Discovering the past through a cookbook

The story of immigration is as old as human history. Stories about dangerous ocean crossings, perilous overland treks, navigating in a strange land, or learning a new language resonate because so many of us have ancestors who emigrated to the place we call home. If we're lucky, an older relative can recount the journey with us. If not, it can… read more

Le Creuset Berry Dutch Oven Special EYB 10th Birthday Promotion

My love affair with cookware would seem unreasonable to most. I, myself, cannot explain nor justify my serious addiction to French enamel cast iron or remember how it began. I go so far as to pause the television if I glance upon a Dutch oven on a stove and have to verify for myself if it is Le Creuset (I… read more

Simple recipes are sometimes the best

Tonight was National Night Out/Nite to Unite, an annual community-building campaign in the US. It is designed to bring neighbors together and also to promote relationships between community members and law enforcement. Our next door neighbors and good friends hosted a party for our block this year. I wanted to participate and since I love to bake, a logical choice was… read more

Steak and Cake – Elizabeth Karmel & Carthage. Co Stoneware Cake Pan

Title: Steak and Cake: More Than 100 Recipes for the Best Meal Ever Author: Elizabeth Karmel, a.k.a. Grill Girl is a cookbook author, restaurant owner and has a resume that would consume this post. To find out more about Elizabeth and her cookbooks, see our bio page. This book is the best of both worlds where meat meets sweets with… read more

Food news antipasto

The week flew by too quickly once again, but here it is time for a review of the little items that I found interesting over the week but that did not warrant an entire post. While I love to watch food shows like Chef's Table, I must admit that sometimes I find them a bit too precious. If you do… read more

Spice support: za’atar

Middle Eastern food has risen in prominence in the past few years, thanks to the excellent and approachable recipes provided by Yotam Ottolenghi, Anissa Helou, Michael Solomonov, John Gregory-Smith, Sabrina Ghayour, and others. These recipes contain ingredients that until recently were unfamiliar to most Western palates, including harissa, baharat, ras el hanout, and za'atar. Today we are going to dive… read more

Is it okay to use salted butter in baking?

I read a Twitter thread the other day in which the writer unleashed a tirade of complaints about recipe requirements, including a rant against unsalted butter, which he called "trash." It is obvious that he prefers baking with salted butter, but most bakers disagree. But does using salted butter in place of unsalted really make a difference? The answer is...maybe. … read more

This week at Eat Your Books!

Check out this week's recipes, giveaways, cookbook previews and more. Eat Your Books (EYB) is a website for people who love cookbooks and want to make better use of the great recipes from those books. This month we celebrate ten years of providing our members with the tools to better utilize their cookbook collections! With EYB, a member can create their… read more

Pop goes the…sorghum?

Even with my good-sized cookbook collection and the entire EYB online recipe database at my fingertips, occasionally I run out of inspiration for the somewhat embarrassing number of grains that reside in my pantry. This is especially true for some of the more obscure items - there are not many options for purple barley, for instance. That's why I immediately… read more

The Brisket Chronicles & The Smoking Gun (Breville)

Title: The Brisket Chronicles: How to Barbecue, Braise, Smoke, and Cure the World's Most Epic Cut of Meat Author: Steven Raichlen, America's grill master, who has authored a library of books devoted to barbecue. I confess barbecue-type cookbooks don't blow up my skirt. but a book devoted to brisket - that's Marilyn Monroe skirt's over a street grate exciting. I… read more

Happy 10th Birthday to EYB

I cannot quite believe it but today is the 10th anniversary of the launch of Eat Your Books. The very first post on the blog was on launch day and I announced there were 550 books indexed. That number has now grown to 8,768 indexed books and 3,864 indexed magazines - a total of 1.8 million recipes indexed! We plan… read more

Stella Parks’ Reddit AMA

EYB Members went wild over Stella Parks' cookbook BraveTart: Iconic American Desserts, which ranks in the top 10 dessert books in the EYB Library by popularity. It's no wonder; her precise methodology and warm, funny writing style help take the intimidation out of baking while offering standout desserts. Today Parks hosted an AMA (ask me anything) on Reddit. Hundreds of… read more

Is lunchtime disappearing?

Bee Wilson is a food historian and the author of several books, including Consider the Fork: A History of How We Cook and Eat. She has a new book coming out in a couple of months called The Way We Eat Now. Shauna Sever recently interviewed Wilson for The Splendid Table, and they talked about one of the topics in the book: the… read more

Rice. Noodles. Yum.

