Banquet

Ken Albala is a professor of history and food studies at the University of the Pacific. His books include Noodle Soup: Recipes, Techniques, Obsession and Three World Cuisines: Italian, Mexican, Chinese. He blogs at kenalbala.blogspot.com.

• Contents Preface Acknowledgments 1. Setting the Stage--Setting the Table 2. An Introduction to Ingredients and Wild Food 3. Dairy 4. Spices and Garnishes 5. Vegetables and Fruit 6. Starches and Pasta 7. Wine and Alcohol 8. Nations 9. Staff and Carving 10. Condemnation 11. Recipes Notes Glossary Bibliography Index

"Though Renaissance paintings and palaces abide, the work of Renaissance chefs lives on only in the accounts of writerly houseguests and boastful hosts. Prof. Ken Albala has followed the paper trail with the diligence of a professional historian, but he writes with zest. . . . Porcupine paté and stuffed dormouse found their way to the groaning board, and a Lenten favorite for pious meat-lovers was beaver tail because, since it was always in the water, 'this part of the animal could be considered fish.'"--Wall Street Journal Online"This engrossing work covers a great deal of culinary ground, and will interest many readers. . . . This is a truly fascinating look at how people ate four hundred years ago."--Sixteenth Century Journal"A pleasure to read and a solid contribution to gastronomic history."--Historian