20th Century Cafe shutters its doors

Scores of EYB Members have praised the magnificent Baking at the 20th Century Cafe by Michelle Polzine. The stunning honey cake depicted on the cover is a mainstay of the book's namesake restaurant, and is only the tip of the iceberg of great recipes found inside. Yesterday we learned the sad news that Polzine is permanently closing her Hayes Valley… read more

Art of Eating prize winner announced

Just over a month ago, The Art of Eating published its longlist of the best food books of 2020. Last week they announced the shortlist of finalists, which included the following volumes: Beyond the North Wind: Russia in Recipes and Lore by Darra Goldstein Chaat: Recipes from the Kitchens, Markets, and Railways of India by Maneet Chauhan and Jody EddyDirt: Adventures in… read more

EYB Milestone: 1000 EYBDigital Previews

Today we uploaded our 1000th EYBDigital Preview! The EYBD Preview shares a selection of full sample pages from cookbooks so that our members may get an overall idea of the book. You can learn more about EYBDigital Previews here. Below is a screenshot of the EYB Library page where we have filtered the EYBD Previews by book publication date: One of… read more

April 2021 New Cookbook Review

Every month is a surprise, I never know which books will have publication date, title or cover revisions. Even with updating the 2021 preview post weekly, many times I'm met with changes! Many of these cookbooks will be the subject of giveaways – and some already have a promotion published. Please keep checking the blog for updates. If you would like… read more

News from Australia and New Zealand

Lennox Hastie, Alessandro Pavoni & Lucio Galletto
One of the most beautiful aspects of Australia’s hospitality industry is the camaraderie and respect that exists among our leading chefs. Woodfired-cooking maestro Lennox Hastie celebrated the 6th birthday of his iconic Sydney restaurant, Firedoor, this week by getting together to cook a few ‘snacks’ with six of his favourite chef buddies: Alessando Pavoni (a’Mare and Ormeggio), Peter Gilmore (Quay… read more

Where’s the beef?

If you are of a certain age in the US, you probably remember the Wendy's fast-food commercials from the mid-1980s, where a cantankerous elderly lady peering into the competitor's burger asks the infamous question: "Where's the beef?" She might ask that question again today, but she would aim it at the recipe website Epicurious, which recently announced that it will… read more

Food news antipasto

Raghavan Iyer, best known for his comprehensive book 660 Curries, is working on a new project. The idea for the venture was hatched during Iyer's recent recovery from colorectal cancer and the ensuing treatments. He found that the hospital dietician was not speaking his culinary language, so he has devised a program that aims to assist patients and the medical… read more

April 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: Cook with Me: More Than 150 Recipes for the Home Cook by Alex GuarnaschelliBaking Option: The King Arthur Flour Baker’s Companion: The All-Purpose Baking Cookbook or any online King Arthur recipes.Online Option: Annabel Langbein online recipesPlant-Based Option: Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan… read more

Celebrate National Independent Bookstore Day

The last Saturday in April means it is National Independent Bookstore Day here in the US. Here at EYB we take pride in promoting specialty cookbook stores in several ways. First, we have a listing of our favorite cookbook store worldwide, plus we list bookstore events on our Worldwide Calendar of Cookbook Events. In addition, we celebrate these stores with our annual… read more

This week: A look inside Rose Levy Beranbaum’s The Cookie Bible, updated events calendar, recipes, EYBD previews and giveaways

Hello dear members. I am up to my eyeballs in April cookbooks preparing for this month's new cookbook review due next week. Accordingly, this week's roundup will be short but very sweet. Today I'll give you a detailed look inside Rose Levy Beranbaum's The Cookie Bible slated for publication on November 9, 2021. If you are preordering from Book Depository… read more

New Netflix show based on a book by Jessica B. Harris

Educator and culinary historian Jessica B. Harris is the author of twelve cookbooks documenting the foods and foodways of the African Diaspora, including 2011's groundbreaking High on the Hog. Now the James Beard Award-winning writer has another feather to put in her cap: a new Netflix original show named after her seminal cookbook. High on the Hog: How African American… read more

Rodney Scott’s World of BBQ Cookbook Giveaway

Enter our US giveaway to win a copy of Rodney Scott's World of BBQ: Recipes and Perspectives from the Legendary Pitmaster by Rodney Scott and Lolis Eric Elie. Rodney Scott’s World of BBQ: Every Day Is a Good Day by Rodney Scott and Lolis Eric Elie celebrates the James Beard award-winning chef’s incredible culinary legacy through his life story, family traditions,… read more

