The Perfect Instruction

October 20, 2014 by
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So, over my years as a cookbook reviewer, I've come to realize there is actually a word formula for the kind of recipe that works for me. The ingredients list doesn't matter that much - unless there's a bunch of callouts in the list, like "Saba vinaigrette (see p. 289)" and "48-hour croutons (see p. 311-313)".   No, for me,… read more

La belle cuisine…

October 14, 2014 by
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This is me in the kitchen: Hair up in a messy ponytail.  An apron that is laundered but nowhere close to white.  Scuffed clogs and glasses spattered with something or other. This is Mimi Thorisson in the kitchen. And by the way, she has five kids. And fourteen dogs. You EYBers are a kinder lot than I, and you may… read more

A glug and a dollop…

October 6, 2014 by
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What do you think of those Brits and their chatty, poetical way with instructions?  Whenever I read a Jamie Oliver recipe, I prepare myself for an aggressive style of non-measurement - the "glug" of olive oil, the "knob" of butter.  [To me, a glug is maybe 2-3 teaspoons, a knob is maybe 1.5 tablespoons.  But it tends to vary depending… read more

Scriptures for the cook

September 29, 2014 by
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The third edition of The Spice and Herb Bible came last week, and I did what I always do.  I looked up "fenugreek," and sighed with satisfaction.  There were four solid pages on fenugreek, with its name in 20 different languages, its history, its uses, and a detailed rundown of the plant's anatomical parts. I look up fenugreek because it… read more

September 2014 Cookbook Roundup

September 24, 2014 by
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Every month Susie Chang reviews new cookbook releases and notes trends in the United States. And she may also occasionally throw in a review of a "not-quite cookbook." And for our non-U.S. members, Jane and Fiona provide similar reviews for new Canada, U.K., Australia, and New Zealand releases. US Hold on tight!  Fall cookbooks are coming in profusion. September seems… read more

Kitchen re-thinks

September 22, 2014 by
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I had a dinner party this weekend.  There were 10 of us (plus my teenage son), and we had a blast.  I barely cooked at all - just some dessert, a pork roast, and some grissini - because everybody brought something.  The best part was that several of us were cooking at once, and there was room.  My kitchen's on… read more

Faster! Easier! Simpler!

September 15, 2014 by
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At the end of this month, Nigel Slater's Eat will be published (in the U.S., anyway.  I think it came out in fall of last year in the UK).  I'm a fan of most Slateriana, so when the book arrived this week, I dove right in.  Instead of the usual Slater ramblings in lush prose, I found a trim little… read more

Weeknight cookbooks: two approaches

September 9, 2014 by
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The days may still be long, with a hot still afternoon and crickets in the middle, but the pace of school and work is picking up for everyone.  Cooking's more of a crunch.  And though you sometimes get an inspiration for dinner, it's usually not at 5:45pm when you walk in the door from work or driving your kid back… read more

Get cultured

September 2, 2014 by
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You guys! I made yogurt! and it was easy! The whole yogurt-making adventure started one weekend this summer when we were staying at a family friends' house for a family wedding, and were treated to a sumptuous breakfast that included homemade yogurt.  I'd been buying 2-3 quarts of yogurt a week all summer (my daughter likes smoothies for lunch) and… read more

Spices and spice books

August 27, 2014 by
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Learning to use spices better has been a lifelong ambition for me - and many other cooks, no doubt.  I always used to have a sort of anxious feeling about the spice cabinet - what's in there? how old is it? is it still any good? am I ever really going to use it?   On bad days, the neglected… read more

August 2014 cookbook roundup

August 26, 2014 by
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Every month Susie Chang reviews new cookbook releases and notes trends in the United States. And she may also occasionally throw in a review of a "not-quite cookbook." And for our non-U.S. members, Jane and Fiona provide similar reviews for new Canada, U.K., Australia, and New Zealand releases. US It's not what I would have expected, but August brings an… read more

Here come the blog books!

