Food news antipasto

Somehow the news got past us that the Guinness World Record cookbook collection changed in 2019. Lisa Ekus of Hatfield, Massachusetts (of cookbook literary agency fame) now holds the certified world record at 4,239 book. Ekus actually has thousands more (near 7,000), but some of these may be pamphlets or others that are not included in the official count. The… read more

Food news antipasto

With spring in the air in the Northern Hemisphere, blooms are starting to pop up on what was, in many places, frozen ground just a few weeks ago. Seeing these cheery flowers might tempt you to use them as a garnish for cake or even salad, but be careful about which blooms you perch atop your food, cautions Epicurious. Some… read more

Food news antipasto

We learned the sad news that Raghavan Iyer passed away Friday while on a visit to San Francisco. "Raghavan was a dear friend to many around the globe," said Anne Spaeth, owner of the Lynhall restaurants in Minneapolis [where Iyer lived with his partner Terry Erickson] and Edina. "The world lost a beautiful soul and consummate educator of his beloved… read more

Food news antipasto

Along the lines of "how many licks does it take to get the center of a Tootsie Pop", researchers at MIT asked another of food's most prominent questions: what's the best way to twist apart an Oreo? "I was personally motivated by a desire to solve a challenge that had puzzled me as a child: how to open an Oreo and get… read more

Food news antipasto

A recent TikTok trend has people boiling their wooden kitchen utensils in an effort to sanitize them. A video of someone giving her wooden spoons a bath in a vat of boiling water has over 49 million hits. One person who is not jumping on this bandwagon is Rachel Cooke. The daughter of microbiologists, she was taught that wood is… read more

Food news antipasto

World Central Kitchen and José Andrés just announced that the organization is releasing a cookbook this September. According to an email, the WCK team has "gathered recipes from and inspired by many of the places our Relief Team has cooked following disasters and other crises worldwide, as well as sharing powerful narratives from the people and communities we’ve met along… read more

Food news antipasto

Looking for ways to get your kitchen better organized? Head over to The Kitchn, which recently posted about their favorite IKEA solutions to keep your cooking area tidy while also looking stylish. The products include utensil organizers, pegboards, and clip-on baskets. One of my favorite IKEA organizing products is their Hultarp series. I have three rails in my kitchen and… read more

Food news antipasto

I found a lot of interesting tidbits this week, so let's just dive right in. First up is an edited excerpt in The Washington Post from a new book (not a cookbook) called Eat & Flourish: How Food Supports Emotional Well-Being by Mary Beth Albright. In the Wapo excerpt, Albright discusses how eating with others nourishes us in more ways than… read more

Food news antipasto

Molly Yeh, an EYB Member favorite author, branched out from her cookbook writing in 2018 with a series Girl Meets Farm. This week we learned that Yeh recently inked an exclusive two-year deal with Food Network for additional episodes of the Midwest-inspired cooking show. Production is set to begin in March. How to make a king cake for Mardi Gras… read more

Food news antipasto

We start off the week's news with a tidbit from Epicurious about one of my favorite KitchenAid mixer attachments. Just like Grace Elkus, I've discovered that this tool is perfect for making flaky pie crusts. Although it looks unassuming, it does a great job of cutting cold butter into flour without overheating the butter like a food processor can. It… read more

Food news antipasto

This week we learned that cookbook author Jean Anderson has died at the age of 93. The winner of five best cookbook awards (Tastemaker, James Beard, IACP) and a member of the James Beard Cookbook Hall of Fame, Jean Anderson has written for Bon Appétit, Food & Wine, Cottage Living, Gourmet, and other magazines. She published over twenty cookbooks, among them The Food… read more

Food news antipasto

carton of eggs
After three years of having only virtual events, Michelin will launch its 2023 guide for Great Britain and Ireland at an in-person celebration on 27 March 2023. The ceremony will be held at the Silverstone Circuit in Northampton. Gwendal Poullennec, international director of the Michelin Guides said: "After two years without being able to organise a physical event in Great… read more

