October 2021 Great Big Cookbook Club Summary

As our members know, each month we offer at least four 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… read more

Jamie Oliver’s new show is all about our favorite subject

This is exciting news - we just learned about a new TV competition brought to us by Jamie Oliver Productions and Plum Pictures that aims to "find the next big name in cookery". The new program, which is open to anyone from home cooks to chefs, offers a book deal with Penguin Random House as the main prize. Of course… read more

All Day Baking – Cookbook Giveaway

Enter our US/UK/AU/NZ giveaway to win one of three copies of All Day Baking: Savoury, Not Sweet: Pies, Quiches, Galettes, Tarts, Preserves and More by Michael and Pippa James. It just seems like yesterday that I was drooling over the publication of The Tivoli Road Baker: Recipes and Notes from a Chef Who Chose Baking however, in reality, it was… read more

Food news antipasto

There are two types of people in the world: those who meticulously follow a recipe's direction to use one clove of garlic, and those who see that and add three (or more) cloves. If you count yourself as part of the latter group, head over to America's Test Kitchen, where they explain how the strength of garlic's flavor depends on… read more

This week: Ottolenghi YouTube series, Fortnum & Mason Food Award winners, GBBO air date confirmed, upcoming books from GBBO stars and more

Mark your calendars! Channel 4 has confirmed that The Great British Bake Off will return on 21 September. This is the second series to be filmed with strict regulations to reduce the potential spread of COVID on the set. The good news this year is that there appears to be no shortage of flour or yeast.  Netflix will stream the… read more

Fortnum & Mason Food Awards winners announced

Fortnum & Mason has long been a resource for English cookery, providing quality ingredients to generations of cooks since its founding in 1707. The company’s annual food and drink awards celebrate the best publications and broadcasts in the UK and Republic of Ireland. Yesterday, Fortnum & Mason announced its winners for the 2021 awards, given in an assortment of categories and… read more

How to clean out the pantry, tastefully

The change of seasons, whether from summer to fall or winter to spring, is the perfect time to reassess the half-empty boxes and bags, close to 'best by' date tinned items, and the random items you purchased on a whim with no recipe in mind. It can seem like an episode of Chopped when you start to inventory the contents… read more

The science of cocoa powder

Not all cocoa powders are made the same. You might be familiar with the terms Dutch-process and natural, but beyond those two main characteristics lies another world of nuance. There are different "dutching" processes, as well as differences between the cacao bean varieties used to create the cocoa. Throw in divergent fat percentages and your head can spin trying to… read more

Everyday Entertaining Cookbook Giveaway

Enter our US giveaway to win one of three copies of Everyday Entertaining: 110 Recipes for Going All Out When You're Staying In by Elizabeth Van Lierde. Elizabeth van Lierde is a writer, photographer, recipe developer and food stylist. After starting a career in event planning, Elizabeth discovered her true passion: entertaining. She launched her blog The College Housewife as… read more

Tomato, tomahto

Here in the northern U.S., we have reached peak tomato. My garden is churning out ripe tomatoes at a frantic pace as the light gets shorter and shorter each day. I have already eaten more than my fair share of BLTs, tomato sandwiches, tomato tarts, tomato salads, gazpacho, and various other tomato-related meals. I have canned several quarts of crushed… read more

Food news antipasto

This week brings us plenty of news about several celebrity chefs/cookbook authors and their restaurant openings and closings. First up is that Gordon Ramsay is at long last opening another restaurant in Scotland, 17 years after his Glasgow eatery Amaryllis closed. The new outpost of Bread Street Kitchen & Bar will take over the former Refinery site at 4-8 St… read more

Father’s Day recipes

Sunday is Father's Day in Australia and New Zealand, but even if you don't live in those countries, it's a good excuse to celebrate the special men or father figures in your life. If you plan on making something special but are out of ideas, head over to Australian Gourmet Traveller, as they have assembled dozens of Father's Day recipes… read more

The last two weeks: A look inside Gastro Obscura, 2022 cookbooks, giveaways, recipes and EYBD Previews

This roundup has more links and information than usual as we skipped last week's post as we sent out the monthly newsletter. For brevity's sake, I will keep the topic short and sweet: a quick look at an amazing food title: Gastro Obscura: A Food Adventure by Cecily Wong, Dylan Thuras and Atlas Obscura. Gastro Obscura is one of those… read more

