Charcuterie. Salumi. Egg. Many of the titles of Michael Ruhlman's cookbooks suggest they're the final word on the topic at hand. And for many at-home cooks, they are. In particular, Charcuterie, first published in 2005 with chef Brian Polcyn, helped kickstart renewed interest in home-based brining, curing, pickling and smoking. If you've got a friend with a hunk of meat hanging in his or her garage fridge, you can probably thank Ruhlman.

In addition to multiple titles with Polcyn, Ruhlman has collaborated with chefs like Thomas Keller and Eric Ripert, crafting books that range from tombstone-heavy coffee table extravaganzas to smaller, more personal publications. It's the latter type of book, a collection of three novellas published last October and titled In Short Measures, that he'll discuss in Sarasota this Friday evening, when he visits Bookstore 1 in downtown Sarasota. The novellas—"In Small Measures," "Strong Conspirators" and "Sally Forth"—tackle themes like romance, fidelity and marriage, topics very different from how to make speck. Love fiction and cured meats? This event's for you.

Ruhlman's talk begins at 6 p.m. Friday, April 8, at Bookstore 1 Sarasota, 1359 Main St. The event is free. Click here to RSVP.