Something From The Oven

Author of the forthcoming What She Ate: Six Remarkable Women and the Food That Tells Their Stories (Summer 2017) In this captivating blend of culinary history and popular culture, the award-winning author of Perfection Salad shows us what happened when the food industry elbowed its way into the kitchen after World War II, brandishing canned hamburgers, frozen baked beans, and instant piecrusts. Big Business waged an all-out campaign to win the allegiance of American housewives, but most women were suspicious of the new foods—and the make-believe cooking they entailed. With sharp insight and good humor, Laura Shapiro shows how the ensuing battle helped shape the way we eat today, and how the clash in the kitchen reverberated elsewhere in the house as women struggled with marriage, work, and domesticity. This unconventional history overturns our notions about the ’50s and offers new thinking on some of its fascinating figures, including Poppy Cannon, Shirley Jackson, Julia Child, and Betty Friedan.

In this delightfully surprising history, Laura Shapiro—author of the classic Perfection Salad—recounts the prepackaged dreams that bombarded American kitchens during the fifties. Faced with convincing homemakers that foxhole food could make it in the dining room, the food industry put forth the marketing notion that cooking was hard; opening cans, on the other hand, wasn’t. But women weren’t so easily convinced by the canned and plastic-wrapped concoctions and a battle for both the kitchen and the true definition of homemaker ensued. Beautifully written and full of wry observation, this is a fun, illuminating, and definitely easy-to-digest look back at a crossroads in American cooking.

Mayonnaise "takes" when a series of liquids form a semisolid consistency. Eggs, a liquid, become solid as they are heated, whereas, under the same conditions, solids melt. When meat is roasted, its surface browns and it acquires taste and texture. What accounts for these extraordinary transformations? The answer: chemistry and physics. With his trademark eloquence and wit, Hervé This launches a wry investigation into the chemical art of cooking. Unraveling the science behind common culinary technique and practice, Hervé This breaks food down to its molecular components and matches them to cooking's chemical reactions. He translates the complex processes of the oven into everyday knowledge for professional chefs and casual cooks, and he demystifies the meaning of taste and the making of flavor. He describes the properties of liquids, salts, sugars, oils, and fats and defines the principles of culinary practice, which endow food with sensual as well as nutritional value. For fans of Hervé This's popular volumes and for those new to his celebrated approach, The Science of the Oven expertly expands the possibilities of the kitchen, fusing the physiology of taste with the molecular structure of bodies and food.

This social history tells the story of America's transformation from a nation of honest appetites into an obedient market for instant mashed potatoes. The author investigates a women reformers at the turn of the twentieth century--including Fannie Farmer of the Boston Cooking School--who were determined to modernize the American diet through a "scientific" approach to cooking. It reveals why we think the way we do about food today.--Publisher's description.

A fun, lively history of the revolution in American cooking that took place in the 1950s traces the innovations, cookbooks, products, techniques, and marketing campaigns that changed the way Americans prepared food forever.

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER 'For bung-it-in-the-oven cooks everywhere, this is a must-have book: Diana Henry has a genius for flavour.' - Nigella Lawson - The Sunday Times Best Cookbooks of the Year 'This might be Henry's most useful book yet, which is saying something.' - The Sunday Times - Guardian's Best Cookbooks and Food Writing of the Year 'The shining star is Diana Henry's From the Oven to the Table, in which she faultlessly delivers highly achievable, boldly flavoured dishes.' - Meera Sodha, the Guardian - Independent's Best Cookbooks of the Year 'A new cookbook from Diana Henry is always a reason to celebrate and From the Oven to the Table is no exception.' - Independent - Observer Food Monthly 20 Best Food Books of the Year 'There's so much to love about the latest from the Sunday Telegraph writer. Its great strength lies in updating and upgrading food you'll want to produce with a flourish. Deliciously photographed, too.' - Allan Jenkins, Observer Food Monthly - Daily Mail's Cookery Books of the Year 'Diana Henry is one of Britain's best cookery writers: her recipes are instantly appealing and she's the most elegant of writers. (...) Packed with hearty, highly flavoured dishes, it's the perfect winter cookbook for those days when you need sustenance without putting in too much effort.' - Daily Mail - Sunday Times Ireland Cookbook of the Year 'Of all the new cookbooks that came into my house this year, this is the one that has been used most often.' - Sunday Times Ireland - Delicious.magazine's Best Cookbooks of the Year 'Her most simply satisfying book yet? A must-own.' - Delicious.magazine - 'I'm not quite sure how Diana Henry does it but every book she writes is a winner; practical, enticing and evocative. And the recipes always work. This one may seem as simple as it gets (one-pot or tray cooking) but it never ceases to delight.' - Tom Parker Bowles, the Mail on Sunday - Diana Henry's favourite way to cook is to throw ingredients into a dish or roasting tin, slide them in the oven and let the heat behind that closed door transform them into golden, burnished meals. Most of the easy-going recipes in this wonderfully varied collection are cooked in one dish; some are ideas for simple accompaniments that can be cooked on another shelf at the same time. From quick after-work suppers to feasts for friends, the dishes are vibrant and modern and focus on grains, pulses and vegetables as much as meat and fish. With recipes such as Chicken Thighs with Miso, Sweet Potatoes & Spring Onions, Roast Indian-spiced Vegetables with Lime-Coriander Butter, and Roast Stone Fruit with Almond and Orange Flower Crumbs, Diana shows how the oven is the most useful bit of kit you have in your kitchen. Praise for How to Eat a Peach: 'This is an extraordinary piece of food writing, pitch perfect in every way. I couldn't love anyone who didn't love this book.' - Nigella Lawson '...her best yet...superb menus evoking place and occasion with consummate elegance' - Financial Times Food Book of the Year at the André Simon Food & Drink Book Awards 2019

Standout Baked Goods that Prove Variety Is the Spice of Life It’s never been easier to find the perfect recipe for every mood than with this outstanding collection of sweet and savory treats. Ruth Mar Tam shares 60 of her favorite recipes—each with a number of variations and flavor combinations, so you can tweak them to suit any craving. While each of her recipes is delicious in its original form, the variations she offers make it easy to mix up a recipe based on ingredients you happen to have on hand or simply cater to your own personal preferences. Once you’ve mastered Ruth’s mouthwatering Spiced Coffee Crumb Cake, give it a fruity twist with her Apple-Rye variation, or make it nutty with the addition of a Nut Streusel. Or maybe you love the Tomato and Ricotta Galette as a light lunch, but you need something a little sweeter to serve at the end of a meal—in that case, try out the Plum and Honey Frangipane variation for a crowd-pleasing dessert. With sweet treats like Rhubarb and Walnut Linzer Cookies, Earl Grey Bundt Cake and Strawberry Palmiers, and savory options like Smoked Paprika and Cheddar Gougères, Nearly Naked Sourdough Focaccia and Mushroom Diamond Pastries, Ruth’s recipes offer you all the options you need for unique, creative, and—most importantly—delicious baking.

Provides advice, techniques, and tips for building and working with wood-fired ovens along with recipes for different heat cycles.