A mainstay of cold-weather holidays from Thanksgiving turkey to New Year’s champagne is the feast. In “Eating in Eden” (University of Nebraska, $34.95), editors Etta M. Madden and Martha L. Finch have compiled 13 lively, original essays on American culinary culture. This is a trendy subject, but “Eating in Eden” is broader, deeper and more eclectic than other recent volumes. The contributions explore immigrant foodways, ideological struggles within utopian communes, counterculture cookbooks and cooking on public television — to name only a few topics. History buffs and food enthusiasts will relish these journeys off the beaten path of American cuisine.