Will these foods still rule in 2014?

According to BuzzFeed, there were 13 Foods That Rose to Power in 2013. Here they are - and we'll leave you to ponder whether they will continue to rule, or other foods will come in to trump them: Cronuts Brussels Sprouts Oreos MSG Doritos Locos Taco Pumpkin Spice Ramen Burgers "Edibles" (e.g. marijuana-infused food like Nugtella) Pop-Tart Sandwiches The Horse… read more

Have the British turned from tea to coffee?

The Guardian is pondering why and when the British turned their preferences from tea to coffee. According to their article No time for tea? How Britain became a nation of coffee drinkers: "Research by the Grocer shows that volume sales of shop tea are down by 6% in the past 12 months, while supermarket Nescafé sales have increased by 6.3%. Every… read more

Three cooking tips from Thomas Keller

During a recent interview with world-famous chef Thomas Keller, The Splendid Table asked him how home cooks could improve their skills. He responded with three pieces of advice; here is a summary of the lengthier reply NPR printed in their article: Learn to salt properly: Among the other tips he gives about salting, we found his advice about salting technique… read more

The 20 most popular recipes on Pinterest

We wanted to print a year-end list generated not from authorities, but from home cooks. And what better source than the ultimate user-friendly website, Pinterest? So without further ado, thanks to BuzzFeed, here are The 20 Recipes That Won Pinterest in 2013 (they have photos and some fun commentary on their article if you'd like to check it out): Cinnamon Toast, from… read more

Early New Year’s resolution: Why you should visit a farm this year

We hope that all of you had a wonderful holiday and are enjoying the rewards of all that holiday preparation and cooking. So as you're looking to catch your breath and start focusing on the New Year, we thought we'd get in with an early suggestion for a New Year's resolution. This year, visit a farm and learn a little… read more

An early Christmas present inspires a big thank you!

It's a time for joy and a time for thanks. And we are thankful for many things here at EYB - our members, especially. So in that spirit we'd like to take a moment to thank our friends at New Zealand's Taste Magazine. They've published an article about us that does an excellent job of summing up why we're so… read more

Christmas! Christmas! Christmas!

Of course, it's only Christmas for some of us. And it's not even the cooking-est holiday - that would be Thanksgiving.  Yet publishers barely lift a finger for Thanksgiving, and Hannukah and Kwanzaa and Ramadan hardly get a second glance.  Christmas, at least in the English-speaking world, gets a special place on the cookbook shelf.   Many cookbooks focus on… read more

Happy 75th Birthday to the chocolate chip cookie

We're taking a moment off from holiday cheer to note a different celebration - it's the 75th birthday of the chocolate chip cookie. For those of you as interested in food history as we are, The New Yorker has a wonderful history of the cookie here. Briefly, after its origin at the Tollhouse Inn in Massachusetts, the cookie performed stalwart service… read more

Break out the crystal ball: Next year’s hot food trends

As the New Year approaches, crystal balls are being brought out of the closet and food trends for 2014 are being forecast. We've uncovered three that create some interesting ideas to ponder: Eatocracy has Eat This List: 2014 food trend predictions. Two of their editors each describe 5 trends, along with some honorable mentions. The article has full explanations behind… read more

Peel an orange, without the gouging, by unrolling it

Oranges are in season now - and a nice alternative to holiday cookies for snacking. And thanks to Jewel Pie we have a way to peel them without having to gouge the skin with your fingernail - just roll them out as a strip.  Full explanation and photos can be found at an Easy way to eat mandarin oranges (without… read more

Best of the best cookbooks of 2013

This is our 5th annual amalgamation of every cookbook list - this year we found more than 200.   There wasn't a clear winner for the first time but Pok Pok by Andy Ricker (his first ever cookbook) just edged into the front on the final sprint.  See who else made the top 10 and which author has two different… read more

Get up to date with EYB on Social Media

Social media is a great way to keep up with the goings on here at Eat Your Books. We have a few different options to help you keep informed about giveaways, announcements, new blog posts, newly indexed books, sample recipes from cookbooks, and other interesting recipes we've come across:   If you follow us on Twitter @EatYourBooks, you can see… read more

eCookbook and subscription giveaway – The Journey & Laurent Gras’ My Provence

The Journey is the first edition in the Alta Editions Cooking Series, a new online cookbook series featuring stories and exclusive recipes from some of the world's most inspiring chefs. This edition features four remarkable New York City-based women chefs: Katy Sparks, executive chef of Tavern on the Green; Maneet Chauhan, a judge on Food Network's "Chopped;" Alex Raij, chef and co-owner of Txikito, El Quinto… read more

