New Season Cookbooks Preview 2012

As the seasons change it's high time for a peek ahead to the cookbooks coming round the corner, including a veritable parade of big titles. These are some of ones Susie has spotted that are coming out shortly in North America, the UK and Australia, including a few interesting non-cookbooks. North America Ripe: A Cook in the Orchard by Nigel… read more

Are food blogs over?

Adam Roberts, over at The Amateur Gourmet (@amateurgourmet), has been a successful and popular food blogger since 2004 and has experienced first-hand the explosion of food blogs over the internet. He has just published a thoughtful piece of whether food blogs are passé. As he comments, "Food blogs couldn't be huger; everyone with a camera and a soft palate has one."… read more

Two seasonal recipes — one for spring and one for fall

Food is truly international and we're very proud of our global website - not only do we get to savor all varieties of flavors but, more importantly, we get to enjoy and share the varied experiences of our members. Posting seasonal recipes gives us a chance to highlight this diversity. After all, everyone's experiencing a change in scenery this month,… read more

Favorite kitchen gadgets

For those of us who love to cook, accumulating fun - but maybe not essential - kitchen gadgets can be a real thrill. The cooks over at Food 52 have assembled a list of the gadgets that give them a warm feeling of satisfaction every time they use them. And, really, who among us has not enjoyed occasionally pulverizing nuts… read more

Pillsbury Bake-Off winner – Pumpkin Ravioli

  Pumpkin Ravioli with Salted Caramel Whipped Cream won the million dollar prize at the Pillsbury Bake-off this month. It's a dessert using crescent dough, cream cheese, canned pumpkin, and caramel sauce. Other category winners included Sausage Pomodoro Brunch Bake (Breakfast & Brunches); Asparagus, Artichoke, and Red Pepper Pizza (Appetizers); and Chicken Empanada Cones (Dinner Made Easy). Check out all the recipes… read more

Does chocolate help keep you lean?

Over at Salt they're discussing some recent good news for chocolate lovers - new research that shows that eating chocolate regularly may help keep you thinner. Why? It's possible that due to special compounds in the chocolate, the fat in chocolate may leave our bodies before being absorbed. No one is yet arguing for an all-chocolate diet, but eating a… read more

Lemon meringue cake

Nigella Lawson's recipe for Lemon Meringue Cake (courtesy of the recipe website Cookstr) struck us as the perfect springtime dessert option. Easier than its namesake pie, it's just as delicious. In fact, to use her words,  "...the layers of cake, with their crisp-carapaced squashy-bellied meringue topping sandwiched with tart lemon curd and softly whipped cream are so much better than… read more

Building a well-stocked pantry

The Food 52 editors have an interesting  discussion on the basic foods people need  to  create and maintain a well-stocked pantry and refrigerator. It's not as easy as it sounds. As they say: "When we first began, we thought this list would be straightforward: here's what you should buy every time you go to the grocery store. End of story.… read more

Designer fruit-the iMandarin

Described as a "celebration of a fruit's perfect design," the Smithsonian blog, Designer Decoded, has a seven-part article on the Cutie - a seedless, easily peelable mandarin designed specifically to be kid-friendly. We're not talking about genetic modification, rather a design and marketing approach almost as intense as what created the iPhone, As the blog says: "While more obviously designed objects are… read more

The favorite cookbooks of Jeremiah Tower

  Jeremiah Tower, the founding chef at Chez Panisse and the founder of the legendary Stars restaurant in San Francisco, has now retired from professional cooking.  But he is still writing and reading and he shares in Eater's column The Cookbook Shelf, which are the most important books he owns. read more

Weird but wonderful fruits

Given the enthusiasm our members have for recipes, we're sure many of you have seen references to fruits named "Horned Melon," "Buddha's Hand," "Noni,"-but have you ever seen them? The site Mental Floss has compiled photos of twelve beautiful but strange fruits, and we thought these would make fun viewing on a Friday afternoon. Enjoy. read more

Eat intensely flavored food to keep portion sizes small

According to the Salt (NPR's food blog) and a study in Flavour, smell can affect how much we eat. The more intense the aroma, the smaller the bite. It's logical; when we encounter a new especially aromatic food, we tend to try it out with just a nibble. This could be a diet approach that even the most avid foodie… read more

A whole new look, a new blog and a new home page!

