Celebrating The Midwestern Table

"A collection of flavors and feasts that pulse through any Midwesterner's heart."--Dust jacket.

Minnesota native Amy Thielen, host of Heartland Table on Food Network, presents 200 recipes that herald a revival in heartland cuisine in this James Beard Award-winning cookbook. Amy Thielen grew up in rural northern Minnesota, waiting in lines for potluck buffets amid loops of smoked sausages from her uncle’s meat market and in the company of women who could put up jelly without a recipe. She spent years cooking in some of New York City’s best restaurants, but it took moving home in 2008 for her to rediscover the wealth and diversity of the Midwestern table, and to witness its reinvention. The New Midwestern Table reveals all that she’s come to love—and learn—about the foods of her native Midwest, through updated classic recipes and numerous encounters with spirited home cooks and some of the region’s most passionate food producers. With 150 color photographs capturing these fresh-from-the-land dishes and the striking beauty of the terrain, this cookbook will cause any home cook to fall in love with the captivating flavors of the American heartland.

Horseshoe sandwiches, city “chicken,” hot dishes, Dutch babies, and of course Chicago deep-dish pizza—these regional treasures and more showcase the history and bounty of the Midwest. America’s Dairyland provides the country not only with milk and cheese; it also produces honey, corn, and over 14 billion eggs each year. These abundant ingredients find their way into many Midwestern dishes, from corn fritters to frozen custard. Different cultures influenced Native American and pioneer cuisine in the Midwest when immigrants brought dishes from Czechoslovakia, Sweden, and other parts of the world. Kitchen safety tips, easy-to-follow recipes, and a glossary of common cooking terms help guide young chefs as they cook their way across the rich heartland of the United States.

"From coast to coast, Americans are discovering the allure of farmers' markets and savoring the taste of farm-fresh fruits and vegetables. Shoppers are filling bags with spring asparagus and sweet June peas, snapping up vine-ripe tomatoes and juicy peaches, and then looking for ways to put their purchases center stage. For inspiration, they can turn to 'Fresh from the Farmers' Market', a celebration of market bounty in dozens of luscious color photographs and more than seventy-five mouthwatering recipes. Season by season, author Janet Fletcher guides shoppers through the market, sharing tips on selection and storage as well as advice from the farmers themselves. Then, with a fresh and inviting style, she shows how to turn peak-season produce into delicious eating, year-round."--

Like jazz, barbecue is a uniquely American original, and few subjects ignite more passion, excitement, controversy, and competition. In Celebrating Barbecue, Dotty Griffith, restaurant critic for The Dallas Morning News, gives readers the lowdown on real barbecue, identifying the four great regional styles of American 'cue (Carolina, Memphis, Texas, and Kansas City), as well as what Griffith calls "micro-styles" like Santa Maria Beef Barbecue or St. Louis Barbecued Snouts. Though reducing barbecue to a set of rules and specifications is, as Griffith says, "like teaching a cat to bark," Celebrating Barbecue attempts (and succeeds!) in doing just that, beginning with the history of barbecue, defining each region's preferences for meat, fuel, and seasonings. There are classic authentic recipes for slow-cooked meats such as Texas Brisket and North Carolina-Style Pulled Pork, with cooking temperatures, seasonings, woods, and techniques (including fail-safe techniques for bad weather or uncooperative equipment or fuels) explained in detail. Griffith includes recipes for mops, rubs, sauces, and marinades, as well as sources for ready-made flavor enhancers. A full complement of appetizers, sides, and desserts rounds out the more than 85 recipes. Menus are provided for each regional style so you can create your own barbecue feast. Travelers will find lists of barbecue restaurants, cook-offs, and festivals, and stay-at-homes will find the best places to mail-order 'cue, as well as a directory of pit masters and a section on cookers. Opinionated and informed, Celebrating Barbecue is written with wit, passion, and verve. A pleasure to read and to cook from, it's the only book you'll need to enjoy this most American of foods.

Once considered a city simply of steakhouses and deep-dish pizza joints, Chicago has morphed into a vibrant and rich collection of second-generation, energetic chefs seeking to forge strong relationships with local producers and the diners they look to inspire. Master Chef Rick Bayless, Stephanie Izard of Girl & the Goat, Tony Mantuano of Spiaggia, and Paul Kahan with his slew of award-winning restaurants are just a few of the top chefs making headlines not only in Chicago’s food pubs but also nationwide. Chicago Chef’s Table is the first cookbook to gather Chicago’s best chefs and restaurants under one cover. Profiling signature “at home” recipes from over fifty legendary dining establishments, the book is a celebration of the farm-to-table way of life and modern Midwestern cuisine. Full-color photos throughout highlight fabulous dishes, famous chefs, and Chicago landmarks.

Food historian Cynthia Clampitt pens the epic story of what happened when Mesoamerican farmers bred a nondescript grass into a staff of life so prolific, so protean, that it represents nothing less than one of humankind's greatest achievements. Blending history with expert reportage, she traces the disparate threads that have woven corn into the fabric of our diet, politics, economy, science, and cuisine. At the same time she explores its future as a source of energy and the foundation of seemingly limitless green technologies. The result is a bourbon-to-biofuels portrait of the astonishing plant that sustains the world.

Who doesn't love cookies? Milk and cookies evoke memories of childhood treats. The delicate cookies served with coffee in so many restaurants provide a small indulgence without excessive guilt. Chocolate chip cookies are as American as apple pie. In The Complete Cookie, veteran authors Barry Bluestein and Kevin Morrissey present home cooks with a single-source reference for producing the best-ever cookies of every kind: filled, rolled, drop, bar, shaped, pressed, and molded. There are chapters highlighting decadent holiday cookies, as well as those of the healthful persuasion (sugarless, flourless, nonfat, and low-fat). Sidebars offer hints and tips galore on decorating, frosting, cutting, and storing, as well as instructions for homemade fillings, flavorings, and candied fruit. Special sections provide a wealth of essential information on ingredients, equipment, and techniques. Illustrated with eight pages of glorious full-color photographs, The Complete Cookie is an up-to-the-minute guide for modern cooks. You'll find recipes not only for the classics, including big, chewy chocolate chip and peanut butter cookies, but also novel twists on old-time favorites -- such as chocolate rugalach (out of this world!) and ginger biscotti (divine!) -- to suit sophisticated tastes. Just reading these pages will be enough to have even timid bakers reaching for the nearest sack of flour.