Ready, set, grill

May 26, 2018 by
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  Here in the US, the national holiday called Memorial Day honors those who have fallen in the line of service to our country. Unofficially, the long weekend marks the start of summer and kicks off peak grilling season, especially for those in more northern latitudes who have had a late start to their spring. Although tradition dictates that steaks… read more

Elderflower-lemon is the combination of the moment

May 25, 2018 by
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  Ever since the flavors for the royal wedding cake (baked by Claire Ptak) were announced, social media posts have been buzzing about the combination of elderflower and lemon. Bakeries across the US quickly jumped on the bandwagon, and hundreds of posts on Instagram were tagged with #lemonelderflowercake or #lemonelderflower. Elderflower has never become as popular in the US as… read more

The produce paradox

May 20, 2018 by
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After a particularly long and harsh winter, spring is bursting onto the scene in the northern part of the US. Along with the rapid greening and pleasant temperatures, produce is beginning to pop up at farmers' markets across the northland. However, I've noticed a paradox concerning the bounty of luscious vegetables and fruits: a scarcity of available time to properly… read more

What’s going to be served at the royal wedding?

May 17, 2018 by
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  Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's upcoming nuptials are groundbreaking for many reasons, now including the food to be served as well. We previously reported on how the royal couple chose a non-traditional wedding cake to be baked by Claire Ptak. Now we're learning a few details about the food that will be served on Saturday, which also bucks tradition. … read more

Are you a procrastibaker?

May 16, 2018 by
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  When faced with a task or chore that you need to do but don't really want to tackle just now, what do you do? If you are like a growing number of people, you turn to the kitchen to whip up a batch of cookies, a loaf of bread, or a pan of brownies. Baking to avoid doing other… read more

Sous vide’s surprising history

May 13, 2018 by
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  When you think of sous vide cooking, you probably conjure images of fine-dining restaurants and cookbooks like Modernist Cuisine and Under Pressure. Although the world's top chefs have embraced the technique, sous vide cooking goes back much further than the recent interest. Most people credit two French chefs - Bruno Goussault and George Pralus - with developing and refining the… read more

Jenny v. Modernist Bread – Emile Henry Giveaway

May 13, 2018 by
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A little over a year ago I shared with you The Making of a Cookbook Collector, the story of how my love of cooking and baking blossomed into a full blown obsession. While I have always been a fearless cook and baker, I've never deeply delved into the art of creating bread. Sure, I have baked a loaf or two, but my… read more

See stunning cakes at Brisbane’s International Cake Show

May 11, 2018 by
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If you are binge-watch shows like 'Cake Boss' or 'Cake Wars', or even if you are just a fan of cake in general and you live in or near Queensland, clear your calendar for next weekend, 18-20 May. Those are the dates for the 2018 International Cake Show Australia, held in Brisbane.  Event organizers describe the show as "the Top Gun… read more

When recipes lie

May 10, 2018 by
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  A seasoned cook can generally judge a recipe by a quick glance through the instructions. Novice cooks are at the mercy of the recipe writer, however, and this can pose problems, says food writer Debora Robertson. She assures readers that when a dish turns out badly, it's not necessarily their fault (free registration required for full article). Robertson looks… read more

Bombshell from Sweden regarding an iconic dish

May 3, 2018 by
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  Cities, regions, and even countries take pride in foods that become irrevocably linked to the location - think Nashville's hot chicken or New Zealand's pavlova. For Sweden, the national dish is Swedish meatballs. A recent tweet from Sweden's official Twitter account, however, has shocked the collective conscience of the country. "Swedish meatballs are actually based on a recipe King… read more

Le Creuset Mini Cocettes with Flower Knob Giveaway and Mother’s Day Ideas

May 2, 2018 by
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Before I left for New York to visit with publicists and attend the James Beard awards with Jane, I had fun baking and photographing this charming set of Mini Round Cocotte with Flower Knobs from Le Creuset. I am not a person who loves flowers unless they are growing outside but these flowers, I can get behind. It is no secret I… read more

A special pie for a cartoon milestone

May 1, 2018 by
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  Oscar Wilde once opined that life imitates art much more than art imitates life. But sometimes the latter does happen, as in the case with a recent episode of The Simpsons, the long-running cartoon. In the record-breaking 636th episode, we learn more about Homer Simpson's backstory, which involves a special apple pie recipe.  The cartoon flashes back to Homer's… read more

