It’s happening in attics, garages, living rooms, parking lots and wine cellars across the nation – underground restaurant chefs are taking the food scene by storm, one dinner at a time. They’re throwing fabulous dinner parties at the drop of a hat for a hodge-podge of guests in offbeat, roving locations. They’re evading the cops, enticing the food-obsessed, and making headlines ("Restaurants on the Fringe, and Thriving"!). In short, they’re reinventing the dining experience. No wonder foodies are falling hard for the underground eating experience. And in Secret Suppers, LA Times journalist Jenn Garbee takes readers into this underground gourmet world as it’s taking place in Seattle, San Francisco, Washington, DC, Manhattan, Des Moines, Austin, and Sonoma County. Whether it’s steaks prepared in the parlor fireplace of a townhouse, or bacon-wrapped-bacon served on the deck of a charming little house in a sunny Seattle neighborhood, or a white-tablecloth affair set in an open field in Santa Barbara—chefs and food lovers are circumventing the restaurant altogether to cook what they want, to reinvent the serving ambiance whenever the whim strikes, and to attract the most adventurous diners. Sort of akin to speakeasies from an earlier era, some underground restaurants are the best-known secrets in town.

This instant New York Times bestseller reveals the secrets embedded in Leonardo Da Vinci's best-known Christian piece The Last Supper. Milan, 1497: Leonardo is completing The Last Supper. Pope Alexander VI is determined to execute him after realizing that the painting contains clues to a baffling—and blasphemous—message that he is driven to decode. The Holy Grail and the Eucharistic Bread are missing, there is no meat on the table, and the apostles, shockingly, are portraits of well-known heretics—and none of them are depicted with halos. And why has the artist painted himself into the scene with his back turned toward Jesus? The clues to Leonardo's greatest puzzle are right before your eyes... Tightly paced and atmospheric, The Secret Supper is a dazzling historical thriller with a unique vision of both Leonardo da Vinci's genius and his masterpiece—which you will never look at in the same way again.

Sophisticated vegan recipes that embody the spirit of community eating, finding the perfect balance between home cooking and fine dining.

Easy recipes and shortcuts to spend less time in the kitchen--with fewer ingredients, less cleanup, Instant Pot and slow cooker options, meals made in 30 minutes or less, and other smart strategies Getting a home-cooked meal on the table every day is an admirable goal, but it shouldn't get in the way of your life! In Bare Minimum Dinners, Jenna Helwig--food director at Real Simple magazine--shares delicious, easy recipes so you can spend less time in the kitchen and more time enjoying your meal...or doing whatever else you want! Chapters include: Bare Minimum Time (30 minutes or less); Bare Minimum Ingredients (7 ingredients or less, including salt and olive oil); Bare Minimum Hands-On Time (slow-cooker and Instant Pot meals); Bare Minimum Clean-Up (one-pot/sheet pan/skillet meals); and Bare Minimum Sides (super-simple vegetables, salads, and grains so you can feel good about serving healthy, well-rounded dinners). Throughout, Jenna offers helpful tips--for example, how to keep salad greens fresh and at the ready, easy substitutions, and suggested supermarket brands--as well as easy ideas for dressing up or rounding out your meal.

Sweethearts, spouses, and parents Ashley and Gabe Rodriguez found themselves deep into marriage and child-rearing when they realized they were spending most of their evenings staring at their computers. Determined not to let their relationship deteriorate into that of "roommates with children," they institute a weekly date night: they sauté, roast, mix and dice and spend time reconnecting over simple but thoughtful dishes like Crostini with Ricotta, Prosciutto, and Peas, Tomato and Fennel Gazpacho with Dungeness Crab, Fennel-Crusted Lamb Chops, and Dulce de Leche and Nectarine Creamsicles (sometimes even with an expertly chilled cocktail). Just carving out time to talk, cook, and eat together became the marriage-booster they needed, and now with Date Night In she invites you to make date night an integral part of your week and shows you how to woo your partner all over again with food, drink, and conversation.

