Welcome to The Best of Food & Wine. Those of you who know our

magazine realize how highly we prize the food we present in each

issue. Those who do not can rest assured that every recipe in

Food & Wine, and therefore every recipe in this volume, has been tested

and, wherc necessary, adapted or adjusted for use by home cooks. Two

major responsibilities of our Test Kitchen conks are to create workable

recipes filled with flavor, and to simplify food preparation without robbing

dishes of their fundamental integrity.

Where do these recipes come from? Some, a higher percentagc than in

any other American epicurean magazine, are developed by the Test Kitch-

en staff itself. During the period of time spanned by the contents of this

book, our kitchen was directed by Jim Fobel and (since October, 1982) by

Diana Sturgis. Her principal assistants are John Robert Massie and Anne

Disrude. Other recipes are sent to us by readers lot inclusion in our

monthly "Simply Splendid" column. Most of the remainder are created by

contributors to the magazine. You will find a list crediting these talented

cooks and writers on pages 239-240.

It was a thrill for us at Food & Wine to have the opportunity to present

500 of our favorite recipes and 40 glorious photographs in this volume.

Choosing from among the more than 3,000 recipes that have been pub-

lished since the magazine s inaugural issue in May, 1978, was not an easy

task. The recipes that have survived the winnowing process represent a

balance of foods and of the various courses that make a meal. They also

represent what we feel to bc a superb sampling of the best of contempo-

rary cooking, delicious and beautiful food equally suitable for your family

or lot entertaining the best of friends.