Is it pretentious to assume that Bon Appetit is a better magazine than Paula Dean’s or Rachael Ray’s?

May 11, 2012 by
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 Anna Brones over at the Huff Post sat down and took a hard look at three magazines: Cooking with Paula Deen, Everyday with Rachael Ray, and Bon Appétít. Among her questions, if they're promoting the same food, why do we have different reactions to them? For example, "Rachael Ray gives me a handful of fried chicken recipes and I cringe, but… read more

If an oyster cannot feel pain, is it OK for a “vegan” to eat it?

May 10, 2012 by
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  Christopher Cox considers himself a vegan as he eats no meat, dairy or eggs.  But he does love a plate of cold oysters.  He puts up a fairly convincing argument on Slate.com that both in terms of its environmental impact and its own physiology, an oyster is as ethical a food item as a vegetable.  As you would expect… read more

Cocktail preferences from famous fiction writers and from famous chefs

May 10, 2012 by
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 Over at theKitchn, they're celebrating Cocktail Week. We found two of their articles, 10 Famous Fiction Writers and Their Cocktails, and 25 Food Writers Share Their Safety Drinks especially informative. The first article deals with what famous fiction authors, e.g. Hemingway, Faulkner, Chandler, preferred to drink. Among some of the fun facts: James Bond ordered 19 vodka martinis and 16 gin… read more

A Cajun shrimper, 1st day of culinary school, and ironing with Jim Beam

May 10, 2012 by
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It's May 10 - National Shrimp Day. And what a better way to celebrate than with this fun story. To set the scene: It's the first day of culinary school in New Orleans, and the chef instructor informs the class in no uncertain terms that they must show up everyday in full uniform, including pressed and clean jackets. One student,… read more

Where are the summer cocktails?

May 9, 2012 by
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I'm a bit late with this week's post.  It's because I'm in the final throes of the summer cookbook roundup, that mad mid-May marathon smackdown from which just ten perfect summer cookbooks will emerge on NPR's summer recommendation list.  (All the runner-ups will appear in a shortlist on my blog). I can't say what the theme is, or give away… read more

Busting kitchen myths: The great recipe swindle

May 8, 2012 by
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Should a recipe, if followed precisely, deliver culinary precision? Most experienced cooks realize that this kind of promise is actually not only unrealistic but also constraining. They use recipes as starting points, as inspirations. But cookbook authors, publishers, and sellers would have us believe that their cookbooks can deliver on such a promise. The problem, as this article by Nicholas Clee in The… read more

Did Rachael Ray exorcise Martha Stewart’s evil spirits from her studio?

May 8, 2012 by
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I guess it's Wacky Tuesday, at least according to the New York Post. As reported in this article, "Tv chef  Rachael Ray has asked staffers to perform a wacky exorcism ritual while planning her move into arch rival Martha Stewart's Chelsea studio, ordering them to burn bundles of sage to chase away negative 'spirits'." The Post goes on to quote an expert from… read more

Michael Natkin

May 8, 2012 by
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We visit with Michael Natkin, who left his job in software engineering to follow his passion for food and devote himself to an innovative vision of vegetarian cooking. He is the author of the immensely popular and award-winning vegetarian blog Herbivoracious and his new book, Herbivoracious, is out from Harvard Common Press in May. As I've been working on Herbivoracious: A Flavor… read more

Culinary intelligence – integrating real food into your daily life

May 7, 2012 by
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Courtesy of Michael Ruhlman, we're highlighting three thoughtful books today. In his blog entry, Culinary Intelligence - An Emerging Trend, Ruhlman reviews two books. Culinary Intelligence: The Art of Eating Healthy and Really Well, by Peter Kaminsky, talks about being smart about food, thinking sensibly about cooking and eating. As Ruhlman writes, " Getting middle-aged and plump myself, it was my kind… read more

Are these the ultimate – and easiest – brownies to make?

May 6, 2012 by
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Brownies may not be haute cuisine, but they have a lot going for them. They're a comforting bite in times of stress, induce chocolaty feel-good moments, fill the house with warm aromas, often bring back simple, childhood memories - yes, brownies are among the ultimate comfort foods. But while we may often impulsively want, even need, brownies, there's something about… read more

A day in the life of Fany Gerson

May 5, 2012 by
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  Fany Gerson, author of the delectable cookbooks Paletas and My Sweet Mexico shared a day in her life on Food52.   It sounds completely exhausting between getting up at 6am, making and selling ices all day and retrieving her car late at night from the pound. read more

James Beard Award winners announced

May 5, 2012 by
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  At a star-studded event last night in New York, the winners of the prestigious James Beard Book, Broadcast & Journalism Awards were announced - see the list of cookbook nominees and winners.  Cookbook of the Year went to the epic book Modernist Cuisine by Nathan Myhrvold and crew.  And the wonderful books by Laurie Colwin, Home Cooking and More… read more

Jeffrey Steingarten goes on the Master Cleanse regime

May 4, 2012 by
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The Master Cleanse is one of those fad/extreme diets that seems to pop up every ten years or so. Currently, it's hot -- with celebrities like Gwyneth Paltrow and Beyoncé rumored to follow the regime. It's a simple diet, just consume 6 to 12 drinks day, making the drink from water, fresh lemon juice, maple syrup, and cayenne pepper. The… read more

Saveur announces its best food blog awards

May 4, 2012 by
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We love reading about food (maybe not quite as much as cooking it, but almost), so when a prestigious magazine like Saveur produces its awards for best food blogs, we're anxious to see who is on it and what blogs we might have missed and should follow. In particular, while the usual categories are there, we were delighted to see… read more

Just how popular is a $450 cookbook?

May 3, 2012 by
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In 2011, a 36-person team organized by former Microsoft chief technology officer and avid foodie, Nathan Myhrvold, produced  a 5-volume, 2,400 page cookbook called Modernist Cuisine. Weighing 45 pounds, the book(s) concerned itself as much with food science as with recipes. There was a great deal of skepticism when it was published - just who would buy it? The Wall Street… read more

Layers of deceit: Why do so many recipes contain a lie about onions?

May 3, 2012 by
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Over at Slate, Tony Scocca is fed up with recipes that perpetrate lies; in particular, the fallacy that you can caramelize onions in 10 minutes. He quotes recipes from such respectable sources as The New York Times, Boston Globe, Washington Post, and Madhur Jaffrey, all of which have published recipes with a 5 - 10 minute time period for caramelizing… read more

Anne Willan looks at banquets of old

May 2, 2012 by
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  Anne Willan. founder of La Varenne cooking school in France, has a new book out - The Cookbook Library which reviews the history of recipes and cookbooks over the last several centuries.  She has an interesting article in Zester Daily about how food became spectacle and entertainment.  Fascinating to read what was considered normal a few hundred years ago.  We… read more

Great kitchen gifts for under $25 and for under $10

May 2, 2012 by
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Our friends over at theKitchn.com have been compiling some great ideas for kitchen presents -- in time for Mother's Day, anniversaries, shower gifts, birthdays, or just because... They have two lists: Smart Food Gifts for Under $10 and Beautiful, Useful Kitchen Gifts for Under $25. We especially liked the filled chalkboard spice jars in the first category, and the ultra-thin scale… read more

Two cutting-edge culinary items: Cooking with cannibis & 15 weird lollipops

May 1, 2012 by
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Here at EYB we like to bring our community cutting-edge news from the culinary world. In that spirit, here are a couple of items that caught our attention. In Oregon, the first restaurant specializing in marijuana-baked items has opened and is sharing their cooking tips with their clients (please use only where legal). And we present 15 weird lollipops. While insects… read more
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