Here come the blog books!
Maybe it's my imagination, but August and September seem to be a fertile time for new book offerings from food bloggers - they're popping up like mushrooms after a summer storm. The blockbusters may come in October and…
Susie
The many faces of pie
Not that pies have ever really been out of fashion (maybe for just 5 minutes around the year 2000 when everybody dropped their carbs like a - well, like a hot potato). But this summer, it has sometimes seemed as though…
Soft spots
When it comes to apples, I have a definite weakness. It doesn't matter that apple season is only in the fall, or that of the 8 or so apple trees we've planted, only two have survived, and that those two successfully…
July 2014 cookbook roundup
Every month Susie Chang reviews new cookbook releases and notes trends in the United States. And she may also occasionally throw in a review of a "not-quite cookbook." And for our non-U.S. members, Jane and Fiona…
Dinner with friends - potluck or theme?
My favorite way to see my friends is to get together for dinner. I love going to other people's beautiful, clean houses and bringing dessert or drinks or sides. I love having people to our messy, chaotic house and…
The cilantro cuisines
I sometimes think of it as the "Cilantro belt" - the band of nations falling between 15 and 30 degrees north of the equator. You know, Mexico, Cuba, Morocco, India, Thailand, and many many more. It's not that all dishes…
Reference vs. selection in cookbooks
Today, I opened a book package and found a square-formatted paperback entitled, simply, Shake. Without looking at the title, the flap, the press release, or the back cover, I started thumbing through the pages…
What's an hour worth?
It's summer here in the northern hemisphere, and the days are long. Well, they may not actually be longer - most of us are still awake roughly 16 hours of the day - but they feel longer because the sun's with us for so…
June 2014 cookbook roundup
Every month Susie Chang reviews new cookbook releases and notes trends in the United States. And she may also occasionally throw in a review of a "not-quite cookbook." And for our non-U.S. members, Jane and Fiona…
To market, to market!
Shopping at the farmers' market isn't like shopping anywhere else. You have a sense of what will be there, but you can't be sure that what you want will still be available. Or you might make an impulse purchase. You…
The Mohinga Quiz
This morning, my son asked me an interesting question. "When you think of Vietnamese food, what do you think of?" We both like Vietnamese food, so it seemed like it would be easy to reel off a list. "Pho." "Bun."…
Kids in the Kitchen!
Every once in a while I like to catch up with what's going on with kids' cookbooks. I've looked at cookbooks for little kids (both story-based and picture-based) and cookbooks meant for teens. And, of course, family…