Food & Wine’s surprising benefactor

  You may have seen the news that Hugh Hefner, the founder of Playboy magazine, died yesterday at the age of 91. "What's that got to do with food?" you may wonder. As it turns out, a great deal: Hefner was instrumental in launching Food & Wine Magazine.  Food & Wine was first published as a "preview issue" tucked inside… read more

The Legendary Cuisine of Persia – Recipe and Giveaway

Persia bridges the Far East and the Middle East and has survived centuries of struggle. In The Legendary Cuisine of Persia by the late Margaret Shaida, the rich culinary history of Persia is brought to life. The author's knowledge is impressive and her storytelling kept me engaged soaking up the first fifty pages of introduction. Embellished with a stripe of… read more

Why are we so drawn to black-colored food?

Remember when Burger King caused a sensation a few years ago with its black-as-night hamburger bun? Even before that took the world by storm, we were awash in black-hued foods that popped up in our Instagram and Facebook feeds. Why do we flock to dishes that are so unnaturally dark-colored? Ligaya Mishan explores the concept in a delightful article in… read more

Chefs share their favorite books

  Many chefs are avid readers, eagerly devouring cookbooks as well as other food-related books. Have you ever wondered which books rise to the tops of their reading lists? Tasting Table did, and asked several top chefs and restaurateurs to name their favorites, and the chefs responded with several book recommendations.  The responses were varied, with a few classic cookbooks like… read more

A beginner’s guide to the Instant Pot

  Between holiday hauls and Prime Day deals, thousands upon thousands of people now own an Instant Pot or one of its close cousins. I've known some who have had one for months but haven't taken it on a maiden voyage yet. If you are in this camp, Melissa Clark is coming to your rescue. She's provided us all with… read more

September Cookbook Roundup

August ushered in the first wave of cookbooks signaling the annual pre-holiday cookbook palooza, otherwise known as Cookbooktober. September follows with even more craveworthy books. As always, I have reviewed and selected the best new releases from around the world. If you are planning to purchase any of these books for yourself or as gifts, please use the Buy Book… read more

The history of your favorite apple varieties

  In the United States, apple season has begun. Crisp, fresh fall apples have started to hit market shelves, and the variety that you can find is staggering, especially at farmers' markets and boutique grocery stores. If you live anywhere near an apple growing area, you will be able to pick and choose depending on what you want to do… read more

Recreating historical recipes

  If you have ever leafed through an old cookbook, you've probably run across some recipes that sounded, well, less than appetizing. Antique books might have recipes for meats that you wouldn't consider eating, and mid-century tomes feature many questionable ingredients encased in gelatin and called a "salad." You probably wouldn't think twice about making such dishes, but at Duke… read more

Featured Cookbooks & Recipes

Did you know adding online recipes to your EYB Bookshelf is a really great way to build your personal recipe collection?  You can do this even if you have a free membership!  Try it out now and see how easy it is. Browse the recipes below, choose one that appeals, click on the link, and add it to your Bookshelf.… read more

Coffee flour can add a new dimension to your baking

  In the past few years, we've seen a resurgence of flours made from ancient grains, as well as new flours made from a gamut of items including wine and insects. Now another product has hit the market: coffee flour. As Food and Wine reports, coffee flour is not made from coffee beans, but rather from the cherry-like fruit that… read more

Friday Flashback – The New Midwestern Table – Cookbook Stackup

I am a Midwestern girl in my heart. I grew up in a small steel town in Southern Illinois near St. Louis, Missouri.  Even though I long to return to New York, having lived there for fifteen years, the grounding stability of the Midwest is in my blood. The MIdwest has a reputation for meat, potatoes and bread - yet… read more

Getting to know Comté

Did you know that Comté shares a history with Swiss Gruyère? Or that the cows that produce the milk for the cheese get to spend the winter inside a comfortable stone house? Will Studd knows these facts and more, and he shares his knowledge with us in an article in Australian Gourmet Traveller.  Comté began its journey to becoming the… read more

A Passion for Pasta – Recipe, review and giveaway

A Passion for Pasta by Carmela Sophia Sereno now holds the coveted spot of my favorite pasta cookbook. It is not only stunning with lovely photographs throughout, but the recipes capture what homemade pasta should be - beautiful, delicious and approachable. Carmela shares the basics from making various flavours of pasta dough (egg, chocolate, red wine and more) through and… read more

What’s the difference between parchment paper and wax paper?

