Everything you need to know about molasses

Nothing can replicate the rich, complex flavor of molasses. It's essential to gingerbread and, as a component of brown sugar, adds its subtle bitter and roasted caramel notes to many baked goods. There are several types of molasses available so it can be confusing to know which one is right for which recipe, but Southern Living Magazine sets us straight… read more

Perfect your butter-basting technique

Have you ever watched professional chefs on a cooking show cooking a piece of meat in a skillet, scooping liquid from the pan in deft strokes and pouring it over the steak or chop? This technique, called butter basting, is beloved by many chefs. Although it requires a bit more finesse than some other techniques, Daniel Gritzer shows us how… read more

Classics are classics for a reason

While I find it exciting to challenge myself by trying new recipes, sometimes I just want the old 'tried and true' dishes. Whether it's because I am tired at the end of the day, I don't feel well, or because something reminds me of a favorite treat, I will defer to a classic recipe over a novel one.  Classics have… read more

You might just flip for these pancakes

Pancakes have been a breakfast staple for centuries. Over the years regional specialties emerged, but restaurants have tended to go for the standard buttermilk pancake topped with syrup or fruit. As Bon Appétit reports, today restaurants are venturing into new territory by making pancakes with diverse ingredients such as alternative grains, coffee flour, and sourdough.  Chef Jason Wilson, of The Lakehouse in Bellevue,… read more

September 2018 Eat Your Books Cookbook Club Summary & Future Selections

We have an incredible community here at Eat Your Books that has flowed into our Eat Your Books Cookbook Club and Sweet Eat Your Books Cookbook Club, places where we share our successes and fails in cooking and baking from specific cookbook titles. Here on the site our recipe notes feature - completed by members and our indexers - help… read more

The best streaming food programs

If you are looking for quality food shows to watch in between episodes of the GBBO, you should look to streaming services, which have quietly collected dozens of entertaining shows. There are now so many options it can be difficult to decide what to watch, which is why The Guardian's guide to the best in streaming food shows is so handy. … read more

Mayo is good for more than sandwiches

Most of us have a jar of mayonnaise in the refrigerator, just waiting to be slathered on a sandwich. That's far from the only use for the condiment, however, as Food & Wine explains. They have five chef-recommended ways to make the most of mayo. Recent articles have predicted the end of mayonnaise (allegedly millenials don't like it), but chef… read more

August 2018 Eat Your Books Cookbook Club Summary

We have an incredible community here at Eat Your Books that has flowed into our Eat Your Books Cookbook Club and Sweet Eat Your Books Cookbook Club, places where we share our successes and fails in cooking and baking from specific cookbook titles. Here on the site our recipe notes feature - completed by members and our indexers - help… read more

In praise of the potato

For hundreds of years, potatoes have fed much of the world. Whether roasted, boiled, baked, or mashed, the humble spud has been the preferred side dish for - and sometimes even the star of - countless meals in the Americas and Europe. But recently the ubiquitous dinner companion has struggled. Millenials seem to prefer rice as their starch, so potato… read more

July 2018 Eat Your Books Cookbook Club Summary

We have an incredible community here at Eat Your Books that has flowed into our Eat Your Books Cookbook Club and Sweet Eat Your Books Cookbook Club, places  where we share our successes and fails in cooking and baking from specific cookbook titles. Here on the site our recipe notes feature - completed by members and our indexers - help share… read more

Soup in the summertime

Things have been hot in the northern hemisphere as much of the US and the UK are in the throes of a heatwave. When it is sweltering outside, the thought of soup for dinner is not particularly attractive - that is, unless it's a refreshing chilled version. I've been seeing many mouthwatering chilled soup recipes on my social media feeds… read more

June 2018 Eat Your Books Cookbook Club Summary and August – October Annoucements

Last month we topped 5,000 members in the Eat Your Books Cookbook Club, come join us. I find myself cooking more recipes from my books than normally because the photos are so inspiring. One of the many great benefits of EYB is our recipe notes (as you will see below in our first entry regarding the Rhubarb cake in the Sweet… read more

Eat Your Books Cookbook Club – May 2018

This month we topped 5,000 members in the Eat Your Books Cookbook Club and we have been working from the following options:  Main selection: Dining In by Alison Roman Flashback and Online option: Any recipe from Madhur Jaffrey books or her recipes online | Baking: The Fearless Baker by Erin Jeanne McDowell And, desserts are still being churned out in our second group working through Ottolenghi's Sweet. ****** The photos below are… read more

