Food news antipasto

People are cooking at home at a level unseen for decades. Since many of us are wary of making too many trips to the grocery store to find a single ingredient we are missing for any particular recipe, food writers are crafting recipes that offer flexibility in substitutions. Michael Ruhlman discusses the trend toward 'optional' as the new recipe buzzword.… read more

This week: Lasagna recipes, James Beard cookbook winners, cookbook previews and more

For inspiration for this week's roundup, I googled "most searched recipes". Near the top of the search, an article at Food & Wine caught my attention entitled the ten most googled recipes since the stay at home orders began. Ironically, we've covered six of those most sought out recipes in past roundups except for meatloaf, crepes, French toast, and lasagna.… read more

Behind the scenes at King Arthur Flour

The sudden boom in home baking came as a surprise to the folks at King Arthur Flour (KAF for short), the Vermont-based purveyor of high quality flours and baking supplies. They were gearing up for the traditional mini-rush in the lead up to Easter when they noticed that the usual spike in sales was much, much larger than expected. They… read more

Spice support: capers

I'm stretching the definition of spice a bit to include capers, but since they add a flavor dimension similar to adding spice, I found it appropriate. To learn more about capers I turned to an interview of David Rosengarten by Sally Swift of The Splendid Table. Rosengarten visited the famous caper-growing island of Pantelleria, Italy - a place he calls… read more

The Salmon Sisters – Cookbook Giveaway

Enter our US giveaway to win one of three copies of The Salmon Sisters: Feasting, Fishing, and Living in Alaska: A Cookbook with 50 Recipes by Emma Teal Laukitis and Claire Neaton. Emma Teal Laukitis and Claire Neaton, the Salmon Sisters, grew up on a homestead in the Aleutians where the family ran a commercial fishing boat in the Alaskan… read more

Clarkson Potter – Ten Speed Baking Sampler

Giving credence to 2020's mantra "we are all in this together" Clarkson Potter & Ten Speed have put together another beautiful sampler of recipes from their cookbooks. This collection shares baking recipes and it is free to download! Other free cookbooks to download now include: Clarkson Potter - Ten Speed Press 2020 sampler:  Recipes for Everything You’ve Got Vintage Imperial Sugar… read more

More than 10,000 Member-uploaded photos in the EYB Library

Thanks in part to an extremely prolific new Member, we now have over 10,000 images submitted by Members in the EYB Library. We appreciate everyone who has submitted photos, with a shout out to new Member Tina_Berlin, who has uploaded over 470 images since joining a couple of weeks ago. Of course, we would be remiss not to mention the… read more

James Beard Cookbook Award Winners 2020

Today the James Beard Foundation announced the winners of its annual Media Awards (which includes cookbooks) for 2020. The announcement came via Twitter in lieu of the usual gala. JBF plans to hold a live virtual event at 1:30 pm today US Eastern Time. The event is free and open to the public. Now on to the news you've been… read more

Jams and jellies can preserve more than fruits and vegetables

I have lilac bushes in my backyard and each spring since I moved into my home eleven years ago, I would eagerly await the signs of blooms forming on the lilacs because their fragrance is one of my favorite scents. Every year resulted in disappointment, as the trees that grew near the lilacs produced too much shade for them to… read more

May 2020 New Cookbook Review

Once again, I settled in to prepare this month's cookbook review and found many titles scooted forward to June, July, and August. The looking forward to 2020 cookbooks post provides an outline by month where you can learn when a book’s publication date was moved to and/or what is to come for this year. I continue to update this preview weekly. Be… read more

May 2020 Eat Your Books Cookbook Club Summary

We have a helpful community here at Eat Your Books that has flowed into our Eat Your Books Cookbook Club where we share our successes and fails in cooking and baking from specific cookbook titles. This month we’ve been cooking from the following titles: Main Selection: Cool Beans: The Ultimate Guide to Cooking with the World’s Most Versatile Plant-Based Protein, with 125 Recipes by… read more

Food news antipasto

Have you seen the latest trend in bread? Apparently some people have plenty of yeast, flour, and time, staying busy creating froggy bread. Froggy bread isn't a metaphor, it is literally bread shaped to look like frogs. When I first read about it I immediately thought it came from Kim-Joy, but even though she's made several frog-themed bakes (like the… read more

