A treasured family cookbook gets a new life

October 27, 2022 by
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Top view of a vintage open cookbook surrounded by some spices and herbs like thyme, rosemary, laurel, pepper, garlic and chervil, and some kitchen utensils. The cookbook is at the center of the image and its pages are empty so you can use it as a useful copy space. Objects are on a rustic dark brown wooden table.
If your house were on fire, what would you grab on the way out the door? For some people it might be a treasured photo album, but for me it would be the handwritten cookbook my grandmother gave me when I got married because it is a tangible and irreplaceable part of my family's history. For Holocaust survivor Steven Fenves,… read more

Autumn pantry essentials

October 25, 2022 by
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Although autumn has been playing coy in many locations (it was in the upper 70s here two days ago, 20 degrees Fahrenheit above normal), cooler temperatures will be here soon for many of our Members. With the change in the season, thoughts turn to warming spices and holiday traditions. BBC's Good food is here to help us make sure our… read more

Food news antipasto

October 23, 2022 by
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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

Are more grocery store woes on the way?

October 20, 2022 by
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I am beginning to feel a bit like Debbie Downer when I post stories like these, but I also believe they contain information that is pertinent to our Members. Yesterday Jenny clued me in to another report saying that shoppers can expect shortages and even higher prices in grocery stores just as the holiday cooking and baking season begins. This… read more

The 40 rules all GBBO contestants must follow

October 19, 2022 by
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I admit that I am a GBBO junkie - I follow contestants on Instagram, watch the program religiously, and often bake recipes published when the shows air. So when I saw a link that talked about the 40 rules that all GBBO contestants must follow, I clicked on it almost reflexively. Most of them are obvious, but some were enlightening.… read more

Revisiting an online vintage cookbook archive

October 18, 2022 by
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Over six years ago, I wrote about the Cookbook and Home Economics Collection at the Internet Archive and its impressive section of cookery books. Previously the catalog drew from works housed by the Young Research Library Department of Special Collections at UCLA, the Bancroft Library at The University of California, Berkeley, and the Prelinger Library. Today the archive has additional sources including libraries around… read more

Food news antipasto

October 16, 2022 by
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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

Observer Food Monthly 2022 Award winners

October 14, 2022 by
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Cookbook cover image for Nistisima by Georgina Hayden
At a gala event on October 13, Observer Food Monthly magazine announced the winners of its 2022 awards. The bulk of the honors were given to restaurants and bars, but cookbooks and food writers were also fêted at the event. Awards of interest to our Members include: The Observer Food Monthly icon award - Delia SmithBest new cookbook - Nistisima: The Secret… read more

Butter boards spawn new trends

October 13, 2022 by
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Overhead shot of a portion of a wooden serving board with handle topped with bowls of olives and cheese, plus melon balls, nectarine slices, folded salami and proscuitto slices, toasted baguette slices, and basil leaves for garnish. Bamboo skewers are off to the left side of the board, which rests on a marble surface. A small pitcher of sauce is on the right.
A few weeks ago I wrote about the TikTok trend of butter boards. As often happens with viral trends, this has produced plenty of copycats. Apparently concept of smearing a tasty dip onto a serving platter and surrounding it with vegetables appeals to a broad audience, because now there are not only butter boards, but hummus boards, Nutella boards and… read more

An ode to baking books

October 12, 2022 by
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Cookbook covers for Gateau by Aleksandra Crapanzano and The Italian Baker by Carol Field
Ever since I was a young girl, baking has been an important part of my life - I inherited the baking gene from my mother, who abhors cooking but will gladly whip up a batch of cookies, cream puffs, or bars at the drop of a hat. So it's no surprise that in my modest (compared to many of our… read more

Deviled eggs go upscale

October 10, 2022 by
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One of the biggest restaurant food trends this year involves an ever-popular potluck and party staple, the humble deviled egg. Of course restaurants aren't going to serve just a plain deviled egg, as good as it may be. They are adding all kinds of bling and flair to zhush them up, as Epicurious explains. Chefs aren't just playing around with… read more

Food news antipasto

October 9, 2022 by
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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

Using up fresh herbs

October 6, 2022 by
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We will have our first frost tonight, so after work this evening I scrambled to harvest the tender items that will not survive freezing temperatures. This included plucking some green tomatoes and bringing in a lot of herbs. Finding ways to use or preserve this abundance of things like mint, oregano, chives, and basil can be a challenge, so I… read more

