Truffles have a mysterious appeal about them, but the gourmet treats from a certain shop in New York have become dangerous, even deadly. In Imogen L. Jacobs' first case as a covert agent, she delves deep into the twists and turns of a global truffle business run by members of her family. Flesh and blood relationships, lifelong friendships, as well as nefarious connections with spy agencies, governments, and terrorist groups are interwoven into a multilayered tale of international intrigue, betrayal, and love. Join Imogen as the author's vivid imagination sweeps readers along on an entertaining ride--one that produces plenty of laughs and is generously peppered with steamy romance.

“Sumptuous photography . . . the minimalist dishes showcase a nearly infinite range of flavors and textures you can achieve with just a few ingredients.” —New York Daily News This beautiful guide to buying, storing, and cooking more than twenty varieties of wild and cultivated mushrooms (and truffles!) also collects 125 mouthwatering recipes. More than one hundred color photographs capture the unique characteristics and, indeed, the elegance, of each type of mushroom, providing tempting visuals for the dishes featured in the book. An evocative object in itself, A Cook’s Initiation into the Gorgeous World of Mushrooms will be equally at home on a gourmet’s kitchen countertop or in the hands of a nature lover. Recipes include: Hot Dogs with Summer Truffles Gnocchi with Chanterelles Veal Chops with Fairy Ring Mushrooms in Cream Gratin of Morels and Green Asparagus St. George’s Mushroom Tartare Raw Mushroom Salad Clams with Yellowfoot Chanterelles and Sake Open-Face Goat Cheese, Porcini, and Shrimp Sandwiches Mushroom Tea “A stunningly beautiful cookbook feast for the eyes. Philippe Emanuelli’s recipes take a Eurocentric approach to using a variety of fungi in dishes both basic and complex.” —Shelf Awareness

Desert truffles are found in every known desert, irrespective of the habitat – cool or hot, loamy or acidic, sandy or heavy soil – the only common condition seems to be a limited supply of water. In contrast to ‘true’ truffles, desert truffles have evolved over time in different families, mainly within the order Pezizales. While in some arid areas, desert truffles have been traditionally used as food, in most regions interest has only recently been increasing, and truffles are now treasured for their nutritional value, as an income source and for research. This volume gives a comprehensive overview of the phylogeny, biology, mycorrhizal association, and distribution of desert truffles, their use, biochemical and medicinal properties, as well as their domestication and cultivation.

A captivating exploration into the secretive and sensuous world of truffles, the elusive food that has captured hearts, imaginations, and palates worldwide. The scent of one freshly unearthed white truffle in Barolo was all it took to lead Rowan Jacobsen down a rabbit hole into a world of secretive hunts, misty woods, black-market deals, obsessive chefs, quixotic scientists, muddy dogs, maddening smells, and some of the most memorable meals ever created. Truffles attract dreamers, schemers, and sensualists. People spend years training dogs to find them underground. They plant forests of oaks and wait a decade for truffles to appear. They pay £2,170 a pound to possess them. They turn into quivering puddles in their presence. Why? Truffle Hound is the fascinating account of Rowan's quest to find out, a journey that would lead him from Italy to Istria, Hungary, Spain, England, and North America. Both an entertaining odyssey and a manifesto, Truffle Hound demystifies truffles-and then remystifies them, freeing them from their gilded cage and returning them to their roots as a sacred offering from the forest. It helps people understand why they respond so strongly to that crazy smell, shows them there's more to truffles than they ever imagined, and gives them all the tools they need to take their own truffle love to the next level. Deeply informed, unabashedly passionate, rakishly readable, Truffle Hound will spark Britain's next great culinary passion.

An overview of the best Mediterranean sights to help you plan your visit, whether you're traveling by cruise ship, car, or train.

Funny, outrageous, passionate, and unrelenting, Vogue's food writer, Jeffrey Steingarten, will stop at nothing, as he makes clear in these forty delectable pieces. Whether he is in search of a foolproof formula for sourdough bread (made from wild yeast, of course) or the most sublime French fries (the secret: cooking them in horse fat) or the perfect piecrust (Fannie Farmer--that is, Marion Cunningham--comes to the rescue), he will go to any length to find the answer. At the drop of an apron he hops a plane to Japan to taste Wagyu, the hand-massaged beef, or to Palermo to scale Mount Etna to uncover the origins of ice cream. The love of choucroute takes him to Alsace, the scent of truffles to the Piedmont, the sizzle of ribs on the grill to Memphis to judge a barbecue contest, and both the unassuming and the haute cuisines of Paris demand his frequent assessment. Inevitably these pleasurable pursuits take their toll. So we endure with him a week at a fat farm and commiserate over low-fat products and dreary diet cookbooks to bring down the scales. But salvation is at hand when the French Paradox (how can they eat so richly and live so long?) is unearthed, and a "miraculous" new fat substitute, Olestra, is unveiled, allowing a plump gourmand to have his fill of fat without getting fatter. Here is the man who ate everything and lived to tell about it. And we, his readers, are hereby invited to the feast in this delightful book.

Cincinnati Magazine taps into the DNA of the city, exploring shopping, dining, living, and culture and giving readers a ringside seat on the issues shaping the region.

New York magazine was born in 1968 after a run as an insert of the New York Herald Tribune and quickly made a place for itself as the trusted resource for readers across the country. With award-winning writing and photography covering everything from politics and food to theater and fashion, the magazine's consistent mission has been to reflect back to its audience the energy and excitement of the city itself, while celebrating New York as both a place and an idea.

New York magazine was born in 1968 after a run as an insert of the New York Herald Tribune and quickly made a place for itself as the trusted resource for readers across the country. With award-winning writing and photography covering everything from politics and food to theater and fashion, the magazine's consistent mission has been to reflect back to its audience the energy and excitement of the city itself, while celebrating New York as both a place and an idea.