By William Sitwell (Little, Brown & Company, 360 pp.)
For the cook who has everything, "A History of Food in 100 Recipes" from British food writer William Sitwell will be a wonderful addition to the bookshelf. Sitwell traces recipes back to the beginning of recorded time with instructions for breadmaking from off an Egyptian wall. He continues through the centuries stopping to examine those recipes which have had the greatest impact, exploring when culinary tools such as the fork came on the scene, and finally comes to rest with foie gras. Find out when sandwiches were invented (1787) when strawberry shortcake galloped onto the scene (1896), and the mystique behind creamed mushrooms.
