You can’t take it with you

October 11, 2019 by
 |  3 Comments  |  Leave Comment
Intellectual property rights are generally not considered scintillating dinner conversation (unless you are an IP lawyer, and even then it's iffy). However, discussion of that topic is becoming more common in restaurants - at least in the back of the house. The issue is becoming more prevalent in the age of celebrity chefs who often build a brand around the… read more

Cooking with tamarind

October 10, 2019 by
 |  Leave Comment
My initial exposure to tamarind came when I tried pad Thai for the first time. Almost immediately after I ate my meal, I was looking up recipes for it so I could make it at home. That's when I encountered tamarind, which was an unfamiliar ingredient to me because I was raised on meat and potatoes in the upper Midwest.… read more

Historic menu inspires an artful cookbook

October 8, 2019 by
 |  Leave Comment
Art inspires life inspires art. This truism is fully in effect in Esther Choi's new cookbook titled Le Corbuffet: Edible Art and Design, out this month from Germany's Prestel publishing house. The journey to writing a cookbook began as a series of dinner parties that Choi - an artist, architectural historian, and self-taught cook - hosted for friends after she… read more

Tools that the pros can’t cook without

October 7, 2019 by
 |  Leave Comment
Kitchen gadgets and appliances are always changing, with home kitchens the target for the vast majority of them. Have you ever wondered which (if any) of these tools chefs actually find useful or even indispensable? Gear Patrol has your answer - they recently surveyed chefs to find out the kitchen equipment they turn to over and over againn. As you… read more

Food news antipasto

October 6, 2019 by
 |  One Comment  |  Leave Comment
Talented cookie artists attract huge numbers of followers on Instagram and Facebook with amazing, intricate detail on their edible masterpieces. If you love seeing these creations and also like a good history lesson, then you will love Jasmine Cho. She uses the medium of intricate, hand-drawn cookie portraits of Asian American figures as a way to increase representation and raise awareness… read more

Diana Henry’s favorite new fall cookbooks

October 5, 2019 by
 |  4 Comments  |  Leave Comment
When Diana Henry makes a list of her favorite new cookbooks, it's time to drop everything and make certain that you have all of them on your bookshelf and if not, to get them on the way as soon as possible. The bestselling author knows her way around both storytelling and recipe writing. She spent weeks going through the best… read more

Break free from black pepper

October 4, 2019 by
 |  One Comment  |  Leave Comment
I've always been a big fan of black pepper - it's warmth and earthiness are comforting to me. Perhaps I like it so much because almost everything I ate as a kid was liberally sprinkled with this spice. Strange as I might find it, there are plenty of people who don't like pepper or are allergic to it. So what's… read more

Apples are a sweet introduction to fall

October 3, 2019 by
 |  Leave Comment
The news cycle these days can be nearly be measured in nanoseconds, with one crazy headline appearing after another. While nothing seems settled in the world, it can be reassuring to see the change in the seasons which serves as a reminder that this, too, shall pass. In much of the Northern Hemisphere, fall is in the air with crisp… read more

Cookbook writing is not the path to riches

October 2, 2019 by
 |  Leave Comment
“Nobody wants to talk about how hard it is to get by as a writer.” This is part of what bakery owner and bestselling author Alison Robicelli explains to The New York Times about writing a cookbook. Robicelli and other authors recount tales of publishers approaching them with offers that included no advance, no budget for food, and no funds… read more

Can there be only one?

October 1, 2019 by
 |  5 Comments  |  Leave Comment
At last count, there are over 100 “best” chocolate chip cookie recipes in the EYB Library. That doesn’t even include the recent craze of Levain Bakery copycat recipes, or recipes describing themselves as "perfect" chocolate chip cookies. Browsing through the Library, we see that some authors are convinced that they have created the best cookie for any occasion. See, for example, The best chocolate… read more

Family recipes that revealed a secret

September 30, 2019 by
 |  One Comment  |  Leave Comment
When Genie Milgrom was growing up, she never noticed that a family secret lurked in the recipes that her mother and grandmother made. Raised in a devoutly Catholic household, Milgrom never questioned the idiosyncrasies of her family's foods. They never mixed meat and dairy in the same meal, and they always cracked eggs into a separate bowl to make sure… read more

Food news antipasto

September 29, 2019 by
 |  Leave Comment
We have some fun news and great tips in this week's edition. We begin with an interview with the inimitable Maggie Beer, who is one of Australia's best-known food personalities. Gourmet Traveller recently sat down with Beer to discuss a variety of topics, including gardening, opera, and her views regarding pineapple on pizza. (Don't forget that we have a complete… read more

The whey you like it

September 28, 2019 by
 |  2 Comments  |  Leave Comment
If you have ever made homemade cheese - whether fresh cheese like ricotta or a firm cheese like cheddar - you have probably been faced with the dilemma of what to do with the whey that remains after straining the curds. Zoe Williams recently confronted this issue after she took a cheesemaking course, and she found several uses for this… read more

