Cocktail Hour or Dictionary of Wholesome Foods

Cocktail Hour: Authentic Recipes and Illustrations from 1920 to 1960

Author: Susan Waggoner

"Waiter, I'll have another."

Another cocktail, that is. Or, on second thought, make it a hundred of them. In this bright, sprightly sequel to their immensely popular Vintage Cocktails (1999), authors Susan Waggoner and Robert Markel serve up authentic recipes for more than 100 fresh classics from the golden age of libation.

Lavishly illustrated with full-color vintage art, garnished with quotes, and studded with anecdotes and cocktail histories from the era, Cocktail Hour also features lively sidebars that offer both practical advice (such as pointers for throwing a perfectly swank cocktail party) and fascinating bits of cocktail lore. Readers learn what Frank Sinatra wrote on invitations to Rat Pack parties ("Black Tie and Sunglasses Required"), which movie offers a glimpse of the Brown Derby's original bar (Mildred Pierce), and what Cab Calloway may have been drinking the night he covered a memory lapse by singing "hi-de-ho" in the midst of a song (a Harlem cocktail, the signature drink of the Cotton Club).

With completely new-but still classic-drinks, illustrations, and anecdotal material, Cocktail Hour is a must-have for buyers of the first book as well as a fine stand-alone volume for drink lovers of all varieties.

Go to: Many Paths One Purpose or Embracing Uncertainty

Dictionary of Wholesome Foods: A Passionate A-to-Z Guide to the Earth's Healthy Offerings, with More than 140 Delicious, Nutritious Recipes

Author: Embree De Persiis Vona

The Dictionary of Wholesome Foods is a timely addition to the food reference shelf, one that's desperately needed as mass-marketing of health food continues to grow. It provides practical guidance on how to make sense of the burgeoning selection of healthful foods, herbs and supplements, and provides a concise understanding of the sources, characteristics, benefits, and uses of health foods. It is also a pure joy to read and peruse, with its lovely line drawings and quirky, often playful, descriptions and turns of phrase. The Dictionary of Wholesome Foods is a personable, compulsively readable guide that includes historical information and fascinating anecdotes about the many foods it describes, plus an array of delicious recipes that feature them, such as Adzuki Rice, Almond Crescents, Pumpernickel Bread, Spinach with Pignoli and Raisins, and Homemade Yogurt. This is the perfect shopping companion or armchair read; sure to delight information seekers and food writing enthusiasts alike.

Library Journal

With this work, potter Gianna De Persiis Vona has updated her mother, Embree, and Carroll's original text on healthy eating, first published in 1973 as The Health Food Dictionary, for a new generation "looking to add a bit more healthy eating to their regular diet." Gianna kept the simple alphabetical arrangement and illustrations of the original edition while adding some new topics (e.g., amaranth) and recipes to the mix. Offering basic information on various healthy foods and ingredients, this dictionary is designed more for those new to the subject. Novices will appreciate the authors' practical suggestions for choosing organic and/or healthier foods (e.g., eggs, milk) as well as the easy recipes requiring one or two specific "health food" ingredients. While the item-specific table of contents and recipe index help locate topics, the occasional use of cross-indexing-aloe, for example, is found under the "cosmetics" entry-would have added to the book's usefulness. Recommended for the circulating collections of most public libraries.-John Charles, Scottsdale P.L., AZ Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.