly ground black pepper
1 cup fresh raspberries
Sprinkle of confectioners’ sugar

Mix together the flour, granulated sugar, and salt. In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, buttermilk, 3 tablespoons of the clarified butter, and the zest of 1 lemon. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and whisk into a nice, thin batter. If the batter seems too thick, add a bit more buttermilk.

Heat a crêpe pan or 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Brush the pan with butter. Add about 2 tablespoons batter, lift the pan and roll the batter around to create a thin, even layer. Once the crêpe starts to form little holes, bubble a bit, and begins to turn golden brown, it’s ready to turn. With a spatula, carefully flip the crêpe over and cook another 30 seconds. Remove the crêpe to a large plate and repeat until you’ve used all the batter, making about 10 crêpes.

In a small bowl mix together the remaining zest, yogurt, honey, and pepper. Place one crêpe on a large plate, smear on a thin layer of yogurt, and top with another crêpe. Repeat until you’ve layered all the crêpes into a beautiful cake. Top with raspberries and confectioners’ sugar.

Serves 4

As soon as sugar snaps show up at the farmers market, I’m instantly happy. Sweet, crisp, snappy, and sugary! This salad is all about the sugar snaps, with a pinch of Aleppo pepper for heat, some fresh ricotta cheese for richness and texture, and edible flowers for color. It comes together easily, looks gorgeous, and is oh so easy to love.

1 pound fresh sugar snap peas
1 bunch radishes
1/2 cup fresh ricotta cheese
A few leaves fresh peppermint
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Juice of 1 lemon
Olive oil to taste
Pinch Aleppo pepper or red pepper flakes
Handful of edible flowers, such as pea blossoms or nasturtiums

With a sharp knife, trim the tips of the sugar snap peas on both ends, remove the strings if they bother you, and cut some in half lengthwise. Blanch the sugar snaps quickly, just about 30 seconds and shock in ice water. Slice the radishes thinly into coin shapes or half-moons. Combine the peas, radishes, cheese, and peppermint in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper and toss with the lemon juice and olive oil. Serve with a sprinkle of Aleppo pepper and garnish of edible flowers.

Serves 4

Traditionally we poach duck legs in duck fat then store them in the fat to make confit. But here I poach the breasts in oil. This is a rather unorthodox way cooking duck breast, but I’ve discovered it’s the best way. Duck breast is so juicy and rosy because (and this is admittedly my theory!) ducks use those muscles to control their wings. Chickens are flightless, hence the light color of the meat in their breasts, whereas ducks fly and so have much more developed breast muscles. Duck meat has a lot of myoglobin, a protein loaded with iron. I believe that when it’s overcooked, duck meat can take on that nasty, metallic flavor I associate with awful diner plates of liver and onions.

It occurred to me that if I cook the breast gently, controlling the temperature, I can maintain that rosy color, keep the breast juicy and delectable, and make sure it’s properly cooked. To do this, it’s important that the flesh side of the breast never directly touch the hot pan. I transfer the duck from the skin side in the hot pan directly into the infused olive oil.

For the Farro:
2 cups farro
1 carrot, peeled and cut into large pieces
1 onion, quartered
4 cloves garlic, peeled and lightly crushed
2 guindilla peppers, or 2 pieces ancho chile
1 bay leaf
Kosher salt
1/2 cup fontina cheese cut into small pieces
1 tablespoon butter
1 head radicchio, cut into small bits
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper

For the Duck:
2 duck breasts, each cut in half lengthwise
2 1/2 cups olive oil
Peel of 1 orange
2 guindilla peppers, or 2 pieces ancho chile
2 branches fresh thyme
1 clove garlic, peeled and lightly crushed
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper

For the farro, thoroughly rinse it in a large colander under running water. Transfer to a large heavy-bottomed pot and add the carrots, onions, garlic, peppers, bay leaf, and 4 cups of water.

Add enough kosher salt so the water tastes like sea water. Cover, place over high heat, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 20–25 minutes, until the grain is soft and cooked through. Once the farro is fully cooked, drain, and discard the aromatics.

Fold the fontina cheese, butter, and radicchio into the cooked farro. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

For the duck, in a skillet large enough to fit all four pieces of the duck breasts, combine the olive oil, orange peel, peppers, thyme, and garlic clove. Place the skillet on the burner on the lowest heat you can manage and gently heat the oil until it registers 150° on a meat thermometer. If you have trouble setting your stove low enough, use a cast iron trivet or heat diffuser. I like to leave the thermometer in the oil so I can regulate the heat as necessary and maintain 150°. When you add the duck, the temperature will drop a bit, so you may need to increase the heat slightly.

Score the skin of the duck breasts and season thoroughly with salt and pepper. Heat up another skillet (roughly the same size) over medium-low heat and sear the duck breasts, skin-side down, without moving them at all, until they are crispy and golden brown, 5–7 minutes. Once the skin is golden brown, remove from the pan and now place skin-side up in the 150° olive oil. Poach the duck breasts in the olive oil for 7–10 minutes, until the breasts are firm, medium rare, and just cooked through. Remove from the heat, slice, and serve with the farro.

April 25, 7:30 p.m.
Quail Ridge Books & Music
http://www.quailridgebooks.com/event/rebecca-lang-quick-fix-southernand-samples
Book Signing with Samples
3522 Wade Avenue
Raleigh, NC 27607

April 26, 6:00 p.m.
A Southern Season
http://www.southernseason.com/class/default.asp
Cooking Class and Book Signing
201 S. Estes Drive
Chapel Hill, NC 27514
Spend an afternoon with us as Rebecca demonstrates this wonderful menu with lots of Southern charm to boot.
Menu: White Barbecued Chicken; Macaroni with Five Cheeses; Spring Vegetables with Lemon Herb Dip; Lazy Girl Cobbler

April 28, 10:30 to 11:15 a.m.
Junior League of Athens
Athens, Georgia
http://www.juniorleagueofathens.org/athens/index.jsp
Kids in the Kitchen

May 12
Atlanta Food & Wine Festival
http://atlfoodandwinefestival.com/
Atlanta, GA
Technique Lab: Cast-Iron Cooking

June 11
Lake Austin Spa
http://www.lakeaustin.com/texas-culinary-vacations.php
Austin, TX

June 26
Fiction Addiction
http://www.fiction-addiction.com/
Luncheon, Reading and Book Signing
1020A Woodruff Road
Greenville, SC 29607

At his restaurant Tertulia, Seamus is known for seasonal Spanish cooking with an emphasis on the finest ingredients. With Hero Food, he hopes to extend his philosophy that eating well can improve one’s overall health and wellness. “I know there’s no silver bullet, but I have discovered that some foods can make dramatic differences. These foods—all 18 of them—have become my Heroes,” Seamus writes. “And here’s the good news—that what I like turns out to be good for me!”

In the book, Seamus devotes one chapter to each of these “Heroes,” giving readers thoughtfully annotated recipes that put the spotlight on the ingredient and make for vibrant, delectable dishes. Seamus sheds light on these ingredients—their nutritional value and restorative properties, and how to ensure they’re of the highest quality—all the while arming readers with the tools they need to cook confidently and healthfully. Readers can look forward to recipes for flavorful dishes such as Salt Cod with Garbanzo Beans, Slow-Roasted Lamb Shoulder, and Autumn Squash Salad, along with tips for how to master practical techniques such as steaming greens, pickling, or preserving tuna.

Hero Food demonstrates how to turn key ingredients into dishes that Seamus hopes readers will prepare on a regular basis not only because of their healing properties, but simply because they are delicious.

serves 4

2 medium cucumbers, preferably English, peeled
2 medium carrots, peeled
2 medium green serrano chiles, seeded
1 tabelspoon minced fresh cilantro leaves
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, or to taste
Salt
1/4 teaspoon granulated sugar

Using a mandoline or the slicer side of a box grater, thinly slice the cucumbers and carrots into very thin rounds. Using a knife, cut the chile into thin rounds as well.

In a serving bowl, mix together the cucumbers, carrots, chile, cilantro, lemon juice, salt to taste, and sugar. Use your fingers; this distributes the dressing evenly, otherwise the slices of cucumber tend to stick together in a clump. Let sit in the refrigerator for at least 10 minutes before serving.

serves 4

This is a very distinctive dish because the curry leaves and black pepper go together so well. I created the recipe one time when I had nothing but frozen shrimp in the freezer and was really craving the heat of black peppercorns. It’s been a party staple in my home ever since, served as a first course with Pickled Cucumber and Carrot Salad.

6 tablespoons canola oil
20 fresh curry leaves
1 pound large tiger shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground coarse black pepper, or even more if you like pepper as much as I do!
Salt

Heat the oil in a wok or large skillet over high heat. Toss in the curry leaves and back away from the stove­—they’ll sputter wildly and turn crisp. Add the shrimp and toss. Add the black pepper and salt and continue tossing over high heat until the shrimp is pink and cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes. Take care not to overcook the shrimp.

Tip: Try to get peeled shrimp with their tails still on, for this dish.

Serving suggestion: Rice Kanji, Hot and Sweet Apple Chutney, Sautéed Coconut Chard

• Get organized by keeping a well-stocked Quick-Fix Indian pantry. Then you’ll always be prepared to make a delicious dish, even when time is short.
• Keep your Shortcut Shelf full and fresh with recurring items like ghee and masala pastes.
• Have a good electric coffee grinder on hand strictly for grinding spices.
• Read the entire recipe before you begin, to avoid unexpected surprises along the way.
• Feel your way through the cooking process, instead of constantly watching the clock. “Cook it until it’s done,” Ruta says.
• Buy small amounts of spices to ensure freshness and, whenever possible, grind whole spices to order.
• Use partially prepared proteins, such as already peeled shrimp, to cut preparation time.

Quick-Fix Indian: Easy, Exotic Dishes in 30 Minutes or Less (Andrews McMeel Publishing, $16.99, May 2012) spices up your kitchen with a modern twist on traditional Indian cuisine, while breaking the myth that delicious, exotic food takes the entire evening to accomplish. Chef and author Ruta Kahate shows us how effortless it is to make mouthwatering Indian dishes—from pantry to stove to table—in under 30 minutes.

With more than 100 recipes, Ruta’s compact Indian pantry, and instructions for preparing and storing essential basics like masala pastes, ghee and paneer, Quick-Fix Indian gives cooks of all skill levels the tools to create flavorful meals that even the pickiest eater can’t resist. In addition to learning the natural benefits of traditional spices, such as turmeric’s ability to increase brain function, find out how to whip up satisfying recipes including Green Pan-roasted Chicken, Chickpea Salad with Pomegranate, Kids’ Favorite Banana Fritters, and Hot and Sweet Apple Chutney.

Follow Ruta’s simple tips on being prepared and soon you’ll be fixing delicious curry and much more in a hurry. Don’t overthink things; just enjoy the cooking and watch the food disappear. As Ruta says, “If it tastes good, it will be eaten. It’s as simple as that.”

Forget those cookie cakes you get from the mall. This double-layer confection is tastier, healthier, and totally allergen-free. And what child or adult doesn’t love a big giant cookie? Please note that this recipe calls for potato starch, not potato flour.

PREP + ASSEMBLY TIME: 20 minutes
BAKE TIME: 30 minutes

ingredients
Canola oil, for coating the pan
2 cups sorghum flour
1/2 cup tapioca starch
1/2 cup potato starch
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons xanthan gum
1 cup soy-free, nonhydrogenated margarine, at room temperature
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup raw cane sugar
1/4 cup molasses
2 tablespoons ground flaxseed whisked with 1/4 cup warm water
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free chocolate chips
Dairy-free vanilla frosting (page 186)

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Thoroughly coat two 9-inch round cake pans with canola oil.
2. In a medium bowl, add the sorghum flour, tapioca starch, potato starch, baking powder, salt, and xanthan gum. Mix to combine.
3. In a large bowl or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the margarine for 1 to 2 minutes, until soft. Add the brown sugar and cane sugar, and beat for 1 to 2 minutes longer, until light and fluffy. Add the molasses, flaxseed mixture, and vanilla and beat again until well-mixed.
4. Working in batches, add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing until well-combined. Fold in the chocolate chips.
5. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans, smoothing the tops with a spatula (the batter will be very sticky). Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, until the edges are golden-brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool completely on wire racks.
6. For each cake, run a butter knife around the edge to help loosen it from the pan, then place a plate on top and invert to remove from the pan.
7. To assemble, place one cake on a plate or cake plate, rounded side up. Frost with half of the frosting, then top with the remaining cake, rounded side up. Place the remaining frosting in a piping bag (or plastic resealable bag with the corner tip snipped off) to decorate the top of the cake. Refrigerate until 1 hour before serving.