You will have noticed a new look to Eat Your Books when you signed in today.  We have done a bit of a reorg and we hope you like it.   Your Home page will now feed you the latest news on books, recipes, authors and what's happening in the food world.  The latest blog items will feature on your… read more

What’s new in the natural products expo

Remember chia pets? They're back....but now on your plate-at least the seeds are. The largest natural products exposition was recently held in Los Angeles and, besides reintroducing chia seeds, it highlighted some interesting trends in natural foods. Supplements are losing favor while old-fashioned ingredients are making a comeback. Snacks, drinks, and baby foods are all "hot" categories. And a big… read more

Gail Monaghan on what makes a great chef

In this brief (less than 2 minute) video, Gail Monaghan explores the mind of a chef, including the difference in mentality between a pastry chef and a cook. She also gives some basic tips that any good cook should follow to become a great cook, including a visual aid for adding the right amount of salt and a reminder to trust… read more

The selling of style

Something odd is going on in cookbook merchandising, and I'm trying to understand it. We're all familiar with the explosion of food websites and food blogs in the last 10 years and their inevitable transition into print. From Heidi Swanson and the Tipsy Baker to Food52 and Serious Eats, there's an abundance of popular online hosts who've turned author, and… read more

Setting up a container garden

It's so warm and sunny here that thoughts of gardening are impossible to push off. Amy Pennington over at Food52 has an excellent series of articles on apartment gardening-how to start growing your own food, no matter how tiny your garden or apartment is. read more

James Beard award nominations

The James Beard Foundation have announced its annual award nominations for book awards, journalism, design and graphics, broadcast and media, and restaurant and chefs. Known as the 'Oscars of the food world', the ceremonies are spread over two nights with media on May 4th and restaurants and chefs on May 7th.   For a list of the cookbook nominations see the… read more

New book: Maman’s Homesick Pie

The first day of spring is celebrated in many parts of the MidEast as the New Year (in Persian, "Nourouz"), a time of rebirth and renewal. Donia Bijan's new cookbook, Maman's Homesick Pie, introduces us to homecooking, Persian style, supplemented by some of the techniques she learned in France and opening her bistro in California. While the locale and recipes… read more

Celebrate the first day of spring with asparagus

How better to celebrate the first day of spring than with an asparagus recipe. This recipe for  Absurdly Addictive Asparagus won Food 52's Best Asparagus Recipe last year, earning such accolades as "Oh yeah, you've made my heart go zing" and "the kids had one taste and gobbled it up like it was chocolate cake." Enjoy! read more

Now’s the time for CSA signups

I'm sure many know about CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) projects. For those who don't, here are the basics: a farmer offers for sale a certain number of shares to the public. Typically the share consists of a box of vegetables, but other farm products may be included. Interested consumers purchase a share (essentially funding the farmer's harvest) and in return… read more

How cooking for a 5 yo can drive you to distraction

Debbie Koenig has a new cookbook out Parents Need to Eat Too.  In the Huffington Post today she explains why she is quitting her job (well almost) as chef to her fussy 5 year-old son. read more

Andrew Carmellini comes clean on ghostwriters

I just saw a funny tweet where chef Andrew Carmellini owns up to the important role his co-writer played in the writing of his two cookbooks.  If only all cookbook "authors" were this honest.  Though in full disclosure, his co-writer is also his wife! read more

Now Gwyneth too denies using ghostwriters

Gwyneth Paltrow has added her voice to the chorus of cookbook authors denying they use ghostwriters.  It is interesting though that her book My Father's Daughter was used to illustrate the article in the New York Times that stirred up this hornet's nest.  What exactly did her co-writer Julia Turshen do if Gwyneth wrote every word herself, as she now claims? read more

New book: How Carrots Won the Trojan War

Over on Serious Eats, Leah Douglas has posted a review of the book, How Carrots Won the Trojan War (Curious but True Stores of Common Vegetables) by Rebecca Rupp. While the review is mixed, if nothing else this book has to win the award for the year's to date "most intriguing title." And Douglas includes probably the best quote about radishes and beans… read more
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