In 1997, Sondra Bernstein opened the doors to the first girl & the fig restaurant, showcasing her love of locally grown ingredients and her passion for French food. She named her restaurant for the fruit that symbolizes passion: the fig. Now with three restaurants in Sonoma County and with chef John Toulze at the helm, the girl & the fig restaurants are not only local favorites but also captivate thousands of visitors every year. In the girl & the fig Cookbook: More than 100 Recipes from the Acclaimed California Wine Country Restaurant, Bernstein offers an inspired collection of simple, yet sophisticated recipes from the restaurant, featuring the finest, freshest ingredients. These are restaurant-quality recipes adapted for the home kitchen, with dishes for beginners as well as experienced cooks. Bernstein brings the culinary traditions of France to the California wine country. The author's devotion to seasonal ingredients is wonderfully apparent in every recipe—from the savory appetizers, soups, salads, and large plates to the innovative desserts. Starters such as Heirloom Tomato Gazpacho, Cauliflower Gruyère Soup, Shrimp and Salmon Cakes, and Grilled Asparagus Salad with Lemon-Thyme Vinaigrette make the most of the region's bounty. Large plates such as Grilled Salmon with Lavender Beurre Rouge, Pan-Seared Scallops with Orange-Tarragon Beurre Blanc, Wild Mushroom Risotto, and Grilled Pork Chops with Apple Cider Sauce make wonderful main courses, while French classics like Coq au Vin and Duck Confit with Lentils, Applewood Smoked Bacon, and Cabbage will comfort you on a cold winter's night. Side dishes that can complement a large plate or be eaten alone include Braised Fennel, Citrus Pearl Couscous, Apple-Yam Gratin, and buttery Basil-Scented Potato Cakes. Bernstein's desserts range from the sinfully scrumptious (Chocolate Pots de Crème and Lavender and Wildflower Honey Crème Brûlée) to the unique (Roasted Figs with Honey and Vanilla Ice Cream and Warm Fig and Thyme Crisp with Fig Syrup). With gorgeous photographs throughout, the girl & the fig Cookbook also offers tips on wine pairings, highlighting California wines inspired by the Rhône Valley; imaginative ideas for aperitifs, charcuterie platters, and cheese plates; detailed sidebars on ingredients (including Bernstein's favorite food—the fig!); and brief glimpses of the author's favorite artisan food purveyors. This is country food with a French passion, perfect for a casual dinner or a formal dinner party. Let the girl & the fig Cookbook bring a taste of California to your kitchen.

Companion cookbook to The Sonoma diet book inspired by the Mediterranean way of eating and touched by the global flavors of Asia and Latin America.

Now, more than ever, in a market glutted with aspiring writers and a shrinking number of publishing houses, writers need someone familiar with the publishing scene to shepherd their manuscript to the right person. Completely updated annually, Guide to Literary Agents provides names and specialties for more than 800 individual agents around the United States and the world. The 2009 edition includes more than 85 pages of original articles on everything you need to know including how to submit to agents, how to avoid scams and what an agent can do for their clients.

Now, more than ever, in a market glutted with aspiring writers and a shrinking number of publishing houses, writers need someone familiar with the publishing scene to shepherd their manuscript to the right person. Completely updated annually, Guide to Literary Agents provides names and specialties for more than 800 individual agents around the United States and the world. The 2009 edition includes more than 85 pages of original articles on everything you need to know including how to submit to agents, how to avoid scams and what an agent can do for their clients.

