Salting essentials
Salt is a critical component in cooking. Almost every recipe includes salt in some form, but the best salts to use probably aren't in your cupboard, says salt expert Mark Bitterman. "In America [salt] was just this…
Darcie
France publishes list of top 1000 restaurants
You can find plenty of lists of "best restaurants" across the globe, but perhaps none are as comprehensive as a new guide put out by the French Foreign Ministry. Dubbed "La Liste", it's billed as a ranking of the "1,000…
Behind the scenes of a Food Network show
Have you ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes of your favorite food television program? If you are a fan of Michael Symon's Burgers, Brew & 'Cue, read on. A participant on the show, Tyson Ho of Arrogant Swine…
Christmas dinner, sans meat
Holiday meals often revolve around meat: Thanksgiving turkey, Christmas ham, or Hanukkah brisket are the main courses, surrounded by a phalanx of sides. Vegetarians often must content themselves with the side dishes,…
Pulling from the bench
No matter how hard I try to prepare, I almost always find myself short an ingredient during the holiday baking crunch. Usually it's after the nearby store is closed, too, which means I'm faced with an unpleasant choice:…
Now that's a gingerbread house
During the holiday season, families often bake up a storm. This baking often includes gingerbread houses, ranging from tiny cottages to stunning masterpieces. This year's White House gingerbread creation certainly falls…
Food is a window into our past, says Jacques Pepin
Some of our strongest memories are tied to food, writes esteemed chef Jacques Pépin, who associates specific dishes and ingredients with his family members and the places he has lived. "Going back as far as my memory…
Save 30% on Workman & Artisan books
If you are interested in expanding your cookbook collection (and we know you are), you will love our new partnership with Workman Publishing and Artisan Books. For the next 30 days, you can save 30% off the cover price…
A case for traditional kitchens
Click on almost any kitchen design website, and you'll probably see large, open kitchens that flow seamlessly into surrounding living spaces. While this concept has seen steadily increasing popularity in the past decade…
Tips for achieving latke perfection
Latkes are among the many traditional foods that will make an appearance on tables during Hanukkah. Yahoo! Food offers five rules for making latkes to ensure that each one is perfectly light, crispy, and delicious.…
Williams-Sonoma founder Chuck Williams dies at 100
Charles (Chuck) Williams, founder of Williams-Sonoma, which introduced French cookware and high-end ingredients into American kitchens, died yesterday at the age of 100. Williams started Williams-Sonoma in 1956 when he…
The science of baking soda
Baking soda is an ingredient that almost every cook, and certainly every baker, always has on hand. It's so ubiquitous that we generally don't give it a second thought. But as indexed blog Serious Eats points out,…