In a world increasingly dominated by fast food, The Pleasures of Slow Food celebrates heritage recipes, artisan traditions, and the rapid evolution of a movement to make good food a part of everyday life. Slow Food is defined by how its made: if its allowed to ripen before its harvested, prepared by hand and enjoyed among friends, its Slow Food. Its a philosophy, a way to farm, a way to cook...a way to live. Its also the name of a 65,000-strong international movement, numbering among its members some of the most distinguished names in the food world. The Pleasures of Slow Food showcases over 60 recipes from the worlds most innovative chefs for dishes that feature local handmade ingredients and traditional cooking methods. Premier food writer Corby Kummer also profiles Slow Foods luminaries, such as Italian cheese maker Roberto Rubino and Canadian Karl Kaiser, who makes sweet ice-wine. Pairing fantastic recipes with engaging stories, The Pleasures of Slow Food brings the best of the food world to the kitchen table. As its name suggests, the Slow Food movement, founded in Italy, is dedicated to preserving and promoting traditional foodways--to protecting artisanal food producers and the pleasures of eating well. Corby Kummer's The Pleasures of Slow Food introduces readers to the movement and its goals, while acquainting them with some of the producers worldwide who embody its spirit and objectives. Thus we meet the likes of Cindy and David Meyers, whose Vermont dairy makes exceptional cheeses, and Germany's Torshen Kramer, producer of fine cured meats and sausages. The artisans also share with Kummer the stories of their work (of their early cheese-making efforts Cindy Meyers says, "The bleu wouldn't turn blue ... I buried a lot of cheese in the manure pile"). Most excitingly, perhaps, Kummer has included 40 recipes from chefs and everyday cooks whose approach to food and cooking also represents the Slow Food ideal, and in this Kummer has excelled. Not meant for weekday cooking, but easily doable if, in line with the Slow Food ideal, people will put aside time to produce truly gratifying food, the recipes are hits that just keep on coming. Whether it's a simple Chicken Cacciatore with Baked Potatoes from the Piedmontese farm of Elena Rovera; Fried Plantains with Chipotle Ketchup, courtesy of Steve Johnson at the Blue Room restaurant in Cambridge, Massachusetts; an extraordinary lamb stew from master chef Daniel Boulud; or Alice Waters's caramelized Apricot Tart, the recipes are universally superb. With an introduction by Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation , and marvelous color photos by Susie Cushner, the oversize book offers a thoughtful introduction to the movement, as well as culinary thrills to those willing to take it slow. --Arthur Boehm In a world increasingly dominated by fast food, The Pleasures of Slow Food celebrates heritage recipes, artisan traditions, and the rapid evolution of a movement to make good food a part of everyday life. Slow Food is defined by how it's made: if it's allowed to ripen before it's harvested, prepared by hand and enjoyed among friends it's Slow Food. It's a philosophy, a way to farm, a way to cook...a way to live. It's also the name of a 65,000-strong international movement, numbering among its members some of the most distinguished names in the food world. The Pleasures of Slow Food showcases over 60 recipes from the world's most innovative chefs for dishes that feature local handmade ingredients and traditional cooking methods. Premier food writer Corby Kummer also profiles Slow Food's luminaries, such as Italian cheese maker Roberto Rubino and Canadian Karl Kaiser, who makes sweet ice-wine. Pairing fantastic recipes with engaging stories, The Pleasures of Slow Food brings the best of the food world to the kitchen table. - The Atlantic Monthly The organization Slow Food - meant to stand as the antithesis to "fast food" - dedicates itself to artisanal and traditional foods. Italian journalist Carlo Petrini, president of Slow Food, and Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation, contribute a brief preface and foreword, respectively. Kummer's history of the organization ably chronicles its growth from a protest against installation of a McDonald's in Rome in 1985 to its current focus on the Ark, "a directory of endangered foods around the world that members rescue by enjoying them." There is a section on 10 of the artisanal products included in the Ark, some coupled together for comparison (for example, there is a short essay on cheese made in the Basilicata region of Italy and another on cheese made in Vermont): these stories provide glimpses into the psyches of people like Jim Gerritsen, who has dedicated his life to growing heirloom potatoes in Maine. Kummer then offers simple, homespun recipes, and proposes that through each one, the homecook can learn "how to imprint that taste on your own dishes." Recipes are arranged from "Old World to Ne