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

Three new cookbook stores, bakers’ gift guide/giveaway, EYBD Previews, recipes and more

We are happy to report the addition of three cookbook stores in the United States to our Directory - Anchovy Book Co. in St. Louis, Missouri; Buffalo New York's Read It & Eat Bookshop (their events and classes schedule are added to our Calendar); and Food Temptress Cookbook Store in Virginia Beach, Virginia whose mission is to connect customers to… read more

Gift Guide for Bakers – 2024 and Giveaway

The holiday season is fast approaching. I wanted to share a gift guide for the bakers in your life of some of the best baking books published this year as well as a few products. In addition, we have a nice giveaway featuring the following items: a Marcato Made in Italy Holiday Cookie Gift Set, an Emile Henry cookie jar,… read more

The time to start preparing for the holidays is now

A hand in a yellow cleaning glove wipes across the face of an oven
The holiday decorations are fully ramped up now that Halloween is past (didn't we used to wait until Thanksgiving?!), so that means we need to start getting ready for those big celebration dinners we will soon be making. Creating a game plan for organizing and cleaning well in advance is vital to having a low-stress event. If you need a… read more

Have you tried an onion boil, the latest TikTok food trend?

Every few months there's a new viral vegetable trend, and the latest is one that will make your eyes water - perhaps literally. It's called an onion boil, although there isn't any actual boiling going on. Many of the videos involve using the air fryer, which is itself an oxymoron because there isn't any real frying. Back to the "boil":… read more

Brown paper bags are a cook’s best friend

Brown paper bags have been associated with food for decades. Before the rise of plastic bags, almost every supermarket and corner store used brown paper bags in the checkout lane. Is it just me or does everyone love the smell of a fresh paper bag? But I digress - these puppies can do so much more than tote home your… read more

Food news antipasto

Netflix just released a new documentary about Martha Stewart, and while the octogenarian was involved in the making of the show, she is not pleased with some of the editorial choices made by the director. Martha thought the first half was good but felt like the latter portion of the program spent too much time on her conviction and jail… read more

Desi Bakes – Cookbook Giveaway

Enter our worldwide giveaway to win one of three copies of Desi Bakes: 85 Recipes Bringing the Best of Indian Flavors to Western-Style Desserts by Hetal Vasavada. Desi Bakes: 85 Recipes Bringing the Best of Indian Flavors to Western-Style Desserts by Hetal Vasavada is one of my favorite baking books this month – in a month full of great baking titles.… read more

Pepperoni rolls get their due

The epicenter of the pepperoni roll, an Appalachian / Rust Belt specialty that has roots in the region's mines, is Fairmont, West Virginia. That is where the roll was created, at least according to lore that surrounds this humble yet delicious creation. Writing for Eater, Danny Palumbo explains the appeal of this workingman's food, and takes us on a tour… read more

The Great British Bake Off/Baking Show – Week 6 – Autumn 2024

More than half way through this season of The Great British Bake Off! This week's theme was "autumn." Signature challenge: Sweet autumnal pie with pastry and a seasonal flavor /produce in 2 hours and 45 minutes. Nelly, my queen, looked beautiful with her autumn inspired headpiece. I loved when she was cutting out her owls and said, "owls live in… read more

A huge cheese heist has experts wondering where it will go

Assorted cheeses on a rustic wooden board
Thefts of food products are not uncommon, so it is not a huge surprise that someone would plan a heist of a commodity like cheese, which happened recently to Neal's Yard Dairy, where over £300,000 worth of cheddar was stolen by swindle. What makes this theft unusual is the quality of the product, which will make it difficult to resell.… read more
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