Cool Zucchini Noodles

When it’s too hot to cook, these zucchini “noodles” make a quick, nutritious meal. The sunflower seed and nutritional yeast topping add palate-pleasing nuttiness and crunch.

SERVES 4
PER SERVING: calories 151, fat 8 g, protein 7 g, carboydrates 16 g, dietary fiber 6 g

ingredients
1/2 cup toasted sunflower seeds
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 large zucchini, peeled and ends trimmed
1 cup Mighty Marinara Sauce

PREP TIME: 10 minutes
1. In a food processor, add the sunflower seeds and nutritional yeast, and season with salt and pepper. Process until the sunflower seeds are the consistency of crumbs. Set aside.
2. Set out four plates or bowls. With a mandoline or vegetable peeler, shred the zucchini into thin strands, arranging one shredded zucchini on each plate or bowl.
3. Top each plate with ¼ cup of the marinara sauce and 2 to 3 tablespoons of the sunflower seed mixture. Serve at room temperature.

Mighty Marinara Sauce
PREP TIME: 10 minutes
COOK TIME: 30 minutes

SERVES 6
PER SERVING: calories 83, fat 3 g, protein 3 g, carboydrates 15 g, dietary fiber 4 g

ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, quartered
1 clove garlic
1 large carrot, peeled and quartered
1 stalk celery, quartered
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
Salt
1 bay leaf

1. In a large stockpot, heat the olive oil over medium heat.
2. In a food processor, combine the onion, garlic, carrot, and celery. Process until very finely chopped.
3. Add the vegetables to the stockpot and sauté for 5 to 7 minutes, until soft and translucent.
4. Add the tomatoes and season with salt to taste. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer and add the bay leaf. Simmer, partially covered, for about 30 minutes, until the flavors are well-blended. Remove the bay leaf and serve.

“Let’s get the most important information out of the way first: Christopher is a woman. She was food and design editor of Metropolitan Home magazine for years and she was a founding editor of Saveur magazine, where she met her co-writer, Melissa Hamilton, a chef and restaurateur. Melissa’s sister, Gabrielle Hamilton, is the chef-owner of Manhattan’s Prune restaurant and a well-known food writer. Hirsheimer and Melissa Hamilton formed Canal House in 2006 when the two women grew tired of commuting into New York City. Originally it was a food styling and photography studio, but their love of gourmet-level home cooking prompted them to create their own cooking guides, published three times a year. Canal House Cooking, Vol. 7, is the first of the new series for 2012.” ––Milwaukee Journal Sentinal http://bit.ly/xV5t5P

“Christopher Hirsheimer and Melissa Hamilton‘s exquisite book series, Canal House Cooking are all about sharing home cooking and the pleasures of the table. The latest volume, No. 7, is La Dolce Vita (Andrews McMeel 2012) that is focused not on their Canal House but on a rustic farmhouse in Tuscany. … Many of the recipes are inspired by Italy – capturing what makes a dish Italian, rather then recreating exactly a dish they ate. Read this pretty book to follow in their footsteps and get inspired to head out to make your path to a canal house.” ––Super Chef http://bit.ly/xuFTnC

“Brava, Ms. Sheldon Johns, for bringing this cooking to us with such grace, and with a reverence that goes to the heart of the Italian cuisine.” —InMamasKitchen.com

“Cucina Povera is a delightful culinary trip through Tuscany, revered for its straightforward food and practical people. In this beautifully photographed book you will be treated to authentic recipes, serene landscapes, and a deep reverence for all things Tuscan.” —Mary Ann Esposito, the host of PBS’ Ciao Italia and the author of Ciao Italia Family Classics

The no-waste philosophy and use of inexpensive Italian ingredients (in Tuscan peasant cooking) are the basis for this lovely and very yummy collection of recipes. —Diane Worthington, Tribune Media Services

“Pamela Sheldon Johns has written more than a dozen cookbooks, many specializing in Italian food. During the last two decades, she explored the back roads of Italy gathering recipes between teaching cooking classes in the United States and conducting culinary workshops. In her latest collection, she serves up sixty peasant inspired dishes from the heart of Tuscany. This book is more than a collection of recipes of simple foods. Perhaps inspired by her mother who grew up on a farm in the Midwest during the Great Depression of the 1930s, Johns has selected dishes that discourage waste and use techniques that coax the flavors out of every bite so that it is as tasty as possible. Using budget-conscious ingredients and utilizing local and seasonal fruits and vegetables, this wonderful cookbook features an array of recipes, from savory pasta dishes to end-of-the-meal desserts.” –Tucson Citizen http://bit.ly/zAdNw5

“Cucina Povera is authentic, and its design mirrors what is within, a people whose genius enabled them to create a cuisine from what they found around them. This is a book you can sink you teeth into and cook from every day.” ––The Front Burner http://bit.ly/qJ0zZq

“[Pamela Sheldon Johns] latest book is dedicated to La Cucina Povera, the traditional frugal Tuscan country cooking that makes use of every ingredient, no matter how humble, because one can never tell when famine will loom. Recipes that are also surprisingly current, because they revolve primarily around vegetables and grains (meat was reserved for special events, and yes, she does cover the meat dishes enjoyed by farm families on those rare occasions), and are therefore quite healthy. In addition to providing recipes Pamela does, as one might expect, discuss history, culture, and background, and if you are familiar with Tuscan country cooking what she has to say will draw up memories and perhaps a smile. If you’re not, she will open a new vistas. And in either case you may find yourself drawing up a shopping list…” ––About.com Italian Food http://bit.ly/oOhloR

May 5, 11 a.m.
Faraday’s Kitchen Store
1501 Ranch Road 620 N.
Austin, TX 78734
512-266-5666
faradayskitchenstore.com

April 28, 1:00 to 3:00 p.m.
Signing
The Kansas City Store
314 Ward Parkway
Kansas City, MO
816-756-1997

May 12, 1:00 to 3:00 p.m.
Ardie Davis will sign books
Main Street Market
123 Main St.
Buffalo Lake, MN 55314

May 26, 1;00 p.m.
I Love a Mystery
6114 Johnson Drive
Mission, KS 66202
913-432-2583
www.iloveamystery.com

June 2, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Ardie Davis will sign books
Cedar Roe Library
5120 Cedar St.
Roeland Park, KS 66205

June 14 and 15. 12:30 p.m.
Ardie Davis will sign books
The Next Page
409 Main St.
Frisco, CO 80443

“This full-color, 8 1/2-inch by-10 inch 222-page cookbook is simply a work of art. … Overall, I found the recipes and directions easy to follow and clear. I appreciate the generous font size and the stunning photography. The editorials, stories and quotes made this cookbook an interesting read. And I did read it. Cover to cover.” –Bloomingdale Patch http://bit.ly/qCaOG1

“Tupelo Honey Café, located in downtown Asheville, N.C. since 2000 and in South Asheville since 2010, shares some of its creative recipes in the newly released cookbook “Tupelo Honey Café: Spirited Recipes from Asheville’s New South Kitchen.” Written by Elizabeth Sims and farm-to-fork movement pioneer Chef Brian Sonoskus, you’ll enjoy trying the book’s flavorsome recipes for dishes like Root Beer Molasses-Glazed Pork Tenderloin with Smoked Jalapeño Sauce, a good example of Tupelo Honey Café’s flair for merging sweet with spicy and crunchy with smooth. ” ––Peninsula Clarion http://bit.ly/mAFYVR

“”Tupelo Honey Cafe,” by Elizabeth Sims with chef Brian Sonoskus. It’s as much a celebration of the “Foodtopia” of Asheville as it is about the sweet cafe near Pack Square. This is not one of those “postcard to me” chef books with food you’ll admire but not make. The recipes here are completely doable and kitchen-friendly.” ––Charlotte Observer http://bit.ly/ii3M3s

“I liked this book the moment I saw it. Tupelo Honey Cafe is in one of America’s hippest towns: Asheville, N.C., and with the promise of delivering “Southern comfort” food that is “made from scratch, sassy and scrumptious” and a striking yellow-and-black cover, I was a little gleeful at the prospect of cooking from it. Elizabeth Sims and chef Brian Sonoskus have written a Southern cookbook with a twist. There are recipes for a Macaroni and Gouda Cheese Casserole and Warm Pimento Cheese With Chips. They offer an incredible version of Tomato Pie. The customary Ritz crackers have been replaced with panko breadcrumbs, and it has one of the best and easiest piecrusts I’ve ever made.” ––Philly.com http://bit.ly/mxNevl

“If you’ve spent any time in Asheville, N.C., chances are you’ve visited the Tupelo Honey Cafe. … Replete with mouthwatering recipes and alluring pictures of the food and Asheville vistas, it represents the cafe just right.” ––The Post and Courier http://bit.ly/jJTcQR

“Tupelo Honey Café is one of those landmark dining spots that actually deserves its popularity. Longtime fans and newcomers will enjoy their just-out cookbook, “Tupelo Honey Café: Spirited Recipes from Asheville’s New South Kitchen”, written by Asheville writer Elizabeth Sims with Tupelo chef Brian Sonoskus.” ––Farm Fresh North Carolina http://bit.ly/kJztH7

“Tupelo Honey Café, owned by Steve Frabitore, is a downtown Asheville restaurant founded in 2000. It’s known for its eclectic and creative Southern comfort food. The restaurant opened its second location, in south Asheville, last year. This month, “Tupelo Honey Café,” written by Sonoskus and Elizabeth Sims, an Asheville food writer, was published by Andrews McMeel Publishing. … Chapters in the book start with The Larder, full of salsa, dressings and condiments, such as Sunshot salsa, (named after the Sunshot Organics farm that Sonoskus started), pickled sweet onions and smoked jalapeno aioli. The next two chapters cover appetizers, soups, salads and sandwiches. These include Tupelo Honey wings, Carolina fish chowder, Southern fried chicken BLT and peachy grilled chicken salad with pecan vinaigrette. Entrees include chicken andouille stir-fry with orange jalapeno glaze, buttermilk pork chops with creamy red-eye gravy, and shrimp and goat-cheese grits with roasted red-pepper sauce. Sides include benne-coated asparagus. Desserts include maple sweet potato pudding and chocolate pecan pie. Sonoskus hopes people will try the book’s recipes and experiment in the kitchen, the way he likes to do. And he hopes that the book gives people a taste of Asheville. ” ––Winston-Salem Journal http://bit.ly/m6U8Fa

“[Tupelo Honey Cafe] focuses on the region’s culinary offerings, featuring 125 recipes, complete with gorgeous color photos of food, farms and fresh produce taken by Brie Williams. Sprinkled throughout the book are snippets of the area’s eclectic history, including a brief profile on Asheville native and author Thomas Wolfe. Mouthwatering recipes, such as chicken andouille stir-fry with orange jalapeno glaze, salsa verde pinto beans, peachy grilled chicken salad with pecan vinaigrette, smoked jalapeno sauce and three-berry cream-cheese pie, are featured in the book.” ––The Republic http://bit.ly/e8bvEX

