Cookbook Shelf and Kitchen Detective for Hire

August 8, 2020 by
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Today, I came across an article in the NY Times, "The Celebrity Bookshelf Detective is Back." While I am a voracious reader, I am not interested in what celebrities, or even what my friends are reading. I can make up my own mind in that regard. But what I enjoy figuring out are what cookbooks are in the kitchens of… read more

This week: Recipes for peaches and taking care of yourself, cookbook giveaways and EYBD Previews

August 8, 2020 by
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Instagram famous Leslie Jordan begins almost every video with "hello fellow hunker downers, how you all doin?" I have been wondering how all of our members are coping during this time? I watch Leslie's videos every day and they bring a smile to my face. Lately, I feel as if I'm in a continual loop of Groundhog's Day, the Twilight… read more

Historic Mexican recipes now available as e-books

August 7, 2020 by
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In February we reported how the University of Texas in San Antonio was in the process of digitizing hundreds of historical Mexican cookbooks. The pandemic has delayed this effort, but instead of just putting the whole project on hold, the university is now releasing recipes from the collection as free e-books. The first mini-cookbook was released earlier this month. Postres: Guardando… read more

The three essential baking pans everyone needs in their kitchen

August 6, 2020 by
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I recently made several pound cakes in this Nordic Ware loaf pan to give to friends and neighbors. One neighbor, witnessing the Facebook posts of my pandemic baking spree featuring myriad layer cakes, breads, Bundts, and other baked goods, asked me how much room I needed to store my baking pans. The answer is...a lot. Since my kitchen is not… read more

Sourdough, yes, sourdough again

August 6, 2020 by
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While Darcie has recently broken up with sourdough, I've decided to rekindle my relationship. I admit that I am a serial killer. Many a jar of sourdough has met an unseemly death under my watch. Selfishly (and repeatedly) in the past, I have neglected my jar of starter to die a lonely, cold death. I have no issues creating a… read more

All about eggplants

August 4, 2020 by
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Some foods get an undeserved bad reputation because it is all too common to encounter them in badly prepared dishes. Eggplant (aka aubergine) is one such food, and its very mention can conjure images of a soggy, slimy, tasteless vegetable. Perhaps eggplant haters could be converted to lovers if they experienced it expertly made, and to that end, Becky Krystal… read more

Washington Wine + Food – Cookbook Giveaway

August 4, 2020 by
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Enter our US/Canada giveaway to win one of two copies of Washington Wine + Food: The Cookbook by Julien Perry Julien Perry is the author of Seattle Cooks: Signature Recipes from the City's Best Chefs and Bartenders, one of Figure 1 #cooksandeats series which are some of my favorite cookbooks. They provide a taste of a particular city and are… read more

To the restaurants I never knew, and those that I love

August 4, 2020 by
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At the beginning of March, I wrote about missed opportunities to eat at some of the world's finest restaurants that had closed their doors forever. My motivation for that article was not, as you might think, the impact that the coronavirus was having on the restaurant industry. I had been thinking about restaurants like Fäviken, which served its last meal… read more

Food news antipasto

August 2, 2020 by
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Kitchen cleaning hacks are constantly being shared on social media, and one that has been making the rounds lately involves a trick for cleaning your glass oven door - use a dishwasher tablet. There are some nuances to this that make it more effective (you apparently need to get the tablet a little wet but not too much), but people… read more

How to clean up a floury mess

August 1, 2020 by
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The coronavirus pandemic might have made bakers out of us all, but once the bread is in the oven, the hard part of baking begins: clean up. As Margaret Eby of Food and Wine explains, combining flour and water is necessary to make bread, but the other byproduct of combining the two is glue. She provides several tips on how… read more

This week: Summer recipes, EYBD cookbook previews and giveaways

August 1, 2020 by
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Sweet August has arrived and in thirty-one days, September will be embraced by my open arms. As temperatures are still sweltering here in the US, many cooks are looking for options to feed their families that can be accomplished on the stovetop. I think I'm one of the only ones who will endure the inferno of a hot oven to… read more

Making the most of tomato season

July 31, 2020 by
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Peak tomato season is here for most of us in the Northern Hemisphere. Home gardens and farmers markets are flush with heirloom varieties in a rainbow of colors. You can find delicate yellow orbs, huge meaty beefsteaks, dark crimson deeply-lobed beauties, and the list goes on. The only drawback about about tomato season (besides the potential for stains on your… read more