Michel Roux Jr’s new travel program showcases French country cooking

The past couple of years have been rough on Michelin-starred chef Michel Roux Jr. He lost both his father Albert Roux (early this year) and his uncle Michel (in 2020), in addition to the pandemic wreaking havoc on the restaurant industry. Instead of dwelling on those events, the chef is instead focusing on the positives, such as a new grandson… read more

My Cookbook Passion and Quick Bites with Pamela Grogan, the author

My Cookbook Passion: Culinary History and Adventure in Exploring My Collection by Pamela Kure Grogan is slated for publication in November and our members will definitely want to own this title. A cookbook with a historic recipe anthology does not easily define the wonder of tracking the evolution of the cookbook and the modernization of the kitchen. Pamela Kure Grogan's… read more

A new Oxford Companion is on the way

The Oxford Companion series offers authoritative, highly researched deep dives into subjects like cheese, wine, and beer. Next month we welcome a new volume to these reference works: The Oxford Companion to Spirits and Cocktails, edited by David Wondrich and Noah Rothbaum, hosts of the podcast Life Behind Bars. The Oxford Companion to Spirits and Cocktails is the first major… read more

Looking forward to 2022 cookbooks

Every September, I begin cataloging the following year's cookbook releases. I do this for several reasons: 1) so our members know what is waiting down the pipeline and 2) it makes the monthly new cookbook reviews a little easier for me as I keep the original post updated when changes occur. Preview posts for the second half of 2021 -… read more

The New Yorker special culinary archival issue

Run, don't walk, to your local newsstand and buy a copy of this week's The New Yorker (or sign up for a free trial). The current issue is a tantalizing smorgasbord of food and drink writing, culled from the magazine's long and storied history. There are throwback articles from Anthony Bourdain, Nora Ephron, M.F.K. Fisher, Calvin Trillin, Madhur Jaffrey, and… read more

Food news antipasto

From baking to operating a cookery school to writing several bestselling cookbooks, John Whaite is living his best life. He will soon add another accomplishment to his impressive career: the 2012 Great British Bake Off champion is slated to compete in Strictly Come Dancing’s first all-male partnership. Whaite said: “I’m so grateful, excited, and nervous to be joining the Strictly… read more

Emily Dickinson, food writer

Emily Dickinson was never famous in her lifetime, with only a handful of her poems published while she lived, and all of those anonymously. The prolific poet's works were only discovered and published after her death at age 55. Despite authoring over 1,800 poems, Dickinson did not occupy all of her time with writing: she was known for both her… read more

A simple cookie

A chocolate chip cookie, no matter how large, is not going to solve the world's problems. I know that it cannot fix the fact that I missed a meeting with my supervisor earlier today, much less undo the tremendous damage caused by a madman thousands of miles away. It is just a simple confection, composed of flour, butter, sugar, and… read more

Don’t say cheese, say formaggio

Assorted cheeses on a rustic wooden board
I'll never forget the first time I walked in to the Dean & Deluca in Georgetown (Washington, DC). I was at the beginning of my culinary awakening, when I first became aware of the vast world of food beyond what I had experienced in my small Midwestern community. In particular, the array of specialty cheeses floored me: I did not… read more

Baked to Perfection – Cookbook Giveaway

Enter our US/UK giveaway to win one of three copies of Baked to Perfection: Delicious Gluten-Free Recipes, with a Pinch of Science by Katarina Cermelj. Baked to Perfection: Delicious Gluten-free Recipes, with a Pinch of Science by Katarina Cermelj begins with a thorough look at the gluten-free baking basics: how different gluten-free flours behave, which store-bought blends work best, and how… read more

New wishlist feature

Many of you have been asking for this feature for a long time. We are delighted to announce that the Wishlist is finally here. Next to each book and magazine's indexing status in the EYB Library you will see a red heart outline. When you click it, the heart turns to a solid red - the book or magazine is… read more

A tart and a tale

As I doom-scrolled through Twitter today, a tweet about Mayukh Sen's recent column for The New Yorker caught my eye, and I'm glad I clicked through. In the article, Sen shares a recipe for a late-summer tart by the indomitable Madeleine Kamman, but the piece is much more than just a short blurb and a recipe. Sen has a gift… read more
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