Gourmet picnic & camping gear

June 27, 2013 by
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Here are some fun suggestions from restaurant owner Peter Hoffman via the Wall Street Journal. His mission was to "test gear for the ambitious campside cook." He had us at the bio lite stove that generates enough electricity to charge your phone; it also uses the heat to power a turbine that can stimulate the flame.  There are also other… read more

Cookbooks by some oldie but goodie celebrities

June 26, 2013 by
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Now this is fun - a collection of vintage cookbooks by vintage celebrities (we apologize for the U.S.-centric nature of the post; if any of our other members have some vintage celebrity cookbooks from the U.K. or elsewhere, we'd love to hear of them). BuzzFeed recently compiled a collection of cookbooks that are just so tempting to think about in so… read more

Just how long should a recipe be?

June 25, 2013 by
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For some years I've been an advocate of more explicit recipes - you know, recipes that tell you not just time and temperature ("3-5 minutes over a medium flame"), but what to look, listen, smell, and taste for - the telltale blistering of the skin, the moment when the spice releases its aromatic oils, the squeaking sound the dough makes… read more

Michael Pollan’s rules for restaurant eating

June 24, 2013 by
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Michael Pollan has long been a rational, non-hectoring voice for eating wisely and sustainably. His Food Rules continue to be quoted widely (including don't eat anything your Grandmother wouldn't recognize as food; don't eat anything that won't eventually rot; shop the perimeter of the grocery store; don't buy food where you buy your gasoline, etc.) as do his many other… read more

5 reasons to care about printed cookbooks

June 23, 2013 by
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We may be preaching to the converted, but it's a good idea now and then to remember why we love printed cookbooks (and why buying more isn't a bad thing). So at the risk of being an enabler to all our cookbook addict members, here, courtesy of Eatocracy,  are five reasons suggested by Kaitlyn Goalen as presented in Why Cookbooks Matter… read more

Using a cicada invasion to get us over the “ick” factor

June 21, 2013 by
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According to Time Magazine, a recent United Nations report states that we will have to eat more bugs to stave off world hunger. In Fight World Hunger by Eating Bugs, Urges U.N., they point out that bugs are a cost-efficient, high source of protein with minimal environmental impact. And, further, that non-Western cultures are already happily consuming them: "The report… read more

Hybrid Pastries are all the rage

June 20, 2013 by
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We've all heard of fusion cooking - but apparently fused desserts are also a popular item. To recognize their notoriety, BuzzFeed has produced a list of 17 hybrid pastries that they regard as really exciting. Check out the article for more details, including photos and recipes, but in the meantime here are some that we found quite intriguing: Flan-chocolate cake (i.e.… read more

A surprise answer to the question: What is the best all-around metal spatula?

June 19, 2013 by
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America's Test Kitchen (which publishes Cook's Illustrated) recently told us to Say Hello to the Best Metal Spatula. Somewhat surprisingly, they propose that a fish spatula is actually the best spatula to use for all kitchen purposes as "With its maneuverability, surgical precision, and crisp, high-end construction, this spatula could not be beat."  And despite its light-weight nature, it supported a… read more

Recent poll finds Rachael Ray to be more trustworthy than Michael Pollan

June 18, 2013 by
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In a recent Reader's Digest poll that asked 1000 readers who were the "most trustworthy," Rachael Ray ranked #31 and Michael Pollan ranked #83 - less trustworthy than Steve Harvey (#72), Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson(#54), andTim Tebow(#40). While we certainly applaud Ray's efforts to encourage home cooking, given that Pollan has really motivated the healthy food movement, this is a litttle surprising.… read more

What food implement is used by every culture in the world?

June 17, 2013 by
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Regardless of where you live, eat, or travel to, there is one eating implement you will inevitably encounter - the spoon. As explained in this interview from The Splendid Table with Bee Wilson, author of Consider the Fork: A History of How We Cook and Eat, the spoon is used by every human culture in the world. And it's more than… read more

Married with cookbooks

June 17, 2013 by
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A couple of years ago, a book called Just Married and Cooking was published. The couple was cute and camera-ready, though I thought the recipes were nothing special and I didn't keep the book.  But it seemed like a milestone in the blog phenomenon - husbands and wives blogging and publishing together. Since then that trend has only accelerated.  Perhaps… read more

The creation of a new verb – To Ottoleng.

