To all the bowls I’ve loved before

August 30, 2020 by
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I recently received a sales catalog from a famous cookware store. There is nothing at the moment that I need in my kitchen, but that didn't stop me from leafing through the pages. One item in particular captured my attention. In a page titled "Fall Color Refresh" were sets of melamine mixing bowls in three different colors. At first I… read more

Do you like your recipes poetic or practical?

August 28, 2020 by
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Some recipe writers conjure words like the best poets or lyricists, others are matter-of-fact and straightforward in their prose. Most people have a preference for one type of recipe over another, and Leite Culinaria's David Leite and Renee Schettler are no exception. The two each make the case for their preferred method of recipe writing. Renee lands in the poetic… read more

Bon Appétit names new editor-in-chief

August 27, 2020 by
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Bon Appétit magazine, still reeling from racial discrimination accusations against its former editor-in-chief Adam Rapoport and against the magazine itself, just named its new editor-in-chief. Parent company Condé Nast selected book-publishing veteran Dawn Davis for the EIC role. She will preside over the glossy magazine and its online and video outlets, plus the content of Epicurious, Healthyish and Basically. Prior… read more

A dog-gone good idea

August 26, 2020 by
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Today is International Dog Day, a celebration of all things canine. The day started in the US in 2004 by Animal Welfare Advocate and Pet Lifestyle Expert, Colleen Paige, and according to the official website, it "celebrates all breeds, mixed and pure and serves to help galvanize the public to recognize the number of dogs that need to be rescued… read more

Sweetness to go (or delivered)

August 25, 2020 by
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The pandemic has changed the way millions of people worldwide are eating. Many people accustomed to eating out for some (or all) of their meals suddenly had to shift gears and cook at home. While the transition has not been seamless, most people have adapted to the situation and home cooking hasn't been this robust for decades. Baking is another… read more

Spice support: bay leaves

August 24, 2020 by
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Although my grandmother had very few herbs and spices in her cooking arsenal, she always had a jar full of large dried bay leaves. These leaves were used in long-simmering soups and stews, carefully fished out prior to serving. The herb intrigued me since it was the only one using entire leaves that I experienced until I started cooking on… read more

Food news antipasto

August 23, 2020 by
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The era of free wine tastings in Australia may be coming to a close. The pandemic nixed wine tastings for months, and now that wineries are able to reopen, many owners say they will never go back to the era of free tastings. Complimentary wine flights are a cornerstone of Australian cellar door visits – but as wineries reopen, they… read more

An ode to the cutlet

August 23, 2020 by
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What can perk up a boring chicken breast, accommodate almost any type of meat, and even make a bland vegetable the star of the show? Cutting it in thin pieces, breading it and shallow frying it to a rich golden hue. Over at Taste Cooking, Anna Hezel waxes poetic about this in a piece titled "Consider the cutlet." Whether you… read more

Galette to the rescue

August 22, 2020 by
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Traveling during a pandemic can be an exercise in anxiety, but sometimes duty calls. Likewise, cooking in an unfamiliar kitchen, difficult in the best of times, is made worse during this stressful time. I have made a cross-country journey due to the untimely passing of someone close to me, and find myself trying to make comforting food in a place… read more

James Beard Foundation cancels 2020 awards

August 20, 2020 by
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The James Beard Foundation's annual Chef and Restaurant Awards were initially scheduled to be announced at a gala event in Chicago. After postponing that event and announcing a virtual event, the JBF has effectively cancelled the 2020 awards. In a press release, the JBF said that the choice to withhold announcing winners this year "comes as restaurants continue to suffer… read more

Are chefs embracing nonstick pans for home cooking?

August 19, 2020 by
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While avid home cooks stock their cupboards with a rainbow of Le Creuset, gorgeous glowing copper pans, and high-dollar triple-ply cookware, restaurant kitchens contain more utilitarian pots and pans, usually plain stainless or aluminum pans. You rarely see a nonstick-coated pan in a restaurant, and chefs often exhort home cooks to get rid of their nonstick cookware, claiming that it… read more

KitchenAid mixer trivia

August 19, 2020 by
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My vintage KitchenAid stand mixer has made countless batches of cookies, cakes, and other items. Even though I have a newer and larger KA, I drag out the old one for nostalgia's sake from time to time, and used it for a small batch of cinnamon roll dough earlier today. As I was scrolling through my news feed this evening,… read more

