Sensory subterfuge

a wooden bowl filled with lemons sits next to two whole and two halves of lemons on a wooden surface
It is no secret that marketers find all manner of ways to encourage (some might say trick) us into purchasing their products. This of course extends to the world of food, where packaging is studiously designed to make you want to grab that particular item off the shelf. There's one marketing trick that I had never even considered until I… read more

Do you have love for gloves?

gloved hands arranging food on a blue plate with lettuce, tomatoes, and hardboiled eggs
Food content creators often wear disposable gloves in their videos, with black nitrile gloves being the most popular choice. Wearing gloves is seen as a best practice to ensure food safety, but not everyone agrees that this is the best way to avoid contamination, including this baker on Instagram. She believes that gloves offer a false sense of security with… read more

Jenny’s Best Books of 2024

My list of best books will be more concise than those before. At Eat Your Books we feature books from around the world, so my typical list is always far longer than others. With time being at a shortage this year, I wanted to share some of the books that I personally thought were particularly outstanding this year. There are… read more

Food news antipasto

Our first bit of news belongs in the "just because you can, doesn't mean you should" category. Pizza Hut recently announced that it is offering a wine made from tomatoes and basil that is supposed to taste like a pizza. "The holidays are a time for many gatherings, but often, the gift of a bottle of wine can feel expected.… read more

The Great British Bake Off/Baking Show – The Finale 2024

And it is over!!! Grab your tissues and start marking off the dates until next year. The three remaining bakers are Dylan, the 20 year old flavour prince who acquired three Hollywood handshakes and was awarded star baker twice. Georgie, the home baker, who was the most consistent baker and who received the first ever Hollywood pat and two star… read more

Using the leftovers

three sugar-dusted cake donuts sitting in a bed of sugar
Yesterday, I wrote Relax, you’ve got this and am following up with ideas for using up leftovers. The guests have left, the dishes are done, the kitchen floor is swept, and the food is put away. Unless you enjoy eating the same thing for several days on repeat, tomorrow you will be thinking of ways to use the leftover turkey,… read more

Relax, you’ve got this

My social media feed has been nonstop Thanksgiving prep the past couple of days. Our gathering will be smaller than usual, so I'm throwing out the rulebook (with one exception: there will be mashed potatoes), going with prime rib instead of turkey, and ending with tarte Tatin and Bourbon butterscotch ice cream for dessert. It's late in the evening here,… read more

Move over turkey, there’s a new Thanksgiving entree in town

a square of traditional lasagna bolognese on an off-white plate. A fork rests to the right of the lasagna.
For millions of Americans, Thanksgiving dinner wouldn't be complete without a turkey. It's by far the most popular main dish on holiday tables, but for a growing number of people turkey has been supplanted by another dish: lasagna. As Khushbu Shah writes in The New York Times, this may seem surprising on the surface, but there are logical reasons for… read more

Food news antipasto

Closeup of a dark golden brown pecan pie with pecan halves on the top and a loosely crimped crust.
A stack of fluffy buttermilk pancakes just doesn't seem right without a drizzle of maple syrup, and the sweet substance has a long and rich culinary history that dates back centuries. In recent years, maple sap production, which relies on a specific variance between daytime and nighttime temperatures, has plummeted due to changes in the weather. With reserves at an… read more

The Great British Bake Off/Baking Show – Week 9 – Patisserie Week 2024

This week was patisserie week for the semi-final round. Even our strong bakers were nervous wanting to achieve the ultimate goal of reaching the finals. Signature challenge: Two batches of eight laminated breakfast pastries with one batch being filled or topped. For the first time - the bakers had one hour to prepare their dough so that it could rest… read more

November 2024 New Cookbook Review

We are nearing the end of another year of cookbook stalking. This year went so fast - it is all a blur. We have one more month of 2024 and you can keep track of what is coming in December with our 2024 Cookbook Preview and don’t forget that you can create a wishlist and share it with your loved ones. Our 2025 Cookbook Preview… read more

Holiday breads, 2,000 EYBD Previews, recipes and more

I have written about breads around the world in the past but I wanted to do a bit of a follow-up focusing on holiday breads. Photo credit: Taste Atlas As you know, I love all things baking and especially international baking and wanted to share a few books and articles that might have you making something new and exciting for… read more

The top 25 US recipes of the past 100 years

Closeup of several golden brown chocolate chip cookies.
Choosing a handful of recipes from an entire century as the representatives of a country's culinary landscape seems like a Herculean task, but Dan Kois and J. Bryan Lowder of Slate did just that. They assembled a list of 25 recipes that represents the best the US has to offer over the last 100 years. Kois and Lowder didn't do… read more

