Brouhaha over burrata

Food writer Tammie Teclamariam (winner of a Best Emerging Voice award from the James Beard Foundation in 2022) stirred a hornet's nest with her recent opinion piece for Grub Street titled "A Big Fat Blob of Boring: Can we cool it with all the burrata balls?" As quickly as you could say "comment", a division emerged between those who agreed… read more

Food news antipasto

In a surprise move, Cher recently said that she is getting into the frozen desserts game with a line of gelatos under the brand name Cherlato. The singer said the launch was years in the making. In the Instagram post announcing the new project the New Zealand based ice cream and gelato supplier Giapo Kitchen was tagged, indicating that it… read more

Some (in the UK) like it hot

In the United States, hot sauce has been a favorite condiment for many years (remember Hillary Clinton talking about keeping a bottle in her purse?), and the love for spicy food has likewise been around for a long time. Until recently the love for fiery foods has not taken root across the pond in the UK, but that seems to… read more

No Famous Chocolate Wafers? No problem.

Nabisco recently roiled home bakers by announcing that they were discontinuing their Famous Chocolate Wafer cookies. People relied on these dark, crumbly cookies for no-bake cakes and crumb crusts, and bakers lamented the loss so much they started a petition for Nabisco to change its mind. Whether or not this petition is successful, you may want to have a backup… read more

Will the Le Creuset factory sale live up to the hype?

It was Sea Salt that hooked me. For many years I owned but one Le Creuset item, a 7 quart Dutch oven in white that I purchased as a factory second from a now defunct distributor. Le Creuset's revolving palette of colors was enticing, but not enough for me to fork over a considerable sum to purchase another piece. That… read more

Food news antipasto

GBBO finalist Crystelle Pereira just released her first cookbook, Flavour Kitchen, to rave reviews. She recently sat down with The Independent to discuss life after Bake Off, the decision to quit her day job and focus on cooking and baking, her Goan-Portuguese roots, and her upcoming food plans. Despite loving French pastries, Pereira admitted that she doesn't love French food.… read more

July 2023 EYB Cookbook Club Summary

Each month we offer at least four cooking options in our Eat Your Books Cookbook Club. This month our selections were: Cookbook: Tenderheart: A Book About Vegetables and Unbreakable Family Bonds by Hetty McKinnon or any Hetty McKinnon title and Milk Street Noodles: Secrets to the World’s Best Noodles, from Fettuccine Alfredo to Pad Thai to Miso Ramen by Christopher Kimball… read more

Will the Instant Pot end up in the graveyard of kitchen fads?

Air fryers are the kitchen gadget du jour, and the poor Instant Pot, which recently dominated Amazon Prime Day, is now relegated to second class status. Both appliances promise to tremendously streamline your cooking and reduce the amount of time and effort involved in meal prep, plus make it easier to eat a healthy diet. Claims like these are not… read more

Food news antipasto

We start out this week's recap of culinary happenings with sad news of two deaths in the cookbook community. Acclaimed British writer Colin Spencer has passed away at the age of 90. Grub Street Publishing (UK - not related to the US Grub Street website) posted a remembrance about him yesterday. Spencer wrote numerous cookbooks and food-related titles including British… read more

Comfort food is great, but have you tried comforting food?

Since the start of the pandemic, comfort foods have reigned supreme. In times of stress, people turn to the foods that made them feel good, whether it is a throwback dish that reminds them of home or something with a lot of fat, carbs, sugar, or all three. While eating carbohydrate-rich and fat-laden dishes is satisfying, I think there is… read more

Food news antipasto

Fans of the Hulu series The Bear may have noticed that fictional chef Carmy Berzatto has a cookbook collection at the new restaurant he opens in Season 2. Kat Kinsman and Chandra Ram did some sleuthing - including taking screenshots and enlarging them, CSI-style - and put together a list of the books Carmy has displayed. They are what you would… read more

Prime Day July 11-12, 2023

We would like to remind our Members that Amazon's Prime Day two day event is set to begin next week. As you shop for deals on July 11th and 12th, please consider using our Amazon affiliate links for your purchases (as well as any time during the year). As an Amazon Associate Eat Your Books earns from qualifying purchases when using… read more

Getting up to speed on modern restaurant lingo

The food world is never stagnant, and new creations happen at a rapid pace. Just a tick over ten years ago there was no such thing as a Cronut, seven years ago the Impossible Burger didn’t exist, six years ago ruby chocolate was born, and the list goes on. It’s difficult to keep up with food trends and new food… read more

Where does the ketchup go?

