Do chain restaurants deserve more respect?

March 4, 2023 by
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My friends know that I love to cook, bake, and dine at nice restaurants, and sometimes this makes them self-conscious about food or dining out. If we are talking about a recent restaurant meal they enjoyed they might say something like "You probably wouldn't like that place, it's not very fancy, just a chain restaurant." While I have on occasion… read more

A 10-year scone sampling project

March 2, 2023 by
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I admire dedication to a project, and if it involves food all the more so. This one features baked goods, making it rank even higher in my appreciation. Sarah Merker, from Isleworth, recently completed a 10-year quest to sample scones at every possible National Trust location, ranking each on her blog. Diana Henry's Easter scones from Diana Henry at The… read more

Yuzu is lemon’s mellower cousin

March 1, 2023 by
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Yuzu is a form of citrus that has attracted fans well outside of its original East Asian place of origin. Cultivation of the fragrant fruit with floral overtones has expanded to the Mediterranean, New Zealand, and Australia, but whole fruits are still difficult to find in the U.S. However, it's fairly easy to find the juice, as Aleksandra Crapanzano explains… read more

Why refrigerators are bad for bread

February 28, 2023 by
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You probably already know that storing bread in the fridge only hastens its demise, but freezing it is a good way to store it. That might seem contradictory - after all both are cold, right? It's not that simple, as Serious Eats' Dan Gritzer explains, providing us with the science behind the staling of bread. What causes that soft sandwich… read more

Food news antipasto

February 26, 2023 by
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I found a lot of interesting tidbits this week, so let's just dive right in. First up is an edited excerpt in The Washington Post from a new book (not a cookbook) called Eat & Flourish: How Food Supports Emotional Well-Being by Mary Beth Albright. In the Wapo excerpt, Albright discusses how eating with others nourishes us in more ways than… read more

Massive air fryer recall issued

February 25, 2023 by
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Cosori, a manufacturer of a popular brand of air fryers, recently announced a recall of over 2 million devices due to the risk of fire. The US Consumer Product Safety Commission informed people who own these appliances “should immediately stop” using them and contact the manufacturer to obtain a replacement at no charge. Cosori has created a website dedicated to the… read more

UK vegetable shortages could last weeks

February 23, 2023 by
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UK shoppers looking for salad staples like tomatoes and cucumbers have been coming up short, as supplies of these produce items are extremely low right now. According to Environment Secretary Therese Coffey, these shortages could last two to four additional weeks. Supermarkets such as Asda, Morrisons, Aldi, and Tesco have imposed limits on how many of these vegetables customers can… read more

Food news antipasto

February 20, 2023 by
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Molly Yeh, an EYB Member favorite author, branched out from her cookbook writing in 2018 with a series Girl Meets Farm. This week we learned that Yeh recently inked an exclusive two-year deal with Food Network for additional episodes of the Midwest-inspired cooking show. Production is set to begin in March. How to make a king cake for Mardi Gras… read more

Kitchen mishaps can leave a lasting mark

February 18, 2023 by
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If you cook often enough, you are going to have a kitchen injury. Knives, mandolines, hot oven racks, boiling liquids - all are potentially dangerous and most cooks have a scar or two that tells a tale of kitchen woe. So too does The Guardian's Jay Rayner, who writes that "Making dinner means dicing with danger." While not exactly proud… read more

Food news antipasto

February 12, 2023 by
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We start off the week's news with a tidbit from Epicurious about one of my favorite KitchenAid mixer attachments. Just like Grace Elkus, I've discovered that this tool is perfect for making flaky pie crusts. Although it looks unassuming, it does a great job of cutting cold butter into flour without overheating the butter like a food processor can. It… read more

Food news antipasto

February 5, 2023 by
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This week we learned that cookbook author Jean Anderson has died at the age of 93. The winner of five best cookbook awards (Tastemaker, James Beard, IACP) and a member of the James Beard Cookbook Hall of Fame, Jean Anderson has written for Bon Appétit, Food & Wine, Cottage Living, Gourmet, and other magazines. She published over twenty cookbooks, among them The Food… read more

Boiling water the right way

February 4, 2023 by
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Everyone's an expert on social media. At least that's what it seems like when you read the comments section on almost any post about politics, warfare, climate, constitutional law, or even food. I can't tell you how many posts I've seen that claim "you are cooking xxx wrong." This goes from complex dishes all the way to the simplest: boiling… read more

Is this the next kitchen fashion?

