Book Description
What could be a more fun and delicious way to celebrate American culture than through the lore of our favorite foods? That's what John T. Edge does in his smart, witty, and compulsively readable new series on the dishes everyone thinks their mom made best. If these are the best-loved American foods-ones so popular they've come to represent us-what does that tell us about ourselves? And what do the history of the dish and the regional variations reveal?

There are few aspects of life that carry more emotional weight and symbolism than food, and in writing about our food icons, Edge gives us a warm and wonderful portrait of America -by way of our taste buds. After all, "What is patriotism, but nostalgia for the foods of our youth?" as a Chinese philosopher once asked.


About the Author
John T. Edge, whose work has appeared in Gourmet and Saveur and has been featured in Best Food Writing for the last three years, is also the director of the Southern Foodways Alliance at the University of Mississippi. His many books include the James Beard Award- nominated cookbook A Gracious Plenty, and he is a finalist for the 2004 M.F.K. Fisher Distinguished Writing Award from the James Beard Foundation.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

In apple pie, John T. Edge celebrates not only the joys of good eating but also our deep personal associations with our most iconic food.

FROM THE CRITICS

Library Journal

Follow food writer Edge, whose work has been featured in Gourmet and Saveur magazines, as he eats his way across the United States in a charming new series that "celebrates America's iconic foods." Part travelog, part cookbook, part social history, and part lore, these first two entries explore the origins of fried chicken and apple pie and their importance in American culture. Through visits to local restaurants, festivals, and farm stands, Edge met cooks and bakers who shared their secrets and provided stories and recipes about these foods that are rich in American tradition. A Southerner, he looks past his region for an explanation of our connections to certain foods; in Fried Chicken, he examines traditional preparation while exploring the fried chicken that recent immigrants prepare, such as Italian American fried chicken courtesy of an Indian immigrant living in Chicago and Serbian American fried chicken prepared in Ohio. In Apple Pie, he travels across the country, collecting 15 recipes for pie along the way-all of which are included. Forthcoming titles in this series include Donuts, Hamburgers, and French Fries. Witty and entertaining, these two volumes are highly recommended.-Pauline Baughman, Multnomah Cty. Lib., Portland, OR Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING

Lee Smith

John T. Edge is pure fun-with his great sense of humor, insatiable enthusiasm, original insights and careful commentary, he's one of the world's best companions. I'd run off with him anytime. — New York Times bestelling author of The Last Girls and Saving Grace

Rick Bragg

Edge takes one of my favorite subjects on earth and writes the extra-crispy hell out of it. ... He makes me wish he'd been along for the ride in his reporting. As always, it is the way he welds the food to the cooks, to their life experiences and homeplaces, that makes this book a wonderful read. — New York Times bestselling author of All Over But the Shoutin', and Ava's Man

Jeffrey Steingarten

John T. Edge is among our finest... I've been waiting for this series... knowing that my kitchen will soon be humming, my mind buzzing, and my pleasure glands uncontrollably salivating. — New York Times bestselling author of The Man Who Ate Everything

We've just gotten in two more great quotes for John T. Edge; I'm also including the ones we had already so that you have them all in one place. — Jennifer