In defense of chocolate chips

Chocolate chunks have been replacing chocolate chips in cookie recipes over the past few years. There are several reasons for this, but chief among them is that chocolate chunks allow the cookies to become flatter and therefore more Instagram-able. In defense of this theory, I submit as Exhibit No. 1 Sarah Kieffer's infamous (and fantastic) pan-banging Chocolate chip cookies, which set… read more

Torta della Nonna: A Collection of the Best Homemade Italian Desserts

Enter our US/UK/AU/NZ giveaway to win one of three copies of Torta della Nonna: A Collection of the Best Homemade Italian Desserts by Emiko Davies. Torta della Nonna: The Best Italian Sweet Recipes is a collection of Emiko Davies' desserts culled from her beautiful books Florentine (review), Acquacotta (one of my best books of 2017) and Tortellini at Midnight (review), plus five brand… read more

News from Australia and New Zealand

Ben Shewry from iconic Melbourne fine-diner Attica, is taking his food to the people with Attica Summer Camp which, despite the name, is an autumn (fall) pop-up in the Yarra Valley about an hour outside Melbourne. Its casual, charcoal-rotisserie menu is available until the end of May and includes chicken, lamb, King George whiting and vegies, with gorgeous dressings and… read more

Free cookbook for those who have COVID-related smell and taste issues

Millions of people around the world have reported that losing their sense of smell and taste was the first sign they noticed of a COVID-19 infection. For a large percentage of those people, the damage to their gustatory system was persistent, lasting for weeks or even months. Some have yet to recover their sense of taste. This loss can be… read more

My new obsession – June Xie and accepting that I am less than perfect

I am always on the cutting edge of all culinary news - not. You can ask me about Diana Henry's cookbook that is slated for 2022 and I'm there with the scoop - by the way it is titled North. But when it comes to YouTube, Instagram or other internet sensations well let's put it this way "I am still… read more

Food news antipasto

Jenny does a masterful job of keeping us all up to date on the newest cookbook releases, offering her unique takes on the cookbooks and diligently tracking publication dates, which are in a state of flux due to coronavirus-related issues. That said, we do like to provide additional perspective, so today we're linking to a recent Eater article on what… read more

Women who shaped how we cook

For centuries, women have been the primary cooks in households worldwide. Despite this, until fairly recently most fine dining restaurant chefs were men, and the implication being that while women could cook well enough for their families, only a man could be an exceptional chef. Of course we know better now and women are finally gaining ground in top restaurant… read more

ICYMI – Australian & New Zealand news, calendar updates, cookbook deals and featured posts

This week there will not be a weekly roundup as we just finished up and sent out the monthly newsletter which you can view here in our archive. I wanted to take a few moments to hit on a few important items for our members and didn't wish to wait until next Friday. On Tuesday, Roberta Muir joined our EYB… read more

Food Between Friends Cookbook and a Jesse Tyler Ferguson Spatula Giveaway

Enter our worldwide giveaway to win a copy of Food Between Friends by Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Julie Tanous along with a Jesse Tyler Ferguson spatula from the No Kid Hungry line at Williams Sonoma. Food Between Friends by Jesse Tyler Ferguson ("JTF") and Julie Tanous ("Julie") is a gorgeous book filled with yumminess. Most of us know JTF from his role… read more

Baking maven Beth Hensperger has died

We learned through cookbook author Rick Rodgers that acclaimed San Francisco Bay Area-based food writer, cooking instructor, and bread baking maven Beth Hensperger has died after years of declining health. An editor who worked with Hensperger confirmed her passing although there has not yet been an official announcement. Hensperger's long and varied writing career started in March 1985, when she… read more

So you think you want to write a cookbook? You need a cookbook proposal and Dianne Jacob can help.

As cookbook lovers and creatives, we all at some point may have felt that we have a cookbook waiting to be written inside of us. In the past, I am on record of stating that I wasn't worthy of writing a cookbook, but when the publisher Gibbs Smith approached me about writing 101 Things to Do with a Bundt® Pan,… read more

Art of Eating announces 2020 longlist

The Art of Eating magazine first appeared in 1986 in the form of an eight-page black-and-white newsletter written by Edward Behr. After three decades in print, it transformed into a digital, advertising-free magazine with subscribers and contributors around the world. The magazine is about the best food and wine – what they are, how they are produced, where to find them (the… read more

March 2021 New Cookbook Review

March roars in like a lion with a big gust of releases to usher in another cookbook season. As it seems to be the new normal, a handful of titles had their publishing dates moved to another month in the near future. COVID is wreaking havoc with printing and shipping in the publishing world. I keep my 2021 preview post updated to… read more

