Ramp up the flavor

May 4, 2014 by
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It's ramp season in the U.S. If you aren't familiar with these pungent alliums, Food & Wine provides everything you need to know. Also known as wild leeks, ramps grow wild everywhere from the Southern U.S. to Canada. They are known for their strong flavor, which "falls somewhere between onions and garlic, with an earthy, slightly funky aroma," according to… read more

Get ready for Cinco de Mayo

May 2, 2014 by
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Everyone appreciates a reason to celebrate, especially when the festivities involve great food. This is evident in the widespread celebration of Cinco de Mayo far outside the borders of Mexico. It's likely that many people who celebrate this day may not fully comprehend the history behind it: it is not, as many people believe, Mexico's Independence Day, which is September… read more

What’s your sign?

April 27, 2014 by
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While the pickup line of "what's your sign?" has fallen out of fashion (at least, we hope it has), horoscopes still enjoy some popularity. Now Saveur has matched each astrological sign to its perfect cocktail complement. The drink for Gemini, pictured above, is called La Puella y el Puer. Bartender/astrologer Patricia Clark Hippolyte created the cocktail "specifically for Gemini drinkers:… read more

Does local and seasonal produce always taste better?

April 22, 2014 by
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The mantra of eating local and seasonal has reached a fever pitch. But The Guardian's Amy Fleming wonders if the product lives up to the hype. Does a locally grown strawberry really taste much better than one that's been shipped from many miles away? The conventional wisdom is that the local product will be better because it is grown under optimal… read more

Skimping on shrimp

April 21, 2014 by
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Shrimp prices have soared worldwide due to a shortage caused by a disease that's wreaking havoc on the crustacean's population. Bloomberg reports that shrimp prices increased 61 percent in March over last year, mostly due to a bacterial disease known as early mortality syndrome (EMS). The surge in prices was made especially difficult because it came during the Lenten season, when many… read more

Uses for leftover Easter eggs that aren’t all devilish

April 20, 2014 by
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The Easter egg hunt is over, the kids are in a sugar coma from the chocolate bunnies, and now you're left with a bunch of hard-boiled eggs. Now what? Naturally, deviled eggs come to mind. The EYB library is full of deviled egg recipes, with all manner of add-ins like guacamole, sriracha, and just to mix things up, beet-pickled deviled… read more

Bringing home take out

April 16, 2014 by
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Even though EYB members love cooking at home, we occasionally (or perhaps more than occasionally) crave take out. Frequently that means Chinese food, and in particular, the kind of crispy, sweet, and spicy dishes typified by General Tso's chicken. But sometimes we don't want take out because we don't want to go out (is spring ever coming to the upper… read more

What to do when life doesn’t hand you limes

April 15, 2014 by
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The U.S. relies on Mexico to supply 95% of its limes, but severe weather late last year knocked blossoms off lime trees and reduced the current crop by two-thirds. As a result, lime prices have soared by 200%. One damaged harvest isn't enough to cause more then a temporary spike in prices, but a strain of bacteria that is slowly creeping across… read more

How cookbooks rate in the States

April 12, 2014 by
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Amazon.com has just released an interactive infographic called "Great American Eats" that shows which cookbooks originating in each region of the U.S. are most popular. The map is curated by Mari Malcolm, Amazon Books' food editor. She explains her inspiration to the LA Times: "I've long been intrigued by the regional trends in cookbooks, so I decided it would be… read more

Pickle your fancy

April 8, 2014 by
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Have you ever rummaged through the vegetable drawer, noticing produce that needs to be used but not being inspired to make anything from it? Or maybe you overindulged at the farmer's market and came home with more than you could manage. You mutter to yourself "Maybe tomorrow..." but tomorrow never comes, and you eventually discard the limp vegetables into the compost bin or trash can. There is an… read more

Go a little nuts

April 6, 2014 by
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Nut milks and have steadily grown in popularity with the trend toward minimizing animal products, and they've long been a boon to people who suffer from lactose intolerance. However, if you've read the ingredient list for most nut milks (almond being the most popular), you will likely find a host of added ingredients including sugar, flavorings, and emulsifiers. Reading this… read more

Caramel knowledge

April 5, 2014 by
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As we've discussed before, there is a "food holiday" nearly every day of the year, especially in the U.S. Today's holiday bears mention because it celebrates caramel, that fantastic transformation of a nondescription pantry staple into an exotic treat. Caramel has been part of the cooking lexicon since medieval times, if not before, and with good reason. The dark and… read more

