Clever uses for food scraps

It always seems a shame to throw out food, even if it is scraps and peelings from dinner preparation. But did you know that you can make wonderful flavorings and broths from food scraps? We found several websites with ingenious uses for peelings, scraps, and leftovers. You may already be familiar with making broth from vegetable peels and scraps, as… read more

The best cookbooks according to the experts

Making a list of the best cookbooks might be a recipe for starting an argument, but in a recent article from The Guardian, a few intrepid chefs and food writers responded to the challenge. The listing of essential cookbooks was a response to the Prue Leith cookbook controversy - one of several such responses. Leith's dismissal of modern cookbooks led… read more

Out with the new and in with the old?

Modern recipes usually include a detailed list of ingredients accompanied by explicit instructions, both painstakingly assembled to ensure that your finished dish is the best it can be. These recipes are often written in a very direct manner, with the ingredient list at the beginning, followed by straightforward, workman-like instructions. In the past, recipes used to be written in more… read more

Author interview with Amelia Saltsman

Since the publication of her first book, The Santa Monica Farmers' Market Cookbook, Amelia Saltsman's fans have turned to her for fresh, intuitive, seasonal cooking. She is regularly sought out for her expertise by such national publications as Vegetarian Times, Bon Appetit, The Jewish Journal, and Cooking Light magazine. She has just released her second cookbook, The Seasonal Jewish Kitchen.… read more

Cookbook giveaway – The Seasonal Jewish Kitchen

In The Seasonal Jewish Kitchen, Amelia Saltsman takes us far beyond deli meats and chicken soup to explore a universally appealing world of flavors ideal for modern meals. She traces the delicious roots of Jewish cooking from ancient times and also showcases the global nature of Jewish cuisine, which evolved as migrants and immigrants encountered the local ingredients in their… read more

Me & my cookbooks – Elizabeth Winslow

We're pleased to present another installment of the "Me and my cookbooks" series. Many EYB members have told us they enjoy meeting members and special guests through this feature. We'd love to introduce more people, so if you'd like to be featured, just email us at info@eatyourbooks.com. EYB Member Elizabeth Winslow is a food writer, a successful entrepreneur, and a cookbook… read more

August 2015 cookbook roundup

 Every month Jane and Fiona wade through hundreds of cookbooks, selecting and reviewing all the best new releases of U.S., Canada, U.K., Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand cookbooks. The only thing left for you to do is to add them to your Bookshelf. USA August sees a bit of an uptick volume, and a few small trends. Subjects on the… read more

Cookbook store profile – Kitchen Witch

This is the latest installment of the EYB feature highlighting independent cookbook stores. We hope you will discover (or get reacquainted with) a store near your home - or plan a new target destination when you travel. We keep an ongoing list of cookbook stores but we'd love to learn about more - especially those treasured by our members. So… read more

Does it matter how we use our cookbooks?

Last week we posted about Prue Leith's disappointment with modern cookbooks. She was dismissive of books that she believe contained gorgeous photographs at the expense of quality recipes. Cookbook authors Yotam Ottolenghi and Tim Hayward have now weighed in with their thoughts on the controversy.  Both authors agreed with Leith up to a point, with Hayward noting that a modern food… read more

The food that takes you home

No matter how old you get or how long you've lived away from home, you will probably get a little homesick from time to time. This is especially true if you have moved far away from whatever location it is that you call home. I haven't lived in the town in which I was raised since I graduated from high… read more

The icing on the cake

What's even better than cake? Cake with frosting! Unless that frosting turns out to be a goopy or curdled mess, that is. You can avoid these problems by following the tips and tricks to from indexed magazine Bon Appétit to make your frostings look and taste their best. One key to icing success is choosing the right one for the… read more

Test your fair food knowledge

State fair season is ramping up across the US, and among the many attractions at these end-of-summer festivals perhaps none is more celebrated than the food. People flock to stands selling a variey of goodies, more often than not deep fried and served on a stick. Some of the offerings are quite far-fetched, which led the St. Paul Pioneer Press to develop a quiz to test your state fair… read more

Featured Cookbooks & Recipes

At Eat Your Books we want to bring you the best recipes - our dedicated team searches out and finds online recipes excerpted from newly indexed cookbooks and magazines. New recipes from the best blogs are indexed daily and members index their favorite online recipes using the Bookmarklet all the time. Below you'll find this week's recommendations from the EYB team.… read more

The summer’s best tomato recipes

For the past nine years, The Washington Post has held an annual "Top Tomato" recipe contest for its readers. This year they had over 200 entries, and they tested a record 60 of them. Testing this time around resulted in "a record number of near-misses, mostly in cases where we were looking for shouts of tomato flavor but found whispers."… read more

Are cookbooks all style over substance?