  Enthusiastic bakers know (and love) baking parchment and wax paper, but novice bakers might not understand the difference between the two. While you can use them both for some applications, they aren't always interchangeable says Julie Thomson, Taste Senior Editor at HuffPost.  They may look quite similar, but the processes used in creating them are vastly different. Parchment paper… read more

Tips for making better stuffed pasta

  Making filled pasta from scratch can be intimidating. Pasta dough can be finicky, and the finished pieces have a tendency to explode when cooked, leaving you with a soggy mess. But done right, they are wondrous: tender pasta enveloping a rich, flavorful filling. Saveur's Stacy Adimando talked with pasta guru Evan Funke, of the Venice (California) restaurant Felix Trattoria,… read more

Coming Un Stuck – Review, recipe and giveaway

Coming Un Stuck: Recipes to Get You Back on Track by Sarah Tuck is for those times when cooking and eating well can make its way down on our evergrowing long lists of priorities. No one is immune from the inevitable ups and downs of life, but this book is here to help, with easy, flavour-packed recipes to get you… read more

Introducing the Eat Your Books Cookbook Club

We are happy to announce the Eat Your Books Cookbook Club - an online cooking group where we will cook through one or more cookbooks every month, share our photos and thoughts on the recipes and have fun! Beginning in October, I will do a recap of what folks are cooking up in the group and share it twice monthly here… read more

Hello! My Name is Tasty – Review, recipe and giveaway

Hello! My Name Is Tasty: Global Diner Favorites from Portland's Tasty Restaurants by John Gorham and Liz Crain is absolutely brilliant. When I look through this book, the thought bubble above my head shows me frolicking (I haven't frolicked in years) through a field of wild flowers counting the ways I love it. Gorgeous photographs, the best straight up must make… read more

A weighty situation

  Over the last several years, there has been a subtle but important shift in baking books in the USA. No, it isn't a move to beautiful, moody overhead photography (although that has also been trending), it's about the use of weights in baking books. Cookbook author and food writer Christine Burns Rudalevige explains the reasons for this change. The… read more

Holiday Cookies – Elisabet der Nederlanden – Review, Recipe and Giveaway

Every cookie lover's favorite time of year is rolling up soon and will be here before we know it. I love to bake any time of year but the crisp days of Fall and the late mornings of winter with snow blanketing our backyard are guaranteed baking days in my kitchen.  Holiday Cookies: Showstopping Recipes to Sweeten the Season by… read more

Cooking at the Emmy Awards

  Having several friends or relatives over for a holiday meal or dinner party can be extremely stressful. The menu needs to be planned, dietary restrictions or preferences taken into account, shopping, cooking, and finally, serving the meal. If it is that stressful for a small group, try to imagine it on a scale thousands of times greater. That's what… read more

The case for using tweezers in the kitchen

  Most cooks have at least one pair of tongs in the kitchen, and if you do a lot of cooking or grillings, you may have several. It's not a secret that many chefs abhor tongs (David Chang blasted tongs in The New Yorker and Australian chef Greg Malouf banned them from his kitchen). But what else would you use for… read more

Ball Canning Back to Basics

The household name for canning in the US is Ball. At some point in our lives we have all come in contact with the familiar glass jars - either finding them in our grandmother or mother's pantries or having bought them for craft or canning projects ourselves. Ball Canning Back to Basics: A Foolproof Guide to Canning Jams, Jellies, Pickles,… read more

How cooking has changed since the 1980s

In keeping with Jenny's Friday Flashback theme, today we are going to step into the time machine and head back thirty-odd years, courtesy of food writer John Kessler. Writing for Tasting Table, he reminisces about his early days as a culinary student and novice chef in the mid-1980s.  For those of us who had front-row seats to the experience, the… read more

Gabriele Corcos’ Cookbook Collection

Earlier this month, I shared a post on how our cookbook collections stack up sharing some friends' photos and other information. Today, Gabriele Corcos was the subject of my Friday Flashback featuring his books Extra Virgin and Super Tuscan written with his actress wife, Debi Mazar.  Below is a photo of Gabriele's office/cookbook library which he is graciously sharing with us today.   … read more
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