Cookbooks are not the first place one turns to for humor. Funny cookbooks do exist: Peg Bracken’s classic The I Hate to Cook Book (1960) is one; Amy Sedaris’ more recent — and terrific — I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence (2006) is another. But most cookbooks assume people can’t handle too much humor with theirRead more »

A quick history lesson: Cinco de Mayo was born on the fifth day of the fifth month of the year 1862, when General Ignacio Zaragoza, with the support of local civilians and Zacapoaxtla Indians, led 2,000 poorly equipped Mexican soldiers to victory over 6,000 French cavalry and infantrymen at the Battle of Puebla. Though Zaragoza’sRead more »

Is it possible to ascribe narcissism to a foodstuff? Do ingredients have egos? Is there vanity in a vegetable? The curious world of single-subject cookbooks suggests “yes!” Broccoli, did you really need an entire book? Hemp, wouldn’t a magazine feature have sufficed? Foods on sticks, where is your modesty? Eggs are another story. There isRead more »

I’m the librarian of the Food Network’s library. I am looking for winter, but struggling. I see Mindy Heiferling’s A Taste of Spring, Elizabeth David’s Summer Cooking and Rick Rodgers’ Autumn Gatherings. Nowhere do I find winter. This seems odd. Without the luxury of hibernation, I find that we’re forced into the kitchen during winterRead more »

Food Network Kitchens have come up with their annual list of the top food trends that will define 2013. Last week, Jonathan Milder shared 2013′s Trailblazing Chefs and Blazing-Hot Flavors. Today, he’s listing the 10 items you should have stocked in your pantry and refrigerators for the upcoming year. 1. Artisanal hard cider (the boozyRead more »

Food Network Kitchens have come up with their annual list of the top food trends that will define 2013. Check out some of the trends here. 1. Pop “Culture” — Is fermentation poised to be the new yoga? Beer, miso, yogurt, kombucha and their kin will multiply in 2013. Chefs love fermentation because it’s theRead more »

The arrival of warm weather and long days are sure signs that the wedding season is upon us. As the season shifts into high gear, we thought we’d check in on what’s hot and happening food-wise in the world of weddings. A whole lot, it turns out. Be assured the old rubber-chicken buffet clichés noRead more »

Food Network Kitchens has come up with its annual list of the top trends that will define 2012 in food. Check out one of the trends here, then visit Food Network’s Healthy Eats and Cooking Channel’s Devour for the rest of the list. Mustard in its many forms — from condiment to vegetable, spice toRead more »

During our time hunkered down in the Food Network Kitchens research labs formulating our 2011 FNK Forecast, we rounded up dozens of previews and predictions from all over the web, ranging from the thoroughly focused grouped and methodologically rigorous to the wildly guessed at and purely intuitive. Food trends, like food itself, are a subjectRead more »

The Food Network Kitchens compiled a list of trends to look for in the coming year — some flavor-focused (Southeast Asian Black Kale Tacos, anyone? How about an extra helping of comfort, or veggies in a starring role?) — and some a continuation of the food-meets-technology-craze (digital cookbooks and your favorite cooking sites on yourRead more »