The best cookbooks of 2013 by the experts

Who knows cookbooks better than the owners of specialist cookbook stores? They stock and sell thousands of cookbooks and because their stores are focused on food and drink books, they are true experts.  They read the books, cook from them and then share their knowledge with their customers.  When shopping for cookbook gifts this holiday season, think about supporting your… read more

Publisher Profile: Alta Editions produces easy-to-use online cookbooks

We're straying a bit from our usual author profile to profile a publisher - Alta Editions. Alta is part of a new wave of publishers that focuses on online publications for computers, tablets, and smart phones. They just published the first volume (The Journey) of an online cooking subscription series which features personal stories and recipes from top chefs such as… read more

Mastering pomegranates

One way to add holiday color (and great flavor) to a dish is to sprinkle some pomegranate seeds (actually, technically, they're "arils" not seeds) on top, especially along with some minced parsley or mint. (Try it on cauliflower - it's positively beautiful.) Of course that may be easier said than done, given that you need to have the pomegranate seeds… read more

Cookbook store profile: Featuring Books for Cooks in London

Recently we began to offer a new EYB feature highlighting independent cookbook stores. Now you can discover (or get reacquainted with) a store near your home - or plan a new target destination when you travel. And to make this as strong a feature as we can, we're asking our members to help us. We already know of many great… read more

Cookbook giveaway – Tartine Book No.3: Modern, Ancient, Classic, Whole

  Chad Robertson, owner of Tartine Bakery in San Francisco, has been called "a bread genius," "one of the most admired bakers in the U.S.," and "the cult prince of American bread making." He has recently published his third book, Tartine Book No. 3: Modern, Ancient, Classic, Whole, and we're delighted to be able to give away a free copy… read more

Chad Robertson tells us why the world needs a new baking book

Chad Robertson, owner of Tartine Bakery in San Francisco, has been called "a bread genius," "one of the most admired bakers in the U.S.," and "the cult prince of American bread making."  Already the author of two books named after his bakery, Tartine Bread and Tartine: Sweet and Savory Pastries, Tarts, Pies, Cakes, Croissants, Cookies and Confections (the latter co-authored with Elisabeth… read more

Chef’s cookbooks that actually help us cook

Today we're presenting our final holiday list (apart of course from our Best of the Best which will go up early next week) - which hopefully still leaves some time to actually find and buy the item. And, of course, we had to have a list of cookbooks. Of the various lists we've seen, this one from the Los Angeles… read more

Cookbook giveaway – melt: The Art of Macaroni and Cheese

  We're very pleased to be able to offer three free copies of Melt: The Art of Macaroni and Cheese.  This is not your mother's Mac 'n Cheese - Stephanie Stiavetti and Garrett McCord have  "combined our nostalgia of the old-school dish with healthy, high-quality ingredients to produce recipes that are both  classic and chic." For more on the book  read … read more

Stephanie Stiavetti raises macaroni and cheese to new heights

Macaroni and cheese is, to many, the ultimate comfort food - whether it comes out of a box or from an ages-old recipe. But like many old and somewhat worn items, it's deserving of a make-over. Stephanie Stiavetti, with co-author Garrett McCord, does just that in her new book, Melt: The Art of Macaroni and Cheese.  In the book, "We've… read more

The worst food gifts to give – or to get

It's about time for another list, and this time the nod goes to Bon Appétit for their "The 50 Worst Food Gifts in the World." Some of them are at least attempts to help the cook out, but others you truly have to wonder, "What were they thinking?" Here are some that struck me as falling in that latter category:… read more

2013 was the year for…

It's cookbook roundup season, and over the next couple of weeks we'll see plenty of lists of the best cookbooks of 2013 (my own among them).  In some ways, it was such an odd year that I'm betting there won't be as much overlap as usual between the lists, never mind a white-hot winner like last year's Jerusalem.  Though I could… read more

Jazzing up slice-and-bake cookies without icing

If you have a favorite plain, refrigerator-style cookie - or bought a package of slice-and-bake cookie dough - and want to jazz the cookies up without resorting to frosting or icing, Lynne Kasper in NPR's The Splendid Table has some excellent ideas in How to make store-bought slice-and-bake cookies more gourmet: "There are two approaches: the before-baking list and the… read more
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