“This full color, 8 1/2 inch by 10 inch 222 page cookbook is simply a work of art. The creative dust jacket design sets the stage for what you are about to encounter as you leaf through the book. Fitting of its name, Tupelo Honey Cafe, the dust jacket is the same golden-yellow hue as honey with an abstract textured design representing a honeycomb and featuring a silhouetted Tupelo tree. Published by Andrews McMeel and authored by Elizabeth Sims with Chef Brain Sonoskus, the book is a tribute to not only the uniqueness and history of Asheville, but also to sustainable farming and farm to table cuisine. … Overall, I found the recipes and directions easy to follow and clear. I appreciate the generous font size and the stunning photography. The editorials, stories and quotes made this cookbook an interesting read. And I did read it. Cover to cover.” ––Syrup and Biscuits http://bit.ly/hqCb5r

“We want what the South has (well, our idealized South, before it started snowing regularly there). And if we can’t GET to the South, the next best thing is to bring the South to us. Fortunately, we can do this easily with “Tupelo Honey Café“, a new cookbook from the eponymous restaurant in Asheville, N.C., by food writer Elizabeth Sims and café chef Brian Sonoskus. Asheville, according to this cookbook, celebrates a “foodtopian culture” reflected in the “farm to table movement that has become a way of life.” It also embraces a hybrid mix of commerce and creativity, with, increasingly, farmers, cheese makers, microbrewers and other artisan food producers in the mix.” ––Pocono Record http://bit.ly/dQGYfP

“I couldn’t stop telling people about Tupelo Honey Cafe after a meal there about four years ago. The buzzy location in downtown Asheville, N.C., the funky floor plan, our great seats at the bar (where we enjoyed the view of workers in their assorted Grateful Dead T-shirts working on the plates, and got a feel for how much fun it must be to work there) — It all added up to exactly our kind of place. And the food! We ordered and ordered: grits cakes, sweet potato fries, crab cakes, shrimp and goat cheese grits, the almond-crusted trout and more. … A book doesn’t recapture that night, but it does let me make some of the things we liked most, and try other dishes we wanted or that hadn’t yet been put on the menu. The likeliest candidates are Chicken Andouille Stir-Fry with Orange Jalapeno Glaze; Lamb and Multi-Mushroom Meatloaf; Pork and Blueberry Sausage Simmered in Maple Syrup. All of it seems doable by one person in a home kitchen, which is just another thing to love about both the cookbook and Tupelo Honey Cafe.” ––Nashville Scene http://bit.ly/gyHGz3

“That the cafe, which opened in 2000, dubs itself “Asheville’s new South kitchen” is apparent when you flip to the dedicated chicken chapter [of Tupelo Honey Cafe] alone, where fried chicken is reinvented with a crushed mixed nut-panko breadcrumb crust, meatloaf arrives table-side in poultry form (chicken-dried apple meatloaf with Vidalia onions and a tomato-tarragon gravy), and classic potpie gets a blackened chicken-poblano pepper makeover. … The book [Tupelo Honey Cafe] begins rather than ends — notably — with a chapter titled “The Larder” with salsas (peach-fennel, green tomato), gravies (tomato-shallot, cremini mushroom-sweet onion), dressings and pestos (spicy smoked tomato vinaigrette, basil cashew pesto), preserves/pickles (cherry apple chowchow, peach butter). From those pantry staples, the authors take us through the restaurant’s appetizers and soups (baked goat cheese and smoked tomato dip; coconut-sweet potato bisque) and on to sandwiches and salads (grilled club sandwich with brie and raspberry honey mayo). We could stop there, but there are meats to be had, and copious brunch dishes, of course — this is the South. Only here, we are happy to report, there are as many pain perdu ideas (cinnamon sugar-blueberry jam topped) as there are pancakes (sweet potato with peach butter).” ––LA Weekly http://bit.ly/edrZvj

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“The Bluestem cookbook released by Andrews McMeel Publishing distills years of food passion and experience into a single volume. This is graceful food, the favors are sharp and clear such as in the nettle soup with whipped lemon ricotta that begins the book. It is divided by season and structured around the idea that one should eat within season as much as possible celebrating fresh fruits and vegetables. Each season’s menu is broken up by type of food and also includes wine pairing suggestions. The book also contains beautifully photographed profiles of local purveyors from farmers to butchers, driving home the message that good food is local, small and slow.” ––Pursuitist http://bit.ly/zkzCs0

“…husband-and-wife team Colby and Megan Garrelts, chefs and owners of Bluestem Restaurant in Kansas City, work in season. They use produce at its flavor peak, and they do their best to use locally sourced ingredients. This ethos is clearly reflected in the way the recipes are organized in the couple’s new book, Bluestem the Cookbook: according to season. There are five total chapters, four for the seasons with the last one – “Essentials” – including recipes for sauces, stocks and finishing agents like flavored butters and bread crumbs that are found dotted throughout recipes in the book.” ––Sauce Magazine http://bit.ly/A0OYF7

“James Beard-nominated chef Colby Garrelts and his wife, pastry chef Megan Garrelts, worked in notable restaurants in Chicago, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles before opening Bluestem in Kansas City, Missouri. Written with lawyer-turned-food writer/photographer Lee (the formerly anonymous gourmand behind the Ulterior Epicure blog, ulteriorepicure.com), the Garreltses’ debut is a beautiful restaurant cookbook that makes it easy for advanced home cooks to construct an upscale, multicourse menu with wine pairings. Each seasonal section is divided into eight courses featuring elegant, contemporary dishes like Nettle Soup, Whipped Lemon Ricotta; Rack of Venison, Pickled Lady Apples; and White Coffee, Passion Fruit Parfait.” –Library Journal

“I recommend Quick-Fix Vegan for everyone: vegan or omnivorous, skilled or just novice in the kitchen. This cookbook will give you dozens of stellar recipes, all celebrating the diversity of options available to vegans and the broad taste spectrum available to our often misunderstood and mischaracterized approach to eating. This is not a lifestyle of deprivation, nor do we need to be spending hours on end preparing our meals. With talents like Robin Robertson contributing so many reliably great recipes, it couldn’t be a better time to be a healthful, food-loving and less time-crunched vegan.” —Chicago Vegan Examiner Marla Rose

“I consider Robin Robertson the Queen of Vegan Cookbooks…each one is filled to the brim with easy, delicious recipes which makes healthful vegan cooking accessible and tasty for everyone. This book contains a wide array of selections, using healthy and fresh ingredients. Along with her easy-to-use instructions, Robin makes cooking un-intimidating and exciting. The first recipe I tried and loved from this latest gem was Sweet Potato-Spinach Soup. It is the perfect blend of spicy and sweet, hearty and light.” —Julieanna Hever, toyourhealthnutrition.blogspot.com

“Robertson cuts to the chase and puts together good food simply. If you were thinking of slapping together a sandwich, you may as well make one of hers, full of vibrant veggies and flavors, instead of the same old pb and j. It doesn’t really take much more time…”It was a real pleasure making dishes from the book. Like everyone else, I don’t have a ton of time, so quick is always good. Reading and cooking from Robertson’s recipes, I admire the way her mind works. As a fellow recipe developer, I can appreciate a well-crafted recipe. These recipes are simplified, but still interesting, and follow the shortest path from point A to point B. Simple looks easy, but it takes skill to make it that way. I also appreciate the use of whole foods, like beans, nuts and seeds, and the near absence of mock meats. Just because you are in a hurry doesn’t mean you have to go in for vegan bologna or burgers every night, in Robertson’s kitchen.” —Robin Asbell’s The New Vegetarian

“A great go-to book for a busy day. But don’t be fooled, even though the recipes are quick to prepare they’re packed with flavor and nutrition.” —FromAtoVegan.com

“Robin Robertson’s new cookbook, Quick-Fix Vegan, was released at the beginning of October and we were so excited to receive a copy to review. We’re happy to say that we really like it, as expected. It’s a Robin Robertson cookbook, after all. … The recipes are truly quick and easy to follow and can be completed within 30 minutes (a huge plus!), making it a great go-to book for a busy day. But don’t be fooled, even though the recipes are quick to prepare they’re packed with flavor and nutrition. … There are many great recipes in this book and they are definitely those 30 minute or less variety; some books claim to have quick recipes, but this one really does! ” ––From A to Vegan http://bit.ly/rufokF

“If you’re a meat-eater suspicious of vegan and believe that all vegan food is mere sticks and nuts, you will be surprised by the flavor intensity and textural similarities to some of your favorite foods. So add some of these recipes to your weekly meals, maybe supplanting one meat meal for a vegan meal once a week. It’s an easy, non-threatening way to change up your routine and to sample some truly flavorful foods. What have you got to lose, except one more lump of meat to digest?” ––CervinItStraight.com http://bit.ly/iicu0I

“Robin Robertson has done it again. She has delivered a cookbook filled with delicious food. This time, all of these recipes can be made in 30 minutes for less. This is a wonderful thing for those of us who still need to eat but have little time on our hands. Instead of just making up pasta and dumping jarred spaghetti sauce on it, these dishes are full of life, flavor and nutrition, and can be made in about the same time as the aforementioned spaghetti. Dishes like Korean Hot Pot and Black Bean Sunburgers will make you think that you spent hours on each dish and did you know you could even have chocolate cheesecake squares in 30? This book would be great for just about anyone, but especially people with young families, students, and people who think they’re too busy to cook or eat well. Grab a copy, a few minutes, and you’ll be enjoying a delicious vegan dinner in no time, or less than 30 minutes. Highly recommended to everyone.” ––Vegan Culinary Experience

“I will just throw it out there and say that this book is one of the most complete vegan cookbooks I have seen so far. It starts with explanation of the basics like what to have in stock, kitchen equipment and time saving tips. There is a chapter of basic recipes about cooking from scratch and then the fun really starts. The offered recipes draw from a variety of cuisines and are easy to prepare. Unlike so many other cookbooks, this book really delivers what it promises: tasty, healthy and especially quick vegan meals. No fuss.” ––She Likes Bento http://bit.ly/pXYJu9

“Robin Robertson’s Quick-Fix Vegan: Healthy, Homestyle Meals in 30 Minutes or Less will give the most time-pressed cooks the ability to prepare amazing, healthy, and speedy vegan meals in less than 30 minutes. It will not only save you time, but will save you money, too! … Chapter 1: Getting Started is a great guide to stocking and organizing your kitchen so that you will always have something quick and easy on hand…. The other nine chapters of the book are dedicated to recipes. … I really appreciate all the information Robin Robertson has offered in this book. I can practically add up how much money and time I’ll end up saving, and of course, how much healthier and more satisfying my meals will be!” ––VegKitchen http://bit.ly/qdDOPw

Lard is now touted by dietitians because it contains only 54 percent of the saturated fat found in butter and is free of trans fats when rendered with care. Chefs and home cooks love it because it’s the secret to turning out stellar Beef Wellington, flaky biscuits, fluffy pancakes, and crispy fried chicken that would make grandma proud.

Lard provides a hearty helping of sides, main dishes, and desserts culled from more than 100 years of GRIT. They include:

• Spanish Corn Bread
• Oven Fried Sweet Potato Fries
• Butterscotch Peach Pie
• Iced Cinnamon Rolls
• Fried Okra
• Chicken and Dumplings

Don’t be afraid to bring a little lard to the table; your tastebuds will be glad you did.

Serves 4

Enjoy the taste of the Maryland seashore, even when fresh crabmeat isn’t an option. Whip up a homemade tartar sauce with mayonnaise and diced sweet pickles. Or for a lighter version, use equal parts sour cream and mayo, a pinch of minced shallots or onions, and some fresh aromatic herbs of your choice (cilantro, dill, basil, and tarragon are all delicious).

1 (6.5-ounce) can crabmeat, drained
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 egg beaten
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon chopped green onion (white and green parts)
Salt and black pepper
Lard, for frying

In a large bowl, place the crabmeat, bread crumbs, egg, Worcestershire sauce, and onion. Season with salt and pepper; mix well. Shape into 4 equal-sized patties. (If more moisture is needed to form patties, add a dash of melted lard.)

In a large skillet, heat the lard over medium-high heat. Fry the patties 3 to 4 minutes on each side, until golden brown. Drain on paper towels and serve immediately.

