Changing old ways in the kitchen

I've been cooking for a long time, and many of the kitchen practices I employed at the beginning of my culinary journey have gone by the wayside. I no longer cook pork chops to well done, I stopped putting oil in my pasta boiling water, I don't use glass cutting boards anymore, the list goes on. In all cases, I… read more

Gardens are full of miracles and disappointments

Usually by now I would have posted my annual ode to rhubarb, one of the first items most gardeners can harvest each spring. This year the rhubarb was delayed due to a long, cool April, but in May it leapt out of the ground due to a burst of warm weather. The joke around here is that spring lasts roughly… read more

Pasta Masterclass Cookbook Giveaway

Enter our US/UK/AU/NZ giveaway to win one of three copies of Pasta Masterclass: Recipes for Spectacular Pasta Doughs, Shapes, Fillings and Sauces, from The Pasta Man by Mateo Zielonka. Pasta Masterclass: Recipes for Spectacular Pasta Doughs, Shapes, Fillings and Sauces, from The Pasta Man by Mateo Zielonka is a stunning follow up to Mateo’s The Pasta Man. This book has everything –… read more

Food news antipasto

After 17 years, Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi announced that she was leaving the Bravo TV series. In a tweet, Padma said that "After much soul searching, I have made the difficult decision to leave Top Chef. Having completed a glorious 20th season as host and executive producer, I am extremely proud to have been part of building such a… read more

James Beard Cookbook Award winners

The winners of the James Beard Media Awards were announced this evening at a gala celebration in Chicago. Chef, television star, and cookbook author Pati Jinich served as emcee for the event, and announced the first couple of winners. Gregory Gourdet, who won several awards last year, also presented awards for several categories including the General cookbook category where a… read more

Are robots coming to a restaurant near you?

Recently one of my friends posted a photo of a robotic "waiter" at a restaurant where they were dining. It took their orders via touchscreen and it brought out the food on a tray when it was ready. With worker shortages ongoing, investing in technology seems like a logical move, although whether diners will appreciate this change remains to be… read more

To become a better cook, start scribbling

We've discussed the practice of writing notes in your cookbooks before, and most EYB Members agreed that it was a good practice. There were some naysayers, however, who argued that messing up a gorgeous book with notes (or splotches and splashes) was a bad idea. Today in The Washington Post, Becky Krystal set out to change the latter group's mind.… read more

Food & Drink Modernist Cuisine Photography – Giveaway

Enter our US giveaway to win a copy of Food & Drink: Modernist Cuisine Photography by Nathan Myhrvold. Take a deep dive into Modernist Cuisine founder and photographer Nathan Myhrvold’s ever-evolving fascination with food in his new book Food & Drink: Modernist Cuisine Photography. This beautiful photo book features over 200 vibrant images showcasing food in new and surprising ways.… read more

Celebrate National Doughnut Day

Food holidays tend to sneak up on me and I don't realize it is National [insert food here] Day until after it's over. However, I am always on point for National Doughnut Day, because deep fried cake/sweet dough is so darned delicious. The holiday is happening on June 2, and here in the US, Dunkin' Donuts and Krispy Kreme (among… read more

Food news antipasto

Does chef Jose Andres ever sleep? As if he isn't busy enough running restaurants, contributing to his nonprofit enterprise (World Central Kitchen), and giving talks around the world, he just announced a new partnership with George Washington University. They are forming The Global Food Institute, and its lofty aim is to "serve as a hub to develop evidence, partnerships, and… read more

Recipes to welcome summer

Our US members have a long weekend for the Memorial Day holiday. While the day itself is a time for somber appreciation for those who gave all in defense of our nation, the unofficial event that coincides with the holiday is the welcoming of summer. As I walked through my neighborhood today it seemed like every backyard contained a grill,… read more

May 2023 New Cookbook Review

How did we already get through May? Almost half the year has sped by and I can't decide if it's how fast time is flying in cookbook world or the older I get the more the days race by. But, here we are in May with a slew of fantastic books from around the globe and please remember the 2023 Cookbook… read more

Going bananas

If you are a certain age, you probably remember the scene from Raiders of the Lost Art (1981) when Harrison Ford's character says "Snakes. Why did it have to be snakes?" I was reminded of that scene when I watched a recent episode of Chopped, where one of the contestants discovers that a particular fruit was in the mystery ingredient… read more

