The James Beard Cookbook Awards are back – here are the nominees

April 27, 2022 by
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After a one-year hiatus - due in part to the pandemic but also to controversy surrounding the lack of diversity in its awards programs - the James Beard Foundation has announced the nominees for its 2022 Media Awards, which includes cookbooks. This list covers 2021 and 2022, so only the best of the best books have made the cut. JBF… read more

Le Creuset’s advice to consumers: don’t use olive oil

April 26, 2022 by
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Like many EYB members, I cherish my Le Creuset and Staub cookware. The durable, colorful, and downright gorgeous vessels are workhorses in my kitchen, helping me create stews, roasts, braises, soups, and more. That is why Jenny and I were somewhat perplexed by the recent advice Le Creuset offered to some customers who complained about damage to their pricey pans.… read more

Food news antipasto

April 24, 2022 by
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Adventurous cooks have a drawer or cupboard filled with a variety of spices. Although some folks have a large selection from which to choose, most of us have a few favorites that get used in a multitude of dishes. If you had to pare down your spice collection to just 11 essential spices, what would you choose? Compare your list… read more

Getting ready for rhubarb

April 20, 2022 by
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As the years roll on, I appreciate more and more the rhythm of the seasons and the act of eating within them. Even though supermarkets have all manner of produce available year round, things like December asparagus and January watermelon seem out of place here in the north land, with a flavor that only faintly echoes what the fruit or… read more

Is this the mother of all puddings?

April 18, 2022 by
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Custard style puddings are common across a number of cultures, and California chef Reem Assil believes that most of them can be traced to a single source: the Arab pudding mahalabiya. “I feel like every culture has some version of the mahalabiya. That was the tip-off point for me,” Assil told food writer Genevieve Yam. “It’s usually some form of… read more

Food news antipasto

April 17, 2022 by
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When Nigella Lawson tells you to read something, you read it, and you are not disappointed. A few days ago she posted a link to an article in The Paris Review where writer Valerie Stivers offers a story that involves the intersection of food and the stories from Soviet dissident writer Sergei Dovlatov. Stivers attempts to recreate the foods in… read more

Uses for leftover Easter eggs

April 16, 2022 by
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If you’re among the millions of people who dyed a bunch of eggs to use as decoration for the Easter holiday, you are probably facing a conundrum of what to do with all of them now that Easter is behind us. Egg salad sandwiches and deviled eggs might work for some, but there a dozens of more interesting options. Delicious… read more

The next wave of US food cities

April 13, 2022 by
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America's largest cities have long been revered as destinations for food lovers, but that doesn't mean you are limited to New York or Los Angeles for excellent dining options. Many other metropolitan areas have vibrant food scenes, and some of the locations listed on Food & Wine's recent article on the 11 next great food cities will provide travel inspiration.… read more

The perfect potholder doesn’t exist

April 12, 2022 by
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When you need to grab a Dutch oven or baking sheet out of a blazing oven, what do you use to protect your hands? There are many options to choose from to complete this task: basic squares potholders, large oven mitts, silicone gripping pads and gloves, leather pot handle covers, cloth 'oven gloves', and the chef preferred side towel. None… read more

Food news antipasto

April 10, 2022 by
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Have you ever watched America's Test Kitchen and thought "I should be working there?" If so, here is your chance: Casting Crane is casting for a reality show called America’s Test Kitchen: The Next Generation. Not only is the grand prize a job at ATK, it also comes with an option on a cookbook. Applications are accepted until April 15.… read more

Salad greens 101

April 9, 2022 by
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Even though the Upper Midwest is full of 'salads' that feature a wide range of ingredients from Jell-O to Snickers candy bars, when most people think of salads they conjure images of leafy greens and vegetables tossed in a dressing. The variety of greens from which you can construct a salad is almost limitless, but not all greens are created… read more

Are calzones better than pizza?

