Exquisite holiday creations

November 29, 2023 by
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Nearly every year for the past decade, I've made a bûche de Noël for a holiday dinner. I try to vary the design - some years it's been a white chocolate paper birch log, other years a more traditional dark chocolate. Meringue mushrooms, pistachio crumb moss, cake crumb sawdust, and other trompe l’oeil items have made an appearance. This year I think… read more

Food news antipasto

November 26, 2023 by
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Living in the northern United States makes one keenly aware of the changing of the seasons. Today was cold and blustery and sunset came way too early. Observer Food understands this, because today they posted about the best food and drink to have when it's dark outside: think hot chocolate, mulled wine, and soul-warming soup. Rainbow rippled meringues from BBC… read more

The Great British Bake Off/Baking Show – Week 9 – Patisserie – Semi-Finals Recap

November 25, 2023 by
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It is the semi-finals and the theme is patisserie. Signature: 2 different batches of 12 financiers A financier is a small French almond cake, flavored with beurre noisette, usually baked in a small mold. Light and moist with a crisp, eggshell-like exterior, the traditional financier also contains egg whites, flour, and powdered sugar. The molds are usually small rectangular loaves… read more

When the feast is over

November 23, 2023 by
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The feast is over and our bellies are full, and perhaps we ate a little too much but oh it was so tasty. However, in a couple of days we’ll be as weary of Thanksgiving food as our non-US members are of hearing about our feast day. Very soon we’ll be standing and staring into the refrigerator wondering what to… read more

Food news antipasto

November 20, 2023 by
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We start off this week's recap with some good news - Saveur just announced that it will be returning to print in 2024, just in time for the magazine's 30th anniversary. They are starting off slow, with only two issues planned for next year. In the announcement, editor Kat Craddock said that Saveur is "committed to offering you an affordable… read more

Celebrating ‘grape’ discoveries

November 15, 2023 by
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When a friend offers you a laundry basket full of ripe Concord grapes, what do you do? If you are me, you say "thank you" and proceed to the open EYB Library tab on your computer to find recipes that use them. I knew I wanted to make grape preserves and already knew where to look for that recipe, but… read more

Food news antipasto

November 12, 2023 by
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It is amazing how 2023 has flown by, and now it's that time of year to make our lists and check them twice. If you have been nice, you might want to check out the kitchen equipment year in review for 2023 at Epicurious. The editors have compiled their list of "Kitchen MVPs" which are those products that they found… read more

What are your favorite make-ahead recipes?

November 11, 2023 by
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After three years of not hosting, my spouse and I are back in the hot seat and will have a group of about eight people at our house for Thanksgiving dinner. I have been tinkering with the menu for a few days and have decided to make as many items ahead as I can because my work schedule is hectic… read more

Say hello in Brooklyn

November 9, 2023 by
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I'm attending a panel on 'The Future of Cookbooks' on Saturday at the Cherry Bombe Cooks & Books event at the ACE Hotel in Brooklyn, New York. If any EYB member is planning to attend, please do say hello. I will be loitering in the hotel lobby in the afternoon (the panel doesn't start until 4:30pm). You can recognize me… read more

Does everything need to be zhushed?

November 7, 2023 by
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Does anyone remember the commercial for Rice Krispie treats that aired in the late 1980s? The commercial opens with a woman reading a romance novel while her child (in another room) asks if the treats are done yet. "These things take time!" the mother replies. Donning an oven mitt, the woman dips the mitt into the flour container, flicking flour… read more

Food news antipasto

November 6, 2023 by
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The Seattle restaurant scene lost one of its legends this week as acclaimed chef Thierry Rautureau died at the age of 64. Widely known as the 'Chef in the Hat,' the French-born restaurateur helped Seattle cement its reputation as a location for fine dining. Rautureau won numerous awards for his restaurants, including a James Beard Award in 1998. In culinary… read more

NYT interviews Tieghan Gerard of Half Baked Harvest

November 2, 2023 by
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Half Baked Harvest is the one of the most popular blogs indexed in the EYB Library, and the corresponding books written by Tieghan Gerard, who is the heart and soul of HBH, have also generated loads of positive feedback from our Members. That is one reason I thought that Julia Moskin's NYT profile of Ms. Gerard (gift link) would be… read more

Why don’t cookbooks talk about the cleanup?