January 30, 2023 by
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A few years ago, we asked EYB Members if they wore aprons while cooking, and many responded with a resounding yes. The latest sartorial suggestion from Epicurious might not get as many people replying in the same way, however. Wilder Davis recently posited that wearing a jumpsuit in the kitchen is even better than wearing an apron. Davis suggests that… read more

Food news antipasto

January 29, 2023 by
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carton of eggs
After three years of having only virtual events, Michelin will launch its 2023 guide for Great Britain and Ireland at an in-person celebration on 27 March 2023. The ceremony will be held at the Silverstone Circuit in Northampton. Gwendal Poullennec, international director of the Michelin Guides said: "After two years without being able to organise a physical event in Great… read more

Keeping it real

January 28, 2023 by
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I've seen a lot of promoted posts in recent days informing me that I could write blog content faster and easier by using AI (artificial intelligence) writing tools. While it was tempting to see what the automated system would gin up with only a slight prompt, I didn't want to give my information to these companies nor do I want… read more

Pastry chefs find a new home – at home

January 24, 2023 by
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Even before Covid-19 hit, US restaurants were undergoing change. One of the most notable shifts was in the dessert menu, or perhaps more accurately, the lack of such in many locations. Pastry chef jobs were on the decline, and the number of retail bakeries was likewise dwindling. Then the pandemic significantly disrupted restaurants even further. Despite these setbacks, a growing… read more

Food news antipasto

January 22, 2023 by
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Vox Media, the parent company of a string of websites including Eater and Grub Street, recently laid off 130 employees (seven percent of its workforce). One of those getting the ax was Eater senior correspondent Meghan McCarron, whose work we have linked to many times. Jim Bankoff informed employees of the cuts in a memo Friday, citing “the challenging economic… read more

Tips for being vegan in 2023

January 19, 2023 by
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The number of people embracing vegan or vegan-adjacent diets continues to grow. Whether you are participating in Veganuary, are moving toward being vegan, or just want to eat more plant-based meals, Tasting Table has an article that might interest you. They have assembled their top 15 tips for being vegan, and these tips go beyond merely substituting tofu for meat.… read more

How DIY are you?

January 17, 2023 by
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It stands to reason that people who are cookbook lovers have at least a modicum do-it-yourself tendency, because few things in this modern era are more DIY than cooking foods from scratch. We've discussed this before in the context of making your own pantry staples like ketchup or mayonnaise, but for some the DIY concept goes even farther. For instance,… read more

Food news antipasto

January 15, 2023 by
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Finally, a piece of good news we can pass along regarding restaurants: menu prices slowed substantially in December. While year-over-year numbers had climbed about 8.3%, the monthly figure was down to a range of .1% to .4% depending on the type of eatery. Inflation as a whole slowed too, giving hope that the relentless prices increases we have been experiencing… read more

Best practices vs. reality

January 14, 2023 by
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As I made a chocolate Bundt cake today for a friend's birthday (the Chocolate ganache bundt cake from Zoë Bakes Cakes), I couldn't help but think of how many ways I was not adhering to best practices when baking. According to the experts, you shouldn't separate eggs using the shells (I did), and you should crack each into a separate… read more

Gas stoves aren’t going anywhere soon

January 12, 2023 by
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If you live in the United States, you might have seen a lot of posts about gas stoves in the past few days. That's because a commissioner with the U.S. Product Safety Commission, Richard Trumka Jr., mentioned them as a potential health hazard in an interview he gave a few days ago. He suggested that one day they might be… read more

Food news antipasto

January 8, 2023 by
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Sometimes it is easy to identify when a food has passed its ideal ripeness and has become a food safety concern as the food gets dried out, moldy, or has other telltale signs of spoilage. For some items it isn't that easy - take pickles for example. How can you tell if your pickles are going bad? Epicurious has the… read more

Quality cookware can’t make bad food taste good

January 4, 2023 by
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We've frequently posted swoon-inducing photos of the latest offerings from cookware manufacturers like Le Creuset and Staub. They make tremendous products that can make cooking easier and help you create better meals. However, the mere presence of a gorgeous enameled cast iron pot is not sufficient to conjure deliciousness from bad ingredients or a bad recipe. Case in point: my… read more

Idris Elba is working on a cooking show

January 3, 2023 by
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It's not every day that a bona fide movie star decides to do a cooking show, but Idris Elba is not your everyday actor. Apparently he is working on a program that will explore his roots as well as African cuisine. What's more, the show has sparked a bidding war between streaming services who are all vying to produce it.… read more
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