Food news antipasto

Vox Media, the parent company of a string of websites including Eater and Grub Street, recently laid off 130 employees (seven percent of its workforce). One of those getting the ax was Eater senior correspondent Meghan McCarron, whose work we have linked to many times. Jim Bankoff informed employees of the cuts in a memo Friday, citing “the challenging economic… read more

Food news antipasto

Finally, a piece of good news we can pass along regarding restaurants: menu prices slowed substantially in December. While year-over-year numbers had climbed about 8.3%, the monthly figure was down to a range of .1% to .4% depending on the type of eatery. Inflation as a whole slowed too, giving hope that the relentless prices increases we have been experiencing… read more

Food news antipasto

Sometimes it is easy to identify when a food has passed its ideal ripeness and has become a food safety concern as the food gets dried out, moldy, or has other telltale signs of spoilage. For some items it isn't that easy - take pickles for example. How can you tell if your pickles are going bad? Epicurious has the… read more

Food news antipasto

As one year rolls over into another, looking back is a natural inclination. Not content to just review the past year, Food and Wine ambitiously gazed back at the past 45 years and made a list of the biggest food trends that happened since the magazine launched in 1978. Grab a fondue pot, knock back a Tequila Sunrise, and read… read more

Food news antipasto

This week we learned of the passing of Cara De Silva, an award-winning journalist and James Beard Award Nominee, who focused on a broad range of subjects that include food and food history. De Silva is the author of In Memory's Kitchen: A Legacy from the Women of Terezin, a compilation of remembered recipes written down by malnourished women in Terezin,… read more

Food news antipasto

As we enter peak holiday baking season, even people who don't bake a lot will be firing up their ovens to make the festive cookies, cakes, and pies of the season. This will involve copious amounts of butter, flour, eggs, and sugar. The last ingredient comes in many different forms, including granulated, powdered, various shades of brown, and even as… read more

Food news antipasto

Food is a significant contributor to cultural heritage, and UNESCO recognizes exceptional food items by adding them to its Cultural Heritage List. The latest food to officially become part of the "intangible cultural heritage of humanity" is the French baguette. President Emmanuel Macron described the baguette as "250 grams of magic and perfection in our daily lives.” Dan Leader's 4-hour… read more

Food news antipasto

As we gear up for the biggest food holiday in the US, people are finalizing their big Thanksgiving Day feast. Although everyone wants the meal to be amazing and delicious, sometimes things don't go as planned. We've all had cooking mishaps, and often these turn into memorable events that get discussed for years afterward. My husband still loves to regale… read more

Food news antipasto

We begin this week with another passing to report. Former New York Magazine Restaurant critic Gael Greene died this week at age 88. Greene revolutionized restaurant criticism. According to the NYT obit, "she put a premium on lively prose and colorful detail, throwing overboard the pompousness of the professional gourmets who dominated the profession." People noted the sensuality that came… read more

Food news antipasto

We begin this week's review with some sad news:  venerated restaurateur and chef Joyce Molyneux passed away on October 28 at the age of 91. For decades, Molyneux helmed the Carved Angel, Dartmouth. One of the first female chefs to be awarded a Michelin star, in 1978, she never exhibited the unseemly behavior espoused by many chefs of the era,… read more

Food news antipasto

Fans of Anthony Bourdain might be excited to read the unauthorized biography titled Down and Out in Paradise. Author Charles Leerhsen could have dived into the many facets of Bourdain's work but instead focuses on the drama and the book, according to the late chef's friends and family, gets many facts and details wrong. In a review in The Guardian,… read more

Food news antipasto

If it feels like your grocery budget is on a never-ending upward climb, you are far from alone. Inflation on food products is near or has passed double digits year over year in many places, and people are looking for ways to save on their food bill. The Washington Post recently wrote about five ways to save when grocery shopping,… read more

Food news antipasto

Country music legend Loretta Lynn passed away earlier this week at age 90. While millions appreciated her impressive singing and songwriting career - where she inserted sometimes controversial feminist viewpoints into a conservative, male-dominated industry - fewer people realize that she was also a talented home cook. She wrote a cookbook in 2004 called You're Cookin' It Country: My Favorite… read more
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