Food news antipasto

Weeks after vanishing abruptly, Fine Cooking’s website is back up and running. The return was announced via tweet on November 19. I was able to log in to my Fine Cooking account, and the site appears to be fully functional, although I did not have any recipes saved to my Recipe Box so I do not know if that also carried over (if you previously saved recipes to the site, please let us know if they are still available). Fine Cooking’s parent company, Meredith Corporation, has additional news concerning an EYB Member favorite publication: Martha Stewart Living magazine celebrated its 30th anniversary with the December issue. Happy Anniversary to MSL.

If you live in South Australia, you might have whiplash after a strict lockdown was ordered, followed almost immediately by a partial reopening. Effective November 22, all restaurants are now able to serve guests, albeit with density limits. This announcement comes just two days into the planned six-day lockdown, which was required because one man lied to contact tracers. “It’s such weird, weird news. Everyone in Adelaide is thinking: what is going on?,” says Durkhanai Ayubi of Parwana Afghan Kitchen in Torrensville.

Do you love a book that combines food and history? If so, then read Rachael Cooke’s review of Pen Vogler’s new book, Scoff. The book “covers the vexed histories of everything from napkins to fish knives, gravy to tripe,” according to Cooke. Devouring this book sounds like a delicious way to spend several hours this autumn.

Bakers will enjoy a video from Minnesota Public Television titled ‘Flour Power‘, which explores the history of milling in Minnesota. The story charts the growth of wheat farming, the harnessing of water power, the founders of the flour milling industry, and the expansion of the industry into global purveyors of industrialized food products. It’s an entertaining video even if you aren’t from the upper Midwest.

This Thursday is US Thanksgiving. Normally we would feature articles about how to make mashed potatoes for a crowd, meal planning strategies to ensure you get all of the hot food done at the same time, and other cooking tips. For most of the US, it is just not safe to host or attend a large family gathering of people not in your household. Please follow recommendations from experts in your area on how to safely have Thanksgiving, even if that means staying home. To paraphrase a viral meme: We remain apart now so that we can ALL be together again for the next celebration.