Food news antipasto

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

Kitchen trends with a nod to the past

How we plan and use our kitchens varies across cultures and across the years. Recently I spied an article on hidden kitchen appliances that described a trend of designers 'hiding' appliances such as microwaves and under-counter refrigerators behind a panel that looks like the rest of the kitchen cabinets. The article asked the question "why didn't we think of this… read more

Beyond mere terroir

Dirt plays an important role in the food world because much of what we eat grows in the soil, and foodstuffs ranging from coffee to carrots have aficionados who tout the 'terroir' of the soil coming through in the food's flavor. Little kids even use dirt to make "mud pies" as a form of play, although the children (usually) don't… read more

A new food museum to add to your bucket list

If you needed another reason to place a vacation to Rome on your bucket list, we just learned about a new museum dedicated to cooking that just opened in this storied city. Like a good antipasto platter, it contains a smattering of all the best items, ranging from Renaissance-era ice cream molds to ancient cookbooks to exclusive papal recipes and… read more

The price of coffee

If I ask you the question "how much does a cup of coffee cost?", you can probably rattle off an answer in seconds. Of course the cost varies on whether you are making it at home, buying it at a gas station, or purchasing from an upscale coffee shop. There are a lot of factors that go into the price,… read more

Food news antipasto

Jerry Seinfeld is busy creating a new movie that revolves around food. The film from the famed comedian is tackling a subject that you might not think merits full cinematic treatment: titled Unfrosted, the comedy explores the origin story of Pop Tarts, the sugary breakfast toaster pastry. Delia Smith has had a long and storied food writing and television hosting career.… read more

Food delivery is looking up

Evolution in food delivery systems escalated during the pandemic, with people moving in droves to online shopping, curbside pickup, and contactless home delivery. Now an Australian supermarket is aiming even higher when it comes to bringing food to its customers: Coles is set to become the first grocery chain to offer food delivery via drone. The supermarket will roll out… read more

Spice support: sumac

Although sumac is most closely associated with Middle Eastern foods, the plants that produces the tart berries, the Rhus genus of the Anacardiaceae family, grow all over the world. You can learn this fact and more as Eater's Sylvio Martins takes a deep dive into sumac, which he says can be a "secret weapon" in your spice arsenal. The fuzzy red… read more

Food news antipasto

Let's start off this week with a timeline cleanse. This one comes to us from Taste of Home, which recently assembled a pairing of classic American desserts with zodiac signs. As a Boston cream pie-loving Aquarius, I concur with the match for my sign (but really, I would have been okay with most of them). Ukranian stuffed cabbage (Golubtsi) from… read more

Cooking shows you should know about: The Julia Child Challenge; Top Chef returns and more

On March 14th, Food Network will air a new competition show entitled The Julia Child Challenge. Photo credit: Melissa Libertelli - Food Network In this new series, eight home cooks compete in culinary challenges to find out who has the fire, skill and passion to win the first-ever primetime competition series dedicated to all things Julia. "The competitors, all Julia… read more

The internet is adoring this restaurant review

Restaurant critics like Ruth Reichl, Jay Rayner, Pete Wells, and the late Jonathan Gold are known for crafting eloquent and thoughtful reviews of the world's top restaurants. But what happens when an everyday person decides to eat at a Michelin-starred restaurant and writes about the experience? Something magical, at least in the case of Kirsty Bosley, who wrote about her… read more

Inside the Ebony test kitchen

For those interested in culinary history, a new exhibition in New York City's Harlem neighborhood needs to be on your visiting list. African/American: Making the Nation’s Table, opens on February 23 at the Africa Center at Aliko Dangote Hall in Harlem. The exhibition focuses on the African American food experience. One highlight of the exhibition is the Ebony test kitchen. First installed… read more

Food news antipasto

After two years of shuttered events, people are beginning to come together for festivals of all types. One Australian event that is coming up in a couple of months is Tasting Australia, presented by RAA Travel, a showcase of South Australian produce and culture. Held each autumn since 1997, it blossomed into an epicurean destination. Head over to the Tasting… read more

In praise of the microwave

Avid home cooks eagerly embrace the latest technology: think sous vide, air fryers, and Instant Pots. You can't swing a stick on Facebook without running into a group posting recipes for one of those popular appliances. What you don't see, however, are groups singing the praises of the humble microwave, which is often dismissed by serious cooks. That's too bad,… read more

Red velvet: is it time to move on?

