Catching Downton Fever
It's 111 days until the premiere of Downton Abbey's third season--not that anyone's counting!--and cookbook publishers are doing their best to milk the nostalgic, Downton-deprived masses. Adams Media, which brought us…
Susie
Cakes from the Dark Side
The other day I got a serious problem in the mail. I was briskly opening up boxes and bags of new fall cookbooks when--blam!--there it was, staring up at me with an evil expression. Twisted Cakes, it read, and beneath…
Going back to bread
We've just rounded the corner on Labor Day, which means...it's bread season again! Time to make soup and swab the bowl with torn and crusty slices. Time to slice sandwich breads for school lunches. Time to rise early…
Holly Herrick
For this month's author profile, we have some lovely insights into the writing and cooking life of Holly Herrick, author most recently of Tart Love. In her piece you'll find surprising answers to questions like "What's…
Late with the Lunchbox
The kids went back to school today, and my brain is slowly waking up from its summery haze, still smelling vaguely like sunblock. Logistics are flying left and right as I try to remember how to do all the things School…
EYB and the seasonal cook
Although I've been gardening vegetables for almost 10 years and have made enough mistakes to consider myself sort of "experienced," harvesting has always been a weak point for me. If I haven't been vigilant, the late…
Tackling the faraway nearby
Two vastly different cookbooks arrived recently. The only thing they had in common was that each focused on a country far, far away from this one, and barely addressed by other cookbooks. They gave me a chance to think…
The portable pantry
I'm away this week with my family on Lake Michigan. As I prepared for our trip, I stumbled on a question all us cooks on vacation have to ponder: what to pack? I don't mean the usual stuff: swimsuit, sunscreen, a cheap…
Jeanne Kelley
Jeanne Kelley With kitchen gardens and farmstands in full production, it's a good time to consider a green meal at any time of day. But everyone tires, at times, of a bowlful of leaves. Thankfully, we have salad books…
Recipe wishlists: how to handle them?
OK, so I could use some advice. As you probably know, I review cookbooks and test recipes most nights. As I go through new cookbooks, I post-it dozens of recipes I'd like to try, just like everybody else. And just like…
International Eclectic
Is it me, or are we seeing a rise in unclassifiably ethnic cookbooks? It used to be that you might run across a cookbook author with an unusually well-travelled culinary past--Tessa Kiros of Falling Cloudberries, say,…
5 kitchen things I can do without
A little while ago, I wrote a post venerating the 5 kitchen things I can't do without. I thought, in the interests of candor, I'd do a counter-post showcasing just a few of the many flaws in my frustrating kitchen. For…