Bob Dylan is launching a whiskey brand

April 29, 2018 by
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Yesterday we discussed how Diana Kennedy is showing no signs of slowing down at age 95. Today, in another instance of not resting on one's laurels, we learned that songwriter and Nobel laureate Bob Dylan also has a new venture planned - he's launching his own brand of whiskey.  Dylan's songs have long featured whiskey and other spirits in the… read more

A concise guide to amari

April 26, 2018 by
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  When you stumble across a cocktail recipe on the internet that features an unfamiliar ingredient, it can be next to impossible to determine whether or not you will like it. Since it can be cost-prohibitive to purchase an entire bottle of an unusual spirit or aperitif just to try it, many times these recipes get passed over as not… read more

A dessert desert on many menus

April 24, 2018 by
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As someone with a voracious sweet tooth, I am often disappointed with the offerings on restaurant dessert menus - if one is even offered. Faced with increasing financial pressures, many restaurants are removing desserts altogether. As a former pastry chef, Alex Stupak (chef/owner of Empellón Midtown restaurant in New York and author of Tacos: Recipes and Provocations) bemoans the current state of… read more

How Britain’s smelliest cheese got its name

April 19, 2018 by
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Have you ever come across a food and wondered where it got its unusual name? "There has to be a fantastic story behind that product," you may mutter to yourself. If so, check out Gastro Obscura's article on Britain's smelliest cheese, called Stinking Bishop.  There are no bishops involved in the story, although it does involve pears, monks, and a… read more

One butter to rule them all?

April 18, 2018 by
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  If you have read a baking book published in the US in the past ten years, chances are you have come across the word Kerrygold. The Irish butter has become the most popular European-style butter in the United States, and many bloggers and cookbook authors swear by it. Eater explains how a butter from Ireland grew to be the… read more

Nigella Lawson says never call yourself “just” a home cook

April 11, 2018 by
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As Nigella Lawson embarks on her US tour in support of the new cookbook At My Table, fans across the country are making plans to visit the domestic goddess at their local bookstore. For those who are not fortunate enough to live near one of the tour spots, we have a small consolation prize: a wonderful letter she penned for… read more

A new and improved Instant Pot is coming soon

April 8, 2018 by
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  The Instant Pot juggernaut shows no signs of stopping, despite a recent recall over one of its models. Cooks everywhere have come to depend on the machine's versatility and speedy cooking. If you like the current models of Instant Pot, such as the one shown above, just wait until you see what is coming next. Taste of Home gives… read more

Living in a bookstore

April 6, 2018 by
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Richard Kostelanetz (also known simply as "Kosti") is a writer, artist, critic, and editor of the avant-garde. He has degrees from Brown University, Columbia University, and he attended King's College, London. He served as visiting professor or guest artist at a variety of institutions and lectured widely. But those attributes are not the most interesting aspect of the 77-year-old New… read more

Julia Turshen creates database for underrepresented voices in food

April 4, 2018 by
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Last fall, Julia Turshen released her latest cookbook called Feed the Resistance, which aimed to foster community and provide sustenance for the mind and soul in this era of activism. Proceeds from the book will be donated to the ACLU. Based on the response to that cookbook, and drawing on projects like Women Who Draw and Creatives of Color, Turshen… read more

Find ways to use leftover Easter eggs

April 2, 2018 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.… read more

April Fool’s Day food pranks

April 1, 2018 by
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  Did you fall for an April Fools' Day prank today? Social media was full of fake stories, including Google Israel launching a "Hummus API", Burger King's ad for a Chocolate Whopper, Siggi's debuting a fermented shark yogurt, and Heinz hawking chocolate mayo in the UK. You can see a huge listing of April Fool's pranks at The Washington Post. Digging… read more

The truth behind many family “heirloom” recipes

March 31, 2018 by
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  Everyone has cherished family recipes, handed down from mother (or father), who got it from her mother, who ostensibly received it from hers as well. An investigation by Atlas Obscura calls into question these "heirloom" recipes, and discovers that many of them were copied from cookbooks, food packages, and other locations.  The site asked Gastro Obscura readers to submit… read more

Indie magazines gain a foothold in the publishing industry

March 30, 2018 by
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  Food magazines have been falling like dominoes - Gourmet, Food Arts, Lucky Peach - these and many others have succumbed to the pressures of digital publications and sagging subscriptions. Just when it seemed like the industry was doomed, a handful of independent magazines show that the demise of food publications is not a certainty.  These new magazines are succeeding… read more
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