Now is the time for complicated projects

A great number of people who normally work in an office are currently working from home. Others are staying home for less fortunate reasons, such as layoffs and store closures. In both scenarios, a lot of us have a little extra time on our hands, and also could use a little positive distraction. Perhaps now is the time to jump… read more

Quick Bites: Melissa Clark

While I finish up a special giveaway celebrating Melissa Clark's new title Dinner in French: My Recipes by Way of France along with a Dutch oven from LeCreuset (see below), I thought it would be the perfect time to share our latest Quite Bites featuring Melissa. Melissa Clark is a food columnist for the New York Times Food Section, where… read more

How to support local businesses (including cookbook stores)

The restaurant industry is reeling during this chaotic time. Also feeling the pinch are independent booksellers, many of which have been forced to close their doors as cities institute strict policies on which stores can remain open during the pandemic. Many stores and restaurants are shifting how they do business in order to stay afloat, as most of them operate… read more

If you watch one video, watch this.

We know what an amazing man José Andrés is as evidenced by his endless work to feed those in need. He fed workers during the government shut down, the work he did in Puerto Rico was unparalleled (We Fed an Island: The True Story of Rebuilding Puerto Rico, One Meal at a Time), and recently he set up in Oakland… read more

Food websites offer free access

As more and more of us are staying home due to the coronavirus outbreak, people will be reversing the trend of eating out and will be making their own meals. Some of us are more accustomed to doing a lot of cooking at home but others will struggle. And after a few days, even those of us who like cooking… read more

Jenny’s Best Cookbooks of Spring 2020

We are all looking for some semblance of normalcy during this difficult time. I will continue to write and share about cookbook news in the hope that it brings our members some distraction. We are all in this together. I suffer from an affliction which many of you can relate to - I obsessed about cookbooks. I am continually updating… read more

The best spring cookbooks according to Epicurious

While Jenny provides us all with great reviews of upcoming books, she is only one person and can't possibly review every new volume that is hitting store shelves. To help fill the gaps, occasionally we report about other sites that also provide us with insight on upcoming releases. Today we'll take a look at what Epicurious thinks are the 55… read more

Food news antipasto

This week's news cycle has been dominated by measures being taken by countries around the world to slow the spread of the coronavirus. If you are staying home to avoid contact with others, you might want to take note of the recent Salon article on how to use citrus peel scraps to make better cocktails. Resourcefulness rules during times like… read more

One Pot Feeds All – Anolon Two Step Meal Set & Baking Pan Giveaway

Enter our giveaway to win a copy of One Pot Feeds All: 100 New One-Dish Recipes from Roasts to Desserts by Darina Allen with one grand prize winner receiving Anolon cookware (US). EYB is providing one copy of the cookbook to a member worldwide. Darina runs the world-renowned cooking school at Ballymaloe in County Cork, Ireland. She founded the school with her brother, Rory O’Connell in 1983… read more

Celebrate Pi(e) Day

Today is the perfect day for bakers to celebrate both pi and pie due to the natural synergy between the two. Bakers use pi when scaling pie and cake recipes to determine the proper pan size, and of course, they also love to make pie, whether filled with fruit, custard, meat, or vegetables. Pie is universally appealing to everyone from… read more

Coronavirus takes its toll on the food industry

While people have wiped the shelves bare of toilet paper, the concern about the spread of coronavirus has affected other areas of the economy as well. Several restaurants, including NYC's Le Bernardin, San Francisco's La Taqueria, and dozens more have closed their doors for at least a couple of weeks. Alinea's Nick Kokonas explains how many restaurants are facing a… read more

This week: Hamantaschen, Jewish baking, cookbook previews & giveaways, culinary news

The Jewish holiday of Purim commemorates the salvation of the Jewish people from Haman’s persecution in ancient Persia. In my social media feed earlier this week, friends celebrating Purim shared tempting photographs of hamentaschen, a symbolic food eaten during this holiday. In Hebrew, hamentaschen means ears of Haman, and are triangular-shaped cookies that represent either Haman’s ears or his three-cornered… read more

Renowned chef Michel Roux dies at age 79

Michel Roux, the famed French chef who along with his brother Albert revitalized fine dining in the UK, has died at the age of 79. The Roux brothers restaurants, Le Gavroche and The Waterside Inn, attracted Britain’s upper crust and provided a training ground for many of the country's top chefs, including Marco Pierre White, Gordon Ramsay and Marcus Wareing. Even though… read more