Apple season is the sweetest

October 5, 2022 by
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In much of the Northern Hemisphere, fall is in the air with crisp morning air and blazing color on the trees. As the days shorten and we march inexorably toward the dark days of winter, there are a few respites along the way, chief among them the flavors of autumn, especially apples. If you live anywhere near an apple growing… read more

Comfort food history: the story of mac and cheese

October 4, 2022 by
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If any one dish typified the term 'comfort food' it would have to be macaroni and cheese. Many of us grew up on the stuff, whether from a box or, if you were lucky, made from scratch with lots of cheesy goodness. Ours was a "blue box" family, and it is one of the first foods I was able to… read more

Food news antipasto

October 2, 2022 by
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When Instagram debuted, the social media platform brimmed with carefully curated, dramatic, gorgeous photos. Food was no exception to this aestheticism, and scores of bloggers attracted huge audiences based on their stunning food photography. Recently, however, the 'grams look a bit different. There's a new sheriff in town when it comes to Instagram food, explains Eater's Bettina Makalintal, who observes… read more

Celebrate National Coffee Day

September 29, 2022 by
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The US and Canada are celebrating National Coffee Day today, and the international 'official' holiday is just around the corner on October 1. Coffee shops will have specials all day long, and baristas will be whipping up everyone's favorite caffeinated beverages, whether it's a latte, espresso, flat white, or just a good cuppa. While coffee beverages of all sorts are… read more

The foods of Yom Kippur

September 28, 2022 by
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Ten days after the Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashanah, which began on September 25) is Yom Kippur, the most holy day on the Jewish calendar. It is the last of the ten days of penitence, and this year begins at sundown on October 4. Although this isn't necessarily as food-centric as other holidays, there are two meals associated with this… read more

How to eat like a king

September 27, 2022 by
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As we were sitting around the table following an exceptionally fine meal a few weeks ago, my husband remarked that "we eat like kings" in our house. Judging by my waistline, this rings true: the breadth and quality of foods that lands on our dinner plates would probably impress the royals of ancient times. But this is 2022, and England… read more

Food news antipasto

September 25, 2022 by
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You may have seen the warnings about reasons not to cook chicken in NyQuil cold medicine, and if you did, you probably wondered why people were doing it in the first place. As it turns out, they weren't. Eater explains why the 'sleepy chicken', which went viral, was never really a food trend. Instead, it was a 'gross out' prank,… read more

Have you tried butter boards?

September 22, 2022 by
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Watch out charcuteries boards, the hottest TikTok/Instagram food trend is coming for you. I'm talking about butter boards, which are all the rage right now. If you haven't seen one, it really is what the name suggests - boards "smeared with softened butter and topped with all manner of savory and sweet accoutrements," and they are multiplying like rabbits on… read more

Finger food

September 21, 2022 by
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Many foods seemingly taste better when eaten with your hands instead of with cutlery (fried chicken, pizza) and some only make sense to eat with your hands or fingers (potato chips/crisps, tacos). In Western countries, finger foods are often seen as a novelty but in many other cultures around the world, almost all foods are eaten with one's hands and… read more

A spoonful of sugar

September 21, 2022 by
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I grew up far north (and west) of the Mason-Dixon line, the historical demarcation between North and South in the United States. I married a Southerner and lived in the South for many years, so I absorbed a lot of Southern cooking culture (although I never developed a charming accent, much to my chagrin). One thing my husband noted as… read more

Food news antipasto

September 18, 2022 by
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The Manchester Food and Drink Festival is happening in Cathedral Gardens from September 22nd - October 2nd. Of particular note is the all day Octopus Cookbook Confidential event on September 24th featuring many cookbook authors. Please note we have updated other events on our Calendar including Rick Rodgers' classes at Kings in New Jersey and Edd Kimber's US events as… read more

Fonio’s popularity grows

September 15, 2022 by
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The food cooperative where I frequently shop always has something new and interesting for me to try. Unlike the big chains, the small store can easily bring in a new product for patrons to sample without making a big commitment. This is where I first found fresh passionfruit in Minnesota, and the produce aisle is filled with other exotic seasonal… read more
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