Title:  Rice. Noodles. Yum.: Everyone's Favorite Southeast Asian Dishes Author:  Abigail Raines, the creator of the food blog, Manila Spoon Our takes you inside this title and features the following Rice cooked in banana leaves (Balisungsong na kanin) Rice with ground meat, fried egg and plantains (Arroz a la Cubana) Crispy fried dumplings (Banh goi) As a devout lover of… read more

Milk & Cardamom

Title:  Milk & Cardamom: Spectacular Cakes, Custards and More, Inspired by the Flavors of India Author:  Hetal Vasavada, MasterChef contestant and author of the food blog, Milk & Cardamom Our takes you inside this title and features the following Shrikhand parfait Bourbon biscuits Sapota (chikoo) milkshake My name is Jenny and I am addicted to baking cookbooks - especially those… read more

Restaurateurs Daniel Humm and Will Guidara call it quits

After over a decade of working together, restaurateurs Daniel Humm and Will Guidara have decided to part ways, according to Eater. The pair met in 2006 when Humm was the chef and Guidara the manager of Danny Meyer's Eleven Madison Park. They eventually partnered with investors to buy out Meyer and went on to open several other successful restaurants.  While… read more

Must Have Books for Fall 2019

We are proud of our global membership here at Eat Your Books. With a world of cookbooks to cover our "lists" are heftier than others. Even though this preview post takes into consideration cookbooks from all points on the map, I did try to pare it down for brevity's sake. That being said, please know that there are myriad titles… read more

Food news antipasto

It's Sunday, which means time for a review of all the little items that I found interesting over the week but that did not warrant an entire post. We'll begin with the kitchen hack of the week: Martha Stewart's method to remove those pesky price stickers that are applied to cookware and serving ware. It involves a common appliance that… read more

Cookbook Kickstarter – Cambodian Cuisine

One of our members brought an interesting Kickstarter to my attention this morning that strives to preserve Cambodian cuisine: NHUM - Restoring The Lost Flavors of Cambodia. Chef Nak founded her business, Rotanak, two years ago with the express mission to protect and preserve Cambodian cuisine and to bring it to the world stage. She has spent years gathering knowledge and… read more

Spice support: marjoram

Some herbs spend their lives playing second fiddle to their more popular but similar cousins. Always a groomsman and never a groom, these herbs offer support, rarely getting a chance to shine. However, when given the opportunity to play a starring role, they rise to the occasion admirably. Marjoram is one such herb. Since its appearance is similar to oregano,… read more

This week at Eat Your Books

Check out this week's recipes, giveaways, cookbook previews and more. Eat Your Books (EYB) is a website for people who love cookbooks and want to make better use of the great recipes from those books. With EYB, a member can create their own personal Bookshelf and quickly find recipes from their cookbooks, food magazines, food blogs, personal recipe clippings, and favorite… read more

Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi getting her own Hulu series

Make room on your queue for yet another food-themed program on Hulu. The streaming service has just announced that it has signed Top Chef host and cookbook author Padma Lakshmi to a ten-episode series that will debut in 2020.  The program will feature Lakshmi traveling around the U.S., highlighting foods "from the first Americans to the latest arrivals." The dishes will… read more

Vegan by Kyra De Vreeze

Title:  Vegan: Recipes for a More Delicious Life Author: Kyra De Vreeze About the author:  Kyra is a self-taught photographer and internationally published and awarded author. Her website Kyra's Kitchen shares her lifestyle concepts with a distinct focus on simple, slow and sustainable living. Our takes you inside this title and features the following Tarragon and date cake Beetroot quiche with red onion… read more

How to take the heat and stay in the kitchen

My kitchen is in the southwest corner of the house and has a large window that overlooks our lawn and flower garden. During the spring and fall I have a gorgeous vista to take in as I chop vegetables or mix a cake batter. In the winter, the view is not as lovely although the tons of natural light that… read more

Aloha Kitchen

Title:   Aloha Kitchen: Recipes from Hawai'i  Author:  Alana Kysar About the author: Alana is the author of the lifestyle blog Fix Feast Flair. She grew up in Hawaii and now resides in Los Angeles. Our takes you inside this title and features the following Ginger misoyaki butterfish Somen salad Macadamia nut cream pie What's to love: Hawaiian cuisine has been… read more
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