Tom Douglas

November 10, 2012 by
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For this month's author profile, we have a glimpse into the three favorite cookbooks of an author currently more in the news for his baked goods:  Tom Douglas, winner of the 2012 James Beard Award for Outstanding Restaurateur, and the chef/owner of thirteen of Seattle's most popular restaurants as well as the Dahlia Bakery, home to the much-loved Triple Coconut… read more

Surprising many, California defeated the GMO label requirement

November 9, 2012 by
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Before we move on to really serious matters - like does a turkey really need to be brined? - we did want to note one U.S. election result that impacts the world of food. In California, Proposition 37 was defeated fairly soundly. For those who were not aware of it, Prop. 37 required that any food that had been genetically… read more

The silliest food network recipes

November 8, 2012 by
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Looking for a quick laugh? Over at BuzzFeed Food, they've collected The Most Hilarious Food Network Recipes of All Time. And we have to say, these are pretty priceless. Here are a few classic  examples: Robin Miller's Orange-Ginger Salad: The total ingredients are 2 cups preshredded carrots and 3 tablespoons store-bought ginger dressing; instructions are mix well to combine.  And… read more

The Smitten Kitchen publishes a cookbook

November 7, 2012 by
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One of our favorite food blogs is the Smitten Kitchen by Deb Perelman. Of all our indexed blogs, the Smitten Kitchen is at the top of the our blog list, with 1,146 of our members following her. Her popularity is obviously due to the quality of her recipes and photos, but it should also be noted that her kitchen is a… read more

Three no-cost ways to protect cookbooks & tablets from splatters

November 6, 2012 by
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We're heading into some intensive cooking weeks, so an item from America's Test Kitchen with ideas on how to prevent cookbooks and recipe cards from getting splattered struck us as particularly useful.  And they use no-cost items you probably already own - clear pot lids, ziplock bags, and clear protector sheets. You can see them demonstrated here.  And while these ideas don't… read more

Are apple cider, apple juice, & hard apple cider interchangeable?

November 5, 2012 by
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In colonial times, in both the United States and Canada, if you asked for a glass of cider - far more popular and safer than water - you'd get a beverage with somewhere around the alcoholic content of beer (2% to 8% ABV).  But alcoholic cider, now called "hard cider," gradually lost its popularity, finally killed off - at least… read more

The year of the South

November 5, 2012 by
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With Nov. 6th one day away, our family has entered the final stages of electoral obsession.  Everyone in the family except the 6-year-old has their own electoral map, prompting dinner trash-talk like "Do you really think North Carolina's in play?" and "I can't believe you gave him Florida!"  There is ongoing contention as to whether the Eastern Seaboard or the Midwest is… read more

Peanut butter & pickles anyone?

November 4, 2012 by
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Over at The New York Times Dwight Garnier has a fun blog item, Peanut Butter Takes On an Unlikely Best Friend. In it, he confesses to a love of peanut butter and pickle sandwiches (and he's obviously not pregnant). As he writes, "I've been happily eating these distinctive little sandwiches for years. The vinegary snap of chilled pickle cuts, like a… read more

What to substitute for fresh lemon juice

November 2, 2012 by
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The Kitchn has an excellent blog item today, Help! Is There a Good Substitute for Fresh Lemon Juice. We're pretty sure our savvy members realize that fresh lemon juice is always the best choice but, let's face it, we've all run out of lemons or couldn't find them at one time or another. So this blog, which not only includes the… read more

Pizza! The best breakfast pizza plus how to stretch pizza dough

November 1, 2012 by
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Where would we be without pizza? Without question, life would be emptier. But just because we eat so much of it (according to Yahoo, the annual per capita pizza consumption in the USA is 23 pounds) that doesn't mean we know everything we need to know. So we're devoting today's blog to two vital pizza questions: How to stretch pizza dough… read more

Cooking Light’s Best 25 Recipes

October 31, 2012 by
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Cooking Light is celebrating its 25th anniversary by publishing, both in print and online,  its best 25 recipes. As they say, "25 years, 25 dishes. We're going back in time to count down our best of the best, from 2011 to 1987." The collection, gathered by its recipe archivists, has some interesting features. We noticed that five include chicken (including… read more

Cooking at home – storm edition

October 30, 2012 by
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Here in western Mass., we escaped pretty much scot-free - a power flicker or two, and then it was over.  The kids went to school this morning.  Last year, after the Halloween snowstorm, it was a totally different story.  The power was out for 3 long days (and much more, elsewhere); the roads were impassable.  The kids were sent out… read more

Making groceries last longer

October 30, 2012 by
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First, we want to send all our members who were affected by Hurricane Sandy our very best wishes; we hope you're safe and recovery will be swift.  And since survival is on our mind, we thought it appropriate to share this article from BuzzFeed Food, 27 Ways to Make Your Groceries Last as Long as Possible.  The article is full… read more