In the midst of a crisis, Ferran Adrià looks ahead

Although the groundbreaking restaurant El Bulli has been shuttered for nearly a decade, its most recognized chef, Ferran Adrià, has not been idle. After closing the restaurant for several reasons (including the fact that it was not profitable), he focused his attention on the elBulli Foundation which has two branches, an archive museum and elBulli1846. The latter is described as… read more

This week: Cinnamon roll, Chelsea bun and cinnamon scroll recipes, cookbook news and previews and more

As I stated in our last weekly roundup, I am clinging to comfort recipes. This week is all things cinnamon rolls. According to my social media feed, cinnamon rolls are made for holiday mornings and special occasions. To this I say nay, nay. Cinnamon rolls are not to be tucked away and brought out like the good china. They deserve… read more

Outdoor cooking may be a boon this summer

Monday is a holiday in the US, a day of remembrance for those who have fallen in the line of service to our country. It is also Spring Bank Holiday in the UK. Unofficially, the long weekend marks the start of summer and kicks off peak grilling season. Last year I wrote a post about summer grilling looking different these… read more

The stories behind the scribbles

When I spy a used cookbook I am interested in buying, the first thing I do is skim the pages to see if anyone has written any notes inside. Early in my cookbook collecting, if I saw writing in the margins I would put book back on the shelf. I was only interested in pristine volumes, as years of working… read more

Everything Chocolate – Cookbook Giveaway

Enter our US giveaway to win one of three copies of Everything Chocolate: A Decadent Collection of Morning Pastries, Nostalgic Sweets, and Showstopping Desserts by America's Test Kitchen. Everything Chocolate: A Decadent Collection of Morning Pastries, Nostalgic Sweets, and Showstopping Desserts by America’s Test Kitchen is a chocolate-covered collection of more than 180 foolproof recipes that showcase the treasured dessert ingredient… read more

Guild of Food Writers announces 2020 finalists

The Guild of Food Writers is the UK’s professional association of food writers and broadcasters, and is the longest-established and largest of its kind. Established in 1984, the Guild’s goals include bringing  together professional food journalists, broadcasters and authors; arranging discussions, forums, and workshops; encouraging new writers; and contributing to the growth of public interest in, and knowledge of, the subject of… read more

The yin and yang of Covid cooking

Many of us suddenly had a lot more time on our hands in the last couple of months, and with yeast becoming a scarce commodity - or perhaps just as a way to scratch a creative itch - it seems like everyone decided now was a good time to try their hand at making sourdough. You can find oodles of… read more

Chef sparks ‘sandwich in place’ movement

Many chefs are sidelined during the pandemic, and we've seen how cooking at home is different for them than cooking in a restaurant. This doesn't mean they lose their creative spark, however. Ryan Pfeiffer, executive chef at Chicago's Blackbird, is proving that with his sandwich creations. Not only is he making delicious 'wiches, he made a video challenging other chefs… read more

Wings and Things – Cookbook Giveaway

Enter our giveaway open to US/UK/AU/NZ to win one of three copies of  Wings and Things: Lip-Smacking Chicken Recipes by Ben Ford and David Turofsky. Ben Ford, chef and author of Taming the Feast (and son of actor Harrison Ford) and David Turofsky joined forces in April 2015 and opened Wingmans in the UK. In their cookbook, Wings and Things… read more

Food news antipasto

Jamie Oliver is back with a new show called 'Keep Cooking and Carry On' that is exactly what this moment needed. In this 20-part series, Oliver will help fight the cooking fatigue many of us are facing. He will teach us how to get creative with whatever ingredients are in our cupboards. In a statement, Oliver said "This show will… read more

Vintage Imperial Sugar – Downloadable Cookbooks

Imperial Sugar has a large library of vintage cookbooks and pamphlets available free to download. Subjects range from canning, stir-fries, holiday baking, and more! I particularly love the retro artwork. Take a look at the many topics that are available and see if any (or all!) catch your eye. Thanks to my friend Robin who shared a link to the… read more

Ready, set, organize

Spices in jars
Since I am fortunate enough to be able to work from home, my commute has gone from 50 miles to less than 50 feet. I always said that if I did not have to drive so far for work I would have oodles of time to accomplish a laundry list of tasks around the house. It turns out that this… read more

This week: Best pancake and waffle recipes, fall/autumn cookbook previews, and more

Soon in the northern hemisphere, many will begin the search for grilling and other warm weather-related recipes. For me, at least for a few more weeks, I am indulging myself and our members in comfort food. I am so not a summer person, give me the crisp cool days of autumn or the blistery winds of winter and I'm content.… read more
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