"Kitchen Conversations is a double portion of culinary wisdom from one of the great cooks and cooking teachers of our time. It is filled with fabulous Mediterranean meals, as Joyce takes you on a luscious tour of her favorite cuisines: 160 sparkling and satisfying recipes from Italy, North Africa, Spain, Greece, and Turkey." "But along the way, Joyce opens your senses to the essence of the chef's art. As you prepare each of her irresistible recipes, she draws you into a fascinating kitchen conversation, an exploration of each dish's complex flavor: the sweet, salty, sour, and bitter elements that contribute to it, how they are balanced, strengthened, muted, echoed - and ultimately perfected." "Indeed, Joyce's passionate teaching is designed to help you develop confidence in your own palate. Through "aware tasting" and cooking practice, you can approach any recipe with an understanding of how its taste elements work. You can learn to bring flavors to their peak, even when ingredients vary: to rescue a dish if it has gone "astray," and to add the precise accent that your palate tells you is "missing." And you will learn to recognize when a dish is in balance - and to remember that perfect taste so you can make it again and again. And, since no meal reaches perfect balance without its attendant wines, Joyce's son, Evan (one of the nation's leading sommeliers), brilliantly analyzes the related taste components of wine and food, and shares a simple system to harmonize the two."--BOOK JACKET.