Serves 8-10

This cake came about during the 1950s when soda pop (just “pop” in the Midwest) was the occasional special treat rather than an everyday beverage. Substitute with your favorite pop—grape, orange, lemon-lime—to create variations.

3/4 cup lard, plus more for greasing the pans
2 cups granulated sugar
3 cups all-purpose unbleached flour, plus more for dusting the pans
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 (7-ounce) bottle strawberry soda pop
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
5 egg whites, stiffly beaten

FROSTING
2 tablespoons lard, softened
Pinch of salt
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 (12-ounce) bottle or can strawberry soda pop

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Generously grease two 9-inch cake pans with lard; dust lightly with flour and set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together the lard and granulated sugar with an electric mixer on low speed. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Alternately add the flour mixture and the strawberry pop to the creamed mixture, beating well after each addition. Stir in the nuts; fold in the egg whites.

Distribute the batter evenly between the cake pans and bake 30 to 40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely.

To prepare the frosting, combine the lard, salt, confectioners’ sugar, and just enough strawberry pop to moisten the mixture; blend well until smooth and creamy. To frost the cake, place one layer on a cake stand and frost, using an offset spatula. Position the second layer atop the first and repeat.

The Lost Art of Cooking with Your Grandmothers Secret Ingredient

by Editors of Grit Magazine

Price: $24.99
ISBN-13: 9781449409746
ISBN-10: 1449409741
Format: Paperback
Size: 7.5 x 9 in.
Page Count: 272 pages

Now everyone can make championship-caliber ribs at home—whether pork, beef, lamb, or even buffalo. From the authors of America’s Best BBQ comes America’s Best Ribs (Andrews McMeel Publishing, $19.99, May 1, 2012), the ultimate guide to a mouthwatering meal.

Everyone loves finger-licking-good ribs, the core part of the championship circuit and one of America’s most beloved foods. In addition to the 100 lip-smacking recipes for rock-your-world ribs and delicious sides and desserts to complement them, America’s Best Ribs includes tips for competitive barbecuing, juicy stories and teachings from back- yards and competitions, and tons of full-color photographs that showcase America’s barbecue scene at its best.

This ultimate guide not only includes basics for beginners, but also features tips for building your own award-winning rubs, sauces, marinades, and brines. It’s a must-have for professional and amateur barbecuers, as well as an appetizing read for people who may not tend to the pit but still appreciate a high-quality rib.

Serves 12

This recipe honors the abundance of America’s sweet and field corn that comes from the heartland. There’s something about the heartland terroir that makes corn and other fresh produce absolutely delicious! Although field corn is grown primarily for livestock feed, ethanol, or adult beverages, when it is grilled we’ve enjoyed field corn as much as sweet. This recipe delivers a combination of sweetness, spice, and smoke that your guests will devour with as much gusto as the ribs.

12 ears corn on the cob, with husks
1/4 cup barbecue rub
2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
12 thin slices lean bacon

Remove and discard any dry outer corn husks. Pull the husks down, but don’t remove them. Hold the corn under cold running water while removing the corn silk.

Heat a grill to medium to medium-high.

Pat the corn dry with paper towels and sprinkle it with the rub and pepper. Wrap the corn in bacon and pull the husks over it. Wrap each ear in a 12-inch square of aluminum foil. Grill for about 15 minutes over direct heat, turning frequently.

Remove the corn from the grill and leave it in the foil for 20 minutes before serving.

The traditional rib sandwich features at least four sparerib bones atop a slice of white bread, with sauce on the ribs or to the side and another slice of white bread to the side. Eating a rib sandwich is much the same as eating ribs the way you always do. You pick them up, pull the bone apart if it isn’t already sliced, and eat a rib at a time. The added bonus of a rib sandwich is bread to sop up sauce and grease—although many rib joints today serve ribs with bread on the side or multiple bread slices atop the slab anyway.

Of course, when most people think of a rib sandwich, they picture McDonald’s popular version of a rib sandwich, the McRib. It is boneless cooked pork meat shaped like a portion of loin slab, served in a hoagie roll with barbecue sauce, pickles, and onion. Paul likes them. Ardie would rather eat the Angus Burger. When Ardie administers the Judges’ Oath at barbecue contests, he begins with, “If you can taste the difference between a McRib sandwich and real barbecue, please stand, raise your right hand, and repeat after me, “I do solemnly swear…”

Serves 8

Artists at fairs have a label for browsers who say, “I’ll be back,” as they leave the booth. “Be-Backs” seldom return. These ribs are a work of art. The sweet, smoky, meaty, rich flavor will compel most of your guests to be back for more!

8 (6-inch-long) beef short ribs

SAUCE
1 cup tomato sauce
1 cup barbecue sauce
1/4 cup cola
2 tablespoons clover or other mild-flavored honey
2 tablespoons firmly packed dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon ground oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground thyme
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 teaspoon Louisiana hot sauce
1 teaspoon granulated garlic

RUB
1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 tablespoon paprika
2 teaspoons sea salt
1 teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon finely ground black pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne

Heat a cooker to 230° to 250°F. Remove the ribs from the refrigerator and outline them with a sharp, pointed paring knife.

Combine all the ingredients for the sauce in a medium saucepan. Bring it to a boil over medium heat, then reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. If the sauce is too thick to brush on the ribs, add water to thin, as desired. Set aside.

Combine all the ingredients for the rub in a small bowl and blend well. Season the ribs all over with the rub.

Oil the grate and place the ribs on it bone side down over indirect heat. Cover and cook for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Turn and cook for 45 minutes more, then turn and cook for another 45 minutes, or until the ribs reach 185°F on a meat thermometer, glazing the ribs with the sauce every 10 minutes during the last 30 minutes of cooking.

Transfer the ribs to a cutting board and let them rest, covered loosely with aluminum foil, for 10 to 15 minutes. While the ribs are resting, boil the remaining sauce for 1 to 2 minutes. Cut the ribs into individual pieces and serve with the sauce.

Easy Exotic Dishes in 30 Minutes or Less

by Ruta Kahate

Price: $16.99
ISBN-13: 9781449409777
ISBN-10: 1449409776
Format: Paperback
Size: 7 1/2 x 9 in.
Page Count: 224 pages

How Cooking with Delicious Things Can Make Us Feel Better

by Seamus Mullen

Price: $35.00
ISBN-13: 9781449407582
ISBN-10: 1449407587
Format: Hardcover
Size: 8 1/2 x 10 1/4 in.
Page Count: 320 pages

The Kitchen Diva — a regular guest on The Dr. Oz Show and the Today show — dedicates this book to helping cooks of all skill levels create fun, easy, and budget-friendly recipes that address the needs of prediabetics, people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes and diabetic-related complications, women with gestational diabetes, or anyone looking to embrace a healthier lifestyle. Angela’s cooking ­­— a new version of American comfort food and ethnic dishes — is custom-designed for diabetics and the people in their lives. Each of the seven chapters is packed with recipes that will keep families happy and healthy, kids entertained, and party guests impressed, such as Apple-Stuffed Sandwiches and Peanut Butter Bars for breakfast, Parsley-Walnut Pesto and Cinnamon-Spiced Walnuts for easy party snacks, and stunning entrees such as Calypso Coconut Shrimp Salad and Apple-Pecan Pork Chops. Each recipe includes a detailed nutritional and caloric analysis, certified by a registered dietitian.

The Kitchen Diva’s Diabetic Cookbook makes it easy for anyone to healthily feed the bodies and souls of their loved ones.

Fact: 20 million people in the United States suffer diabetes, and it’s estimated that an additional 5.5 million have the disease but are undiagnosed.

Makes 4 servings

Marinade:
1/4 cup no-sugar-added apple cider vinegar
3 tablespoons stevia granulated sweetener or agave syrup
2 to 3 tablespoons habanero hot sauce (or your preference)
2 teaspoons ground allspice
2 teaspoons onion powder
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 green onions, including green parts, chopped

4 (4-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Olive oil cooking spray
1 (3- to 6-ounce) bag prewashed mixed salad greens
1 1/2 cups chopped or shredded radicchio
8 figs, quartered, or 12 green or purple seedless grapes, halved
1 cup fresh or canned pineapple chunks in natural juices
4 tablespoons Tropical Fruit Dressing (recipe below)
Pomegranate seeds, for garnish

To make the marinade, mix together all the ingredients in a small bowl until well blended.

Spray the chicken with the olive oil cooking spray. Place the chicken in a resealable plastic bag. Pour the jerk seasoning marinade over the chicken and press and shake the bag until all the pieces are thoroughly coated. Press out any air, seal the bag, and place it in a baking pan to prevent leaks. Refrigerate for at least 8 hours or up to 24 hours.

Remove the chicken from the refrigerator. Discard the marinade and allow the chicken to come to room temperature, about 30 minutes. Spray a large skillet with the olive oil cooking spray and turn the heat to medium-high. Cook the chicken for about 6 minutes, on each side, or until browned and no longer pink. Remove the chicken from the skillet, and let it rest for 6 to 7 minutes. Thinly slice each chicken breast.
Toss together the greens, radicchio, figs or grapes, and pineapple. Divide the salad among 4 plates. Arrange the warm chicken slices on top of each salad. Drizzle each with 1 tablespoon of the tropical fruit dressing. Sprinkle with pomegranate seeds, if desired.

SERVING SIZE: 1 salad
EXCHANGE LIST VALUES: 2 fruit, 3 lean meat
CARBOHYDRATE CHOICES: 2
CALORIES FROM FAT: 38
SATURATED FAT: 2 g
CHOLESTEROL: 63 mg
TOTAL CARBOHYDRATE: 32 g
TOTAL SUGARS: 23 g
CALORIES: 258
TOTAL FAT: 4 g
FIBER: 5 g
PROTEIN: 25 g
SODIUM: 241 mg

Tropical Fruit Dressing

MAKES 3/4 CUP

1/4 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
1/4 cup fresh squeezed pomegranate juice
1 tablespoon coconut oil or olive oil
2 teaspoon stevia granulated sweetener or agave syrup
1/2 teaspoon grated orange or lime zest
1/4 cup fresh orange juice or lime juice

In a small bowl, mix together all of the ingredients until blended. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.

SERVING SIZE: 1 tablespoon
EXCHANGE LIST VALUES: 0
CARBOHYDRATE CHOICES: 0
TOTAL FAT: 1 g
CHOLESTEROL: 0 mg
TOTAL CARBOHYDRATE: 2 g
TOTAL SUGARS: 1 g
CALORIES: 18
CALORIES FROM FAT: 10
SATURATED FAT: 1 g
SODIUM: 2 mg
FIBER: 0 g
PROTEIN: 0 g

Chef Paul Kirk, PhB, a charter member of the KCBS and member of the board of directors, operates the Baron’s School of Pitmasters. The author of six barbeque cookbooks, he has won more than 475 cooking and barbequing awards, among them seven world championships, including the prestigious American Royal Open, the world’s largest barbeque contest.

Makes 16 Mini Cakes

These cakes are good on their own, but even more delicious served with warm mixed-berry topping.

Butter-flavored cooking oil spray
4 large eggs, at room temperature, separated
1/2 cup agave syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups almond flour or almond meal

TOPPING
2 cups frozen mixed berries or
2 (10-ounce) boxes frozen mixed berries
2 tablespoons agave syrup
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray one mini-muffin pan with a light coating of cooking oil spray. You can also use individual ramekin baking cups, but the yield will be less.

In a large bowl, combine the 4 egg yolks, agave syrup, vanilla, baking soda, and salt. Beat well, until the ingredients are well-blended. Add the almond flour or meal and beat on low speed until combined, about 2 minutes.

Place the 4 egg whites in a large, clean bowl. Use either a handheld mixer with clean beaters or the whisk attachment on a stand mixer and beat the whites on medium speed until opaque, doubled in volume with soft peaks.

Gently fold the egg whites into the batter until just combined. Scrape the batter evenly into the prepared muffin cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating halfway through, until the edges are light brown and a dime-sized soft center remains, 18 to 20 minutes. If using larger baking cups, you’ll need to increase the baking time by 5 to 10 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool completely, at least 15 minutes.

