Beginning with ancient Egyptian bread and concluding with modernist foie gras, this journey through culinary history will deepen your appreciation of such ubiquitous fare as the sandwich. William Sitwell uses 4,000 years of recipes to explore the origins of today’s favorite foods as well as the evolution of food-related media, from the first cookbook to food TV. Unless you are willing to wait for airborne yeast to leaven your bread or have a taste for flamingo, not every dish here is appropriate for a weeknight dinner; while these recipes are not all practical guides, each is an illuminating example of humanity’s long and colorful relationship with our victuals (my favorite chapter title: “An Englishman discovers the fork, 1611”). With A History of Food in 100 Recipes (Little, Brown, $35), Sitwell has concocted a fascinating chronicle and a unique cookbook—one you will want to sit down and read from cover to cover.