Do you want to make spice-rubbed ribs the way they're made by the best barbecue cooks in Memphis? Crispy soft-shell crabs that taste like they're right out of Chesapeake Bay? Refreshing Thai salad just as it's made in Bangkok? A moussaka that could be the star of a great taverna in Greece? A bisteeya that will transport you to Morocco? Catalan lobster soup, Vietnamese summer rolls, proper Dover sole, a real tiramisù? A golden, buttery tarte Tatin?            David Rosengarten will show you how.              The New York Times has said that David Rosengarten's hit show, Taste, on Food Network "reconceived the idea of what a cooking show could be. . . . He explores his subjects so thor-oughly and thoughtfully that he makes instant   experts of his viewers." Now Rosengarten has reconceived the idea of what a cookbook can be. Taste gives you a chance to experiment with some of the world's greatest dishes with the world's best cooking teacher at your side.            Each recipe is accompanied by a set of criteria--letting you know exactly what experts mean when they say a risotto is good, a gazpacho is excellent, or a chocolate chip cookie is perfect. Now you'll know how to make it--and what to look for along the way. Rosengarten tells you exactly what to shop for: the bottled hot sauce from the West Indies that makes the best ceviche, the brand of chocolate that produces the deepest-tasting molten chocolate cake. He's similarly candid about equipment, detailing everything from a handy smoker that's indispensable in the preparation of jerk chicken to the best heat source for a homemade crème brulee.            The chapter on wine is itself an education. You'll find everything you need to know to match wine with food--including a list of twelve inexpensive wines that will never let you down. With his characteristic candor, Rosengarten pricks the bubble of wine pretension--exploding many of America's most fervently held myths.            David Rosengarten is a great teacher, with an irrepressible enthusiasm that comes through as vividly in this book as it does on the screen. Beginners will learn the basics from this book. For those who know their way around the kitchen, Rosengarten's in-depth culinary information will be a revelation. A cookbook teaches you how to cook. Taste teaches you how to taste. You'll never want to cook again without it. Fans of David Rosengarten will be thrilled with the publication of Taste , not so much a companion volume to his popular Food Network show as a distillation of all the man holds dear. It is a remarkable, lush effort, beautifully illustrated with rich color pictures of exotic and home-grown foods. How many food-addled souls out there take the time, like Rosengarten, to sit down and catalog all of the personal favorite dishes from around the world, and then explain why the dish is so delicious, and exactly what makes it special? And oh, by the way, here's how to cook it! Rosengarten begins his culinary adventure with a chapter entitled "My Favorite Light Appetizers." Here is bruschetta, remarkable Chinese appetizers, gazpacho, Thai salads, and oysters and caviar. In this and every chapter is everything you need to know in order to buy and prepare these foods; ideas on how to serve them; order them in a restaurant; judge them for quality and seasonality; and the right wines to accompany each dish. Other "My Favorite" chapters include in-between dishes (French onion soup; quiche), main courses (Szechwan Shrimp with Chili and Garlic Sauce; moussaka), and desserts (Tarte Tatin; chocolate-chip cookies). A wealth of cooking instruction is here to make your life easier too. Take Gumbo--Rosengarten details three ways in which to thicken the texture, by traditional roux, by okra, and by filé powder. Next comes a delightful recipe for Shrimp and Andouille Gumbo, and a list of recommended beers. David Rosengarten brings remarkably good tastes into the home kitchen--anyone studying this book will be able to hold court with the best of them, Martha Stewart included. --Schuyler Ingle "In this very personal cookbook, David Rosengarten takes us on an intimate and idiosynchratic journey in pursuit of the ultimate dish and a taste of the irreproachable wine. Jump on his dining car and enjoy his enlightening comments as well as the generous sharing of his culinary perigrinations." -- Jacques Pepin "Not only great Taste, but great information." -- Emeril Lagasse "In this very personal cookbook, David Rosengarten takes us on an intimate and idiosynchratic journey in pursuit of the ultimate dish and a taste of the irreproachable wine. Jump on his dining car and enjoy his enlightening comments as well as the generous sharing of his culinary perigrinations." -- Jacques Pepin "Not only great Taste, but great information." -- Emeril Lagasse Do you want to make spice-rubbed ribs the way they're made by the best barbecue cooks in Memphis? Crispy soft-shell crabs that taste like they're rig