June 15, 2013 by
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We all have our favorite cookbooks and Tim Hayward in the Financial Times looks at how much our choices reflect current entertaining trends. Perhaps this particularly resonated with me since I lived in the UK for most of the period he covers but I think it should ring true with many EYB members.  How often have we gone to a… read more

Learning to appreciate tofu

June 15, 2013 by
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We recently had an epiphany with tofu - if you want to make a great creamy soup, instead of adding cream, blend in semi-soft tofu. Great texture and mouth feel without the fat. So we were sympathetic to this recent article at Food52, In Defense of Tofu. The article makes the challenge, "Think you don't like tofu? Think again." The… read more

The best reaction to Paula Deen’s new butter spreads

June 14, 2013 by
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In case you've been doing something productive, you may not have heard of Paula Deen's new butter spreads. Despite her advocacy of eating a lower fat diet , due to her diabetes, she apparently couldn't resist once again championing butter. She is justifying her advocacy by noting that the butters aren't meant to be used by the pound but are rather "finishing… read more

15 ways to bake eggs in something other than bread

June 13, 2013 by
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Here's something fun for a hectic dinner: 15 ways to bake eggs in foods, apart from using toast (though that is still one of the best ways). But before listing them, a slight digression on different terminology that our research unearthed. In the U.S. the classic egg fried in a piece of bread with a hole cut out of the… read more

How Joel Robuchon earned more Michelin stars than any other chef

June 12, 2013 by
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The Telegraph recently sat down with Joël Robuchon, "the chef with more Michelin stars than any other and a temper that terrified even Gordon Ramsay" (at whom he once threw a plate). In an in-depth intervew Robuchon discussed his background and the challenges of being a high-end chef who isn't afraid to take on the establishment.  Among the highlights we… read more

The nine top grilling gadgets from Cook’s Illustrated

June 11, 2013 by
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Father's Day is approaching and, although it may be overdone, it still strikes us as appropriate to pass on some ideas for grilling gifts. And rather than compile them ourselves, we're handing over the job to real experts - the testers at America's Test Kitchen (Cook's Illustrated). Here are their 9 Favorite Grilling Gadgets for Outdoor Cooking; check out the article for… read more

The modern way to publish a cookbook – use crowdsourcing

June 10, 2013 by
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We like to stay au courant with new ideas - especially those where technology and cookbooks interesect - so the idea of going straight to the consuming public to finance cookbooks intrigued us. First, a little background for those who may not have followed the use of internet sites for crowd-funding. While not a new concept per se, the internet… read more

Sweet without the heat

June 10, 2013 by
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Before Saturday, I had never once made panna cotta, I'm embarrassed to admit.  I'm not sure why, since I basically can't say no to a custard of any kind.  Maybe it's because I'm never quite sure the gelatin will set, or I'm afraid there will be rubbery lumps. At any rate, the recipe caught my eye because of the buttermilk… read more

The surprising – and not so surprising – items people steal from restaurants

June 9, 2013 by
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Over at examiner.com, they have an interesting article on Top Items Patrons Steal from Restaurants. Some aren't terribly surprising - salt and pepper shakers, sugar, creamers. But there are some real surprises and some peculiar stories. Tied with salt and pepper shakers for first as most popular stolen items was one we hadn't thought about - toilet paper. Apparently bathroom items… read more

Making sure your brownies have a wrinkled top

June 7, 2013 by
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There are many views as to just what makes a perfect brownie - fudgy vs. cakey, nuts or no nuts, cocoa vs. bittersweet chocolate. But there is a uniform agreement that brownies should have a crinkly top. And thanks to America's Test Kitchen, here is the way to insure that they do: use the right sugar. Their testers tried three… read more

Insider tips on how to make a perfect date at a farmers’ market

June 6, 2013 by
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It's June - a traditionally a romantic month - so we thought we 'd stray a little from a pure food topic and note this wonderful article, Why Farmers Markets Make the Perfect First Date. Forrest Pritchard, author of Gaining Ground (the story of how he turned around his seventh-generation farm) and owner of Smith Meadows is a seasoned veteran… read more

Mario Batali: Why a successful food blog is like a restaurant menu

June 5, 2013 by
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Atlantic Magazine recently reported on an interesting discussion among Mario Batali (no introduction needed), Deb Perelman (Smitten Kitchen blog), and one of their editors about the digital side of the culinary world. The entire article, How a Restaurant Menu is Like a Website, is well worth reading as the two chefs make several interesting points. Here are three that struck us as… read more

How to write recipes worthy of publishing

June 4, 2013 by
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One of the real pleasures of learning to cook well is the creativity that comes from creating your own recipes. And while sharing those triumphs with family and friends is great, it can also be fun to submit original recipes to cooking contests or food magazines. In an article from the blog Will Write for Food, Kristine Kidd - the… read more

Is DIY turning into FIY (Forage It Yourself)?

June 3, 2013 by
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If there's one kind of a cookbook I can't resist (and goodness knows there's more like a dozen kinds I can't resist),  it's a book about weeds.  Every time I try to put a book about weeds on the Give Away pile, it's like an invisible force tugs my hand back and puts the book back on the shelf.  It's… read more
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