To make berry topping, combine all the ingredients in a large microwaveable bowl and toss until combined. Microwave on high for 2 minutes, then stir and microwave again until slightly thickened and steaming, about 2 1/2 minutes more. To serve, spoon 1 tablespoon of the berry topping on each cake.

SERVING SIZE: 1 mini cake plus 1 tablespoon of the topping
EXCHANGE LIST VALUES: 1 1/2 carbohydrate, 2 fat
CARBOHYDRATE CHOICES: 1 1/2
CALORIES: 231
CALORIES FROM FAT: 119
TOTAL FAT: 13 g
SATURATED FAT: 1 g
CHOLESTEROL: 74 mg
SODIUM: 216 mg
TOTAL CARBOHYDRATE: 25 g
FIBER: 3 g
TOTAL SUGARS: 19 g
PROTEIN: 8 g

125 Healthy Delicious Recipes for Diabetics and Those Who Dine with Them

by Angela Medearis Shelf
U.S.: $24.99
ISBN: 9781449402396
Format: Paperback
Size: 7 3/4 x 8 3/4 in.
Page Count: 272 pages

More than 12 million Americans live with food allergies. This book covers not one or two, but the five most common allergens in kids, with each of the 120 recipes free of at least three allergens; most are free of all five. From the three crucial mealtimes (breakfast, lunch, dinner) to the “fun” foods families can’t live without (desserts, snacks, party treats), parents are completely covered. Most importantly, all of the recipes are easy to make. Readers will find not only the nutritional analysis for each recipe, but also sections devoted to cooking with kids, ways to make nutritious food fun, how to pack greener lunches, and easy ways to make fun snacks for the family. A purchase of Allergy-Friendly Food for Families also includes an offer for a free subscription to KIWI magazine. Whether they’re eating dairy-free chocolate cake, egg-free French toast kebabs, or gluten-free pizza pockets, kids will love their food so much they might just forget they have allergies at all.

Marygrace Taylor, Kiwi’s staff writer and recipe developer, created the majority of these family-friendly recipes right in her home kitchen in Austin, Texas.

120 Gluten-Free Dairy-Free, Nut-Free, Egg-Free, and Soy-Free Recipes Everyone Will Love

by Editors of Kiwi Magazine

Price: $24.99
ISBN-13: 9781449409760
ISBN-10: 1449409768
Format: Paperback
Size: 8 x 9 in.
Page Count: 256 pages

In celebration of the release of their new cookbook, Bluestem: The Cookbook, Bluestem’s Colby and Megan Garrelts are collaborating on a five-course dinner with Niche’s Gerard Craft (a fellow James Beard Award nominee) on Friday, January 20.

The first course is a hamachi crudo with scallions, hon shimeji and dashi vinaigrette. The second course is crispy sweetbreads with roasted radicchio, pickled apple, buttermilk and bourbon pecan molasses. The next course features a pancetta poached cod with whipped carrots in a caramelized parsnip broth. Hungry, yet?

The penultimate course is a Kansas City strip and short rib with puffed barley, Thane Palmberg kale, Mienke grits, pumpernickel and horseradish, while the dessert course is a graham-cracker pound cake with hot-chocolate poached pears and tangerine sherbet, and petit fours.

The dinner has seatings at 6 and 8:30 p.m and is $115 per person, not including tax and gratuity. The evening includes a signed copy of the Bluestem cookbook. A wine pairing is available for an additional $35. Call Niche at 314-773-7755 to make a reservation.

“There’s no longer a need for frantically searching for the best brisket recipes. Stephanie Pierson, author, food writer and brisket lover, has written a cookbook filled with only the best brisket recipes, accompanied by illustrations, poems, cartoons and musings. The Brisket Book has a recipe for everyone, and it’ll turn you into the star of any potluck.” –The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles

“The Brisket Book is subtitled “a love story with recipes.” It literally had me laughing out loud with its cartoons, jokes, stories and more. If you are Jewish, Irish, or even a Texan, brisket is your soul food. The book pays homage with recipes, wine pairings, poems, and everything you need to know to make a version that will make you fall in love.” –Cooking with Amy

“Packed with history, wit, and expert opinions (including a list of 50 things about brisket that people disagree on), this book presents one of the world’s great comfort foods in all its lovable, chameleonlike glory, with recipes for corned beef, smoked brisket, Korean brisket soup, brisket burgers, and myriad Jewish braises, including Nach Waxman’s supposedly “most-Googled brisket recipe” of all, smothered in onions and virtually no liquid. It is undoubtedly, as the subtitle claims, “A Love Story with Recipes.” –The Philadelphia Inquirer

“This book will put you passionately over the moon for a meat cut that is often taken for granted…full of colorful, lively and sometimes surprising images; the pages are a joy to leaf through for their energetic mix of images, photos and text.” –Chicago Tribune

“Stephanie Pierson wants to knock pork off its pedestal, and THE BRISKET BOOK: A Love Story With Recipes (Andrews McMeel, $29.99) even has a flirtatious heifer on the cover. Pierson, a funny writer (and contributor to the food coverage at TheAtlantic.com), clears up the heifer-steer distinction and many others, but mostly gives many recipes and techniques, going to the experts — a long day with Christopher Kimball for a perfectionist brisket — to help explain how “a flaccid four-pound, gray-brown piece of beef, shaped roughly like the state of Tennessee” can “inspire Proustian prose, evoke the deepest pleasure, create indelible memories.” The answer, of course, is that everyone grew up eating it and it’s easy to cook. “With some food,” a friend of hers says, “there’s a right way and a wrong way. With brisket there’s only ‘my way.’ ”” ––The New York Times

“It is a cookbook. There are recipes here – 30 of them, in fact — many of which are curious innovations to the tried-and-true barbecued brisket, Jewish roast beef, or corned beef. But mostly, it is not a cookbook. It is, however, a collection of everything you can possibly brainstorm related to all things brisket. … But, the meat of any cookbook (pun intended) is the recipes therein, and Pierson has gone straight to the experts for her tidy collection of the same. The all-star list of beef wranglers who offer traditional and newfangled brisket recipes includes restaurateur John Besh (smoky New Orleans brisket), NYC’s Kitchen Arts & Letters bookshop owner Nach Waxman (Jewish brisket), Bill Niman of Niman Ranch (“branding brisket”), Chris Kimball of Cooks Illustrated (onion-braised brisket), and Jewish cooking maven Joan Nathan (brisket with ginger, orange peel, and tomato). Other recipes describe outré dishes like brisket in tahini, Cuban Creole stew, brisket noodle soup with Korean chile, and a “brisket burger.”” ––Stlmag.com http://bit.ly/rXoXOA

“Subtitled “A Love Story with Recipes” this collection of recipes and observations is so much more than that - it’s an enthusiastic guide to the best in briskets, rich and juicy with recipes, stories, humor and tips. … Brisket reigns supreme in this 208 page volume enlivened with dozens of photographs and illustrations. With this book author/journalist Stephanie Pierson has brought us the first and only book entirely devoted to brisket, and she’s done it with rare attention to details plus robust good humor. Enjoy!” ––Devine Caroline http://bit.ly/tQAw3X

“Stephanie Pierson doesn’t just love brisket. As Woody Allen would say she lrrrrrrvs it. She loves brisket so much it takes her almost 17 pages of clever brisket pontification in her new cookbook, “The Brisket Book: A Love Story With Recipes,”  before we get a glimpse of our very first recipe. … The Brisket Book is a cute book with more schtick than a Catskill comedian. And on page 90 we get our first real recipe! By now we know everything there is to know about the lowly brisket. It’s history. It’s location on the cow (sorry to my vegetarian friends). How to buy it. How to cook it. How to cut it. Tools. And rubs. And brines. And we’ve even been treated to a shot of man’s naked butt! … I did enjoy reading the recipes and looking for one that I could cook given my limitations at the time. Firstly, it was Yom Kippur and I wanted to make something that would cook all day while I was at Temple and be ready when I got home. Secondly, my oven is broken so I was going to have to use a crockpot (we put it on the deck so the smell wouldn’t tempt our fasting family). And lastly I didn’t want to sort through a lot of ingredients first thing in the morning before cooking the brisket. So I picked “Slow Cooker Brisket”. … I have to say this is one of the best versions I’ve done. It turned out perfectly! I recommend it.” ––TCJewfolk.com http://bit.ly/rNS7ev

By Melissa Hamilton and Christopher Hirsheimer

Welcome to the savory world of Canal House, the kitchen studio where Christopher Hirsheimer and Melissa Hamilton cook simply and deliciously, lovingly creating and beautifully photographing dishes to share in the Canal House Cooking series of seasonal cookbooks. Readers who loved Volumes 1-6 now will shout “Viva Italia!” with the introduction of Canal House Cooking, Volume No. 7: La Dolce Vita.

Fans know well the story behind Canal House: Christopher and Melissa, former magazine editors, gave up life in New York for a simpler existence, living on opposite sides of the Delaware River and cooking together each weekday in their New Jersey studio. Canal House Cooking became known as home cooking by home cooks for home cooks, with fresh ingredients and recipes all made easy for cooks of every experience level.

Then one cold spring day, Melissa and Christopher decided over a lunch of cannelloni that although they had been to Italy many times, there still was much they wanted to know about Italian home cooking. A plan was hatched. They rented a rustic old farmhouse in Tuscany with a long table for dinners outside, a grape arbor, apple and fig trees, and a spare kitchen with a classic waist-high fireplace with a grill. As the authors say in the introduction, “It was all we had hoped for. It was our Casa Canale for a month.”

La Dolce Vita is the wonderful culmination of that month spent absorbing the spirit of Italian cooking and the authors’ years of extensive travels and culinary experiences throughout Italy. A celebration of delicious Italian dishes, some classic, some reinterpreted Canal House style, the book provides recipes for soups, seafood, pasta, meats, vegetables, desserts and more including Braised Rabbit with Capers & Pancetta, Gnocchi Verde, Salt Cod with Tomatoes & Green Olives, Cabbage in Agrodolce, Risotto Bianco, and Chocolate Chestnut Torte. A chapter titled Why Buy It When You Can Make It? is not to be missed, with recipes for essentials from Fresh Whole Milk Ricotta to Simple Tomato Sauce and Balsamella.

Add in glorious photos of food and settings, recipe notes that provide just the right amount of guidance, and fun culinary anecdotes, and you have the best of two worlds: Canal House in Italia.

Melissa Hamilton co-founded the restaurant Hamilton’s Grill Room in Lambertville, NJ, where she served as executive chef. She worked at Martha Stewart Living, Cook’s Illustrated, and at Saveur as the food editor.

