What’s the best bread for stuffing?

With holiday dinners fast approaching, home cooks are preparing the menus for their family feasts. For many, this means a turkey and stuffing/dressing as a side dish. There are many decisions to be made regarding the stuffing, and chief among them is what bread to use. Food & Wine brings us chefs' top choices for this important stuffing ingredient. Kish… read more

Dobre Dobre Cookbook Giveaway

Enter our US giveaway to win one of two copies of Dobre Dobre: Baking from Poland and Beyond by Laurel Kratochvila. My devotion to baking books is readily known to Members who read my posts. I particularly have a fondness for those titles that feature international flavors. Books of this nature are journeys to beautiful countries steeped in tradition with… read more

Watch it wobble

The fondness for retro desserts - items that might appear on a table in the TV show Mad Men - is still going strong several years after it emerged. B. Dylan Hollis has crafted a career from retro cakes and other sweets from vintage cookbooks, and TikTok and Instagram are filled with other creators putting old recipes to the test.… read more

Big Book of Bread Giveaway

Enter our US giveaway to win one of two copies of the Big Book of Bread: 125 Recipes for Every Baker by King Arthur Baking Company. From the beloved baking authority, this gorgeous book shares over 140 recipes that meet you where you are, whether a novice or experienced bread baker. Everything you want to know about how to make… read more

December 2025 Great Big Cookbook Club Summary

As our members know, each month we offer several cooking options in our Eat Your Books Cookbook Club. There are other fun cookbook clubs around world and we’d like to highlight those for those members who might want to cook or bake something other than our choices.  I will update this post as clubs make their additional choices. Something that has… read more

Food news antipasto

Chef and cookbook author Samin Nosrat recently sat down with Sam Sanders - in her lush Oakland garden - to talk about food and healing. She spoke about her favorite item from the garden (passionfruit), and broke down how hard it was to recover from the letdown she felt following the success of her first cookbook and Netflix series of… read more

US consumers may want to stock up on Italian pasta

If you live in the US and your favorite pasta brand is from Italy, you may want to buy extra during your next shopping trip. Starting in January, the Trump administration is aiming to introduce tariffs of over 90% on Italian pasta. This tariff bump may be affected by the tariff case that is pending before the Supreme Court, but… read more

The Frankenpastry era continues

Dominique Ansel's Cronut - released in 2013 - was likely the spark of the pastry mashup that continues to proliferate at bakeries around the world, but the roots go back a bit further. In 1996, NYC pastry chef Maury Rubin created a pretzel croissant that predates the Cronut by more than a decade. However, the rise of the internet made… read more

IACP and TasteCanada Cookbook Awards, author events including Bee Wilson, recipes and more

Two major cookbook award ceremonies were recently held. The IACP Cookbook Award winners were announced earlier this month; see our post with a breakdown of the winners. Also, TasteCanada announced their winners earlier this week; see 2025 Taste Canada Awards winners. British writer Bee Wilson is in the United States and has events planned to promote the American release of… read more

Pretend private chefs become a TikTok trend

There is no shortage of content creators who are (or were) chefs, including private chefs. But some 'private chef' accounts are playing fast and loose with the concept of 'client' - calling their parents, significant other, and even themselves the client. Food and Wine explains why this can actually be a way to break out of cooking doldrums. Food and… read more

2025 Taste Canada Awards winners

The 2025 Taste Canada Awards were announced today. The Awards are presented to outstanding Canadian cookbooks in both English and French languages. This is the biggest night of the year for Canadian cookbook authors. Unlike other cookbook awards, Taste Canada presents both gold and silver awards in each category for each language, resulting in a bevy of winners despite having only… read more

Food news antipasto

This week's food news recap is a day late, but hopefully not a dollar short. We start with Tucker Shaw (of The Bittman Project) who has surprising uses for a packet of yeast (subscription required). Add it to cake, banana bread, and other baked goods, where it adds an intriguing flavor and contributes to the texture as well. London’s Borough Market… read more

Chesnok by Polina Chesnakova – Cookbook Giveaway

Enter our worldwide giveaway to win one of two copies of Chesnok: Cooking from My Corner of the Diaspora: Recipes from Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, and Central Asia by Polina Chesnakova. Please note the author's remaining event on our Calendar. Polina’s cookbooks are special and all are favorites in my collection. I was thrilled to learn of this title. The world chesnok… read more

