Cookbooks hit you where you live

This will be my last official blog for EYB so I'm going to indulge by sharing a few things. First, thanks to Jane and Fiona who gave me a venue to share my personal passion for all things food related - I've had a wonderful time writing this blog. And a second thanks to the readers who've sent me some… read more

Featured Cookbooks & Recipes

Today we're sharing our latest compilation of recipes and cookbooks we've featured on Facebook and Twitter. Many of the recipes are samples from recently indexed cookbooks, so even if you don't have the book (yet!), they can give you an idea of what each one has to offer. There are also online recipes from indexed magazines, so it is our hope there will be… read more

Clearing up sausage confusion

Unless you're a real sausage fan, it's likely that at some time you've faced a  recipe quandary - sausage types. How do you tell a bratwurst from a kielbasa? Here's a handy guide from Eatocracy  (check out the article for further details, buying suggestions from the Test Kitchen, as well as possible substitutes and uses): Frankfurter, aka Hot Dog: Beef… read more

Beyond breakfast: cooking with coffee

  Coffee plays an essential role in my morning routine (it's wise not to talk to me before my first cup), but coffee is also found in foods served throughout the day, adding depth to both sweet and savory recipes. Epicurious lists its top 14 recipes with coffee, noting that coffee's "roasted quality, bitterness, and acidity make it a perfect… read more

Top selling books of 2013 around the world

Our friends at cookbook stores around the world have supplied us their top selling books of 2013.  It is interesting how different these lists are to the top selling US books profiled in Eater recently - only one book, Jerusalem by Yotam Ottolenghi, appeared on both lists.  USA Kitchen Arts & Letters - Nach Waxman & Matt Sartwell 1. Jerusalem by… read more

Cookbook giveaway – Weeknight Wonders: Delicious, Healthy Dinners in 30 Minutes or Less

  We're delighted to be able to offer two copies of Food Network Host Ellie Krieger's new cookbook: Weeknight Wonders: Delicious, Healthy Dinner in 30 Minutes or Less to our EYB members. The book includes 150 recipes for quick weeknight meals, made with minimal fuss about cooking techniques or hard-to-find ingredients.     To win a copy, just answer the following question:… read more

Cookbook giveaway – The Great American Slow Cooker Book

We're delighted to be able to offer 5 copies of Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough's new cookbook (the 22nd!) - The Great American Slow Cooker Book: 500 Easy Recipes for Every Day and Every Size of Machine  - to our EYB members. The book is "the ultimate in slow-cooker books--with 500 recipes, each adapted for three sizes of appliance. From breakfast to… read more

Meet Bruce Weinstein & Mark Scarbrough – 22 cookbooks and counting

We were delighted recently to have a chance to interview Bruce Weinstein & Mark Scarbrough, authors of the just-published The Great American Slow Cooker Book: 500 Easy Recipes for Every Day and Every Size of Machine. Actually, this is only the  most recent cookbook they've written together - there are 21 others from this New York/Texan duo. Mark and Bruce make a fun team -… read more

Fantasy cookbooks

As the polar vortex shuts everybody in with their seed catalogues and board games, I thought I'd play a little imaginary game of my own.  It's my job to test and rate already-published cookbooks.  What if I started on the other end and dreamed up cookbooks I'd like to see? - ones that I've not yet seen on the market… read more

January 2014 Cookbook Roundup

Every month Susie Chang reviews new cookbook releases and notes trends in the United States. And she may also occasionally throw in a review of a "not-quite cookbook."  And for our non-U.S. members, Jane and Fiona provide similar reviews for new U.K., Australia, and New Zealand releases. __________________________________________________________________________ U.S.A.: That silence you hear?  It's cookbook publishers, not taking any risks… read more

Patriotic Plates

Even though my mother told me not to play with my food, I think she would make an exception if I had made food as delightful as this promotion for the Sydney International Food Festival. The advertising agency designed 18 national flags using foods commonly associated with each country, and using the design of that country's national flag. I can't decide which I… read more

What to do when your garlic clove sprouts a green shoot

Thanks to David Lebovitz, we have a definitive answer to one of the kitchen's little questions:  Should You Remove the Green Germ from Garlic? As he writes in his blog, conventional wisdom requires that, to avoid bitterness, you need to remove that little green sprout. But someone "told me that Marcella [Hazan] never removed the green germ (her reasoning being that… read more

