Garlic, Wine, and Olive Oil

To most people of the Mediterranean region, garlic, wine, and olive oil make up the "Holy Trinity" of foods: Garlic for taste and health; wine also for its medicinal value, plus the obvious enjoyment and relaxation that accompanies its use; and olive oil as a medium for cooking as well as for its own healthy properties. The many cultural and mythic dimensions of these three foods, whose use dates to pre-historic times, is discussed, along with an historical survey from Old World usage to the New, specifically to Brooklyn, New York, where the author grew up in a milieu of Italian, Jewish, and Greek neighborhoods, where garlic, wine, and olive oil were daily staples. With illustrations, historical quotes and facts, personal memoir, and both ancient as well as over 50 modern recipes, Garlic, Wine, and Olive Oil tells how reverence for these three foods was first developed in the Mediterranean and became integrated into cuisines around the world. In a tight, informative narrative, Thomas Pellechia covers the origins, cultivation, healthful attributes and preparation of these three "holy" foods. Rather than a dry history book or gathering of recipes, Garlic, Wine, and Olive Oil educates as it entertains, weaving together historical material (including many interesting ancient recipes), the author's ancestral connection to these foods, plus his travels through Europe and the Near East, and quick, easy-to-prepare, appetizing recipes. This unique format makes cooking and history come alive!