With its vivid coloring, red velvet cake is often the top choice for a Valentine's Day dessert. The cake - once a relatively obscure Southern specialty - rose to prominence in the late 90s and soon 'red velvet' found its way into a host of other foods from bagels to cinnamon rolls. The phrase become "secondhand for luxury, decadence, and… read more

Food news antipasto

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day. If you are not the type to plan ahead, don't worry, we have your back. Good Food (Aus) has 22 last-minute Valentine's recipes that are simple yet impressive. Likewise, The Guardian features a bevy of recipes that are sure to impress. One of my favorite food shows of the late 90s/early 00s was Two Fat Ladies.… read more

On saving a restaurant

Over the past two years we have written many stories that involved the pandemic: the Dalgona coffee craze, the spike in sourdough baking, the effects of lockdown cooking fatigue, and more. We also covered the struggles facing restaurants around the world. Most of those articles involved grim statistics and were written from a detached, industry-wide viewpoint. When reading abstract numbers… read more

Celebrate National Pizza Day

This one almost slipped by me, but once I saw that it was National Pizza Day I could not let it go unmentioned. Pizza, after all, was what got me through my college years - literally, because I worked my way through school at two different pizza joints. In my heyday, I could toss pizza dough with flair, although enough… read more

How much do you know about flour?

Even if you are not an avid baker, you probably have a bag of flour in your cupboard. Until the pandemic turned us all into sourdough fanatics and supermarket shelves were swept bare, few people gave a second thought to this ubiquitous pantry staple. While we understand that flour is the product of milling wheat, how much do we really… read more

Food news antipasto

The next time you sit down to drink a refreshing Pimm's Cup or cool and soothing martini, you should take a moment to thank the people who invented cocktails. The history of this craft is murky, but David Wondrich (author of the amazing Oxford Companion to Spirits and Cocktails) dives deep into lore and vintage newspaper clippings alike to unearth… read more

Which food phrases or words would you like to see gone?

The New York Times Kim Severson recently tweeted a provocative question: asking which food writing words and phrases people would like to ban. She started with calling a restaurant an eatery (I'm guilty of that one) and calling vegetables 'veggies' (which I avoid doing). Several other food writers chimed in with words they would like to see disappear. David Wondrich… read more

Food news antipasto

Last week Jenny compiled yet another amazing gift guide, this time for Valentine's Day. In the spirit of fairness, I am going to post a gift guide from another source, Epicurious. They gathered a list of 27 "actually good" gifts for cooks instead of the same old, same old things like flowers or lingerie. Jenny's guide is arguably better not… read more

Building a barbecue trail

The Southern Foodways Alliance has long been an important resource for chronicling the diverse food cultures of the American South. It has assembled oral histories on different topics that function as a culinary map for food lovers. Two of these projects, which can be accessed through the Alliance's free app, SFA Stories, are the tamale trail in the Mississippi Delta and… read more

What’s your cooking phobia?

Even the most intrepid cooks have a dish or two that strikes fear in their hearts. For some it's pie crust, for others it's certain cuts of meat, or it could be a kitchen tool that terrifies them. Whether it's due to past failures, injuries, or just a deep-seated fear of disappointing dinner guests, most cooks have a dish that… read more

Food news antipasto

In 2021, Kay Featherstone and Kate Allinson's Pinch of Nom Comfort Food was a runaway bestseller, and remains in the #1 position on Amazon UK's sales chart for nonfiction books. In general, cookbook sales are still going strong worldwide, but the distribution of sales is uneven, at best. According to The Sunday Times (possible paywall), while some books like the… read more
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