Let the Meatballs Rest

Massimo Montanari is professor of medieval history and the history of food at the Institute of Paleography and Medieval Studies, University of Bologna. His books include Medieval Tastes: Food, Cooking, and the Table; Cheese, Pears, and History in a Proverb; Food Is Culture; and Famine and Plenty: The History of Food in Europe. He also coedited, with Jean-Louis Flandrin, Food: A Culinary History. Beth Archer Brombert is the author of Cristina: Portraits of a Princess and Edouard Manet: Rebel in a Frock Coat, which was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year. Her most recent work is Journey to the World of the Black Rooster.

• Introduction 1. Things and Ideas 2. The Status of Foods 3. Adventures in Cooking 4. The Gastronomy of Hunger 5. Flavors 6. Pleasure and Health 7. The Beautiful and the Good 8. Convivial Rituals 9. Table Practices and Manners 10. "Identity" Declined in the Plural Index

The more I cook, the more I realize and discover how the food that we eat is much more than nourishment. It is culture; it is our story as human beings, and Massimo Montanari has made it his life's mission to make that connection. Here, in this informative, intelligible, and delightful book, Let the Meatballs Rest and Other Stories About Food and Culture, Massimo shares those very stories and the resounding message that food is culture, and culture is nourished by food. -- Lidia Bastianich, chef, cookbook author, television personality, and restaurateur Montanari's erudition is manifest throughout the book. He assiduously avoids both commonplaces and pedantry and provokes thought, thrilling anyone looking to understand on a profound level why we eat what we eat. Booklist ...delectable... -- Andrew F. Smith Times Literary Supplement A textured, surprising, and brightly astringent read. -- Ted Weesner, Jr. Boston Globe Thoughtful and charming. Reading this collection of his brief essays is like eating salted peanuts - you can't stop and each one seems better than the one before. CHOW Line