Four fresh corn tips

June 21, 2012 by
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We have four fresh corn tips today. The first, from the Washington Post, gives a solution to the husking/silk issue. Microwave, cut the husk end off, and shake the corn out of the husk, leaving behind the silk. The tip comes complete with a You Tube video demonstrating the process. And - as an added bonus - according to some… read more

Celebrating the extinction of cookbooks

June 20, 2012 by
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Over at Slate, L.V. Anderson has stirred up a lot of controversy with a provocative essay on why she's OK with the extinction of cookbooks. In her article, The Future of Cookbooks: They'll Go Extinct. And That's OK she makes claim to a number of controversial statements. Among these are: the primary reason people buy cookbooks is to give them as… read more

How to avoid ever buying a rotten avocado

June 19, 2012 by
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Our friends over at theKitchn have a great tip for anyone who's ever held their breath opening an avocado. Since avocados brown so fast after opening, they need to be opened pretty much right before using. But then what to do if the avocado is a brown mess inside rather than the welcoming green that means creamy deliciousness? Not only… read more

Are garlic presses evil?

June 18, 2012 by
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In the world of elite cooking there is a conception that garlic presses are evil. A press supposedly crushes the garlic to mush, while using a knife keeps the garlic edges even and sharp, allowing for full flavor to come out. But over at America's Test Kitchen (aka Cook's Illustrated), they not only only disagree, but argue that a good… read more

Why Yelp can’t be trusted

June 17, 2012 by
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Epicurious reported recently on a growing problem with Yelp, the consumer rating site. As they reported, "a small minority of Yelp reviewers have been abusing the system, threatening places with bad reviews unless they get freebies and assorted perks (or, though it's not mentioned in the article, that restaurateurs are flooding Yelp with positive reviews they or their friends write… read more

Tomato growing styles are highly revealing

June 14, 2012 by
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The Washington Post has an amusing slide show illustrating various ways to support tomato plants and pointing out the personality types that each matches. Plus there are some good tips about techniques and types of tomatoes each approach requires. So meet the Innocent, the Gardener (who lies awake at night wondering if she missed a sucker), the Perfectionist, the Farmer,… read more

The family meal at “the best restaurant in the world”

June 12, 2012 by
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We recently discovered a fascinating video made by Danish photographer and filmmaker Simon Ladefoged. He went behind the scenes to film the  staff or "family" 5:00 meal at Noma, a Michelin two-star Copenhagen restaurant that Restaurant Magazine rated "the best restaurant in the world." The meal has a simple goal - merely to fuel, energize, and satisfy an intensely knowledgable… read more

Pesto bliss

June 12, 2012 by
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The New York Times recently profiled the owners of Buddhapesto - an artisanal company in New York's Hudson River Valley that has perfected a pesto inspiring intense devotion, selling out the 3,000 containers the owner makes a month using just home food processors. As well as the interesting profile of the woman who has devoted years to perfecting basil (and… read more

Slicing 15 cherry tomatoes in half at the same time

June 11, 2012 by
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We love cherry and grape tomatoes. But let's face it, it can be a bit laborious to slice each one in half -- an imperative step for maximizing their surface exposure to dressing, etc. So we were very impressed by this easy tip from the big girls small kitchen blog that shows how to slice 15  cherry tomatoes all at… read more

The most beautiful corn in the world

June 10, 2012 by
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Meet glass gem corn, a throw back to corn in its original state, when it had multi-colored kernels. This corn was the result of some fortuitious maintenance of heirloom seeds, and can be bought at the Seeds Trust Institute (though there is a waiting list until August). Unfortunately, though, it is not as good as it looks - in fact,… read more

The perfect pineapple upside-down cake, plus…

June 5, 2012 by
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Combining two blogs today, we first present America's Test Kitchen's recipe for perfect pineapple upside-down cake. Among the keys to the recipe is how to ensure perfect unmolding plus how to keep the pineapple pieces securely in place once unmolded. And the recipe comes with instructions on how to substitute peaches or nectarines for the pineapple. Our second reference is… read more

Cooking through every issue of Gourmet

June 4, 2012 by
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Remember Julie and Julia? Where Julie Powell cooked every recipe in Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking? In their blog The Way We Ate, two New York photographers are pursuing a similar goal with all the back issues of Gourmet Magazine. However, rather than blogging about the recipes, they're cooking the dishes and recording them in photos. In addition… read more

7 “bad foods” that are actually good for you

May 28, 2012 by
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Something about Memorial Day brings out a desire for lists. As we stop to remember those who are honored today, begin sorting summer clothes, or compile a summer reading list, our food preferences also change. And the same holds, I'm sure, in reverse for our friends down under. And so this list, from the Washington Post, caught our eye. As… read more

