Serious Pig: An American Cook in Search of His Roots

In this collection of essays, John Thorne sets our to explore the origins of his identity as a cook, going here (the Maine coast, where he'd summered as a child and returned as an adult for a decade's sojourn), there (southern Louisiana, where he was captivated by Creole and Cajun cooking), and everywhere (where he provides a sympathetic reading of such national culinary icons as the hamburger, white bread, and American cheese, and sits down to a big bowl of Texas red). These intelligent, searching essays are a passionate meditation on food, character, and place.