A cookbook author and an Irish poet silently blame each other for cookbooks and poems destroyed in a fire. A beef barbeque dinner at a dude ranch offers a computer programmer new hope. A pasta dinner shows a recently remarried woman the true colors of her new husband. Women and men struggle with idiosyncrasies and pre-conceived notions in situations where food is key--offering either physical or spiritual nourishment or pleasure, or appearing as a metaphor for love or misguided passion. "These stories are delicious, the result of all the right ingredients, the love and longing and loneliness that feed the human heart." -Martin Naparsteck, author of A Hero's Welcome, Walking Backward and Saying Things. "These stories-all about food-delight the senses and satisfy our hunger for a good narrative. Cookbook writers seduce poets and men try to rekindle love through buying apple pies. The settings vary, the characters differ, but the stories all entice. Worth reading. Bon appetit " -Gail Hosking, author of Snake's Daughter: The Roads in and out of War"