If you like Ottolenghi’s books, you should learn about Persian food

By spending a fair amount of time wandering the internet reading about food (I know, it's a tough job, but somebody's got to do it), I've become aware of some themes that may not make the "what's trending" or "hot" lists, but still seem to be surprisingly persistent. And one of those themes is Persian foods. I'm not sure why… read more

Featured Cookbooks & Recipes

Today we're sharing our latest compilation of recipes and cookbooks we've featured on Facebook and Twitter (See our first two posts here and here.) Many of the recipes are samples from recently indexed cookbooks, so even if you don't have the book (yet!), they can give you an idea of what each one has to offer. There are also online recipes from indexed magazines, so… read more

Favorite breakfast cookbooks

There's a post over at BuzzFeed that asks "What Does Your Favorite Breakfast Food Say About You?" The answers are classic BuzzFeed, although not snarky as they can be - if you like bagels, you're basically like Beyoncé, cinnamon rolls imply you're very loveable, French Toast people are destined for greatness, Huevos Rancheros make you a winner, etc. - they're all… read more

Culinary cocktails

As previously noted, I will be taking over the reins for the Eat Your Books blog beginning in February. In her introduction, Lindsay mentioned that I am a cooking and baking enthusiast, and that I also dabble in cocktails. The only thing that makes me happier than pursuing one of these passions separately is combining the activities. Most of us… read more

Per Deborah Madison, the word “veggies” should be banned

There is a trend for certain food terms to become popular and then reviled. "Food porn" came in and went out pretty fast; "foodies" has lasted longer but there is now gradual consensus that it should be eliminated from polite conversation as a derogatory term. But "veggies"? According to Deborah Madison (The Greens Cookbook, Vegetable Literacy, and other numerous vegetarian books)… read more

Cooking clubs

This year, my eternally-under-renovation kitchen has finally gotten to the point where I can comfortably have friends over for dinner.  I can usually squeeze them in between family obligations about once a month, and they are truly one of my great joys. Our family is lucky enough to have a number of close friends who are terrific cooks and adventurous… read more

Troubles with healthy food: Looking at kale, plus the Paleo Diet

There were a couple of interesting news items recently that once again drove home the point that too much of a good thing can be a bad thing. The first article, in the New York Times, Kale? Juicing? Trouble Ahead was written by Jennifer Berman. As she writes, "I was into health food before it was cool. There were only… read more

Cookbook store profile: Featuring “the cookbook store” in Toronto

Recently we began to offer an 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 stores,… read more

Are Americans now too stupid to cook?

Michael Ruhlman had a particularly controversial blog entry recently. In America: Too Stupid to Cook, he presented the thesis that "Americans are being taught that we're too stupid to cook." To back up his argument, he cites several examples:  "The messages are everywhere.  Boxed cake mix.  Why is it there?  Because a real cake is too hard!  You can't bake… read more

Featured Cookbooks & Recipes

Today we're sharing our second weekly post compiling some of the recipes and cookbooks we've recently featured on Facebook and Twitter. Many of the recipes are samples from recently indexed cookbooks, so even if you don't have the book (yet!), they can give you an idea of what each one has to offer. There are also online recipes from indexed magazines and recently… read more

The best way to protect that new iPad or Kindle in the kitchen

Cook's Illustrated just conducted a test on the best way to protect an iPad (or other tablet) in the kitchen, and is making the report available online through April 30. They looked at stands, covers, and a combination of the two - and put them through a myriad of tests: "We pounded pork chops to see if the stands would… read more

Cookbook giveaway – Whole-Grain Mornings: New Breakfast Recipes to Span the Seasons

  We're delighted to be able to offer three copies of Megan Gordon's new cookbook: Whole-Grain Mornings: New Breakfast Recipes to Span the Seasons to our EYB members. The book includes sixty-five sweet and savory recipes for wholesome whole-grain breakfasts, including granola, warm porridges, muffins, savory tarts and eggs. To learn a little more about the book and its author, check out… read more

Megan Gordon shares her delight in breakfast

Megan Gordon is a Seattle-based blogger and a cookbook author  -and an ex-English teacher. Her blog, A Sweet Spoonful, emphasizes natural/whole foods, seasonal ingredients, and whole grains. Her new cookbook, Whole-Grain Mornings: New Breakfast Recipes to Span the Seasons, narrows the focus just a bit to concentrate on breakfasts. And we're delighted to be able to give three copies away to… read more
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