Bøger af Dave DeWitt

South Florida has a reptile dysfunction. Tens of thousands of huge, feral Burmese pythons have taken over the Everglades and the suburbs of Miami and are decimating the wildlife, eating house pets, and terrorizing the populace. Sam Dalton, formerly of NCIS, is still tormented by the suspicious death of his wife and son in an car crash nearly a decade ago. He is recruited by his best friend Phil Everett to join him as a special agent with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to investigate wildlife crimes, including reptile smuggling, perhaps the main cause of the python explosion. Their main suspect is Bruno Zimmerman, the owner of World of Reptiles, the largest reptile retailer in Florida. Also investigating Zimmerman is the ruthless and hedonistic investigative reporter Diana Ventura, who is undercover as the spokesperson for Save Our Snakes, an organization controlled by Zimmerman. As the investigation draws them closer together, sparks fly between Dalton and Diana. Unbeknownst to the investigators, outside of Everglades City, chemical engineer and honorary redneck Big Ink-so named for his outrageous tattoos-runs the Manatee Fish Meal Plant, a cover for a crystal methamphetamine production facility funded by moneyman Bone Mozell, the distributor of the fish meal and other products for Florida chicken farmers. Mozell's silent partner in the meth operation is Bruno Zimmerman, and they make a good pair, since they are both sociopathic killers. They plot to take out Big Ink because of his meth addiction. When the two rogue Florida wildlife agents try to destroy all the pythons with a GMO snake virus, a wildlife disaster ensues and sparks dangerous encounters with ruthless reptile smugglers, murderous meth makers, and devious assassins in a tale of vengeance, violence, and sexual intrigue.

With wars among the city-states raging in early Renaissance Italy, the enigmatic genius Leonardo da Vinci was producing some of the most lavish theatrical productions and banquets Europe has ever seen in the Sforza Court in Milan, while personally living a nearly monastic life, eating the most basic vegetarian foods. Leonardo's food history is just a part of the fascinating and little known story of the origins of Italian cuisine. The tale begins in the early Renaissance with the first superstar chefs, Maestro Martino and Platina, whose cookbooks literally set the stage for the evolution of the cooking of Italy. Both of these cooks moved away from the use of imported spices in favor of local aromatic herbs. The introduction of new crops into Italy soon transformed the cuisine of the regions. Rice became risotto, durum wheat became pasta, and sugarcane became sugar and replaced honey, forever changing the nature of Italian sweets and desserts. Despite near starvation for the poor, the wealthy courts of the city states indulged themselves with fantastic feasts and elaborate spectacles. Leonardo produced The Masque of the Planets, a multimedia entertainment that made him famous all over Italy. After Columbus's first voyage, a second wave of new foods arrived in Italy. Maize (corn) became polenta, tomatoes changed the way pasta was eaten, and peppers eventually spiced up Italy's regional cuisines. The complete development and transformation of Italian cuisine is revealed in Da Vinci's Kitchen, including fascinating sidebars, Renaissance frustrations, original recipes from the masters of early Italian cooking, and some modern adaptations of these recipes, including Leonardo's own salad dressing. Part history, part biography, and part cookbook, this fascinating exploration of an as-yet unexamined facet of Leonardo da Vinci's life focuses on what and how he ate. Da Vinci lived to be 67-nearly twice the average life span at the time-and his longevity may well have been due to his diet, which is reconstructed here complete with his notes on ingredients, portions, cooking, drinking, and kitchen inventions. The great artist, scientist, and inventor was no slouch in the kitchen, having worked as a kind of theatrical caterer, producing feasts with extravagant menus for royalty. This book unlocks his cooking code and the food history of his day, bringing 30 recipes up to date, including an exotic saffron risotto with duck and mushrooms fit for a Medici.

Barbecue's Hidden History Food historian Dave DeWitt has searched obscure books and magazines to uncover the story of BBQ that most people don't know about. Like how advanced smoking meat was in France, the barbecue that inspired Buffalo Bill, Audubon's portrayal of a barbecue as courtly love, humorous tales of 'Q from 30 U.S. states, a history of Jamaica's jerk pork, and a wealth of trivia and techniques over the years. "The quirky world of barbecue is getting washed into the mainstream a lot these days, and this book will make it a little easier for us all to hold on to the authentic beginnings." --Ray Lampe, Dr. BBQ, 2014 inductee into the Barbecue Hall of Fame, "A delightful and detailed chronicle of the history of barbecue that involves Bowie knives, a Lewis & Clark salmon bake, "smoaked" brisket, the beginnings of jerk pork, dismembered buccaneers, two fat beeves roasted whole, mutton munchers, and an enlightening look at BBQ state-by-state in the early days of this country. Priceless reading!" --Rick Browne, host of "Barbecue America" for seven years on PBS and author of sixteen books on BBQ.

Who Were the Original Foodies?

The Mexican Chile Pepper Cookbook is the first book to explore the glories of Mexican regional cooking by focusing on this single, but endlessly variable, ingredient. Authors Dave DeWitt and Jose C. Marmolejo feature more than 150 recipes that celebrate the role of chiles across appetizers, soups and stews, tacos, enchiladas, tamales, moles, and vegetarian dishes. Comprehensive glossaries of Mexican chiles, cheeses, and food terminology are also included.Savor the history, culture, and recipes of Mexican regional home cooking highlighted in this unique, full-color cookbook and explore the various chile peppers showcased in this spicy trek south of the border. The only thing left to do is decide which recipe to try next!

For more than ten thousand years, humans have been fascinated by a seemingly innocuous plant with bright-colored fruits that bite back when bitten. In Chile Peppers, Dave DeWitt travels from New Mexico across the Americas, Europe, Africa, and Asia chronicling the history, mystery, and mythology of chiles around the world.