April 7, 2022 by
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You probably know someone who has spent hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars on a wood-fired pizza oven in a quest to make the perfect homemade pizza. Perfecting pizza at home is a laudable goal, because it means you can control all of the variables to end up with a pie that is exactly what you want. If you have… read more

How to avoid sticky baking situations

April 6, 2022 by
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Unmolding Bundt cakes used to terrify me. I would break out in a nervous sweat as I tipped the baking pan upside down over a cooling rack, hoping that when I lifted the tin, a beautifully detailed whole cake would emerge. Before I locked in on my preferred method of coating the pan, I had all sorts of stuck-cake disasters.… read more

Food news antipasto

April 3, 2022 by
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It was only a matter of time before cryptocurrency and the food and beverage industry collided. Global restaurant group Chotto Matte is selling a specialty cocktail this April (timed to coincide with the Miami Bitcoin 2022 conference) that can only be purchased with bitcoin. The cocktail will sell for the bitcoin equivalent of $50. Classic guacamole [Roberto Santibañez] from Food52 Genius… read more

April Fool’s food pranks

April 1, 2022 by
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I have to admit, Serious Eats almost got me this year with their clever April Fool's joke. They posted a link to a recipe for dry brined beans, complete with photo and convincing 'Serious Eats-sounding' text. It is very well done and I had to read a little ways before I was sure it was a joke. Good job, guys.… read more

Eating with all your senses

March 30, 2022 by
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For some Covid sufferers, the loss of their sense of smell was one of the most persistent and discouraging results. My neighbor could not smell anything for months after her coronavirus infection, and when the sense started to return many things smelled strange. Potent items like garlic had a horrible smell that I won't describe lest you get put off… read more

Convection ovens: yay or nay?

March 28, 2022 by
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A hand in a yellow cleaning glove wipes across the face of an oven
Every high-end oven has a convection feature, and it is becoming increasingly popular on the mid-range models as well. But is convection something you really need? The Washington Post's Aaron Hutchinson gives us a primer on this useful oven feature, explaining the hows, whens, and whys of convection. At its most basic, the convection feature incorporates a fan that moves… read more

Food news antipasto

March 27, 2022 by
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Yesterday I wrote about how foods fall on a continuum, making it difficult to have hard and fast definitions for food. Today I spied an article that makes a counterpoint to that argument. A recent poll of amateur chefs in Spain found that there was broad consensus about the unwritten rules for paella. For starters, seafood is a no-no. Cookbook… read more

The brownie continuum

March 26, 2022 by
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Today I ventured into our makeshift basement kitchen to bake for only the third or fourth time since we started on our remodel. I needed a dessert to take to a friend's house (a wonderful friend who has been cooking for us at least once a week since we embarked on this project), so I decided to make one from… read more

The science behind sour

March 24, 2022 by
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Do you enjoy sour flavors? I can't get enough of them, whether it's pucker-y pickles, astringent sumac, sharp sauerkraut, tangy citrus, or another piquant essence. Sour is one of the essential tastes (alongside sweet, salty, bitter, and umami), although of the five it is the least understood. The Atlantic's Katherine J. Wu takes a closer look at the reasons so… read more

Doing it for the ‘gram

March 21, 2022 by
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Like many people, I segregate the types of things I peruse by social media platform. I connect with friends on Facebook, use Twitter to follow policy wonks, and utilize Instagram as a timeline cleanse, following mostly food personalities and sites. As such, my Insta feed is usually filled with loads of stunning food images. Sometimes these photos spur me into… read more

Food news antipasto

March 20, 2022 by
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One of the first things many people learn to bake is cookies, standing at their mother's or grandmother's side, maybe on a chair or stepstool depending on how little they are. While kids and cookies are a natural match, one young woman has taken her cookie baking to the next level. Tamia Hawkins-Coleman of Florissant, Missouri, now age 15, started… read more

Le Creuset unveils a new bread oven

March 17, 2022 by
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Normally I might include an article about new kitchenware in the weekly 'antipasto' post, but I am making an exception today. The first reason is that it's about Le Creuset, and the second is to make sure people have a chance to order one before the new items are sold out. I learned about this new product via The Kitchn,… read more

Gift Guide for Mother’s Day (UK edition)

March 15, 2022 by
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Mother's Day in the UK is celebrated on March 27th this year. In the UK, Mother's Day is connected to Easter, so like this holiday, the date of Mother's Day changes every year as Easter's date changes. Mother's Day, or Mothering Sunday originated as a religious celebration that takes place on the fourth Sunday of Lent. This year I thought… read more

Food news antipasto

March 13, 2022 by
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We start off this week with some sad news. Sally Schmitt, one of the founders of the pioneering Napa Valley restaurant the French Laundry, has died at the age of 90. Schmitt was the original chef and owner of the restaurant, which "drew a fervent following for simple, French-inspired food made with local, seasonal ingredients." She had an outsized influence on… read more
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