Summer

by Melissa Hamilton, Christopher Hirsheimer

Price: $19.95
ISBN-13: 9780692003176
ISBN-10: 0692003177
Format: Paperback
Size: 6 3/4 X 9 1/8 in.
Page Count: 122 pages

Canal House Cooking Volume No. 2

Fall & Holiday

by Melissa Hamilton, Christopher Hirsheimer

Price: $19.95
ISBN-13: 9780615318301
ISBN-10: 0615318304
Format: Paperback
Size: 6 3/4 X 9 1/8 in.
Page Count: 122 pages

Canal House Cooking Volume No. 3

Winter & Spring

by Melissa Hamilton, Christopher Hirsheimer

Price: $19.95
ISBN-13: 9780615340708
ISBN-10: 0615340709
Format: Paperback
Size: 6 3/4 X 9 1/8 in.
Page Count: 122 pages

Canal House Cooking Volume No. 4

Farm Markets & Gardens

by Melissa Hamilton, Christopher Hirsheimer

Price: $19.95
ISBN-13: 9780982739402
ISBN-10: 0982739400
Format: Paperback
Size: 6 3/4 X 9 1/8 in.
Page Count: 122 pages

Canal House Cooking Volume No. 5

The Good Life

by Melissa Hamilton, Christopher Hirsheimer

Price: $19.95
ISBN-13: 9780982739419
ISBN-10: 0982739419
Format: Paperback
Size: 6 3/4 X 9 1/8 in.
Page Count: 122 pages

Canal House Cooking Volume No. 6

The Grocery Store

by Melissa Hamilton, Christopher Hirsheimer

Price: $19.95
ISBN-13: 9780982739426
ISBN-10: 0982739427
Format: Paperback
Size: 6 3/4 X 9 1/8 in.
Page Count: 122 pages

Canal House Cooking Volume No. 7

La Dolce Vita

by Christopher Hirsheimer, Melissa Hamilton

Price: $19.95
ISBN-13: 9780982739440
ISBN-10: 0982739443
Format: Paperback
Size: 6 3/4 X 9 1/8 in.
Page Count: 122 pages

“In her new book, Plum Gorgeous, a collection of 62 fruit-centric recipes, Oakland-based writer Romney Steele expresses a sentimental longing for days spent living with her children in an orchard at Big Sur. The text shows both a child’s enjoyment of and an adult’s passion for a place, a lifestyle, and a way of eating. Steele is often cryptic about those memories, but she’s transparent with the recipes, and wildly inspiring as she guides the reader through the fruits of each season and how to savor them in simple recipes for appetizers, salads, main dishes, condiments, sauces, and of course, desserts. In Sara Remington’s glowing photographs and added graphics, there is so much textural emphasis that we can almost imagine picking up the fork for a taste of what’s on the plate or plucking a fruit and popping it into our mouths. The book is stunningly designed to resemble a scrapbook of memories, but it might just as easily be an artist’s (or cook’s) idea journal filled with intentions to return to the orchard again and again to rediscover the treasures each season has to offer.” ––Edible East Bay http://bit.ly/ubpfLT

“This is peak time for melons, late-season figs and wild greens. Tomatoes are bursting off the vine, and fresh herbs are abundant. So [Romney] Steele combines those vibrant purples, greens and reds in a composed September Salad, adding paper-thin slices of prosciutto and drizzles of olive oil and oloroso sherry. Steele, who has a visual arts background, brings an artist’s eye to her newest book, “Plum Gorgeous“. Many of her edible masterpieces — and their recipes — were composed on the plate, where colorful fruits, salads and even cured meats come together. That riot of colors and textures can evoke memories and places, as well as flavors. Steele mixes nectarines, for example, with thinly sliced, cured ham — such as the Jambon Royale made by Niman Ranch — watercress and Marcona almonds for an autumnal salad she calls “my ode to Spain.” Serve it in the garden for a late-afternoon lunch, she says, with “gypsy music playing in the background.”" ––Mercury News http://bit.ly/pcOwjq

“If a cookbook can be romantic, this one surely is. “Plum Gorgeous” is the essence of simplicity and yet one of the most sophisticated books to cross our desks this year. The 60 sweet and savory recipes are divided among into four chapters: Citrus, Berries, Stone Fruit and Fall Fruit.” ––Oregon Live http://bit.ly/pKLSo0

“Plum Gorgeous will make you want to find the best fruits of the season and include them with every meal of the day.” ––Seattle Weekly http://bit.ly/ncKYFg

“With its deep red cover graced with a juicy halved plum, Romney Steele’s Plum Gorgeous appears to be a valentine to fruit. It’s a beautiful love letter to stone fruit at the prime of ripeness, complete with stories from the orchard, little poems and proverbs singing their praises, and of course, lavishly illustrated and elegant seasonal fruit recipes for both sweet and savory dishes.” ––Serious Eats http://bit.ly/q8ygl2

“Filled with full-page colour photographs and poetic asides, Plum Gorgeous is a delight for the senses. Romney Steel offers up 60 recipes, both savoury and sweet, that raise orchard fruits to a whole new level.” ––Living in the Kitchen with Puppies http://bit.ly/pFw6g8

“In sixty mouth-watering recipes, Steele captures the essence of cooking from the orchard and celebrates what she calls the “romance of fruit.” … This collection is divided into four main parts: Oranges of Memory; Still Life with Berries; Plum Gorgeous; and Beauty & Windfall. The recipes include such crowd pleasers as Pink Grapefruit Cassis Granita, a delicious alternative to sorbet, Honey-Lime Peaches with Crème Fraiche Clouds, a tasty French Apple Tart, and Kate’s Orange Marmalade. Most of the recipes in this marvelous collection are fairly easy to prepare.” ––Tucson Citizen http://bit.ly/qpSB7e

“Written by the granddaughter of Bill and Lolly Fassett, creators of Nepenthe Restaurant in Big Sur, “Plum Gorgeous” is a love letter to California’s delicious fruit, with artful type, charming photographs, whimsical drawings and lots of fun recipes.” ––Press Democrat http://bit.ly/nf2nGY

““Everyday Grilling” has more than 40 color photographs, an intro that covers all the basic tools and techniques — including ways to add an even bigger punch of flavor to the grilled food — followed by recipes that are clearly written with directions for cooking on both a charcoal flame or gas grill. It’s divided into five categories — Appetizers, Salads and Sandwiches, Vegetables, Main Dishes, Desserts — so you can easily create a five-course menu. How about a starter of Planked Big Easy Shrimp, followed by Baby Greens with Grilled Figs, Blue Cheese and Walnuts? Then an entrée of Grilled Carrots with Fresh Thyme and Wood-Grilled Cowboy Ribeye with Chipotle Butter. And for dessert? Grilled Banana Split. Now that’s a menu sure to please any crowd.” ––Signon San Diego http://bit.ly/n3fGwm

“Here’s what’s hot in the world of grilling: A new book from Sur La Table called Everyday Grilling: 50 Recipes From Appetizers to Desserts. With twists on classic faves — such as grilled corn with chipotle butter and cilantro — we think there’s something for everyone in the family. In addition to grilled recipes for every course, there are tips for cooking on gas and charcoal grills, along with ideas about using specialty gadgets.” ––Star-Telegram.com http://bit.ly/l7YHS3

“Who can resist the succulent tastes and savory scents of fresh food cooked on a hot grill? Indeed. With the approaching warm weather, more and more family cooks are retreating to their patios and backyards to grill. This reader-friendly cookbook suggests that instead of grilling the main course, why not the whole meal. “Everyday Grilling” features 50 recipes that allow cooks to do just that. … The bottom line is that this book proves that there is nothing that can’t be grilled. The easy-to-follow recipes are certain to turn a good summer meal into a great one.” –The Tuscon Citizen http://bit.ly/mmwVR8

“This book is a great reference whether you are experienced with grilling or just starting out. It contains over 50 easy recipes that you can master and use to impress your friends and family. …The photos are beautifully illustrated and will make you hungry for more.” ––Night Owl Reviews http://bit.ly/gQKTNS

“Sur la Table has come out with the perfect little book to inspire you to dust that grill off and put it to good use. There’s a little bit of everything in this book; Appetizers, Salads and Sandwiches, Vegetables, Main Dishes, and even Desserts! The portable size makes the book perfect for toting to the cottage and even makes for a great host or hostess gift. … All in all we found this book to be very inspiring, and very tasty!” ––Living in the Kitchen with Puppies http://bit.ly/hrFNdo

“[Everyday Grilling] includes 50 recipes covering everything from appetizers to salads, sandwiches, vegetables, main dishes, and desserts, and there are some great grilling tips too. An enticing photo sits next to each recipe, and I was immediately drawn to the grilled mozzarella and anchovies in chard leaves, the grilled cauliflower steaks with tahini sauce, and the grilled eggplant cannelloni with ricotta. There’s a stir-grilled chicken, mushroom, and baby bok choy dish prepared in a grill wok, and plank grilling recipes for salmon, shrimp, and papaya. There’s even a grilled banana split for dessert.” ––Lisa is Cooking http://bit.ly/h1wDTp

Serves 6 • Prep time: 10 minutes • Cooking time: 15 minutes

This is my twist on the classic French salad that also boasts tuna, green beans, and hard-boiled eggs. I decided to leave those items off the pizza, but you can certainly add them after the pizza is cooked. What follows is a unique combination of flavors that works really well on pizza dough.

1 pound fresh or frozen bread or pizza dough, thawed according to package directions
2 cups thinly sliced roasted red peppers
1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives, sliced into thin rounds
1 cup shredded Gruyère or Swiss cheese
1 teaspoon dried oregano

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Roll the dough out into a large circle or rectangle about ¼ inch thick. Transfer the dough to a pizza pan or baking sheet. Top with peppers, olives, cheese, and oregano. Bake for 15 minutes, until the crust is golden brown and the cheese is bubbly.

Nutrients per serving:
Calories: 322
Fat: 12g
Saturated Fat: 4g
Cholesterol: 20 mg
Carbohydrate: 39g
Protein: 12g
Fiber: 1g
Sodium: 826mg

Serves 4 • Prep time: 10 minutes

Because cooked beets are sweet, it’s great to pair them with tart Granny Smith apples, salty and pungent goat cheese, and nutty, crunchy pistachios. When you create your own dishes, try to pick opposing flavors that will work well together on the plate. It’s all about creating a balance.

2 cups thinly sliced cooked beets (not pickled)
1 Granny Smith apple, cored and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
¼ cup crumbled goat cheese
¼ cup shelled pistachios

Combine the beets, apple, and sherry vinegar in a large bowl and toss. Fold in the goat cheese and pistachios. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper before serving.

Nutrients per serving:
Calories: 156
Fat: 7g
Saturated Fat: 3g
Cholesterol: 7 mg
Carbohydrate: 19g
Protein: 6g
Fiber: 4g
Sodium: 299mg

By John Besh

John Besh—New Orleans native, James Beard Award winner, and renowned chef of eight acclaimed restaurants—is known for his dedication to local ingredients and local cuisine. John’s best-selling first cookbook, My New Orleans (Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2009), has become a culinary treasure and attained iconic status as the go-to book on New Orleans cuisine. Now, in his highly anticipated second cookbook, My Family Table: A Passionate Plea for Home Cooking, John moves beyond regional cooking and into the heart of American kitchens everywhere. He reminds us of the importance and necessity of making meals at home, and that by planning ahead and thinking smart, people everywhere can put fresh, healthy meals on their own family tables every day.

John is not only a chef—he is a father and a storyteller. In My Family Table, home cooks will have an intimate look into life at home with his wife and their four boys, as John urges others to get back into the kitchen and to gather around the table with family and friends to slow down and reconnect.

“It occurred to me that if I can help make a difference—by cooking simply and sharing what I love to cook—I can possibly help us all use our passions and skills to make our lives better at almost every meal,” John says.

With more than 150 color photographs and 140 recipes, each of the eleven chapters of MY FAMILY TABLE provides indispensable, accessible dishes for every occasion. The book also includes special cooking tips and sidebars that will help home cooks maximize their ingredients (and their budgets) and plan meals ahead. Some of the chapters include:

• Kitchen Focus, offering Master Recipes like Risotto of Almost Anything, Cream of Any Vegetable Soup, and Cherry Tomato Five-Minute Sauce. An “Essential Pantry” list will help home cooks plan ahead so meals come together easily and beautifully, and help them get the most out of every ingredient they buy.

• In Sunday Suppers, John provides dishes the whole family will love and recipes that will extend into those busy weeknight meals like those included in School Nights. Recipes like Pecan-Baked Ham prepared on a Sunday can be transformed into Carbonara with Sweet Peas & Ham, and Olive-Oil Roasted Cauliflower can be made into everyone’s favorite, Cauliflower Mac & Cheese.

• In chapters like Breakfast with My Boys and Drew Makes a Cake, John shares an early morning breakfast with his sons or a sweet treat to finish off a meal. Recipes like Angel Biscuits, Crab-Boil Home Fries, and Hummingbird Cake are sure to become family classics, as they are in John’s home.