Some food disputes seem eternal: is a hot dog a sandwich, should chili have beans in it, are brownie centers better than brownie edges, and is cake superior to pie. Another one, and the subject of today's discussion, whether ketchup should be stored in the refrigerator. The answer to that question depends on who you ask. The UK branch of… read more

Fireworks in the kitchen

My neighborhood was full of the pops, booms, and crackles of fireworks tonight as people celebrated the 4th of July holiday. I only heard them distantly because I was scurrying about in the kitchen. Whenever I have a day off, I almost always plan a huge cooking or baking spree. Today was Cook's Illustrated Strawberry cream cake, plus Greg’s scrunchy… read more

Food news antipasto

Cookbook author, food writer and longtime EYB collaborator, Roberta Muir, runs online cooking classes featuring a new cuisine each month. She packages detailed written recipes and step-by-step videos in a glossy eMagazine with lots of extra food, wine and travel info relevant to the month’s cuisine. There are also pescatarian-friendly variations for all meat and poultry dishes. All 26 of Roberta’s existing… read more

How to avoid grilling mistakes

The 4th of July holiday in the US features fireworks, parades, picnics, and backyard grilling and barbecuing. Judging from the out-of-office replies I am receiving, plenty of Americans are making this weekend and upcoming holiday an extended time off. For some it might be the first time they've grilled out in a long time and for a few could be… read more

When you can’t find a copycat

Have you ever eaten something at a restaurant that compelled you to ask the chef for the recipe or sought it out on the internet after you returned home? This has happened to me on two occasions. The first time, the chef gladly gave me the (restaurant-sized) recipe for a fabulous pumpkin soup, so no sleuthing was required. The second… read more

To preheat or not to preheat, that is the question

oven dial
Almost any baking recipe, savory or sweet, begins with instructions to preheat the oven. It's second nature for most cooks to turn on the oven before gathering ingredients or preparing baking pans. But is it really necessary to preheat? There's one school of thought that says it wastes time and electricity (or gas), and another that says you need to… read more

Food news antipasto

Consumers are one step closer to getting lab-grown meat, as US regulators approved two California companies to make chicken from cultivated cells. Upside Foods and Good Meat were both vying to be the first company to get the go-ahead for lab-grown meat products. “Instead of all of that land and all of that water that’s used to feed all of… read more

Iconic dishes, legendary restaurants

As a few readers noted in our post about the World's 50 Best Restaurants, the rankings reflect the views of the sponsor company as much as they do the judgment of experts. Well, I have another curated list for you, but this one is different. It's a list of the 150 most legendary restaurants and each one's iconic dish. You… read more

The intersection of food and disability

Disability advocates have long sought to bring visibility to the challenges faced by people who have physical or mental disabilities, highlighting these difficulties while simultaneously amplifying the accomplishments and contributions of disabled people. Culinary culture is catching up in this space, with increasing numbers of bloggers and food writers publishing cooking advice for people who face physical or mental limitations.… read more

Food news antipasto

Every chef has their own 'secret' ingredient, the one that they turn to time and again to add pizzazz to their dishes. For Mauritian chef Chaya Maya, that ingredient is tamarind. She adds it to soups and stews near the end of cooking, as a marinade for meats, and in desserts. Like other Maruritians, she even eats it straight out… read more

Forget farm to table – Netflix offers film to table

Watching cooking shows is both entertaining and frustrating because there is no way to taste the creation of the chefs or contestants. We are forced to use our imaginations or recreate the dish at home if a recipe is provided. Fans of cooking shows in Los Angeles, however, will get a little something extra at the end of the month,… read more

Instant Pot’s parent company files for bankruptcy

Instant Brands, the manufacturer of Instant Pot, CorningWare, and Pyrex, filed for bankruptcy in the U.S. and Canada this week. (Hat tip to EYB Member sir_ken_g for alerting us to this event.) In a statement, the Illinois-based company announced that it "initiated a voluntary court-supervised Chapter 11 process," blaming rising interest rates on its debt load. "Tightening of credit terms… read more
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