It’s okay to hate cooking (really)

November 16, 2020 by
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dirty dishes after dinner lie in the sink, cleaning the table in the kitchen
Whenever people hear that I collect cookbooks, they logically assume that I love to cook. That is true most days, but not always. There are times when I cannot stomach the thought of chopping a vegetable or stirring a sauce or cleaning up yet another sink full of bowls, so I fire up the oven and pop in a frozen… read more

Food news antipasto

November 15, 2020 by
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Everyone's favorite Hamptons cook recently released her latest cookbook Modern Comfort Food. But as she tells NPR in an interview, "All my books are really about comfort food." In the 8-minute discussion, the domestic doyenne also dishes great one-liners such as "I often say that you can be miserable before eating a cookie and you can be miserable after eating… read more

Celebrate National Bundt Day

November 15, 2020 by
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Today is National Bundt Day (an offically-named celebration day here in Minnesota, birthplace of the Bundt). The iconic pan was invented in the late 1950s by Nordic Ware founder H. David (Dave) Dahlquist. You can read more about the birth of the Bundt in Jenny’s post from 2018. Although cakes baked in ring shapes have been around for centuries, Bundt cakes got… read more

Great British Bake Off – Recap – Week 8 – Desserts Week – a.k.a. Desserts the judges have resurrected from the dead

November 15, 2020 by
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Reminder: New shows for those watching on Netflix. On December 4th, Netflix will air season 3 of the holiday shows. Hooray! Christmas in the tent. Season 3 contestants, if I’m correct, will showcase Briony Williams (Series 9), Tom Hetherington (Series 8), Yan Tsou (Series 8), and Terry Hartill (Series 9). Here are our bakers: Dave, 30, Armoured GuardHermine, 39, AccountantLaura,… read more

When size matters

November 13, 2020 by
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Thanks to virtual meetings and interviews - and the Twitter account Room Rater - I have seen gobs of bookshelves this year. It's easy to see why so many people chose to have a bookshelf in their Zoom background - it makes you look smart and sophisticated, unlike the unmade bed that you would see if I turned on my… read more

This week: All about lefse & recipes, gift guides, cookbook and cookware giveaways, EYBD Previews & more

November 13, 2020 by
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As I was talking with a friend this week, she mentioned that she had sent her granddaughter a book entitled "My Grandma Makes Lefse". That comment sparked my desire to make lefse again. I have a lefse rolling pin and have made it once (Amy Thielen's recipe: Cream potato lefse). Our talk about lefse made me realize how fast life… read more

The story of Staub

November 12, 2020 by
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We've written plenty about Le Creuset here at EYB, whether to announce their new must-have colors or a big sale, but there is another French cookware maker that also deserves our attention: Staub. Their products, while similar in many ways to Le Creuset, have subtle but important distinctions, as explained in an article by The Lux Cut that explores the… read more

2020 Gift Guide for the cookbook lover and cook & an Emile Henry tagine holiday giveaway

November 12, 2020 by
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Several times a year, I put together a gift guide of great products and cookbooks that would make a special gift for the cook/cookbook lover in your life. My 2020 gift guide for the baker can be found here. For sake of brevity, I will refer you to my Best Books of Fall/Autumn 2020 and Best Books of Spring 2020 for cookbook… read more

Some like it hot – and that might be good for them

November 10, 2020 by
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Do you like spicy food? The kind that makes your brows sweat and has you reaching for water? If so, you might live longer, according to new research. The new study will be presented next week at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2020. This meta-analysis of over 4,729 studies on chili peppers from five leading global health databases shows… read more

Great British Bake Off – Recap – Week 7 – The 80’s and the Curse of the Melting Ice Cream Cake

November 8, 2020 by
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New shows for those watching on Netflix. On December 4th, Netflix will air season 3 of the holiday shows. Hooray! Christmas in the tent. Season 3 contestants, if I'm correct, will showcase Briony Williams (Series 9), Tom Hetherington (Series 8), Yan Tsou (Series 8), and Terry Hartill (Series 9). Back to the recap. It is always this way: the day… read more

Food news antipasto

November 8, 2020 by
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I participated in the Bake a Bundt online class offered by Bake from Scratch Magazine's Brian Hart Hoffman, Williams-Sonoma, and Nordic Ware. During the class, Nordic Ware's Jennifer Dahlquist announced that in connection with Nordic Ware's 75th Anniversary - happening in 2021 - the company will be making several special, limited edition Bundt pans. They will be offered first (or… read more

Tips for sending food through the mail

November 7, 2020 by
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Since many of us are not going to be able to travel and gather together with family and friends for the upcoming holidays, we will miss the feasts that often accompany them. I have been pondering whether to send 'treat boxes' to people I would normally see during the holiday season. Since I often created cookie boxes for work, it… read more