• Dinner from a Cast Iron Pot, How to Cook a Fish, and Barbecue Wisdom offer John’s indispensable advice and techniques from braising to deboning a fish to frying and grilling. Recipes like Duck Stewed with Apples & Turnips, Soy-Braised Sablefish with Coconut Broth, and Dry-Rubbed Pork Ribs are demystified with John’s tips and how-to photos.

My Family Table explores the conviction that the simple act of cooking can change our way of life, and captures the spontaneity, intimacy, and fun of home cooking. It is sure to inspire a national movement back to the family table.

Whether you are cooking for one or are a busy parent feeding the whole family, Robin shows you how to prepare mouthwatering and simple recipes with few ingredients, and each with 500 calories or fewer. Using her background as a nutritionist, Robin includes nutritional information for every recipe. Her recipes are also sodium-conscious. Main dishes with less than 500 mg of sodium per serving and sides and desserts with less than 250 mg of sodium per serving are noted with a helpful icon.

The book’s 500 recipes range from soups, side dishes, and pizzas to hundreds of entrees, including Cashew-Crusted Chicken with Roasted Jalapeño-Mango Chutney, and Gruyère-Wrapped Steaks with Port Wine Glaze. She also includes 50 dessert recipes to satisfy a sweet tooth, such as Orange Marmalade Tart with Chocolate Covered Amonds. Robin also notes recipes that are great for entertaining and the holidays with a special icon.

With an arsenal of Robin’s best recipes, you will consider yourself armed for mealtime. The next time the clock strikes 5:00 pm, and you want both noshing and nourishment, check out Robin Takes 5.

“Nate Tate, who lived and studied in Beijing, initially learned how to cook authentic Chinese cuisine from his housekeeper. He and his sister ultimately went on a three-month culinary trek covering almost 10,000 miles. Along the way, they convinced the people who cooked for them to teach them about Chinese food and share their recipes. The book includes lots of photos and essays along with recipes that cover numerous provinces. You’ll learn everything from how to make a lychee martini like a resident of Beijing to how to whip up Sichuan Hot Pot. There are sample menus so you can cook to impress your friends, and a helpful glossary in the back explains ingredients like sha cha sauce and how you use them.” ––Portland Press Herald http://bit.ly/q2lvkY

“Cooking instructor Lynn Alley, who already has The Gourmet Slow Cooker and The Gourmet Vegetarian Slow Cooker to her credit, has just released a third book, 50 Simple Soups for the Slow Cooker. Alley’s latest volume includes meatless recipes for classics, such as French onion soup, plus other full-flavored potages such as Garnet Yam soup with Coconut Cream and Spiced Apple Pie Soup. She likes the slow-cooker method for its ease, convenience and efficiency.” ––Lake County Journal http://bit.ly/rszDmi

“50 Simple Soups for the Slow Cooker, is a little gem of a book, packed full of delectable vegetarian and vegan soup recipes in its 84 pages. Author Alley, has written five cookbooks, three of them on slow cooking, writes articles on food and wine for a variety of publications, and has taught cooking classes in both the US and the south of France. The recipes span the globe; Indian, Italian, Russian, South American, Middle Eastern, etc. Color photos accompany many of the soups and the book is spiral bound, making it easy to cook from. There are tips and tricks for using your slow cooker effectively and for maximizing the flavor of your soups with different techniques and recipes. A great little book for soup lovers and slow cooker fans.” ––Kahakai Kitchen http://bit.ly/nrEJSt

“This book is tiny, tempting, and packed with mouthwatering photos that will make you feel warm and cozy…and long for cool days in which you can eat soup while relaxing at home. Or while tailgating in the Autumn weather. Or after cracking open a thermos at work. Aaaahhhh…. This is a small, simple book with just 51 recipes. But each recipe is a star in its own right. … This is a fun little book to add to your collection if you’re a soup lover, a fan of meals you can cook up in the slow cooker, a vegetarian…or if you simply wish to beef up your cookbook collection with a good book of tasty soups. I think it would also make a fabulous gift for someone heading off to college (with a slow cooker and an immersion blender alongside) or perhaps a young person or couple embarking on a new chapter in their life.” ––Girli Chef http://bit.ly/nwXO5d?

“”Quick-Fix Gluten Free” is a great introduction to what is OK for those with an allergy or intolerance to consume - and it makes it easy to keep those with and without gluten problems happy. … Even for those without gluten problems, the recipes in this book sound delicious. The top-of-the-morning muffins (page 9) are a breakfast-y homage to carrot cake, the fried green tomato salad with garlicky herb cheese and white beans (page 50) is a dish that would make any salad lover happy; and grilled chicken and beer kebabs (page 66) will make you want to fire up the grill stat!” ––The News Tribune http://bit.ly/njRLgZ

““Gluten-free professional chef Robert M. Landolphi proves that a gluten-free lifestyle doesn’t have to be bland and boring, labor-intensive, or time consuming inside Quick-Fix Gluten Free. In preparation for his follow-up to Gluten Free Every Day Cookbook, Landolphi queried fans about their biggest gluten-free challenges and created Quick-Fix Gluten Free in response to the dishes.” The book is divided into nine sections delving into: appetizers, breakfast, hearty internationally inspired dishes, fan favorite comfort foods, and decadent sweets and treats. Quick-Fix Gluten Free offers 100 fast and easily prepared recipes with recipes like: Cinnamon Dusted French Toast, Kickin’ Paella, Gnocchi with Roasted Garlic Butter and Parmesan Cheese, and Aunt Lil’s Rich and Creamy Cheesecake.” ––Babble http://bit.ly/rjpd2X

“For someone with celiac disease or gluten intolerance, eating well can be a struggle. And even today, with many gluten-free products on the grocery store shelves, a crusty baguette might seem only a far-off dream. Luckily, Chef Robert Landolphi has answers to those problems in a new cookbook entitled Quick-Fix Gluten Free. In his second volume on gluten-free cooking, Landolphi not only shortens the time it takes to prepare a satisfying variety of gluten-free foods; but offers recipes for hard-to-find homemade favorites such as crepes, corn dogs, pizza crust, Thanksgiving stuffing and, yes, a rosemary-garlic baguette. … Quick Fix Gluten-Free is, in fact, more than a collection of recipes and Landolphi’s personal anecdotes about what inspired them. It is also a manual of principles, techniques and equipment that greatly expand the home cook’s ability to create original gluten-free dishes of his or her own.” ––Tolland Patch http://bit.ly/pusXuD

“As the title suggests, a whimsical history of the tomato, this is not. He dispenses with the interesting anecdotes … in the first chapter, and then gets on to his real story, which is about how badly we treat the environment, and especially the workers, needed to grow off-season winter tomatoes in Florida.” ––The Daily Green http://bit.ly/pfJYGL

“Never eat a tomato from Florida. And to be safe, never eat a tomato in the wintertime. This excellent advice from Barry Estabrook, in his new book “Tomatoland: How Modern Industrial Agriculture Destroyed our Most Alluring Fruit,” is based on his investigation into where tomatoes originated (the high deserts of South America), and the damage to our food supply wrought by the Florida Tomato Committee wielding absolute power over the size, shape, and degree of ripeness of every tomato that leaves Florida. Taste is not a consideration.” ––Daily Herald http://bit.ly/rmV92r

“If you are looking for a feel-good book, Tomatoland: How Modern Industrial Agriculture Destroyed Our Most Alluring Fruit by Barry Estabrook isn’t it. In fact, if you aren’t prepared to be deeply disturbed, upset, angry, and disgusted, I don’t recommend reading this book at all. If, however, you are prepared to take the red pill, go down the rabbit hole, and wake up to some realities of the world, read Tomatoland. Read it now.” ––Blog Critics http://bit.ly/nVVd8n

“To Estabrook, the way we raise our tomatoes—and the way we eat them—shows our real food priorities. Constant availability—regardless of seasonality—matters more than taste or nutrition or the environment or labor rights. That’s life in Tomatoland. His book is well worth checking out.” ––Time http://ti.me/oKD6id

“Estabrook’s conclusion: “Florida’s tomato fields provide a stark example of what a food system looks like when all elements of sustainability are violated.” My conclusion: No more Florida tomatoes for me.” ––Greenbizz.com http://bit.ly/q2ZS7B

“The produce section in your local supermarket bulges, even in February, with a year-round supply of perfectly round, bright red-orange tomatoes. They almost seem like our birthright as Americans. But in a new book Tomatoland: How Modern Industrial Agriculture Destroyed Our Most Alluring Fruit, investigative food journalist Barry Estabrook reveals the huge human and environmental cost of the $5 billion fresh tomato industry. ” ––National Catholic Reporter http://bit.ly/pcYP08

“Estabrook is the author of a new book, Tomatoland: How Modern Industrial Agriculture Destroyed Our Most Alluring Fruit. It lays out why supermarket tomatoes tend to taste so bad — and how they got that way.” ––NPR http://n.pr/n1TKGE

“It’s insane that tomatoes are grown [in Florida] at all, Barry Estabrook writes in his delectable and angry new book, Tomatoland. This volume simmers like a big, bright kettle of heirloom tomato sauce.” –The Chronicle Herald http://bit.ly/oZRkk0

“In Tomatoland: How Modern Industrial Agriculture Destroyed Our Most Alluring Fruit, author Barry Estabrook makes sense of our contemporary tomato culture and reveals a less than sustainable, less than desirable, and less than delicious product that is fueled by our unyielding desire for tomato-like objects year round.” ––Care2 http://bit.ly/oVzPmK

“”Tomatoland” is a book that will raise the ire of people who stand on the opposite sides of many social and economic issues. Barry Estabrook’s book examines why tomatoes found in grocery store produce aisles and in restaurants look so good but taste so blah. The book focuses on Florida’s tomato industry, which is where about a third of the nation’s winter tomatoes come from.” ––South Bend Tribune http://bit.ly/rf4IxB

“Tomatoland is this year’s irresistibly juicy page turner.” ––Cook for Good http://bit.ly/qwEWe0

“Estabrook knows this topic extremely well, and is a great writer. Tomatoland is a quick read, but engaging and informative. I appreciated that he engaged in discussions of how and why tomatoes have become the vegetable we scorn in the grocery store, rather than just elaborating on or dramatizing the plight of tomato pickers. I’d recommend this book to anyone wanting to know more about large-scale tomato agriculture and its consequences on individuals and our food system as a whole.” ––Serious Eats http://bit.ly/qCkpgr

“Barry Estabrook “is a careful John McPhee-like observer” and that “the pleasures of ‘Tomatoland’ are real. They’re strong but subtle and sustained. Mr. Estabrook’s prose contains a mix of sweetness and acid, like a perfect homegrown tomato itself.”” ––The New York Times http://nyti.ms/qBvgxz

“In his new book, “Tomatoland: How Modern Industrial Agriculture Destroyed Our Most Alluring Fruit“, investigative journalist Barry Estabrook looks inside the Sunshine State’s tomato-growing industry. What he finds proves anything but appetizing.” ––Express Night Out http://bit.ly/mvm1Uv

“Estabrook, a freelance food writer whose work has appeared in The Atlantic, The New York Times and The Washington Post, looks at the life of today’s mass-produced tomato — and the environmental and human costs of the tomato industry — in his book Tomatoland: How Modern Industrial Agriculture Destroyed Our Most Alluring Fruit. The book was based on a James Beard award-winning article which originally appeared in Gourmet Magazine, where Estabrook was a contributing editor before publication ceased in 2009.” ––NPR http://n.pr/imxpWZ

“”Tomatoland” by Barry Estabrook provides the answers to what’s wrong with the tomatoes served in our restaurants and sold in our stores for most of the year. He explains how most of the “fresh” tomatoes on those burgers, chicken sandwiches, etc., come from a Florida industry that cares nothing about taste and everything about cheap production, including the tolerance of modern forms of slavery. … Anyone with a taste for tomatoes should read “Tomatoland.” It is a powerful argument to eat locally, eat seasonally. ” ––Fredricksburg.com http://bit.ly/kZpcID

