Culinary historian Anne Willan presents a delectable tour of English and American home cooking through fascinating mini bios of twelve women who "defined the way we eat" with the cookbooks they created. Readers journey from the first female-authored English-language cookbook (Hannah Woolley's The Ladies Directory from 1661) to Alice Waters's fresh and flavorful Chez Panisse Menu Cookbook published in 1982, and are invited to take a "taste" of each via delightful sample recipes (modernized versions included…no open hearth or cauldron required!). You won't want to miss Fannie Farmer's original "Cream Pie I" (The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book, 1896), Irma Rombauer's "Bread Rolls—(Never fail)" (The Joy of Cooking, 1931), Julia Child's "Coq au Vin" (Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume One, 1961)—or any of these innovative women's engaging life stories!