Food news antipasto

I picked up a copy of Jane Grigson’s English Food at a thrift store several months ago. It has remained in my “to read” stack of books since then, but after reading Aimee Levitt’s fascinating article about Grigson, it is getting moved to the top of the pile. Levitt provides a detailed account of Grigson’s intriguing backstory, providing the reasons behind why she chose to write about food.

Molly Baz’s second cookbook, More Is More: Get Loose in the Kitchen, has been taking the US by storm. Want proof? Baz landed a spot on Jimmy Kimmel Live. It’s not every day a cookbook author is asked to be on a late night talk show, and to do so after writing only two cookbooks is impressive.

Christmas is just over three weeks away, and if you are a procrastinator like I am, you have done nothing to prepare for the Christmas dinner. It’s not too late to start planning, says Jill Dupleix. She provides a list of five things to do now for a stress-free event, and follows up with five steps to take two weeks ahead and one-week ahead of the big day.

If the thought of another traditional holiday meal of turkey and the usual sides leaves you less than inspired, The Independent has a cure to beat those doldrums. They asked 21 top British chefs to provide them with a selection of “weird and wonderful” recipes to create pizzazz at your dinner table. The recipes range from Coronation crab vol-au-vent to “14-carat” hummus to Chocolate and amarena Christmas log.

What do Ruth Reichl, Nancy Silverton, and Laurie Ochoa have in common? Besides being bestselling authors, the trio has started a new podcast called Three Ingredients. In the first episode, they discuss the reasons that even though they prefer fresh, local foods, there is a well-deserved place for canned, jarred or frozen foods in your kitchen. 

Food & Wine has released its holiday gift guide for food lovers. The list features everything from equipment to tools to specialty foods, with items falling at all price points. The automatic pot stirrer intrigues me, and I am fascinated by the Monogram Forge Heated Ice Press. The latter’s $1,800 price tag puts it firmly out of my budget. I had not heard of ice presses before, but apparently they are all the rage with cocktail aficionados, turning a block of ice into a perfect ice sphere that fits into a whiskey glass. Even if I could afford it, I don’t know if I could justify spending that much money on something that makes a single ice sphere at a time, no matter how “perfect”.