8 foods not to refrigerate

May 27, 2012 by
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With Memorial Day here, so are Farmer's Markets. Or, at least, fresh fruits and vegetables in the grocery store. They're so tempting to buy in quantity and then, in order to enjoy them over a week or so, so tempting to refrigerate. Some can indeed take the chill, but others suffer. Food Network's Healthy Eats explains why you should never… read more

How the chicken conquered the world

May 25, 2012 by
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The Smithsonian has the full 10,000 year history of the chicken - and it's definitely not a dull read. The article is full of intriguing tidbits such as: "A generation of Britons is coming of age in the belief that chicken tikka masala is the national dish, and the same thing is happening in China with Kentucky Fried Chicken." Or… read more

Deciphering basic nutrition terms

May 21, 2012 by
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At best, nutrition labels are moderately informative, but they can also be hopelessly confusing, or, at the worst, misleading. How high is "high"? Did you know that there are no official guidelines for labeling something as "Low-Carb?" Here's a short collection from Huff Post Food of the seven most common nutritional terms that are used - high, low-carb, low-sodium, BPA-free,… read more

Food Blogger Controversy: A Follow-up

May 17, 2012 by
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We recently took notice of a blog on the IACP site attacking food bloggers, (see our blog, Should amateur food bloggers be paid to develop recipes?) and the web has energetically picked up the argument. We wanted to follow up with a couple of items. First, the IACP has weighed in now with their entry, A Brief Bit of Context… read more

Gourmet Live: The Sex Issue

May 17, 2012 by
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I'm sure many of you have realized that the long-lived publication, Gourmet Magazine, didn't actually disappear, but was rather reincarnated as a digital magazine. While access to the old Gourmet recipes (from 1941 on) is still available on Gourmet.com and  Epicurious.com, Gourmet Live presents both old and recycled stories, videos, and recipes. Indeed, as the latest issue highlights, the new… read more

Confused about salt?

May 16, 2012 by
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For an ingredient that was so mundane for so long, salt has really taken a starring role in cooking over the past few years. But choice brings confusion (and extra cost). So do you really need more than one type of salt in the kitchen? When is it worth the extra cost to use a boutique salt? Food52 and its… read more

New blog focuses on celebrity chefs

May 14, 2012 by
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A new blog, The Braiser, promises to bring a behind-the-scenes approach to the lives of celebrity chefs and those who support them. With an approach that looks to be a combination of People Magazine, the Buzz, and The Sun, the editor states as The Braiser's purpose, "to bring the personalities behind the food you eat and love (or hate!) to… read more

Cocktail preferences from famous fiction writers and from famous chefs

May 10, 2012 by
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 Over at theKitchn, they're celebrating Cocktail Week. We found two of their articles, 10 Famous Fiction Writers and Their Cocktails, and 25 Food Writers Share Their Safety Drinks especially informative. The first article deals with what famous fiction authors, e.g. Hemingway, Faulkner, Chandler, preferred to drink. Among some of the fun facts: James Bond ordered 19 vodka martinis and 16 gin… read more

Saveur announces its best food blog awards

May 4, 2012 by
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We love reading about food (maybe not quite as much as cooking it, but almost), so when a prestigious magazine like Saveur produces its awards for best food blogs, we're anxious to see who is on it and what blogs we might have missed and should follow. In particular, while the usual categories are there, we were delighted to see… read more

Great kitchen gifts for under $25 and for under $10

May 2, 2012 by
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Our friends over at theKitchn.com have been compiling some great ideas for kitchen presents -- in time for Mother's Day, anniversaries, shower gifts, birthdays, or just because... They have two lists: Smart Food Gifts for Under $10 and Beautiful, Useful Kitchen Gifts for Under $25. We especially liked the filled chalkboard spice jars in the first category, and the ultra-thin scale… read more

How much celebrity chef news can you take?

April 30, 2012 by
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As reported in the New York Times, a new website, The Braiser will go live in a couple of weeks with constant coverage of "chefs who have cultivated a worldwide reputation".  It will be interesting to see if they can come up with enough news and features on a daily basis to fill an entire site. Or will they end… read more

Cooking contests – find out what’s out there

April 30, 2012 by
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We know most of you are passionate cooks (why else would you have all those cookbooks?) and look to your books and recipes not only for instruction, but for inspiration. And we're sure you've created wonderful dishes that you love to share with family and friends. And we even suspect that many of you think that those dishes might be… read more
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