Potlucks and picnics

May 25, 2021 by
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With ever-increasing numbers of people becoming vaccinated and gathering restrictions loosening in many areas, people are getting together for the first time in what seems like ages. Since this coincides with the weather becoming warmer here, that means a lot of outdoor potlucks and picnics. I was just invited to a cookout in a colleague's backyard this week, and I… read more

Food news antipasto

May 23, 2021 by
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This week's news begins with information about one of our favorite cookbook authors, Diana Henry. She recently wrote about her experiences with breast cancer and an autoimmune disease, neither of which she has publicly discussed before. She spent lockdown recovering from the treatments, while still managing to make some progress in recipe testing. The good news is that scans show… read more

How to keep bread baking consistent through the seasons

May 22, 2021 by
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As spring moves toward summer here in the northern hemisphere, atmospheric changes can wreak havoc on your baked goods, especially those involving yeasted dough. The smooth, supple bread dough you made in January may suddenly become shaggy and sticky in June, even though you made no other changes. The change in humidity levels is likely the culprit, says PJ Hamel… read more

Gardening trend sticks around

May 21, 2021 by
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Early last spring, just after lockdown was announced and while shortages of foods and household products were rampant, I rolled up my sleeves and built five raised garden beds to grow vegetables. Although I had grown vegetable and ornamental gardens for years, the pandemic instilled a sense of urgency that I hadn't felt before. I was not alone in turning… read more

Christopher Kimball on drinks and more

May 20, 2021 by
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Noah Rothbaum and David Wondrich are hosts of the award-winning podcast Life Behind Bars. On their most current episode, Christopher Kimball joins Wondrich and Rothbaum to give his pointed takes on his favorite drink - the Old-Fashioned - along with other subjects. You might think that being around food all day and making copious amounts of it as part of… read more

Guild of Food Writers announces finalists for 2021 awards

May 17, 2021 by
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The Guild of Food Writers today announced the finalists for its prestigious annual Awards. The winners will be announced on Wednesday 23 June at 6pm UK time (GMT +1) via Instagram (@thegfw). The online announcement event will be introduced by Stefan Gates. Without further delay, here are the finalists for selected categories: Food Writing Award Fuchsia Dunlop for work published… read more

Food news antipasto

May 16, 2021 by
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It's not a bowl and it's not a plate, but it can be the ideal piece of dinnerware to serve everything from pasta to salad. I am referring to the latest home trend: the blate. Shallower than a bowl but with a larger lip than a regular dinner plate, the blate is cropping up at retailers and specialty shops alike,… read more

Learn about the world of art cookbooks

May 15, 2021 by
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When people see my bookshelves during Zoom meetings only a few notice that they are filled with cookbooks. Most of the books are ones that I use or consult with some regularity, although I keep several books for sentimental reasons or because they are just so gorgeous I can't part with them. I view the latter as works of art,… read more

The best cookbooks for newlyweds

May 13, 2021 by
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This summer is shaping up to be a big one for weddings, as many people who put off tying the knot due to pandemic are preparing to do it now. Florists, wedding venues, caterers, and bridal stores are gearing up for the rush, and it seems like the first large gathering many of us will be attending could be a… read more

Who gets to decide which foods are disgusting?

May 12, 2021 by
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If you ever watched Anthony Bourdain's show No Reservations, you probably saw the erstwhile chef eating foods that to most Western palates would be deemed 'disgusting', items such as warthog anus and fermented shark fin. However, to the peoples where these foods originated, they are thought of as delicacies, or at least national symbols to be proud of. This notion… read more

Don’t try to use these food scraps

May 10, 2021 by
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Cookbooks like Cooking with Scraps by Lindsay Jean-Hard, Scraps, Wilt & Weeds by Mads Refslund and Tama Matsuoka Wong, and the forthcoming Cook More, Waste Less by Christine Tizzard all address the issue of combatting food waste by making use of things you would normally discard. These items include carrot and other vegetable tops, fruit and vegetable peels, and aquafaba, to name just… read more

Food news antipasto

May 9, 2021 by
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We start this week off with two lists. The first comes to us from Eater, which presented its inaugural Eater New Guard Awards, which honors persons in the food world who have "risen to the challenges of the current moment, prioritizing the well-being of others and making a meaningful change in their community." The second list hails from 50 Next… read more

The many facets of tofu

May 8, 2021 by
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Tofu has been a staple food in the East for centuries and had been available in the US off and on since the 1700s when Benjamin Franklin first brought it to these shores, but it never reached a wide audience here until the 1960s and 70s. Its popularity was limited, however, as it was mainly viewed as a politically conscious… read more

An online archive lets you cook your way through India

May 6, 2021 by
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Cookbooks are wonderful repositories of a culture's foodways, along with recipes handed down from generation to generation via oral tradition or passed along through recipe cards. As groups of people move in response to political or cultural issues and as tastes change, community recipes that have not been codified in cookbooks can be lost. A trio of students at Flame… read more

It might be time to listen to your cookbooks

May 5, 2021 by
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Audiobooks make wonderful road trip companions and are also a wonderful way to wind down at the end of the day. Fiction and autobiographies are the top sellers in this category, and you might not think that a cookbook would do well an audiobook. However, some of them translate exceptionally well to the genre as The New York Times' Jennifer… read more

Eleven Madison Park goes meat free

May 3, 2021 by
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Daniel Humm's award-winning NYC restaurant, Eleven Madison Park, was shuttered for months due to COVID-19 restrictions. The chef and his staff pivoted to feeding the hungry through a partnership with a nonprofit organization. This morning Humm announced that the fine dining establishment would soon return, but with a huge change in the menu: it will no longer serve any meat… read more

Food news antipasto

May 2, 2021 by
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If you enjoy beer and history, listen up: a county in the UK is hiring someone to visit pubs for a year. The Lincolnshire County Council has recently posted a job listing for a Heritage Project Officer. The job, which pays $40,000 USD for a one-year stint, will involve "researching and recording the architectural and social history of public houses along… read more

Making the most of rhubarb season

May 1, 2021 by
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One of the first signs of spring is when I see the deeply ruffled leaves of my rhubarb plants poke their way through the remnants of last fall's leaves. The green leaves are followed by crimson red stalks of the tart vegetable (it’s not a fruit, despite its usual treatment as a dessert) and I am excited for the tarts… read more

20th Century Cafe shutters its doors

April 30, 2021 by
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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

April 28, 2021 by
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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

Where’s the beef?

April 26, 2021 by
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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

April 25, 2021 by
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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

Celebrate National Independent Bookstore Day

April 24, 2021 by
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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

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

April 22, 2021 by
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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

Getting to know gluten

April 21, 2021 by
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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
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