Pasta Grannies

Meet Vicky Bennison, the founder of the Pasta Grannies. While Vicky was researching Italian food for a project, she discovered beautiful nonnas, ranging from the age of 49 through 95 and beyond, who were still creating beautiful hand-made pasta.  She made it her mission to preserve this dying art with a website and a Youtube channel devoted to teaching these… read more

Eat Your Books Cookbook Club – April 2018

April has been a busy month with members enjoying all the dishes they have been making from Chinese Soul Food. The author, Hsiao-Ching Chou, has been popping in the group sharing tips and instructional videos such as a stir-fry demo, a video on making dumplings, and another on reducing the sauce in her Sweet and Sour spare ribs in our Eat Your… read more

Edible flowers add a pop of color and flavor

  From where I'm sitting in the northern US, spring seems like only a distant possibility even though it is mid-April. We're being socked with a blizzard, and the cold and snow makes one dream about the first pops of color that signal the start of the growing season. Many of the first plants to bloom happen to be edible,… read more

The cookbook from France’s ‘Jam Fairy’ is still in print

Have you ever read a story about a chef, restaurant, or tiny shop, enamored by descriptions of dazzling foods, and gleefully discover at the end of the article that you can buy a cookbook by the chef or artisan? Knowing this crowd, I'd bet the answer to that question is 'of course!' Nevertheless, it's always exciting when it happens, and… read more

Eat Your Books Cookbook Club – March 2018

March has us cooking up recipes in the Eat Your Books Cookbook Club from the following cookbooks/recipes: Main selection: David Tanis' Market Cooking by David Tanis. Online option: David's online recipes which are indexed from his City Kitchen column. Baking title: BraveTart: Iconic American Desserts for more information on Stella's remarkable book see our promotion post. Flashback option: any recipe… read more

A can and a plan

  While cooks eschew most canned vegetables and fruits, there is one canned item that should always have space in your pantry. Canned beans (aka pulses) like chickpeas, butterbeans, and pintos are versatile items that can help you get dinner on the table in no time flat. Even esteemed chef Yotam Ottolenghi is a fan of canned beans, and has… read more

Argan oil is the new darling of chefs

One of the biggest beauty trends of the last several years has been argan oil-infused products. Now the Middle Eastern oil is finding its way into the culinary world. Chefs like Michael Solomonov have embraced the nutty oil, produced mainly in Morocco.  The historic method of retrieving the nuts - by pulling them out of goat droppings - has been… read more

All You Can Watch Weekend at Craftsy!

Craftsy, for this weekend only, is allowing free access to every class and video in their All You Can Watch Weekend. That's 1,300 plus classes! Find out more here (no credit card required). Recently, I shared that Katie Workman and Robin Miller launched a new cooking show through Craftsy entitled Real Life Cooking. There are many cooking and baking classes are available from our favorite chefs and authors including Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough, Rick Rodgers, Gesine Prado,… read more

February’s Summary of the Eat Your Books Cookbook Club

February has us cooking up recipes from The Home Cook: Recipes to Know by Heart by Alex Guarnaschelli, Nigel Slater (online), How To Be a Domestic Goddess: Baking and the Art of Comfort Food  by Nigella Lawson, and Jamie at Home: Cook Your Way to the Good Life by Jamie Oliver in the Eat Your Books Cookbook Club. And, desserts are still be churned out in our second… read more

Oh, sugar

  When I was growing up, there were only two types of sugar in our house: white and brown. It was only after I started cooking for myself and became interested in cuisines different that what I was familiar with that I discovered there are many plants that can produce sugar beyond sugar cane and sugar beets. Knowing what to… read more

Eat Your Books Cookbook Club April – July Selections

Last September we announced the formation of the Eat Your Books Cookbook Club on Facebook and shortly thereafter the Eat Your Books Sweet Ottolenghi Cookbook Club. The latter is of course to bake our way through Ottolenghi and Helen Goh's Sweet and the former to cook through certain titles as a community. We continue to grow and welcome all to… read more

Online options for connecting through food

Let's face it, we are all stretched for time whether it be family, work or any number of responsibilies which limit the opportunity to go out and do something just for ourselves. Exploding all over social media lately are online options that allow us to participate without leaving our home (and even watch at a later time or date). Can't… read more
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