Perk up homemade pasta with herbs and spices

  Homemade fresh pasta is a simple yet versatile food that boasts a delicate texture you can't find in its commercial counterpart. Once you get the hang of making pasta, you can perk it up with a number of different add-ins, says David Tanis in The New York Times. Tanis explains that you can have pasta that not only looks… read more

Can eating chocolate improve brain function?

  Most health studies end up stating that the foods we love are bad for us and we shouldn't eat them. Not so a recent study published in the journal Appetite, which says that eating chocolate is linked to improved cognitive function. Even better, the results of the positive effects of chocolate consumption occur "irrespective of other dietary habits." Researchers… read more

Burnt is the new black

  Blackened foods are not new - we've been eating blackened fish, steak, and other meats for eons. But chefs are expanding the concept to vegetables, breads, and even desserts. The Washington Post takes a look the trend that is sweeping across the US in restaurants both casual and posh. Chefs describe the appeal of burnt foods, which ranges from… read more

The 2016 Piglet cookbook contest has begun

  I'm not sure how this slipped past my radar, but Food52's 2016 The Piglet cookbook competition has already started and one of the first round winners has been announced. The annual cookbook competition, inspired by The Morning News' Tournament of Books, features a face off between the 16 most notable cookbooks of the past year. Over the course of… 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

Ming Tsai dishes on the dishes that made his career

Ming Tsai has been a mainstay on the Food Network as the host of East Meets West, for which he won an Emmy. He is also producing and hosting a series, Simply Ming, on public television at WGBH in Boston. The chef recently spoke with First We Feast, discussing celebrity chefdom and the top 10 dishes that made his career. … read more

February 2016 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. February brings an extra day along with a veritable hodge-podge of cookery books with no clear theme… read more

A new life for a classic cookbook

Elisabeth Lambert Ortiz was one of the leading cookbook authors of her generation and wrote numerous cookery books including The New Complete Book of Mexican Cooking. A culinary anthropologist and food historian, Ortiz served as a principal consultant for the Time Life Foods of the World series, as well as a regular contributor to Gourmet magazine. She died in New… read more

Cookbook giveaway – The Book of Latin American Cooking

When The Book of Latin American Cooking was first published in 1969, the foods of the region were not well known by American and British cooks. The book was among the first to spark enthusiasm for the food of Latin America and the Caribbean. Elisabeth Lambert Ortiz's scholarly approach to the Latin American cooking served as a prototype for many subsequent… read more

The savory side of oatmeal

  Oatmeal has been a breakfast staple for centuries. Americans usually prefer it sweet, but a new trend (sparked in part by the gluten-free movement) has oats starring in decided savory roles. This trend has caught the eye of David Tanis, who writes about it in The New York Times. Tanis was surprised to see how big the trend had become, noting that… read more

The growing world of food crime

In 2013, the UK was rocked by a scandal where horsemeat and pig meat were found in packages of ground beef, and products that claimed to contain ground beef like lasagne and bolognese. Citizens were outraged, politicians demanded answers, and both were adamant that it should never happen again. But it did. Since the scandal was discovered, "UK testing has… read more

Must-try heirloom beans

  We reported earlier in the year about the UN declaration that 2016 is the International Year of the Pulses. As part of this celebration of the bean, indexed magazine Food & Wine explores several lesser known beautiful heirloom varieties that you should make part of your legume repertoire. While it used to be difficult to find heirloom beans, companies… read more

JBF announces its 2016 chef and restaurant award semifinalists

The Golden Globes are history and the Oscars are only days away, so it's officially award season. The first culinary awards aren't too far off, and the James Beard Foundation has announced its 2016 restaurant and chef award semifinalists. The rather lengthy list will be culled and finalists will be announced on March 15. If you want to score a… read more

Featured Cookbooks & Recipes

Finding the best recipes amongst the millions online is not easy - but you don't have to! The team here at Eat Your Books, searches for excerpts from indexed books and magazines and every week we bring you our latest finds. Every day recipes are added from the best blogs and websites. As a member, you can also add your own… read more

Cocktail love sends liquor production skyward

  In the past five years, the percentage of beer in total liquor consumption in the U.S. has fallen to less than 50 percent from 56 percent, while the share of hard liquor has risen by seven percentage points over the same period. Business Insider magazine is attributing this change - at least in part - to the television program… read more

Exploring his culinary roots

  You may recall the controversy that swirled around Paula Deen in early 2013 after her past use of a racial epithet surfaced. Deen was widely castigated by culinary professionals, including food blogger Michael Twitty of The Cooking Gene Project. He penned an open letter to Deen on Africulinaria.com where he told Deen "that far more repugnant to him than… read more

What’s in a name?

  When you are at the supermarket staring at the cheese display you may be deciding what type of cheese you want to buy, but you probably aren't wondering about how the different varieties got their name. However, the stories behind the names are interesting, and vary from romantic (Roquefort) to to ruthless (Monterey Jack). The Roquefort story is romantic, but there is some… read more

Cast iron care

  Cast iron cookware is a one of the fundamentals for a well-equipped kitchen. Much advice and more than a little folklore accompanies the cookware, sometimes contradicting one another. To help clarify advice on how to use and maintain cast iron, The Splendid Table recenty explored several truths and myths about the cookware. Contrary to conventional wisdom, you can use… read more

Perfecting pancakes

  Sundays offer most of us the only relaxed breakfast we'll have all week. Pancakes often make an appearance in these leisurely meals, but finding the perfect recipe can be a challenge. Indexed blog The Kitchn offers us their 10 pancake commandments to make sure we're eating the best cakes around. Their first tip really applies to anything you are… read more

The disappearing foods of Rome

  If you've always dreamed of visiting Rome and savoring a relaxed, hours-long traditional meal at a Roman ristorante or trattoria, you might want to book your flights sooner rather than later. Indexed magazine Saveur explains that much of Rome's traditional cuisine is disappearing. Thanks in part to E.U.'s globalized food system and competition from new eateries like gastropubs and… read more

Get your chocolate fix

  Valentine's Day will probably be forever linked with chocolate. Last year, people in the US spent nearly $350 million on chocolate (a whopping 58 million pounds) for the holiday. But you don't have to be content with just eating chocolate as a treat. As the website FSR explains, you can incorporate chocolate into your entire meal. From cocktails to… read more

Featured Cookbooks & Recipes

Do you find other people's comments on recipes helpful? Have you written your own recipe Notes? It's a great way to remind yourself how a dish turned out and share your experience with the EYB community. On each Recipe Details page you'll find a Notes tab. Adding online recipes to your EYB Bookshelf is a really great way to expand… read more

If you like it, put a ring on (or in) it

  Valentine's Day is fast approaching, a day that will feature countless romantic dinners and more than a few marriage proposals. Sometimes the person making the proposal will ask the restaurant to assist him or her in making the moment extra special by requesting the couple's favorite song to be played or by having the pastry chef hide the engagement… read more

Too much of a good thing

  When it comes to beef stews and braises, long cooking at low temperature is the way to go, and many recipes call for hours of cooking. Even though you may think longer is better, beware of extended cooking times, says indexed blog Serious Eats. You might feel that if three hours is good, four must be better, to allow all of the… read more

Oysters and their taste of place

Writer Cynthia Nims is a lifelong resident of the Northwest US who reveled in growing up surrounded by great food. After studying cooking at Ecole de Cuisine La Varenne in France where she received the Grand Diplôme d'Etudes Culinaires, Cynthia worked on numerous cookbooks with the school's president, Anne Willan. She is the author of ten cookbooks and was previously… read more
Seen anything interesting? Let us know & we'll share it!