Joan Nathan, the author of Jewish Cooking in America, An American Folklife Cookbook , and many other treasured cookbooks, now gives us a fabulous feast of new American recipes and the stories behind them that reflect the most innovative time in our culinary history. The huge influx of peoples from all over Asia--Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, India--and from the Middle East and Latin America in the past forty years has brought to our kitchens new exotic flavors, little-known herbs and condiments, and novel cooking techniques that make the most of every ingredient. At the same time, health and environmental concerns have dramatically affected how and what we eat. The result: American cooking has never been as exciting as it is today. And Joan Nathan proves it on every page of this wonderfully rewarding book. Crisscrossing the country, she talks to organic farmers, artisanal bread bakers and cheese makers, a Hmong farmer in Minnesota, a mango grower in Florida, an entrepreneur of Indian frozen foods in New Jersey, home cooks, and new-wave chefs. Among the many enticing dishes she discovers are a breakfast huevos rancheros casserole; starters such as Ecuadorean shrimp ceviche, Szechuan dumplings, and Malaysian swordfish satays; pea soup with kaffir leaves; gazpacho with sashimi; pasta dressed with pistachio pesto; Iraqi rice-stuffed Vidalia onions; and main courses of Ecuadorean casuela , chicken yasa from Gambia, and couscous from Timbuktu (with dates and lamb). And there are desserts for every taste. Old American favorites are featured, too, but often Nathan discovers a cook who has a new way with a dish, such as an asparagus salad with blood orange mayonnaise, pancakes made with blue cornmeal and pine nuts, a seafood chowder that includes monkfish, and a chocolate bread pudding with dried cherries. Because every recipe has a story behind it, The New American Cooking is a book that is as much fun to read as it is to cook from--a must for every kitchen today. Surveying America's food scene, Joan Nathan, author of the much-praised Jewish Cooking in America , notes our increasing openness to exploring traditional ethnic fare as well as "new" dishes. In The New American Cooking she offers 280 recipes that reflect the growing influence of Asian, Indian, and Latin American cooking on our everyday tables, as well as providing formulas for the likes of Chicken with Barbecue Sauce and Jambalaya with Sausage and Shrimp--dishes to which we have returned, or never left behind. The menu-wide recipe range features such tantalizing fare as Turkish Cucumber Yogurt Soup, Tunisian Fish Couscous, and Grilled Thai Chicken with Lemongrass, and sweets including Wolfgang Puck's Kiwi Clafouti and Chocolate Bread Pudding with Dried Cherries and Brandied Cream Sauce. A chapter on vegetables and vegetarian dishes, with the likes of Ragout of Wild Mushrooms with Shallots and Thyme, and Sautéed Baby Artichokes with Fresh Herbs, is particularly strong. Nathan likes to tell stories, and in sidebars such as "Nova Kim, the Wild Mushroom Lady of Vermont" and "Cooking Iraqi Food in Virginia," she places the dishes within their cultural context, often introducing readers to the recipe-makers themselves, all of whom she visited. Nathan also provides information on ingredients and techniques. Though one might question the inclusion of very familiar formulas, like the one for chocolate chip cookies, albeit in "improved" versions, the majority of recipes will be new to most readers and all are easily accomplished. With 150 color photos, the book is a delightful addition to the Nathan canon, known for blending cultural-historical investigation with recipes of superior taste. --Arthur Boehm Nathan has come up with a cookbook that will entice its readers straight into their kitchens. Virtually every cook from the beginner through the most sophisticated will find inspiration in this eclectic yet well--developed feast of recipes that reflect the very diverse American population at the new century's outset. Mexican, Jamaican, Indian, and Ecuadoran traditions appear. Nathan is particularly careful to include recipes from Asian immigrant groups such as Hmong and Filipino foods. She begins with breakfast ideas, noting that families who can't assemble for dinner may find breakfast a better time to gather. Both simple recipes and complex dinner showstoppers appear, culminating in an over-the-top baklava ice-cream cake with Grand Marnier sauce. There are more than a few vegetarian offerings. Ingredients specified are generally available in large supermarkets. Nathan fleshes out her recipes with sidebars on farmers, chefs, and suppliers who specialize in fresh, unique foods. The critical reader may carp that Nathan's recipe sources are relentlessly, overwhelmingly bicoastal, but a few recipes from the nation's heartland do appear. Mark Knoblauch Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved Joan Nathan was born in Provid