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This week it's terrorism analyst Chris Fair, an eccentric think tank chick if there ever was one. But what's really interesting is her culinary approach to foreign affairs. She lays it all out in her new book, Cuisines of the Axis of Evil and Other Irritating States: A Dinner Party Approach to International Relations.

The Sterns nosh at Butler's Bakery in Somerset, Massachusetts, where working men dote on dainty donuts.

England's domestic goddess, Nigella Lawson, shares her thoughts on building a food library. She's the author of Nigella Express: 130 Recipes for Good Food, Fast. The wonderfully mouthy Julia Reed, author of Ham Biscuits, Hostess Gowns, and Other Southern Specialties: An Entertaining Life (with Recipes), talks the high art of southern hospitality, and Gourmet magazine's John Willoughby shares clues to what makes one American restaurant legendary and another merely old. You can see a slide show of the classic restaurants here.

Recipes | Search all recipes

Peshawari Chana (Mildly Spiced Chickpeas)

This dish takes its unusual color from the teabag with which the chickpeas are cooked. Get the full recipe.

Potato and Mushroom Gratin

There are few sights as uplifting in the kitchen as a golden, bubbling gratin coming out of the oven. This one isn't excessively rich. Get the full recipe.

Nancy Peterkin's Summer Squash Casserole

This rich version takes a southern classic to new heights of deliciousness. Get the full recipe.

Features

Jane & Michael Stern, Butler's Donuts, Somerset, MA

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The Sterns recently revisited Butler's Bakery but this time it was at their new location in Somerset. Jane claims the pastries are as good as she remembered and she's put Butler's on her list of Top Ten Favorite Roadfood Finds in the United States.

To call these pastries donuts is misleading. There isn't the traditional hole in the middle and the whole experience is different. At Butler's, what you get is a giant, ethereal cream puff filled with real sweetened whipped cream (mocha flavored if you choose). Or go for the Long John - the same cream puff in a rectangular shape that's split, filled with the whipped cream and a line of dark raspberry jelly, and then dusted with sugar.

Jane says Butler's is worth the trip from anywhere in the world!

Butler's Bakery
1448 Grand Army Highway
Somerset, MA
508-672-0865

Food Books that Inspire Nigella Lawson

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Lynne asked British domestic goddess and cookbook author Nigella Lawson which food books in her library inspire her, give her ideas, and are treasures she'd rather not live without.

Heartburn by Nora Ephron (Alfred A. Knopf, 1983)

Home Cooking: A Writer in the Kitchen by Laurie Colwin (Harper Perennial; paperback, 2000)

More Home Cooking: A Writer Returns to the Kitchen by Laurie Colwin (Harper Perennial; paperback, 2000)

The Gastronomy of Italy by Anna Del Conte (Pavilion Books; revised edition, 2004)

Jane Grigson's Vegetable Book by Jane Grigson and Amy Sherman (Bison Books; paperback, 2007)

Jane Grigson's Fruit Book by Jane Grigson and Sara Dickerman (Bison Books; paperback, 2007)

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