November 1, 2023 by
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When you read a recipe in a cookbook (or online, for that matter), the final instruction usually revolves around how the dish should be served. Left unmentioned is the mess that remains. If a recipe discusses washing up, it's to claim that it is a simplified or "one-bowl" affair that will leave fewer dishes to be washed. Occasionally the preface… read more

Food news antipasto

October 29, 2023 by
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Another of David Chang's Momofuku restaurants is closing, this time Momofuku Ko, a two-Michelin star eatery located in New York City. The closure comes as the company moves in a new direction under the leadership of Marguerite Zabar Mariscal, who took over the reins in 2019. Momofuku plans to open another restaurant in the same space, but in the meantime… read more

Brinner is always a winner

October 26, 2023 by
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Somehow I missed the fact that breakfast for dinner has been going by the name "brinner" since about 2014, when an article by Kathleen Purvis about the trend was picked up by a slew of regional newspapers across the US. The thought was that brinner would overtake brunch in popularity, both at homes and in restaurants. I do not believe… read more

Was this the ultimate Le Creuset deal?

October 24, 2023 by
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After writing about the Le Creuset factory to table sale, Jane forwarded me a tweet about a deal being offered by Costco that would allow someone to jumpstart their collection and become a super collector overnight. The wholesale club was offering a whopping 157-piece set of Le Creuset that comes with an eye-popping price tag: $4,499.99 USD. While I wondered… read more

Food news antipasto

October 22, 2023 by
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A new Australian product aims to put the real taste of chicken into plant-based meats. Called Tastilux, it's a creation of Nourish Ingredients, and is an animal-free fat that "mimics the mouthfeel of animal fat" but is made from a type of Australian fungus. Adding it to plant-based "meats" can make them taste, well, meatier. The product isn't available to… read more

Apple season is upon us

October 21, 2023 by
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We are just at peak apple season, and every roadside stand and farmers market is brimming with bushel baskets of local apples. If you are lucky, there could be upward of a dozen varieties for you to choose from, with a range of characteristics. Some are perfect for eating out of hand, others are great for making cider or applesauce,… read more

Ditch the cling wrap with these lids

October 19, 2023 by
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How many recipes ask you to cover an item with clingwrap/plastic wrap while it is proofing, marinating, cooling, or in some other waiting stage? Too many to count, right? If you hate wrestling with finicky wrap that seems to stick to everything except the edges of the container it's supposed to seal, Serious Eat's Andrew Janjigian has the answer, and… read more

Food news antipasto

October 15, 2023 by
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As we become immersed in the new season of the Great British Bake Off, it's tempting to do armchair quarterbacking on strategies or ideas the contestants have chosen. It is easy to opine from the comfort of our living room, but a former contestant on the US version of the show reminds us that baking in that iconic tent is… read more

The thrill of the score

October 11, 2023 by
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As I talked to shoppers at the Le Creuset Factory to Table sale, a common refrain popped up: LC did not fit into their budget unless they could purchase it a steep discount. While I saw some carts filled to the brim with boxes, others contained only one or two small items because those bargain hunters didn't find the prices… read more

Embracing the change

October 10, 2023 by
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Tonight we turned off the water going to the outdoor faucet, a yearly ritual that is repeated in reverse come springtime. That means it is officially autumn. I'm generally a spring/summer person because I abhor being cold, but it is during autumn that my cooking senses really come alive. Baking in the summer, as we have witnessed on the Great… read more

Food news antipasto

October 8, 2023 by
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This week we learned the sad news that chef Michael Chiarello has died at age 61 following a severe allergic reaction that led to anaphylactic shock. The chef hosted shows on PBS, Food Network, Fine Living, and Cooking Channel. He also appeared on Top Chef Masters and was a judge for Top Chef. The partners in his restaurant group said… read more

Do you really need a roasting pan?

October 5, 2023 by
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Few home kitchens in the US are without a large deep roasting pan. Most of them are made from aluminum, although enameled steel and stainless steel pans are also common. Usually they are tucked away in the back of a cabinet for most of the year, pulled out to hold the Thanksgiving turkey or Christmas ham. Serious Eats has long… read more

Break out the good china: what you serve your food on matters

October 3, 2023 by
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When I start thinking about what to make for lunch or dinner, only rarely do I consider the dinnerware on which we will be eating the food. Our everyday plates are Fiesta Tableware in six different colors that we mix and match with abandon. Pairing a color with a particular food isn't something I contemplate unless I'm really into getting… read more
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