Buzz about the Great British Bake Off 2020

I think we are all in need of some good news and something to look forward to, which is why I was excited to see a blurb about the Great British Bake Off in my news feed. In January we reported that GBBO host Sandi Toksvig was not going to be a co-host on the upcoming season of the show… read more

Jessica B. Harris receives JBF Lifetime Achievement Award

Today the James Beard Foundation announced the recipient of its 2020 Lifetime Achievement Award, bestowing that honor on Jessica B. Harris. The award is given to those "whose body of work has had a positive and long-lasting impact on the way we eat, cook, and think about food in America". Harris is the author of twelve cookbooks documenting the foods… read more

Simple Fruit – Laurie Pfalzer Cookbook Giveaway

Enter our giveaway to win one of three copies of Simple Fruit: Seasonal Recipes for Baking, Poaching, Sautéing, and Roasting by Laurie Pfalzer in the US with EYB providing one additional copy worldwide. I don't know Laurie Pfalzer but I like her. She once worked her way through Baking with Julia to learn each and every pastry therein - my kind of gal.… read more

Where there’s smoke…

Plenty of recipe writers will tell you to make sure you don't heat an oil past its smoke point, or dire consequences will occur. This raises the dual questions of what kind of consequences and how bad are they? The answers are complex, says Becky Krystal at The Washington Post. She explains the ins and outs of smoke points in… read more

Vegan JapanEasy

Enter our giveaway (US/UK/AU/NZ) below to win a copy of Vegan JapanEasy by Tim Anderson. Tim Anderson has authored four titles on Japanese cuisine. His latest Vegan JapanEasy: Classic and Modern Japanese Recipes to Cook at Home is another winner. For more information on his previous titles, please see my review articles: Nanban, Japaneasy, and Tokyo Stories. In 2011 Tim… read more

Food news antipasto

Our first news nugget for this week falls under the 'beauty is in the eye of the beholder' department: Anna Sanders, a reporter for the New York Daily News has an unusual and interesting food-related hobby. She likes to paint portraits of bagels. Food & Wine recently caught up with Sanders to discuss her bagel art. We have some sad news… read more

EYB Cookbook Club News – Plant-Based Cooking Options

Our food-loving community at Eat Your Books shares notes, tips, and reviews on recipes in our library as well as on our active member forum. Another place where we share our love of cooking is in our Eat Your Books Cookbook Club on Facebook. Every month we share our successes and fails in cooking and baking from specific cookbook titles.… read more

Missed opportunities

One evening several years ago, I was walking along Nicollet Avenue in Minneapolis and passed by the Dakota Jazz Club. There were a lot of people standing outside, and when I looked at the marquee, I understood why. Prince was playing that night. Amazingly, there were still tickets available, but they came with a steep price tag. I pondered the… read more

Diving into the deep end

Ideas for quick, satisfying weeknight dinners are always welcome. When you've logged in a hard day at the office, in the field, or in the house, the last thing you want to do is tackle a recipe with a laundry list of ingredients, multiple complicated steps, and the potential for dirtying every saucepan and mixing bowl you have. However, on… read more

This week: The best St. Patrick’s Day eats, cookbook giveaways, previews and more

Corned beef, you either love it or hate it. I fall in the latter category but my husband loves it. Every March 17th, you will find me boiling a corned beef (or salt beef in the UK) and sauteing cabbage as any good Irish lass should. But just how did corned beef become the meal for St. Patrick's Day in… read more

How to stock up for a quarantine

Somtimes I discover information that, while practical, is something that I hope I will never have to use. Today is a case in point, and it surrounds the growing concerns over COVID-19. While it might be too soon to think about a potential quarantine, that hasn't stopped people from emptying store shelves of supplies like hand sanitizer and toilet paper.… read more

How the Sugarcraft Guild made an historic cake replica

When then-Princess Elizabeth married Prince Philip in 1947, the entire world watched. The post-war euphoria, combined with a first-ever televised ceremony, created an atmosphere of celebration that reverberated around the globe. To honor the couple, bakeries from near and far sent cakes to London. One of the most elaborate came from the now-defunct Peek Freans biscuit company. As Gastro Obscura… read more
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