A study of what American cookbooks from the 1790s to the 1960s can show us about gender roles, food, and culture of their time. From the first edition of The Fannie Farmer Cookbook to the latest works by today’s celebrity chefs, cookbooks reflect more than just passing culinary fads. As historical artifacts, they offer a unique perspective on the cultures that produced them. In Manly Meals and Mom’s Home Cooking, Jessamyn Neuhaus offers a perceptive and piquant analysis of the tone and content of American cookbooks published between the 1790s and the 1960s, adroitly uncovering the cultural assumptions and anxieties—particularly about women and domesticity—they contain. Neuhaus’s in-depth survey of these cookbooks questions the supposedly straightforward lessons about food preparation they imparted. While she finds that cookbooks aimed to make readers—mainly white, middle-class women—into effective, modern-age homemakers who saw joy, not drudgery, in their domestic tasks, she notes that the phenomenal popularity of Peg Bracken’s 1960 cookbook, The I Hate to Cook Book, attests to the limitations of this kind of indoctrination. At the same time, she explores the proliferation of bachelor cookbooks aimed at “the man in the kitchen” and the biases they display about male and female abilities, tastes, and responsibilities. Neuhaus also addresses the impact of World War II rationing on homefront cuisine; the introduction of new culinary technologies, gourmet sensibilities, and ethnic foods into American kitchens; and developments in the cookbook industry since the 1960s. More than a history of the cookbook, Manly Meals and Mom’s Home Cooking provides an absorbing and enlightening account of gender and food in modern America. “An engaging analysis . . . Neuhaus provides a rich and well-researched cultural history of American gender roles through her clever use of cookbooks.” —Sarah Eppler Janda, History: Reviews of New Books “With sound scholarship and a focus on prescriptive food literature, Manly Meals makes an original and useful contribution to our understanding of how gender roles are institutionalized and perpetuated.” —Warren Belasco, senior editor of The Oxford Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink “An excellent addition to the history of women’s roles in America, as well as to the history of cookbooks.” —Choice

A personal favorite quote of mine is “From stressed to blessed.” I mean this, believe, and receive this. I’ve been battling hypothyroidism for years, and I wanted to create a user-friendly handbook to help anyone affected by this disorder. I’ve seen many doctors over the years and none offered me ideas on diet change. I’ve included recipes, ideas on solutions for a healthier home, what you should be eating and shouldn’t, how to shed those extra pounds, regain your self-confidence and vitality back into your life. I want you to feel strong, sexy, and beautiful. This is my heartfelt guide to you. Together, once again, you can start to gain that wonderful life that you deserve. I am a student in this thing called life. I want to be remembered as a pioneer who thought, imagined, and inspired. What we feel at times is the impossible or unthinkable. Life is a wonderful journey. Laugh at yourself as much as possible! Never try to walk someone else’s path. You are destined for your own path and journey. I can’t be you, and you can’t be me. It’s up to you to accept your journey and walk your path in life. Let’s kick hypothyroidism’s booty together!

In this treasury of Cajun heritage, the author allows the people who are the very foundations of Cajun culture to tell their own stories. Nicole Denée Fontenot visited Cajun women in their homes and kitchens and gathered over 300 recipes as well as thousands of narrative accounts. Most of these women were raised on small farms and remember times when everything (except coffee, sugar and flour) was home-made. They shared traditional recipes made with modern and simple ingredients.

The SAGE Encyclopedia of Food Issues explores the topic of food across multiple disciplines within the social sciences and related areas including business, consumerism, marketing, and environmentalism. In contrast to the existing reference works on the topic of food that tend to fall into the categories of cultural perspectives, this carefully balanced academic encyclopedia focuses on social and policy aspects of food production, safety, regulation, labeling, marketing, distribution, and consumption. A sampling of general topic areas covered includes Agriculture, Labor, Food Processing, Marketing and Advertising, Trade and Distribution, Retail and Shopping, Consumption, Food Ideologies, Food in Popular Media, Food Safety, Environment, Health, Government Policy, and Hunger and Poverty. This encyclopedia introduces students to the fascinating, and at times contentious, and ever-so-vital field involving food issues. Key Features: Contains approximately 500 signed entries concluding with cross-references and suggestions for further readings Organized A-to-Z with a thematic "Reader’s Guide" in the front matter grouping related entries by general topic area Provides a Resource Guide and a detailed and comprehensive Index along with robust search-and-browse functionality in the electronic edition This three-volume reference work will serve as a general, non-technical resource for students and researchers who seek to better understand the topic of food and the issues surrounding it.

More than seven million people visit the Outer Banks of North Carolina every year, and they all fall in love with its coastal Southern cuisine. The Outer Banks Cookbook is a true celebration of the many flavors of North Carolina’s coastal communities with an emphasis on local food and products. The second edition features beautiful full-color photographs and more than 100 easy-to-follow recipes for appetizers, chowders, entrees, desserts, cocktails, and more. Included are family recipes, traditional dishes from locals, and specialties from the many restaurants dotting the Outer Banks.