Build your own charcuterie chalet

Rows of cheese squares and circles of cured meats are arranged in an elongated triangle to resemble a Christmas tree. Sprigs of rosemary are tucked between each row, and a star-shaped piece of cheese tops the "tree"
Back in the Dark Age of late 2020, I posted about a new trend that was poised to sweep the world: charcuterie chalets, a savory twist on gingerbread houses. Made from meat, cheese, crackers, pretzels, and other savory items held together with cream cheese glue, these offered a break from the traditional gingerbread house plus it required no baking or… read more

When Southern Women Cook Giveaway

Enter our US/CA giveaway to win one of two copies of When Southern Women Cook: History, Lore, and 300 Recipes from Every Corner of the American South by America's Test Kitchen with Toni Tipton Martin and Morgan Bolling. Please note the events planned for this book which we have shared on our calendar. When Southern Women Cook: History, Lore, and… read more

How did marshmallows end up in sweet potato casserole?

Closeup of the corner of a yellow casserole dish filled with sweet potatoes and topped with toasted marshmallows
When I moved to the South as a fresh-faced college graduate, I spent Thanksgiving far away from my upper-Midwest family. Luckily, a friend welcomed me into their family, inviting me to share in their Thanksgiving feast. That was where I first encountered sweet potato casserole topped with mini-marshmallows. Since I have an eternal sweet tooth, I happily ate it but… read more

Food news antipasto

Although the internet has negatively impacted many print publications, putting some out of business altogether, it hasn't dampened the world of cookbooks. Despite having millions of recipes available at the click of a button, cookbook sales are still strong. Just when you think there couldn't possibly be another must-have book, dozens come along that offer something fresh and exciting, whether… read more

November 2024 EYB Cookbook Club Summary

Each month we previously offered at least four cooking options in our Eat Your Books Cookbook Club. This summer we cooked our favorite recipe from any cookbook, magazine, blog or online option and had a huge increase in participation. We decided to do a poll in the group asking if Members wished to continue with the “anything goes” posting or choose… read more

The Great British Bake Off/Baking Show – Week 8 – 1970’s Theme 2024

And then there were five! Can you believe the quarterfinals are already in play with this week's theme being the 1970s. Gill stated that she was the only baker remaining that was alive in the 70s which may or may not have been a blessing. Having experience with a bake didn't help her with the Sticky vegan parkin in Week 6.… read more

How to solve common pie crust problems

An unbaked pie crust sits in a pie plate with about three-quarters of the edge crimped with a fork. A fork, a rolling pin, and scraps of pie dough surround the crust
Even people who don't usually bake may reach into the cupboard and dust off a pie pan during the holiday season. Making a pie can be stressful if you don't regularly bake, but Food and Wine's Ann Taylor Pittman offers advice to help you perfect your pie with solutions to five common pie crust problems. These tips are aimed at… read more

Bay leaves – essential or superfluous?

A twig with fresh bay leaves sits next to an Erlenmeyer flask with a dark liquid, presumably bay leaf oil
Bay leaves, like cilantro and pineapple on pizza, can be a divisive topic among cooks. If you ask 10 people whether they are necessary to a dish or are a waste of time and money, you'll probably end up with a fairly even split between aficionados and haters. The Boston Globe's Beth Teitell decided to put bay leaves to the… read more

December 2024 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

A new way to test cookbooks

Cookbook clubs (along with our EYBD Previews) offer an opportunity to "test drive" cookbooks. Making recipes that you find online or in a library copy of the cookbook, along with hearing how others fared with specific recipes, allows you to get to know the book without committing to a purchase right away. There's another way to vet a cookbook, and… read more

Food news antipasto

The editors at Epicurious pulled together a list of nine cookbooks that they have been enjoying recently. The list includes new releases along with holdovers from previous months. There are baking books, vegetarian and vegan tomes, and an ode to the dinner party. Amish dinner rolls from King Arthur Baking Company With the holidays coming up, dinner rolls might be… read more

The Great British Bake Off/Baking Show – Week 7 – Dessert 2024

And then there were six to tackle dessert week. Signature challenge: 8 meringue nests with at least two fillings in 2 hours and 15 minutes. There is a Nelly-sized hole in my heart this week. I, however, managed to get through the episode without bursting into tears. We have over 100 online recipes for meringue nests in our Library should… read more
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