May 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: Milk Street Noodles: Secrets to the World’s Best Noodles, from Fettuccine Alfredo to Pad Thai to Miso Ramen by Christopher Kimball - Note: As Noodles was released late April and I myself did not get a copy until the… read more

The ebb and flow of ingredients

If you looked into my refrigerator daily over the past 20 years, you would have been hard pressed to find a day where you did not see a container of yogurt prominently displayed. As a recent Food & Wine article noted, there are legions of dishes that start with or are finished by a dollop of the tangy dairy product.… read more

Food news antipasto

Most of us know that Betty Crocker isn't a real person; she was concocted by the marketing folks at the Washburn-Crosby Company (the precursor to General Mills) in 1921. However, another names that is displayed on boxes of cake mixes across the US is (or was) a real person: Duncan Hines. Southern Living explores the history of Mr. Hines, who… read more

James Beard Award-winning chef to open indigenous food lab

Chef Sean Sherman, whose Minneapolis restaurant Owamni was named the Best New Restaurant for 2022 by the James Beard Foundation and whose cookbook The Sioux Chef also won a JBF Award, has his sights set on a new venture in the Twin Cities that he is hoping to expand across the country. In conjunction with his nonprofit NATIFS, the chef… read more

This week: Author events, recipes, EYBD Previews and more.

More in person events are being planned around the world and I have updated our calendar this week. We've added four new author tours: Tracey Medeiros for The Vermont Farm Table Cookbook; Hetty McKinnon for the US release of Tenderheart; Cynthia Graubart for Zucchini Love (note event this Saturday) and Meike Peters for Noon: Simple Recipes for Scrumptious Midday Meals… read more

What are your bad habits in the kitchen?

In a perfect food world, there would never be any cross contamination, surfaces would remain pristine, and everyone would religiously follow food safety rules. In the real world, however, nothing's perfect - including Jay Rayner. He confesses to some "unsavoury" habits in the kitchen, but he feels secure that he is in good company. Rayner shares that while filming a… read more

2023 Art of Eating Prize winner announced

The Art of Eating Prize is awarded annually to the author of the year’s best book about food (or food and drink together). Where other food book awards involve nominations in diverse categories, The Art of Eating Prize focuses on a single best book. The founders of the prize, by rewarding the highest quality work, hope to encourage the excellence… read more

June 2023 Great Big Cookbook Club Summary

As our members know, each month we offer several cooking options in our Eat Your Books Cookbook Club. There are other fun cookbook clubs around the interwebs and we’d like to highlight those for those members who might want to cook or bake something other than our choices.  We want to get this information out to you so you can prepare… read more

Cookbook Giveaway & Quick Bites: Cristy’s Kitchen

Enter our US giveaway to win one of two copies of Cristy's Kitchen: More Than 130 Scrumptious and Nourishing Recipes Without Gluten, Dairy, or Processed Sugars by Cristina Kisner. In 2019 Cristy Kisner, her husband, Sebastian, and their five daughters moved to Roswell, Georgia, from Peru, investing all their savings in Cristy’s dream of opening a healthy café in the… read more

Cookbook Giveaway: From Salt to Jam

Enter our US/UK/AU/NZ giveaway to win one of three copies of From Salt to Jam: Make Kitchen Magic with Sauces, Seasonings and More Flavour Sensations by Katrina Meynink. From Salt to Jam is flavour-powered cooking made easy. This beautiful book offers foolproof recipes for hardworking condiments - pastes, dressings, sauces, seasonings and jams - that unlock 100 delicious meals for… read more

Food news antipasto

As we eagerly await the announcement of the winners of the 2023 James Beard Media Awards, yet another controversy is brewing around the James Beard Foundation. This time it comes from a couple of judges resigning and a former winner smashing his award with a brick. As Eater explains, "In the wake of disqualifying a Birmingham [Alabama] chef, two judges… read more

Alkalinity can work wonders with food

The title to Samin Nosrat's excellent book indicates what she feels to be the most important elements in cooking - salt, fat, acid, heat. While acid plays an important role in cooking, it might be better to think about pH more broadly than just acid, as alkaline substances offer important benefits in the kitchen as well. Food writer Caroline Hatchett… read more
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