Today I spent several hours organizing my cookbooks, consolidating them all into the same room for the first time in years. As I gaze upon my favorite tomes, I am excited all over again to cook from them. That's why I was a bit put off by a column in The Telegraph, where Prue Leith dismisses new cookbooks, saying that… read more

Epicurious’ picks for top fall cookbooks

Just over a week ago, Food52 shared their top fall cookbook picks. Now it's Epicurious' turn; they've just published a list of their top 30 fall cookbooks. It's easy to spot the future bestsellers as they have made it onto both lists. These top books  include My Kitchen Year by Ruth Reichl, Nopi: The Cookbook by Yotam Ottolenghi and Ramael… read more

New ‘dos for your honeydew

Are you melancholy over what to do with your watermelon? If you are tired of the same old melon balls or prosciutto pairing, there are worlds of possibilities beyond the these traditional dishes. Some alternate options for the fruit include soup and pasta, as Gail Monaghan from The Wall Street Journal explains. While a bowl of fresh melon is wonderful… read more

Don’t hold the mayo

Not everyone loves mayonnaise. As Max Falkowitz of indexed blog Serious Eats notes: "Mayo-tangy, gloppy, unapologetically oleaginous-takes time to work its charms. But those who see the light find themselves reprogrammed...They love mayo, and its many, many uses." If you are among the converted, you should check out the Serious Eats article on the many uses for mayonnaise.  Mayonnaise can… read more

Jacques Pépin wins first Julia Child Foundation Award

On Thursday evening, the Julia Child Foundation presented its first award, honoring Jacques Pépin for "the influence he has had on the way America cooks, eats, and drinks." The Foundation is named after the American chef, author and television personality who was a long-time friend and cooking partner of Pépin. Child and Pépin co-authored cookbooks and often appeared on television… read more

Back to school cookbooks

As the days begin to get shorter in the Northern Hemisphere, state fairs and festivals ramp up and parents eagerly count down to the first day of school. For many college students, back to school means their first real independent living experience. After the first year, lots of students opt to move off-campus into an apartment, where they will need… read more

Featured Cookbooks & Recipes

Did you know adding online recipes to your EYB Bookshelf is a really great way to build your personal recipe collection? You can now do this even if you have a free membership! Try it out now and see how easy it is. Browse the recipes below, choose one that appeals, click on the link, and add it to your… read more

Are marinades worth the effort?

It's pretty common for cooks to marinate meats before putting them on the grill or in the slow cooker. But do these concoctions do what they claim - tenderizing the meat and adding loads of flavor? Russ Parsons of The LA Times says no. He thinks that for the most part, marinades are a waste of time. In fact, says Parsons, long-soaking… read more

The right way to freeze produce

At this time of year, gardeners in the Northern Hemisphere are swimming in produce. Although having a plentiful harvest is a happy circumstance, it can be overwhelming. To preserve the summer's bounty, people often turn to canning or freezing their fresh-from-the-garden goodies. But if you don't do these tasks properly you risk ruining your fruits and vegetables. To save you disappointment down… read more

The art of traditional Japanese preserving

Nancy Singleton Hachisu moved from California to Japan in 1988, intending to stay for a year, learn Japanese, and return to the United States. Instead, she fell in love with a farmer, the culture, and the food, and has made the country her home. Nancy's first cookbook, Japanese Farm Food, offered readers a unique window into life on a Japanese… read more

Cookbook giveaway – Preserving the Japanese Way

Preserving the Japanese Way introduces Japanese methods of salting, pickling, and fermenting that are approachable and easy to integrate into a Western cooking repertoire. The book offers a clear road map for preserving fruits, vegetables, and fish through a nonscientific, farm- or fisherman-centric approach, and also introduces and demystifies one of the most fascinating ingredients to hit the food scene in… read more
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