Celebrity television chefs like Jamie Oliver and culinary stars like Hugh Fearnely-Wittingstall have made Americans newly aware of the great potential in British cooking. But the new British food revolution is not limited to fine restaurants and television. Within Britain, pub and country inn chefs, newspaper and magazine food writers, and everyday home cooks are taking a renewed interest in their own traditional cuisine, at long last approaching it with more pride than with prejudice. In The Ploughman's Lunch and the Miser's Feast, the American cookbook author, travel writer and professional photographer Brian Yarvin brings these newly rediscovered pleasures to the attention of home cooks on this side of the Atlantic.In 100 recipes, 65 color photos, and dozens of lively sidebars, Yarvin reveals what he has discovered in his numerous walking and driving trips across the length and breadth of Great Britain. His recipes emphasize traditional and down-home dishes as perfected and updated by the best cooks in Britain. They include lots of pub fare, like Fish and Chips, Shepherd's Pie, Ploughman's Lunch, and a host of savory cakes and pasties. There are festive and substantial main courses like Howtowdie, Poached Salmon with White Sauce, and, of course, a splendidly done Beef Wellington.The hard-working Brits love big breakfasts, and there is a chapter devoted to those, while another chapter celebrates the sandwiches, salads, and snacks that are served at tea time. Curry shops have been ubiquitous for so long that Indian food by now is properly British, and Yarvin devotes another chapter to dishes such as Shrimp Biryani and Chicken Korma. A big chapter, too, shows us how to make the best-loved British sweets, from the humbly named Plum Pudding and Mincemeat Cake to the amusingly monikered Fast Rascals, Kentish Huffkins, and Welsh Dripping Cake. A Letter to Readers from Brian Yarvin Dear Amazon readers, I always love the underdog and British food has such a bad reputation that I couldn't help but be drawn to it. Soon it became my special culinary place--an unknown spot where nobody else went. I would have thought that the popularity of The Two Fat Ladies, Nigella Lawson, Jamie Oliver, and Gordon Ramsay would have done something--yet, the joy of a B&B breakfast, a Sunday pub lunch, a great curry, or a lavish tea service remains something of a cult secret. So much of British food is a poor man's vision of a rich man's meal: breakfast with sausages AND bacon or a big Sunday lunch of roast beef and Yorkshire pudding. And even more has always been and always will be a "poor man's meal:" fried bread, dumplings and mince, or bubble and squeak. When you travel to Britain, nobody gives you any advance notice that there are foods worth eating outside of a few fine-dining temples, and on my first trips, everything seemed new. The surprises never stopped coming: sandwiches, artisan cheeses, cereals and beverages of the highest quality, and the obvious: these legendary gardeners grew more than flowers--this very green place is paradise for produce fans. The United Kingdom is like a Chinese restaurant with a secret menu--learn what's good, find out what to order, and you'll be among the initiated. Let everybody else suffer with kabobs or frozen pizzas; we can go on a journey. I'll share a secret with you and take you along a gastronomic path that isn't anywhere as heavily traveled as it should be. You'll love it--I promise. Brian Yarvin Sample Recipe from The Ploughman's Lunch and the Miser's Feast : Chicken and Leek Casserole Makes 4 servings Chicken and leeks seem to be an inspired combination, in Great Britain as elsewhere. Here we make that cousin to a chicken pie, a chicken casserole. You can also find the pair in a soup, Cock-A-Leekie. 1/4 cup chopped bacon 1 pound boneless chicken breast or thigh meat, cut in 1/2-inch pieces 2 cups chopped leeks, white parts only 1 cup chopped carrot 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth 1 cup beer or ale 1/4 cup dry breadcrumbs Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Combine the bacon, chicken, leeks, carrot, salt, pepper, broth, and beer or ale in a Dutch oven or casserole and mix well so that the ingredients are evenly distributed. Bake the casserole, covered, until the chicken is fully cooked, about 60 minutes. Remove the cover, return the casserole to the oven, and bake until about 1/3 of the liquid has evaporated, about 30 minutes more. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs on top and return the casserole to the oven. Bake, uncovered, until the breadcrumbs are nicely browned, about 30 minutes more. Serve warm. "Brian Yarvin reminds us all--Brits included--that we really do love all those tasty, traditional English dishes with quirky names and interesting origins. Yarvin's casual prose is delightful and his photographs are gorgeous." (Margaret M. Johnson, author of The Irish Pub Cookbook and Flavors of Ireland ) Brian Yarvin, a