Potato ghosts on the march

October 29, 2012 by
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Over at Gourmet Live they're getting in the Halloween spirit and we were happy to see these little potato ghosts come front and center. They first appeared in the 90's and due to both how  easy they were to make and incredible cuteness factor, they were an instant hit. In The Story behind the Potato Ghosts Kemp Minifie describes their origin… read more

The proper way to eat a cupcake

October 28, 2012 by
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Cupcakes have been an intensely popular food item for several years now, so it is not surprising that one of the key questions tormenting the food world has been how to avoid that dreaded modern problem - the frosted nose. It used to be that frosting was spread thinly over cupcakes, but the modern cupcake comes with a high swirl… read more

Perfect 2-ingredient sandwiches

October 26, 2012 by
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Sandwiches are certainly the ultimate in convenience food. Indeed, the very story of their invention - the Earl of Sandwich wanting to have a convenient way to eat his bread and meat so he wouldn't have to leave the gaming table - testifies to their ease of preparation. Given this background, these 2-ingredient sandwich ideas from Saveur struck us as… read more

Quick tip: Turn white sugar into brown sugar

October 25, 2012 by
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Recipes calling for brown sugar are surprisingly ubiquitous. Cookie season is fast approaching in the Northern hemisphere (of course, for many of us, it's always here),  and so many great cookie recipes seem to call for brown sugar. Or, for our readers Down Under who are now beginning to feast on fresh fruits, what's a better topping than brown sugar?… read more

Revel in lemons

October 24, 2012 by
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Slate recently published a wonderful article called "When Life Gives You Lemons, Put Them in Everything." And what's not to love about a lemon? It's a beautiful fruit which adds zest to both sweet and savory dishes, brings out flavor (without any fat!), and makes hair shine. Plus many grocery stores sell them in sacks, making them affordable and plentiful.… read more

Calling all bacon fans – Bittman’s 25 ways to serve bacon

October 23, 2012 by
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Of all the many recent food fads, bacon seems to be hanging around longer than most. We'll admit there have been some extremes (Jack in the Box's Bacon Milkshake certainly qualifies), but that still doesn't eliminate the pleasant fact that we've seen bacon add its special flavor to many unexpected dishes, and enjoyed them all the more. In his column… read more

How geeky is your kitchen?

October 22, 2012 by
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Food science seems to have turned a corner for those of us who cook at home.  Of course, practical advice has been around as long as there have been cooks - have all your ingredients at room temperature before baking! searing seals in the juices! (WRONG.)  But the Internet has accelerated the spread of cooking do's, don'ts, and "try this"es.… read more

The newest over-the-top foods at the state fairs

October 22, 2012 by
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As this article from Endless Simmer* warns, "Steel your arteries." They've compiled a list of the top 10 new foods from the state fairs. The intro states it all, "Well, in regards to ridiculous overloads of novelty foods, it's all downhill from here--state fair season is over for the year. We'll have to wait for months before a stream of… read more

Is Nordic cuisine the new “hot” trend?

October 21, 2012 by
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Local, healthy ingredients are a world-wide craze. But what do you do when your growing season is only two-months long? This is one of the challenges that modern Nordic chefs face as they try to expand beyond "Ikea food" (although Ikea's meatballs are pretty darn good). Since 2004, when a group of cooks published "The Nordic Manifesto," emphasizing local and… read more

Kale as the latest aphrodisiac?

October 19, 2012 by
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We admit to reading a lot of food blogs, so a catchy title does make an impression. And Jennifer Iserloh's article in Epicurious certainly caught our attention with her article, " Kale and Sex Drive?" She actually discusses three libido-enhancing foods in depth: kale, maca, and pumpkin seeds. B-vitamins and zinc are among the factors she cites for their powers. Irregardless,… read more

Is Paula Deen’s restaurant really that trashy?

October 18, 2012 by
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Food Republic's Joshua Stein recently took a trip to Savannah to visit Paul Deen's iconic restaurant, The Lady and Sons, and reported in full in A Voice From Within the Paula Deen Wilderness. His report has created a bit of a storm on the internet, given its portrayal of a massive, volume-driven operation that seeks to drive people into the… read more

For maximum flavor, stop seeding tomatoes

October 17, 2012 by
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NPR's The Salt recently interviewed Chris Kimball from Cook's Illustrated and America's Test Kitchen. CI has just published a new book, The Science of Good Cooking, where they instruct you how to "Master 50 Simple Concepts to Enjoy a Lifetime of Success in the Kitchen." (Thanks to the Kitchn for pointing us to this interview.) In the interview, Kimball reveals… read more
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