“Supermarket produce sections bulging with a year-round supply of perfectly round, bright red-orange tomatoes have become all but a national birthright. But in Tomatoland, which is based on his James Beard Award-winning article, “The Price of Tomatoes,” investigative food journalist Barry Estabrook reveals the huge human and environmental cost of the $5 billion fresh tomato industry.” ––Good Food World http://bit.ly/ixmnLw

“Mass-produced tomatoes have become redder, more tender and slightly more flavorful than the crunchy orange “cello-wrapped” specimens of a couple of decades ago, but the lives of the workers who grow and pick them haven’t improved much since Edward R. Murrow’s revealing and deservedly famous Harvest of Shame report of 1960, which contained the infamous quote, “We used to own our slaves; now we just rent them.” But bit by bit things have improved some, a story that’s told in detail and with insight and compassion by Barry Estabrook in his new book, “Tomatoland.” We can actually help them improve further. ” ––Mark Bittman, The New York Times Opinionator blog http://nyti.ms/mOlvn3

“I can’t say enough good things about Barry Estabrook’s new book Tomatoland. In his gentle, evocative prose, Estabrook tells the brutal story of what industrial agriculture has done to tomatoes and the workers who grow them.” ––Mother Jones http://bit.ly/k2tyZ2

“In his eye-opening new book, award-winning food journalist Barry Estabrook reveals the shocking truth about the modern tomato industry. In a gripping story of modern-day slavery, dangerous pesticides, and old-fashioned greed, Estabrook shows that the bland taste of most supermarket tomatoes is the least of their problems.” ––Take Part http://bit.ly/lL8iL6

“Tomatoland is Barry Estabrook’s expose of what’s wrong with the Tomato industry. Not least is the fact that illegal immigrants are working and living in slavery-like conditions.” ––New York Post http://nyp.st/lZzCbS

“Tomatoland made me ashamed that these crimes could take place in our country, and that so many of us benefit from them by eating cheap tomatoes year-round. Not that you could really call it a benefit, given how lousy those tomatoes actually taste. This book was written a full 50 years AFTER the documentary Harvest of Shame I alluded to before, and yet, little has changed since then. The biggest change in those 50 years is probably the skin color and the native language of the workers who are being exploited. I congratulate Estabrook on his incredible work, and I hope that this book is instrumental in changing things so that another similar story does not have to be told 50 years from now.” ––La Vida Locavor http://bit.ly/jatQxa

“ ‘Tomatoland’ (is) in the tradition of the best muckraking journalism, from Upton Sinclair’s ‘The Jungle’ to Eric Schlosser’s ‘Fast Food Nation.’ “ —Jane Black, The Washington Post

“Masterful.” —Mark Bittman, New York Times Opinion blog

“If you care about social justice—or eat tomatoes—read this account of the past, present, and future of a ubiquitous fruit.” —Corby Kummer, TheAtlantic.com

“Eye-opening exposé…thought-provoking.” —Publishers Weekly

“Estabrook adds some new dimensions to the outrageous…story of an industry that touches nearly every one of us living in fast-food nation.” —David Von Drehle, Time Magazine blog “Swampland”

“Our favorite fruit may not be quite as innocuous and delicious as it appears.” —Salon.com

“Vital information that every conscientious eater—and parents of eaters—ought to know.” —CivilEats.com

“Estabrook’s exposure of the resulting environmental and human tragedies places “Tomatoland” in the tradition of the best muckraking journalism, from Upton Sinclair’s “The Jungle” to Eric Schlosser’s “Fast Food Nation.”” ––The Washington Post http://wapo.st/mKyKhT

“Building on an award-winning article in the late, lamented Gourmet magazine, Estabrook adds some new dimensions to the outrageous, yet stubbornly persistent, story of an industry that touches nearly every one of us living in fast-food nation.” ––Time Swampland http://ti.me/js7Ihv

“Read award-winning journalist Barry Estabrook’s Tomatoland: How Modern Industrial Agriculture Destroyed Our Most Alluring Fruit, and you won’t look at a tomato in the same way again. What began as an exposé on the slave-like working conditions faced by modern-day tomato workers (”The Price of Tomatoes,” Gourmet, March 2009) is now a book that paints a shocking behind-the-scenes picture of one of the most beloved fruits. The issues that Estabrook writes about in the book (as well as on his website politicsoftheplate.com) cannot be ignored by anyone who thinks of him/herself as a conscientious and informed consumer. In Tomatoland, Estabrook presents a cogent case for reform, challenging everyone to stand up for what is good not only for the taste buds and the wallet, but also for the soul.” –– Epicurious http://epi.us/lmUTUm

“In the new book, Tomatoland: How Modern Industrial Agriculture Destroyed Our Most Alluring Fruit, journalist Barry Estabrook traces the history of the tomato and discusses the ecological and human costs of bringing it to your table.” ––Miami New Times http://bit.ly/j3c5pY

“If you care about social justice—or eat tomatoes—read this account of the past, present, and future of a ubiquitous fruit … But it’s not just the picture of social justice and labor conditions that make Tomatoland such an important and readable book. It’s also the history of the tomato itself—how it got here from Peru, how it was bred to be the cotton softball (hardball, really) we know—and the future of the fruit that kept me racing through the galleys. For Barry gives hope at the end, for tomatoes you can feel good about buying and eating, and finds researchers who developed them and farmers who are already growing them commercially. Buy it, please!” ––The Atlantic http://bit.ly/kfCorb

“In his new book “Tomatoland: How Modern Industrial Agriculture Destroyed Our Most Alluring Fruit,” journalist Barry Eastabrook writes the biography of the modern tomato, revealing the environmental and human costs of big agribusiness. Eastabrook traces the history of the tomato from the wild tomato berries that once grew in abundance in the rocky foothills of the Andes to the most familiar salad staple on the planet. A true tomato devotee, Estabrook explains why our love for tomatoes is hurting not only field workers and the environment, but our taste buds, too.” ––Salon.com http://bit.ly/kHxGyI

“Tomatoland: How Modern Industrial Agriculture Destroyed our Most Alluring Fruit, is a new book based on Barry Estabrook’s James Beard Award-winning 2010 article “The Price of Tomatoes.” In both pieces, Estabrook details everything that’s gone wrong with the modern tomato, and he argues this is a perfect example of everything that’s wrong with modern agriculture. The modern day tomato contains more salt, less flavor, and way fewer nutritive properties than ever before, and one county in Florida is responsible for growing one-third of the tomatoes in the USA. What if something were to go wrong there with a food borne pathogen. Holy crap! Tens of thousands could get sick before the word got out. Frightening.” ––Andrew Zimmern http://bit.ly/m9Cc1D

“Barry Estabrook scowls at the thought of industries growing tomatoes in fields. Ruins their taste, he says, and leads to other atrocities as well. Thus begins his investigation and book Tomatoland: How Modern Industrial Agriculture Destroyed our Most Alluring Fruit. … The Gourmet article on which the book is based won the 2010 James Beard Award for magazine feature writing.” ––USAToday interview with Barry Estabrook http://usat.ly/lWQoVg

“Forewarning: If you ever want to buy a grocery store tomato again, you should not read this review. Tomatoland by Barry Estabrook is a contrasting story of McMansions and crumbling shacks, the bright red, beauty pageant-worthy orbs on your $8 Angus burger versus the fruit sprayed with so many toxic chemicals they have caused serious birth defects and disfigurements, and farming empires worth millions supported by human trafficking. (Says Estabrook: “If you have ever eaten a tomato during the winter months, you have eaten a fruit picked by a slave.”)” ––LA Weekly http://bit.ly/jPJlfD

“Our enormous appetite for having pretty much any food available to us at anytime of year has led to a system where yes, you can have a tomato in February, but the cost is a lot more than the $1.25/lb you’re likely to pay at your local Wal-Mart. It comes at the cost of enormous environmental damage and shocking worker abuse. It utilizes thousands of migrant workers, some of whom are undocumented, and many of whom live and work in literal slave conditions. … Tomatoland is based on Estabrook’s James Beard Award-winning 2010 article “The Price of Tomatoes,” and is an in-depth investigation of what’s wrong with the modern tomato (and by extension, modern agriculture). It is vital information that every conscientious eater-and parents of eaters-ought to know. Hopefully, as more people read the book, they will begin to look beyond price, and start considering cost.” ––Huffington Post http://huff.to/iSXDvu

Blueberries may seem unusual in a doughnut, but paired with this refreshing orange glaze you will find it’s the perfect combination of tart and sweet! These are a healthier doughnut because they are baked instead of fried, but you will need either a standard-size doughnut pan or a standard-size mini doughnut pan for baking these.

Ingredients
Doughnuts
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter
1 cup buttermilk
3 large eggs, beaten
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Glaze
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
3 tablespoons fresh orange juice
2 teaspoons grated orange zest

1. Preheat the oven to 375℉ and position an oven rack in the center. Lightly coat the doughnut pans with nonstick cooking spray.

2. Make the doughnuts. In a large bowl, combine the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and orange zest with a whisk. Melt the butter in a small pot over low heat and set aside. In a medium bowl, combine the melted butter, buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla with a whisk until foamy, 1 to 2 minutes. Pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture and stir with a large wooden spoon until completely combined. Gently fold in the blueberries until just combined. Do not overmix. Using a pastry bag fitted with a 1-inch round tip, divide the batter equally (using even pressure) between the pans, filling about halfway full. Alternatively, you can use a gallon-sized resealable plastic storage bag. Fill the bag and using scissors, remove 1 inch from one of the bottom corners and proceed with filling the pans as described above.

3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until the doughnuts spring back when lightly touched. Remove from the oven, invert the doughnuts onto a rack, and allow to cool completely.

4. Make the glaze. In a medium bowl, combine the powdered sugar, orange juice, and orange zest with a whisk, mixing until smooth.

5. Glaze the doughnuts. Dip the top of each doughnut into the glaze and lift, allowing the excess to drip back into the bowl. Place the doughnuts on a platter and serve. These doughnuts are best served fresh.

These homey, irresistible bars can be put together in no time, will feed a crowd, and are loved by everyone. The brown sugar-oatmeal crust provides just the right sweetness and crunch against the soft, tart, lightly chewy filling in the center, which is simply a mixture of raspberry jam and dried sour cherries. Pack them in lunches, bring them to bake sales, or serve them warm with ice cream—this is a good recipe to have in your repertoire. Use old-fashioned oats when you want a hearty crunch, or quick oats for a more tender bite, but don’t use instant oats or you’ll have mush.

Makes 36 (3 by 1-inch) bars

Ingredients
Dough
1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 3/4 cups old-fashioned or quick oats (not instant)
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

Filling
1 (16-ounce) jar good-quality seedless raspberry jam
1 cup dried sour cherries
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

1. Preheat the oven to 350℉ and position an oven rack in the center. Line a 9 by 13-inch baking pan with foil across the bottom and up the two long sides, then lightly coat with melted butter, oil, or high-heat canola-oil spray.

2. Make the crumble dough. Place the flour, oats, brown sugar, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat on low speed until evenly mixed (or place in a food processor and process for 5 seconds). Add the cold butter and mix on low speed until the mixture looks like wet sand and starts to form clumps, 5 to 6 minutes (or process for 45 to 60 seconds, pausing to scrape down once with a spatula).

3. Divide the dough in half. Pat one half into an even layer in the prepared pan. Set the other half aside. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until golden and crisp. Transfer to a rack and cool for 20 minutes. Leave the oven on.

4. Make the filling. Empty the jam into a medium bowl and stir well to break up any lumps. Add the cherries and stir until well mixed and all the cherries are coated with ham. Spread evenly over the cooled crust, all the way to the edges. Sprinkle the remaining dough evenly over the filling.

5. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the topping is golden brown and the filling is bubbling. Transfer to a rack and cool completely, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

6. To serve, run a thin knife or spatula around the edges of the pan to loosen any dough or filling. Lift the cookies out using the foil as handles and place on a cutting surface. Cut into 3 by 1-inch bars. Just before serving, use the fine-mesh strainer to lightly dust the confectioners’ sugar over the cookies.