August 19, 2014 by
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Maybe it's my imagination, but August and September seem to be a fertile time for new book offerings from food bloggers -  they're popping up like mushrooms after a summer storm.  The blockbusters may come in October and November, with their glossy promotion packets and glitzy launch parties.  But now's the time for scrappy, interesting, web-to-print forays, and three bloggers… read more

The many faces of pie

August 12, 2014 by
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Not that pies have ever really been out of fashion (maybe for just 5 minutes around the year 2000 when everybody dropped their carbs like a - well, like a hot potato).  But this summer, it has sometimes seemed as though every other book that landed on my porch was a pie book. Maybe it has to do with the… read more

Soft spots

August 5, 2014 by
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When it comes to apples, I have a definite weakness.  It doesn't matter that apple season is only in the fall, or that of the 8 or so apple trees we've planted, only two have survived, and that those two successfully bear fruit only once every several years.  It doesn't matter that I rarely eat more than three or four… read more

July 2014 cookbook roundup

July 22, 2014 by
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Every month Susie Chang reviews new cookbook releases and notes trends in the United States. And she may also occasionally throw in a review of a "not-quite cookbook."  And for our non-U.S. members, Jane and Fiona provide similar reviews for new Canada, U.K., Australia, and New Zealand releases. US Oddly enough, the outdoorsy, spontaneous month of July brings a surprising… read more

Dinner with friends – potluck or theme?

July 22, 2014 by
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My favorite way to see my friends is to get together for dinner.  I love going to other people's beautiful, clean houses and bringing dessert or drinks or sides.  I love having people to our messy, chaotic house and plying them with good things to eat and drink.  And I love summer, because that's when we have time to do… read more

The cilantro cuisines

July 15, 2014 by
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I sometimes think of it as the "Cilantro belt" - the band of nations falling between 15 and 30 degrees north of the equator.  You know, Mexico, Cuba, Morocco, India, Thailand, and many many more.  It's not that all dishes from those countries use cilantro - they don't.  And it's not that other countries don't use cilantro- they do.  But they're… read more

Reference vs. selection in cookbooks

July 8, 2014 by
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Today, I opened a book package and found a square-formatted paperback entitled, simply, Shake.  Without looking at the title, the flap, the press release, or the back cover, I started thumbing through the pages (sometimes I just plunge in cold like that, to avoid any preconceptions I might get from the marketing). "That's odd," I thought to myself.  There was something… read more

What’s an hour worth?

July 1, 2014 by
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It's summer here in the northern hemisphere, and the days are long.  Well, they may not actually be longer - most of us are still awake roughly 16 hours of the day - but they feel longer because the sun's with us for so much of that time.  It feels like there's plenty of time for interesting projects and creative endeavors.  It… read more

June 2014 cookbook roundup

June 24, 2014 by
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Every month Susie Chang reviews new cookbook releases and notes trends in the United States. And she may also occasionally throw in a review of a "not-quite cookbook."  And for our non-U.S. members, Jane and Fiona provide similar reviews for new Canada, U.K., Australia, and New Zealand releases. US Continuing the indulgent trend we saw in last month's list, June's… read more

To market, to market!

June 24, 2014 by
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Shopping at the farmers' market isn't like shopping anywhere else.  You have a sense of what will be there, but you can't be sure that what you want will still be available.  Or you might make an impulse purchase.  You could arrive with a list that says rhubarb, fingerlings and baby beets and you'll leave with none of those -… read more

The Mohinga Quiz

June 17, 2014 by
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This morning, my son asked me an interesting question.  "When you think of Vietnamese food, what do you think of?"  We both like Vietnamese food, so it seemed like it would be easy to reel off a list. "Pho." "Bun." "Spring roll." "Banh mi." A long pause followed.  It seemed we were not as ethnically food-savvy as we thought.  With… read more

Kids in the Kitchen!

June 10, 2014 by
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Every once in a while I like to catch up with what's going on with kids' cookbooks. I've looked at cookbooks for little kids (both story-based and picture-based) and cookbooks meant for teens.  And, of course, family cookbooks, which tend to keep a laserlike focus on Getting It Done on a Weeknight. Yet for a long time, I wasn't finding that… read more

Summer make-ahead food

June 3, 2014 by
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So I've discovered a new favorite summer breakfast!  I found it in The Family Cooks, which is the latest adorably packaged, make-your-family-eat-better idea book.  It's "Fresh, Fruity Summer Porridge" - basically a kind of muesli - and there's nothing to it.  You just grate an apple in some yogurt, add some oats and layer in some fruit and something sweet… read more

May cookbook roundup

May 28, 2014 by
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Every month Susie Chang reviews new cookbook releases and notes trends in the United States. And she may also occasionally throw in a review of a "not-quite cookbook."  And for our non-U.S. members, Jane and Fiona provide similar reviews for new Canada, U.K., Australia, and New Zealand releases. US The summer cookbooks are pouring in!  Maybe it's my imagination, but… read more
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