Getting to know gluten

We all know that gluten formation is needed to make bread, but how much do we understand about its formation or what conditions are needed for it to thrive? While having a rudimentary grasp of gluten allows us to bake acceptable cakes and breads, a deeper understanding of it will greatly improve our baking, says Annelies Zijderveld. Knowing the conditions… read more

The Honeysuckle Cookbook – Giveaway

Enter our US giveaway to win one of two copies of The Honeysuckle Cookbook: 100 Healthy, Feel-Good Recipes to Live Deliciously by Dzung Lewis with EYB providing one additional copy worldwide. The Honeysuckle Cookbook has been collecting my ohhs and ahhs since I first got my hands on it last September. It is my ideal cookbook as it combines all… read more

News from Australia and New Zealand

Shannon Martinez, of Melbourne’s vegan hotspot Smith & Daughters, has partnered with Ian Curley to create the eats and drinks at the recently opened Lona Misa in South Yarra’s new retro-chic Ovolo Hotel. It boasts a casual daytime café and cold-pressed juice bar, a more substantial evening menu and a lively Latin bar all with a completely vegan menu. There… read more

When it’s okay to be in hot water

The phrase "you're in hot water" usually implies a negative circumstance, but there are occasions when hot water is just the ticket. We are not talking spas and hot tubs, either: water just off the boil comes in handy in many cooking and baking applications, as The NYT's Rachel Wharton explains. Topping the list is hot water pastry, essential for… read more

Food news antipasto

You can get whiplash from reading various articles about whether certain foods are healthy - one day eggs are going to kill you, the next day they are the best thing ever - so we rarely post about food and nutrition. When it comes to chocolate, however, we are here to spread the good news about the health benefits of… read more

May 2021 The Great Big Cookbook Club Roundup

As our members know, each month we offer at least four cooking options in our Eat Your Books Cookbook Club. There are other fun cookbook clubs around the interwebs and we’d like to highlight those for those members who might want to cook or bake something other than our choices.  We want to get this information out to you so you… read more

Mother’s & Father’s Day Gift Guide

It's almost time to celebrate the special people in our lives, mom/mum and dad, and if they are cooks and bakers, I have a few ideas for gifts they will enjoy (and not return). Let's touch on some great new cookbooks this Spring (see my Valentine's gift guide for other ideas and book suggestions) as well as our current promotions… read more

Save time and hassle with this nut-toasting technique

I used to cringe whenever I saw a recipe that called for toasted nuts, having flashbacks to all of the blackened-beyond-hope nuts I had to throw in the trash. Too many times I forgot about the nuts in the oven or I turned my back on a hot skillet, and in both scenarios I ended up with scorched almonds, pecans,… read more

This week: Jachnun the 12 hour delight plus recipes, EYBD Previews, cookbook giveaways and more.

Recently my daughter-in-law forwarded a video on Jachnun to me and I, of course, had to learn more about this "not quite a bread, not quite a pastry" Yemeni dish. Caveat: I am not an expert on any subject, I am taking some time to research this dish and share what I learn. How to cook jachnun and what to… read more

Quick Bites – Virginia Willis and Special Giveaway

Virginia is sharing a giveaway over on her Instagram - be sure to follow Virginia and enter! A winner will receive a copy of Fresh Start: Cooking with Virginia (ebook or print copy) and a one year subscription to Eat Your Books. Georgia-born French-trained Chef Virginia Willis has made chocolate chip cookies with Dwanye “The Rock” Johnson, foraged for berries… read more

Nigella on privacy, performance, and cooking for one

The list of food celebrities who are commonly referred to by a single name is relatively short: think Ottolenghi, Ina, Jamie, and Nigella. All of these are beloved authors as their numbers in the EYB Library can attest. Recently The New Yorker's Helen Rosner sat down with perhaps the most widely-known of these cookbook authors, Nigella Lawson. In a wide-ranging… read more

Italian Deli – Cookbook Giveaway

Enter our US/UK/AU/NZ giveaway to win one of three copies of The Italian Deli Cookbook: 100 Glorious Recipes Celebrating the Best of Italian Ingredients by Theo Randall. Theo Randall is a British-born chef who specializes in Italian cuisine. He is currently the proprietor of Theo Randall at the InterContinental Hotel London Park Lane which is reopening on May 18th after… read more

News from Australia and New Zealand

Food writer, Sophie Hansen, who farms deer near Orange in the NSW Central Tablelands, celebrates all that’s fine about coming together with family and friends in her latest book: In Good Company (US/UK release set for May). With her innate flair and sense of country hospitality, Sophie reminds us that entertaining can be easy, with simple seasonal recipes grouped into… read more
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