Mary of One Perfect Bite and some other women food bloggers (including myself) are blogging our way through the 50 Women Game Changers In Food published by Gourmet in May ’11. Some of the women on the list you will know, others you may not, but either way, this will be a great 50 week journey to learn more about these women that inspire the way we think about food today.

Please visit Mary at One Perfect Bite, Val at More Than Burnt Toast, Joanne at Eats Well With Others, Taryn at Have Kitchen Will Feed, Susan at The Spice Garden, Claudia at A Seasonal Cook In Turkey, Heather at Girlichef, Jeanette at Jeanette’s Healthy Living, Katie at Making Michael Poland Proud, Kathleen at Bake Away With Me, Sue at The View From Great Island, Barbara at Moveable Feasts, and Amy at Beloved Green for their tributes to these 50 women.

Sheila Lukins was most known for co-authoring The Silver Palate cookbook series with Julee Rosso. She died from brain cancer at the young age of 66, but not before bringing us The New Basics Cookbook which introduced many Americans to French, Southern and Eastern European cooking techniques and ingredients and popularized a richer and very boldly seasoned style of cooking to Americans in sharp contrast to the health-food movements of the 1970s. Together, their books sold more than seven million copies. She was also the co-founder and owner of the popular Silver Palate gourmet shop in New York City and, for 23 years, the food editor and columnist for Parade, a position previously held by Julia Child.

Ms. Lukins experimented by serving Greek mezes, Moroccan chicken pies and gazpacho at a time when only French-style standards like duck à l’orange were considered elegant enough for entertaining. Thanks to these two women, cooking and entertaining evolved from merely a “wifely” responsibility to more of an interest and a hobby among educated women.

For Sheila Lukins I am portraying a simple Pinaeapple Granita – great for a summer dessert. It couldn’t be easier to prepare. For Julee Rosso, the best sweet bread I have ever had – a sweet Rhubarb Bread. The butter-sugar crust is to die for and it is so moist, you wouldn’t believe. Enjoy wonderful these dessert creations from these two game changers at # 15.

 Rhubarb Bread

Pineapple Granita

In the Spotlight: Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins

Sheila Lukins with friend Julee Rosso, opened and ran a gourmet food shop in New York City called The Silver Palate at the corner of Columbus Avenuea nd 73rd Street. In the 1980s they wrote, with Michael McLaughlin, The Silver Palate Cookbook, which broke cookbook records by selling 250,000 copies in its first year and went on to sell 2.5-million copies, followed by The Silver Palate Good Times Cookbook, and others. After 11 years working together, Rosso and Lukins split up in the 1990s in a widely-reported feud. The Silver Palate shop, which had been sold to new owners in 1988, closed its doors in 1993, although a brand of sauces and condiments bearing its name continues to be sold. The Silver Palate Cookbook is now available digitally for ipad and iphone.