A guide to squash varieties

September 27, 2019 by
 |  One Comment  |  Leave Comment
When I browse the farmers' market stands come fall, the number and variety of squash always amazes me. The colors, shapes, and textures are so varied and beautiful that I sometimes buy several types just so I can display them in my kitchen. Some of the time I don't even know what varieties I have, which can make it challenging… read more

How authors got their cookbook deals

September 26, 2019 by
 |  Leave Comment
The publishing world is a murky and Byzantine industry to outsiders (and frankly, to insiders as well). Learning the ins and outs of the business can take years, which is why it is so difficult for aspiring authors to get published. Recently Eater talked to three different cookbook authors - Molly Yeh, Von Diaz, and Priya Krishna - to ask… read more

Get ready for Rosh Hashanah

September 25, 2019 by
 |  2 Comments  |  Leave Comment
Eating apples dipped in honey is a tradition on Rosh Hashanah, but there are many more food-related customs for the Jewish New Year. Several other symbolic foods are also typically eaten to celebrate this holiday. Each of these foods — pomegranates, dates, string beans, beets, pumpkins, leeks, and fish heads — symbolizes a wish or blessing for prosperity and health in… read more

Do ‘smart’ appliances make us better cooks?

September 24, 2019 by
 |  3 Comments  |  Leave Comment
oven dial
It is becoming increasingly common for new kitchen appliances to be 'smart' devices: ovens that 'think', internet-connected refrigerators, and microwaves that operate with voice commands. All the gadgetry is cool in a 'we are living in the future' kind of way, but does it really help us be better cooks? Joe Ray at Wired doesn't think so. He says that… read more

The endangered French café

September 23, 2019 by
 |  One Comment  |  Leave Comment
Of all the food-related images conjured in the pages of novels or the screens of cinema, one of the most enduring vignettes is that of a small French café. This venue serves as a meeting place for lovers, a spot for self-truths to be realized, or the clandestine location for the handoff of classified information. In real-life France, cafés serve… read more

Food news antipasto

September 22, 2019 by
 |  Leave Comment
It's easy to find chefs who will wax poetic about the best meal they've ever eaten. They will go on about the perfect ingredients, skillful presentation, or exemplary service and atmosphere. What is not often discussed is their worst food experience. Several of Australia's best chefs recently dished on that concept, telling Gourmet Traveller about the worst food they have… read more

Why we love chef’s signature dishes

September 21, 2019 by
 |  One Comment  |  Leave Comment
The restaurant business is a tough segment to navigate successfully. There is always a high level of competition, which is why many chefs create a dish that they hope stands out from the pack - things such as Dominique Ansel's Cronut are the result of this pressure, combined with a chef's own impulse to create. Once diners experience a dish,… read more

In praise of the can

September 20, 2019 by
 |  5 Comments  |  Leave Comment
When you leaf through most cookbooks today, you will find anecdotes about finding joy at the farmers' market or praising local, grass-fed beef. What you do not find as often are essays extolling the virtues of canned goods, although they do have a lot more to offer than emergency rations, at least according to Melissa Clark. She has just penned… read more

Why you always need to scrape your bowl

September 19, 2019 by
 |  Leave Comment
For my birthday I gave myself the gift of a new stand mixer, and my mom purchased a flexible-edge beater to go along with it (thanks, Mom!). I figured that the beater's rubber edge would completely eliminate the annoying and sometimes cumbersome step of scraping the mixing bowl while making doughs and batters. I was wrong. The first cake I… read more

The ingredients Ottolenghi uses the most

September 18, 2019 by
 |  3 Comments  |  Leave Comment
Yotam Ottolenghi is one of the most, if not the most, loved authors by EYB Members. He wrote four of the top ten most popular books in the Library (Plenty, Jerusalem, Ottolenghi: The Cookbook, Plenty More). Plenty sits in the number one spot, followed by Jerusalem, both of them beating Julia Child's beloved tome Mastering the Art of French Cooking… read more

The ‘kitchen hack’ is not a new concept

September 17, 2019 by
 |  Leave Comment
I have to admit that I am a sucker for any post that comes through my social media describing a kitchen hack. Only a few of them ever end up in my personal arsenal, the rest being either more work than the original method or merely ineffective. Still, the allure of a time- or gadget-saving process always grabs my attention.… read more

Anthony Bourdain’s possessions going to auction

September 16, 2019 by
 |  Leave Comment
Over a year after Anthony Bourdain's untimely death, fans are still mourning the late chef, author, and television host. Those fans who would like a tangible reminder will now have a chance to bid on many of his personal effects, as they are going up for auction next month. More than 200 items, including paintings, clothing, and a custom-made Bob… read more
« Older posts
Newer posts »
Seen anything interesting? Let us know & we'll share it!

Categories

Archives