Browned butter is the best butter

July 30, 2020 by
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blondies on a plate
Earlier today I took two sticks of butter from the fridge, plopped them in a saucepan over medium-low heat, and walked away. No, I did not have what my husband refers to as a "space cadet" moment, I just wanted to make sure it cooked long enough to turn a deep brown, which was going to take long enough for… read more

Jeffrey Morgenthaler’s Chocolate Chip Cookies

July 30, 2020 by
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I am still on my quest for chocolate chip cookie perfection (#chocolatechipcookies). Yesterday, I was on the phone with my best friend and we always discuss our baking experiments. She was putting together dough for Jeffrey Morgenthaler's famous chocolate chip cookies. I confess - I didn't know who Jeffrey was nor did I realize he made chocolate chip cookies. Thanks… read more

On not reinventing the wheel

July 29, 2020 by
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One of my favorite pastimes is to find recipes that recreate classic American snacks like Oreos and Twinkies. I look for recipes that are not exact duplicates, but rather better versions of these iconic treats (this is one of the many reasons I am a fan of Stella Parks, who does this so well in her cookbook BraveTart). Finding ways… read more

Transporting pie can be as easy as, well, pie

July 28, 2020 by
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Apple pie
Before I discovered my secret to transporting cakes, pies, and other delicate food items safely, I went through a lot of trial and error. I tried various types of containers and boxes, built up "dams" around the object made of towels and pillows, and even resorted to holding the food for short car trips that seemingly took forever because I… read more

The GBBO has been secretly filming its next season

July 27, 2020 by
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With much of the world in lockdown for the spring, when The Great British Bakeoff (known in the US as The Great British Baking Show) is usually filming, most GBBO fans probably thought that there would not be a 2020 season. As it turns out, however, the cast and crew have been surreptitiously filming the next season, and it may… read more

Quick Bites – Kate McDermott

July 27, 2020 by
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Kate McDermott is the queen of pie. Her debut cookbook Art of the Pie: A Practical Guide to Homemade Crusts, Fillings, and Life is beloved by bakers worldwide. This title made most of the best book lists of 2016 as well as being an IACP and James Beard cookbook awards finalist. In 2018 Home Cooking with Kate McDermott brought the… read more

Food news antipasto

July 26, 2020 by
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Whenever someone asks me the question, "If you could start over, what profession would you choose?" my answer is "professional baker." There are many reasons that never happened, and recently my excuse has been that I am too old to get started in that physically demanding line of work. Perhaps I should reconsider, as there is still plenty of life… read more

Crumb coatings make everything better

July 25, 2020 by
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My husband and I have a running joke that the only thing that cannot be improved by deep-frying is iceberg lettuce. What makes deep frying so special? One reason is the breading or coating that adds a pleasant crunch to whatever you are cooking. A recent email from Australian Gourmet Traveller reminded me of this truism with an email that… read more

This week: Pastry, cookbook previews and giveaways

July 25, 2020 by
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As you may have deciphered from my Fear of an empty pantry, part two – the baking edition article last week, or any other baking-related piece I've shared (and there have been many), I am a baker. While I love all cookbooks, my passion lies with those devoted to baking. I flip straight to the baking related chapters first when… read more

Spice support: green garlic

July 24, 2020 by
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Perhaps I'm stretching the definition of spice a bit by including garlic, but it is generally treated more like a spice than a huge part of the meal (chicken with 40 cloves of garlic notwithstanding). Anyway, this post is not about regular garlic cloves, but about green garlic, which is part of the garlic plant that may already be growing… read more

Summer Kitchens – Cookbook Giveaway

July 24, 2020 by
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Enter our giveaway to win one of three copies of Summer Kitchens: Recipes and Reminiscences from Every Corner of Ukraine by Olia Hercules open to US members and EYB is providing one additional copy worldwide. Olia Hercules' Mamushka: Recipes from Ukraine & Beyond and Kaukasis: The Cookbook: A Culinary Journey Through Georgia, Azerbaijan & Beyond are beautiful books that received… read more

Flower cakes that are wobbly works of art

July 23, 2020 by
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Gelatin cakes are gaining in popularity partly because they are gluten-free and partly because they are fun to eat. While they are often gorgeous to view, they usually don't taste that great. Pastry chef Jena Derman decided that she wanted to try her hand at making them, although she had ideas on how to amp up the flavor. What started… read more

Breaking up with sourdough

July 22, 2020 by
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Back in the early days of the pandemic (I'm sad that I even have to type that phrase), when yeast was nowhere to be found on store shelves, intrepid bakers rolled up their sleeves and went to work making bread the old-fashioned way: creating their own sourdough starter. I was one of those intrepid bakers, fastidiously weighing rye flour on… read more
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