Braising is a technique of cooking meats and vegetables in liquid, over low heat, for a very long time. This type of cooking tends to result in exceptionally tender food and a rich flavor, as every spice that is added to the broth infuses into the meat and the meat's flavors will infuse into the vegetables. The technique, although it may differ slightly from culture to culture, is used in just about every cuisine in the world, meaning that the applications are virtually limitless, and Daniel Boulud's new cookbook, Braise: A Journey Through International Cuisine, aims to introduce readers to more than a few ideas, new and old. You'll find flavors from Thailand to France to Mexico, and many recipes are accompanied with outstanding photos to give you a hint as to what you're in for - although you're not going to get the full experience until you lift the lid of your own dutch oven and smell the aromas yourself.

The book has about 100 recipes using seafood, vegetables and meats, including Sea Scallops with Salsify, Shiitake Mushrooms and White Miso, Chicken Basquaise with Artichokes and Pork Shoulder with Guinness, Dried Cherries, and Sweet Potatoes.

I'm a Slow Food kinda guy and I abhor fast food. I'm not talking about food that you can cook up fast at home like a quick stir fry, but that slop masquerading as burgers and tacos that the mega-chains foster off as food. Just thinking about it has me up in arms and ready to charge to the attack. No, give me a nice slice of baked ham from a hand cured and aged hog that met his maker kindly and I'm happy and peaceful.

This week in Italy is the Salone del Gusto, the "Exhibition of Taste" put on by Slow Food, the organization formed 20 years ago to counter the fast food culture. The main theme for the tenth anniversary of this festival is peace. Food for peace, what a concept. One of the events will be Israeli and Palestinian chefs coming together to cook a meal using the best of their cooking traditions. The Chefs for Peace Association has organized this in the hope of creating a dialogue on common ground to focus on working together to prevent the agricultural and food based destruction of war. Let's hope it works because while I may get all riled up about food, it also tends to calm me down as well. Hopefully the same is true worldwide. After reading about the tasting areas at the festival I wish I could take the time to head to do my share for world peace and gustatory exploration.

You wouldn't necessarily think that a marine biologist would be likely to write a cookbook, but you would be wrong when that marine biologist is Anand Prakash. Prakash spent 20 years traveling the globe, eating excellent kabobs and decided to pass along the kebab recipes and history of their development in his book The World of Kebabs. It features over 100 recipes for different types of kebabs from different countries and, since just about anything than be stuck on a skewer, the variety is tremendous. After 20-some years, there is little doubt that Prakash could have included even more combinations, but these are some of his best. Recipes cover every part of the world, including Chicken Tikka Kebabs from India, Pork Souvlaki from Greece and Mangrove Oyster Kebabs from Trinidad.

There are also tips about preparing the meat/veggies and how to grill a kebab, since the biggest challenge is making sure all the components for your meal are done at the same time. A book like this one is a good way to make your regular grilling a little bit more interesting, expanding your options from chicken breasts and steaks to something a little different.

At the annual World Cheese Awards, which were held this month in London, California cheesemakers proved that the California Milk Advisory Board's slogan "California: it's the cheese" is true. The state took home 13 awards, including 3 gold medals, 3 silver and 7 bronze - more than any other state in the country. Among the winners were:

• Marin French Cheese Company, Petaluma, for Petit Dejeuner (Gold), Wild Blackberry Quark (Gold), Garlic Brie (Bronze), Pesto Brie (Bronze) and Petit Creme (Bronze)
• Fiscalini Cheese Company, Modesto, for San Joaquin Gold (Silver) and Bandage Wrapped Premium Cheddar (Bronze)
• Mozzarella Fresca, Benicia, for Fresh Mozzarella -- Acid Set (Gold) and Fresh Mozzarella -- Cryovac (Bronze)
• Bravo Farms, Visalia, for Western Sage Cheddar (Silver)
• Cantare Foods, San Diego, for Whole Milk Mozzarella Boconcini (Silver)
• Bellwether Farms, Petaluma, for Carmody Semi Hard Cows' Milk Unpressed (Bronze)
• Winchester Cheese Company, Winchester, for Sharp Gouda (Bronze).

Over the past three years, California has won a total of 24 awards at the WCAs, and the increase this year means that California cheeses, like California wines, are gaining international recognition.

Is grocery shopping the new national past time? Sometimes, it can certainly seem that way. With lines around the block at store openings for Trader Joe's and Whole Foods markets, one would think that the customers were lining up to see a Broadway show or a blockbuster movie, not to pick up a quart of milk and some specialty produce. Shoppers drive for hours to visit a Wegman's grocery in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland or Virginia - not only to get all the goodies they need to stock their kitchens, but for the fun of it. Cheese tasting, gourmet and artisan prepared goods and other foods, like sushi, prepared on the spot by skilled chefs are all draws of markets like these, whether their prices are high, low or midrange.

Why is shopping becoming entertainment, though? USA Today tried to answer that very question and found that the answer lay in a combination of factors. Americans are more interested in new and quality foods than ever before. They want healthier foods, international flavors and they want to find it all in one store because the long-standing tradition of one-stop shopping is the only kind that fits into a busy schedule. Consequently, the stores that offer everything do well, so well that people want to visit them more than other stores. "Nothing compares with it," a customer said of Wegman's. "You can spend an entire day there."

Last summer, The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, a Los Angeles-based coffee shop chain and Starbucks number one international competitor, offered banana flavored drinks, including a Banana Caramel Ice blended - their signature cold drink. The drinks were made with a banana puree and the chain stopped selling the seasonal drink at the end of the summer. According to the New York Post, Starbucks is launching a very similar line of drinks this summer at its US stores. The banana-caramel and banana cream Frappuccinos are already being sold at stores in Australia and New Zealand. Though some people miss the Coffee Bean's banana offerings, it is safe to assume that the fact that they are no longer on the menu is an indication that they were not entirely popular. Only at the end of the summer will we be able to tell how the drinks did at Starbucks. The drinks are scheduled to be released in May.

Saveur magazine just released its "100 list" for 2006. 100 what? Since any explicit label would be too restricting, the annual list is simply described as Saveur's "favorite restaurants, food, drink, people, places and things", which certainly covers a lot of ground.

Making the eighth list this year are restaurants from India to Mexico City, as well as a variety of restaurants and chefs from Las Vegas, including Daniel Bouloud, Bouchon, Alex and Joel Robuchon. Favorite foods included Costco birthday cakes, Crispy Buffalo Wontons from Ruby Tuesdays (a US chain) and Rich Man's Purses at Gundel Restaurant, Budapest, in addition to duck eggs, spicy Thai kettle chips and Japanese freshwater crabs, while favorite drinks included California dessert wines, Hendrick's Gin from Scotland and cointreau.