In January of 1497, Fray Augustin Leyre, a Dominican Inquisitor and expert on the interpretation of secret messages, is sent to supervise Leonardo Da Vinci's last touches to The Last Supper painting. He was sent by Alejandro VI who had heard that Da Vinci was painting the twelve apostles without their halo of sanctity, that the chalice was missing, and that Leonardo had painted himself in the painting with his back to Jesus, This could have sent him to the inquisition. Why then did he do this? Was Leonardo Da Vinci a heretic? Full of misleading facts and controversies, The Secret Supper reveals the truth behind Da Vinci's best-known Christian piece. After finishing this novel, you'll never see The Last Supper in the same way again.

General William Tecumseh Sherman has come down to us as the implacable destroyer of the Civil War, notorious for his burning of Atlanta and his brutal march to the sea. A probing biography that explains Sherman's style of warfare and the threads of self-possession and insecurity that made up his character. Photos.

Strong matriarchs in the author’s family are the inspiration for “Ten Thousand Tongues.” These are stories of perseverance, and of a deep-rooted appreciation of family legacies that inspire and shape reverence to one’s culinary heritage. This biographical fiction is about eight women who find refuge, solace, and strength in their constantly evolving relationship to family and each other, through the foods they cooked and later, the dishes they are most often remembered by. It captures their essence through narratives from within and around their homes, their lives intersecting briefly, as mothers and as daughters. The main characters of this book navigate the constructs of religious boundaries, between Hinduism and Judaism, and definitions of identity in India and the United States. Despite their flawed relationships, their modest kitchens create indelible memories. Their domestic life is sometimes their burden, and at other times their sanctuary, and yet, long after the kitchen fires are cold, the warmth of old-fashioned comfort foods continue to nourish both body and spirit. Their narratives lead readers through the food pathways that finally culminate in Ana’s kitchen, far away from where the stories first began. Immortalized through iconic comfort foods, eight women effortlessly manage to create a unique and lasting culinary legacy that spans many generations. Look for a companion cookbook of the same name to pair with the novel for a complete immersive experience. ~~~~ Content / Trigger / PTSD Warnings (listed alphabetically): Abandonment, Anti-Hindutva, Anti-Semitism, Blood, Classism, Death/ Dying, Depression, Discrimination (ethnic and other), Islamophobia, Kidnapping/Abduction (third person), Mental illness, Racism, Riots, violence (racially motivated), Sexism, misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, War (third person), Xenophobia (mild)

From Stouts, Barleywines, and Lambics to food pairing, tasting, and homebrewing—this is beer as you’ve never known it before. The Naked Pint is a definitive primer on craft brews that celebrates beer for what it truly is: sophisticated, complex, and flavorful. Covering everything from beer history to the science behind beer, food and beer pairings, tasting, and homebrewing, Perozzi and Beaune strip down America’s favorite beverage to its truest form. Whether you’ve just started wondering what life is like beyond the ice-cold six-pack or have already discovered your favorite Porter or IPA, The Naked Pint will help you unearth the power that comes with knowing your ales from your lagers.

A biography of Georges-Jacques Danton, a leading French revolutionary—from his rural upbringing to his death five years after the storming of the Bastille. One of the Western world’s most epic uprisings, the French Revolution ended a monarchy that had ruled for almost a thousand years. Georges-Jacques Danton was the driving force behind it. Now David Lawday, author of Napoleon’s Master, reveals the larger-than-life figure who joined the fray at the storming of the Bastille in 1789 and was dead five years later. To hear Danton speak, his booming voice a roll of thunder, excited bourgeois reformers and the street alike; his impassioned speeches, often hours long, drove the sans-culottes to action and kept the Revolution alive. But as the newly appointed Minister of Justice, Danton struggled to steer the increasingly divided Revolutionary government. Working tirelessly to halt the bloodshed of Robespierre’s terror, he ultimately became another of its victims. True to form, Danton did not go easily to the guillotine; at his trial, he defended himself with such vehemence that the tribunal convicted him before he could rally the crowd in his favor. In vivid, almost novelistic prose, Lawday leads us from Danton’s humble roots to the streets of revolutionary Paris, where this political legend acted on the stage of the revolution that altered Western civilization. “A gripping story, beautifully told . . . Danton was a headstrong firebrand, a swashbuckling political showman with a prodigious memory, whose spectacular oratory held audiences in thrall.” —The Economist