Food trends for 2021

November 6, 2020 by
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In 2020, the world has been preoccupied with the coronavirus, US elections, bush fires, heat waves, forest fires, Brexit deals (or lack thereof), lockdowns, murder hornets, hurricanes, and other manmade and natural disasters. Some - maybe most - of us are afraid to look forward to what 2021 might bring. But the world keeps spinning and we keep cooking, so… read more

The history of election cake

November 3, 2020 by
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Although it might have seemed that this US election season was never going to end, voting is finally over after today. In years past, the act of voting may well have been celebrated with an election cake, an all but forgotten American tradition. Election cake dates to the 1700s, when Puritans viewed election day as one of the most important… read more

Spice and butter sales boom during pandemic

November 2, 2020 by
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Last weekend I spent a couple of hours stripping leaves from thyme, oregano, and mint stems that I had dried, preparing a stock of herbs to carry me through the long winter months ahead. I also assessed my spice collection and realized I have used more spices in the last few months than probably any other time since I started… read more

2020 Gift Guide for the Baker

November 2, 2020 by
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Several times a year, I put together a gift guide of great products and cookbooks that would make a special gift for the baker or cook in your life. My cookbook lovers/guide for the cook is coming soon. Today is all about the baker. First, let's talk about baking all-star titles from 2020: Baking at the 20th Century Cafe: Iconic… read more

Food news antipasto

November 1, 2020 by
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We begin this week's run down of food news with the sad news that Cecilia Chiang, credited with bringing authentic Chinese food to the U.S., has died at age 100. Chiang's pioneering Mandarin restaurant in San Francisco showcased food that was worlds apart from the chop suey that reigned at the time. In a profile of Chiang in 2007, The San… read more

It’s time for cranberries to shine

October 30, 2020 by
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Until I had been out on my own for a few years, my only experience with cranberries came during Thanksgiving, involving a tin can and a wobbly cylinder with ridges encircling it (all the easier to cut even portions). I didn't like it. However, once I tasted cranberry sauce made from fresh cranberries, I was instantly hooked on using the… read more

An outpouring of cookbook love

October 26, 2020 by
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Last week we shared the sad news that the 3,800-volume cookbook collection of California chef Cindy Pawlcyn was destroyed in the Glass fire that swept through the Napa Valley. As news of the devastation circulated, friends, coworkers, and even total strangers reached out to Pawlcyn, giving her cookbooks to replace some of what she had lost. The contributions became so… read more

Great British Bake Off – Recap – Week 5 – Pastry

October 26, 2020 by
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Google spends a great deal of time trying to figure out what I like to search for and suggests articles for me to read. Right now I see countless headlines as follows - "GBBO was never meant to save us" "GBBO has pulled the chain in the old water closet" (I made that one up myself) and the like. I… read more

Food news antipasto

October 25, 2020 by
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When Danny Bowien started Mission Chinese Restaurant, he was looking to create a working environment free from the abuses he experienced as a young chef. From the outside, it seemed that Bowien was achieving his goal of having a restaurant geared toward healthy employee relations, but a Grub Street investigation uncovered a toxic work environment flourished instead. Recently, Bowien admitted… read more

Cookbooks or lookbooks?

October 23, 2020 by
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Some cookbooks on my shelf have splashes and splotches in many places, worn dust jackets, and other signs of being well-used in the kitchen. Others are pristine, with stiff spines and immaculate covers. This does not mean I love these volumes any less, however. Some cookbooks lend themselves more to looking than cooking, and that's okay. I'm not alone in… read more

Do you organize your grocery cart?

October 22, 2020 by
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A lot of people dislike bagging their own groceries, feeling like it is disenfranchising workers and pushing work on shoppers without giving them any benefit in price reduction. I, on the other hand, often volunteer to pack the groceries myself. Bagging my own is one of the many reasons I am a fan of Aldi as well. I'm pro-self-bagging because… read more

Is something amiss in the GBBO tent?

October 21, 2020 by
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As Jenny has noted in her weekly recaps, the Great British Bake Off seems to be lacking its usual charm and it seems more difficult to engage with the bakers this season. It is difficult to put a finger on what about the show is leaving people cold. The hosts seem fine, the bakers are characters as always, so what… read more

Extreme gardening takes root

October 20, 2020 by
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Vegetable gardening took off this year, partly because the pandemic stoked fears of food shortages and partly due to the fact the people had a lot more time on their hands and needed a good socially-distant hobby. People proudly posted photos of their tomatoes, carrots, beans, and squash on social media. But the twee harvests of these nascent backyard horticulturalists… read more
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