A History of the World in 10 Dinners

“In 2014, food historians Victoria Flexner and Jay Reifel cooked up an NYC supper club called Edible History, a perfect pairing of fine dining and intellectual stimulation. Now they’ve spun the concept into A History of the World in 10 Dinners: 2,000 Years, 100 Recipes, which includes recipes for such dishes as Trimalchio’s pig (a roasted suckling pig with sausages) from ancient Rome, and glazed whore’s farts (meringues) from Versailles. ‘This book will present even the experienced cook with a shocking variety of unfamiliar ingredients,’ Reifel writes. ‘We have missed out on so many perspectives,’ writes Flexner. ‘’How do we learn about people who left nothing behind?’ Their book is one intriguing answer, and I savor the thought of reading it to my teenage daughter as she makes her way through AP World History.” — BookPage   “Victoria Flexner and Jay Reifel set themselves an ambitious task in their History of the World in Ten Dinners, which attempts to give the reader a world history through various dishes that make up ten historical dinners. From ancient Rome with its Lucanian sausage (the forerunner of the modern Greek loukaniko—aromatic with orange peel—and the more-familiar Portuguese linguica) to an eighteenth-century French dish of braised partridge. These are among the easier recipes in the book; I think I’ll be avoiding Tudor England’s cockentrice—a chicken sewn into a pig, then roasted—delicious as it sounds. This book is delectable history that can be reenacted at home.” — The New Criterion ""...features a fascinating collection of historical recipes paired with incredibly researched essays of the cultures and traditions surrounding the food. A few highlights include Honey Nut Sweets (Aliter Dulcia), Walnut-Lamb Patties (Maqluba), Decorated Marzipan (Marchpane), Salt Cod Stew (Baccalà in Umido), and Canapés."" ~Tara's Multicultural Table