IACP Cookbook Award winners 2025

The International Association of Culinary Professionals announced the winners of its 2025 Cookbook Awards (along with other food media and writing awards) at its 2025 Summit held in Brooklyn, New York on November 5. The IACP presented Lifetime Achievement Awards to Pati Jinich, Susan Magrino and legendary cookbook editor Rux Martin. The Trailblazers honored this evening included Fany Gerson and Ayesha Nurdjaja. Turning to… read more

The Great British Bake Off/Baking Show – The Final – 2025

It seems as if the Bake Off just started and now it is over. Signature challenge: British iced finger bun. There are 11 online recipes for iced finger buns in our Library. Darcie: Time, as always, was a factor -for the bakers, but it was not the biggest obstacle that Tom faced. He accidentally put citric acid into his dough… read more

From basic to bougie

One aspect of food history that fascinates me is how certain items can be considered trash food in one era only to be exhorted as gourmet in the next. This holds true for many items: lobster, ribs, chicken wings, pork belly, and even caviar. Why do these items climb from peasant food to high dining fare? Sometimes the driving force… read more

What’s really in that can of pumpkin

Unlike the pumpkin in Disney's classic tale Cinderella, the contents of the cans of pumpkins in your pantry will not transform into a coach to carry you to the ball. Some people even claim that what's in the can isn't pumpkin at all, it's squash. Food writer Kimberly Holland wants to set the record straight, and says that the substance… read more

Will one of these be the next “it” ingredient?

Like any fashion, ingredient fads come and go. For a while, tajín could be found on everything, and before that, miso had its moment. Flavor and the Menu takes a look at six ingredients that might just be the next breakout star. Noor’s black lime tofu from Ottolenghi by Yotam Ottolenghi and Ixta Belfrage and Noor Murad The article breaks… read more

Food news antipasto

The Michelin Guide Great Britain and Ireland updates its online guide monthly, adding recommendation based on its inspectors' travels. It recently added 24 new restaurants to its listings, including locations run by Aiden Byrne, Adam Handling, and Tom Kerridge. In 2026, Michelin plans to host the live launch of its updated guide in Ireland for the first time. Speaking of… read more

The Great British Bake Off/Baking Show – Patisserie Week – 2025

We are near the finish line. Week nine is all about patisserie. Again, Darcie has been sharing the "comments" here. I have been setting them up - and adding online links etc. I have a lot to catch up on! Signature Challenge: Cream horns. How to make cream horns Cream horn are also called cannoncini (the Italian name) or Schaumrollen… read more

Baking across borders

As an avid baker and cookbook aficionado, I frequently purchase the UK version of baking books because the covers are always better than the US edition (something I have written about before). This has led to me learning - sometimes the hard way - about the differences between UK and US ingredients and measurements. Helen Goh recently explained many of… read more

CRUMB – A Baking Magazine

Recently, I shared on Social Media about a new baking magazine, CRUMB - A Baking Magazine - Issue 1. I just received the first issue which I ordered and indexed for our Members. CRUMB is a print magazine highlighting chefs, recipes, bakeries, brands & people in pastry; created by Emily Kim of The Pastry Project. The Pastry Project is a Seattle-based… read more

Apples, apples, everywhere

In my neck of the woods, autumn has fully arrived (after a lingering warm spell), with crisp morning air and blazing color on the trees. This time of year - between the oppressive summer heat and the blistering cold of winter - has a lot going for it, including the flavors of autumn, especially apples. If you live near an… read more

Why you either love or hate candy corn

It's the time of year when one of most polarizing foods is either proudly displayed or avoided like a creepy uncle. The food, of course, is candy corn. Whether you are a fan or think it is disgusting, Serious Eats explains that there is a scientific reason for the extreme opinions people hold about the candy. Invented over a century… read more

Food news antipasto

Lay's brand potato chips (crisps) recently launched a bold new look for its packaging, but it wasn't a flashy new font or logo. Instead, the new bags prominently feature an image of a potato. Lay's did this because, according to research the company conducted, more than 50% of people did not know that Lay's potato chips were made from actual… read more
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