Amazing amari

March 30, 2014 by
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Until fairly recently, only dedicated cocktail enthusiasts, or perhaps those who had traveled to Italy, knew much about amari, bittersweet herbal liqueurs often served as an aperitif. If you did know an amaro, it was probably the popular Campari, one of the keys to the Negroni cocktail. But lately, amari of all types have exploded onto the cocktail scene. And,… read more

Extreme Makeover: fruit edition

March 26, 2014 by
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The kiwifruit is an iconic symbol of New Zealand as well as an important export for the country. But some people think the exotic fruit is held back from greater success by its furry brown wrapping. The most popular fruits in the world are very convenient to transport and consume: think bananas, apples, and grapes. So scientists in New Zealand, sponsored by taxpayer… read more

Chocolate for breakfast

March 21, 2014 by
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Eating chocolate for breakfast is both decadent and delicious. Better yet: it may even be good for you. Fine Cooking just tweeted the delicious chocolate-hazelnut waffles with a Frangelico-brown butter syrup pictured above. But that is far from the only breakfast food you can find that prominently features chocolate. Kevin Lynch of Closet Cooking adds beer to the equation with… read more

Down the rabbit hole

March 19, 2014 by
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When you first learn to cook, it's exciting to learn how to make from scratch things that you used to buy ready-made. It begins with simple items like chicken stock and hummus, and quickly progresses to pie crusts, cakes, and bread. You branch out to dairy, starting with yogurt and crème fraiche and graduating to cheese. Channeling your forebears, you learn… read more

Happy Pi(e) Day!

March 14, 2014 by
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Today is the perfect day for bakers to celebrate both pi (the mathematical constant) and pie (the tasty food with endless variants both savory and sweet) because of the natural synergy between the two. Bakers use pi when scaling pie and cake recipes to determine the proper pan size, and of course bakers love to make pies, whether filled with… read more

Ready, set, breakfast!

March 10, 2014 by
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Over at The Kitchn they're discussing must-haves to keep at your desk for emergency lunches. I was glad to see the shout-out for nut butter: a jar of peanut butter lives in my desk drawer for just such situations. I would add tuna pouches to their list. But even if I have last-minute lunches well in hand, I continually struggle… read more

Creating the next “it” food

March 6, 2014 by
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In 2013, the cronut hit the NYC food scene like the Beatles descending on the States in 1964. People waited in line for hours to sample this hybrid croissant/donut, the brainchild of Chef Dominique Ansel. The sensation even resulted in cronuts being scalped on Craigslist and, as one might expect, spawned a host of imitators. In this age of internet… read more

Et tu, bratwurst?

March 5, 2014 by
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It seems that every other week a new report is published on what foods are good or bad for you. Often, these reports conflict with earlier research. First coffee is bad, then it is good, and so it goes with other products. It's enough to drive a food lover crazy. Now the culprits seem to be meat and cheese: a… read more

Pro Pho

March 4, 2014 by
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  Difficult for many people to pronounce--is it fuh? foe? (find the answer here), pho is a dish that defines a country. Even though Vietnamese cooking is varied and complex, pho is probably the food most familiar to foreigners. I fondly recall my first bowl of pho, slurped at a cozy neighborhood restaurant in Seattle. The aromatic broth combined with a dizzying… read more

Sizing up the situation

March 3, 2014 by
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 Over at Food52, award-winning cookbook author Alice Medrich is dishing out excellent advice on using a kitchen scale instead of measuring cups. Ms. Medrich points out the obvious advantages that weighing is faster, easier, and less messy than using measuring cups. It can turn a complicated cake recipe into a one-bowl affair. While using a scale returns the biggest benefits in… read more

When good wine goes bad

March 2, 2014 by
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Sometimes it's difficult to know if the wine you bought is really bad, or if it started out good but became flawed. This recently happened to me when I was celebrating with colleagues at an Italian restaurant. Because I mentioned that I was a fan of Italian reds, I was given the assignment of ordering the wine. I'm no oenophile,… read more

Scene stealers

March 1, 2014 by
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The Oscars are tomorrow, which provides the perfect opportunity to wax nostalgic about our favorite movie scenes involving food. Leite's Culinaria solicited readers to share their favorite or most memorable movie food scenes. Not surprisingly, movies like Babette's Feast, Julie and Julia, Big Night, Chocolat, and Eat Drink Man Woman were frequently mentioned. Even though these food movies are great,… read more

The core of the matter

February 28, 2014 by
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Ben & Jerry's new ice cream flavors created a lot of buzz this week. Ever wanted two ice cream flavors and a swirl in one convenient container? Well, your dreams have now become a reality with Ben & Jerry's Cores. While E! online claims that Ben and Jerry's has "changed the ice cream game forever," I'm not convinced this is… read more
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