Making do in a pinch

August 18, 2020 by
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It has always been vexing to find out you are out of a critical ingredient just after you start making a dish, but with the pandemic throwing off shopping routines, it's even more disconcerting. That is why knowing what items you can substitute for others is more important than ever. We have occasionally covered this topic here, including a post… read more

Food news antipasto

August 16, 2020 by
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Interested in the juncture between cookbooks and history? A new publicly available searchable database called The Sifter might be right up your alley. The Sifter, conceived by food historian Barbara Wheaton, "is designed to be a tool to aid in finding, identifying and comparing historical and contemporary writing on food and related topics," according to the site's mission statement. Modeled… read more

Ten European dishes that chefs think everyone should try

August 15, 2020 by
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Although the EU has drawn together much of Europe into a common market, the food remains more diverse, with each country and even regions within countries having their signature dishes, styles and ingredients. The Guardian (UK) recently asked a dozen chefs (some Michelin-starred and several of the World’s 50 Best) to tell them about local dishes on the European continent… read more

The case for having a bread box

August 14, 2020 by
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When most people think of a bread box, they probably conjure an image of an old-fashioned kitchen or perhaps a scene from a 1950s television program wherein a dress- and pearl-wearing housewife pulls a loaf of bread out of its storage container to make her young child a sandwich. Whether you call it a bread box or a bread bin,… read more

The art and logic of ice cream cake

August 13, 2020 by
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Ice cream cakes are not just the province of Dairy Queen. You can make your own showstopping dessert if you know the right tips and tricks, says food writer Tara O'Brady. She provides a handy primer that lays out the potential pitfalls and shows you how to make your own magnificent, cold, creamy ice cream cake that puts the store-bought… read more

Cookbooks can be life-changing

August 12, 2020 by
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I do not have to work very hard to convince readers of our blog about the magic of cookbooks. They have woven a spell over our lives, enchanting us with their descriptions of faraway lands, mesmerizing us with detailed scientific explanations of baking chemistry, and wowing us with evocative images and stories. It never gets old seeing others discover the… read more

Don’t throw away these valuable liquids

August 11, 2020 by
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For years, I poured two valuable substances down the drain because I didn't know what else to do with them. I don't mean that time I put a colander in the sink but forgot to put a bowl underneath it and poured an entire batch of chicken stock through it before I realized my error, I am talking about the… read more

When it’s time to spice things up

August 10, 2020 by
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Spices in jars
When you have extra time on your hands, it can be all to easy to lounge about scrolling through Instagram or Pinterest. While that is a fun pastime, it gets old after a while. If you are looking for something to do that doesn't involve the computer and is cooking-related, head over to The Washington Post, where Becky Krystal is… read more

Food news antipasto

August 9, 2020 by
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Running out of things to watch in your Netflix or Amazon Prime queue? We have the answer with a new short film that dives into the world of Japanese cooking via one of its most iconic elements: dashi. The brainchild of chef Shinobu Namae and filmmaker Eric Wolfinger, the show explores each step of the dashi-making process through the eyes of the Michelin-starred… read more

Hats off to grocery workers

August 8, 2020 by
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Due to the pandemic, I have finally succumbed to doing some of my grocery shopping online. This service has been offered for a few years at my supermarket, but I haven't been interested in it before. Grocery shopping is my happy place - I find zen in the aisles as I inspect new products, compare ingredient lists, and carefully pore… read more

Historic Mexican recipes now available as e-books

August 7, 2020 by
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In February we reported how the University of Texas in San Antonio was in the process of digitizing hundreds of historical Mexican cookbooks. The pandemic has delayed this effort, but instead of just putting the whole project on hold, the university is now releasing recipes from the collection as free e-books. The first mini-cookbook was released earlier this month. Postres: Guardando… read more

The three essential baking pans everyone needs in their kitchen

August 6, 2020 by
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I recently made several pound cakes in this Nordic Ware loaf pan to give to friends and neighbors. One neighbor, witnessing the Facebook posts of my pandemic baking spree featuring myriad layer cakes, breads, Bundts, and other baked goods, asked me how much room I needed to store my baking pans. The answer is...a lot. Since my kitchen is not… read more

All about eggplants

August 4, 2020 by
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Some foods get an undeserved bad reputation because it is all too common to encounter them in badly prepared dishes. Eggplant (aka aubergine) is one such food, and its very mention can conjure images of a soggy, slimy, tasteless vegetable. Perhaps eggplant haters could be converted to lovers if they experienced it expertly made, and to that end, Becky Krystal… read more
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