News from Australia and New Zealand

We are delighted to welcome Roberta Muir to the EYB Blog. Roberta will be doing a weekly post with news from Australia and New Zealand on cookbooks, cooking, restaurants, and all things food. David Chang’s only restaurant outside North America, Momofuku Seiobo in Sydney’s The Star casino, is closing permanently on 26 June, after almost 10 years as one of… read more

My Big Fat Cookbook Purge of 2021

I am, and will always be, a lover of cookbooks. There are several thousand (estimated) - that I will not part with and hundreds that I am sitting on the edge of my seat waiting for their release. That being said, this last month I've had to do the unthinkable (again) purge my collection. There comes a point where I… read more

A cocktail fairy godmother

During the pandemic, a few of my friends and I started exchanging old-fashioned handwritten letters. It was such a joy to spy an envelope in the mailbox bearing familiar handwriting. In her most recent letter, one friend lamented that while she had enjoyed learning about cocktails before lockdown began, it was difficult for her to continue this quest since she… read more

March 2021 EYB Cookbook Club Summary

Each month we offer at least four cooking options in our Eat Your Books Cookbook Club. This month we’ve been cooking from the following titles: Main Option: This Will Make It Taste Good: A New Path to Simple Cooking by Vivian HowardBaking Selection: Dessert Person: Recipes and Guidance for Baking with Confidence by Claire SaffitzOnline Option: Great British Chefs online recipesPlant-based Option: Vegan Richa’s Everyday Kitchen: Epic… read more

Food news antipasto

Unfortunately we start the week with news of the passing of two influential culinary stars. The first is Laura Mason, a food historian who composed a detailed compendium of the traditional foods of Britain. Mason worked as research assistant to Alan Davidson, where she wrote scores of articles for the Oxford Companion to Food. The second passing of note is… read more

The therapeutic effects of baking

Even before the pandemic, I was keenly aware of how baking can help buoy your mental health and can also relieve stress, and how the act of baking for others can likewise be good for you. Since lockdowns began over a year ago, this act of self-care has proved even more important, and I am far from the only person… read more

This week: So many cookbooks, our week in review, new recipes, giveaways, EYBD Previews and more

This week I have been happily buried in reviewing new cookbooks as well as continuing to update our 2021 preview post and our Library. Did you know you could sort the library by the date the books were added? Doing so brings up recent additions by members and new 2021 titles added by myself or our team. A few recent… read more

Foods to celebrate Nowruz

March 20 marks the beginning of Nowruz, the traditional Persian New Year festival celebrated in Iran, Afghanistan, and the Kurdish regions of Iraq, Turkey and Syria, throughout Central Asia, and by members of the diaspora worldwide. Coinciding with the spring equinox in the Northern Hemisphere, Nowruz is a two-week celebration that centers on visiting relatives, picnicking, travelling, and eating traditional… read more

Baked to Order Cookbook Giveaway

Enter our US giveaway to win one of two copies of Baked to Order: 60 Sweet and Savory Recipes with Variations for Every Craving by Ruth Tam. Ruth Tam is the creator of Cook Til Delicious where she documents home food experiments and shares some of her favorite recipes — some passed down, and some developed in her kitchen. She… read more

What’s wrong with following a recipe?

Last week I wrote about Sam Sifton's The New York Times Cooking: No-Recipe Recipes, which has a lofty goal of freeing people from the drudgery of relying on recipes to get dinner on the table. While I understand Sifton's arguments for the idea of no-recipe cooking, I noted that I would not be buying this book. Today I found an… read more

Zoë Bakes Cakes Cookbook Giveaway with an Anolon Baking Set

Happy Publication Day to Zoë François! Enter our US/worldwide giveaway to win a copy of Zoë Bakes Cakes: Everything You Need to Know to Make Your Favorite Layers, Bundts, Loaves, and More. The publisher is providing one copy to US members and EYB is offering one copy worldwide. Back in 2018, I shared one of my cookbook dreams: "I wish… read more

Ottolenghi finally embraces shortcuts

In 2019, Yotam Ottolenghi pared down his notoriously long ingredient lists to write Ottolenghi Simple, and it seems like the chef is further embracing this relaxed, 'less-is-more' philosophy. In his latest NY Times article, Ottolenghi admits that he is embracing all sorts of ingredient shortcuts, an admission that seemed impossible just a few years ago. Part of his new found… read more
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