pThe author of the thirteenth-century Arabic cookbook iKit257b al-7788ab299khi proposed that food was among the foremost pleasures in life. iScheherazade's Feastsi invites adventurous cooks to test this hypothesis.ppFrom the seventh to the thirteenth centuries, the influence and power of the medieval Islamic world stretched from the Middle East to the Iberian Peninsula, and this Golden Age gave rise to great innovation in gastronomy no less than in science, philosophy, and literature. The medieval Arab culinary empire was vast and varied with trade and conquest came riches, abundance, new ingredients, and new ideas. The emergence of a luxurious cuisine in this period inspired an extensive body of literature poets penned lyrics to the beauty of asparagus or the aroma of crushed almonds nobles documented the dining customs obliged by etiquette and opulence manuals prescribed meal plans to deepen the pleasure of eating and curtail digestive distress.ppDrawn from this wealth of medieval Ar