COOKING LIGHT THE COMPLETE QUICK COOK

We've teamed up with COOKING LIGHT to offer a manual of over 250 recipes, 400 photos, hundreds of tips, and tons of fun, all to make you a fast, efficient, and (yes) healthy cook. Click on the book to get your copy!

GET YOUR GOAT

The first-ever, all-goat book: meat, milk, and cheese. Click the jacket to get your copy of this ground-breaking book on the world's most consumed--and here's the kicker: most sustainable--animal.

THE ULTIMATE CHOCOLATE COOKIE BOOK

More holiday baking ideas! This time, for the cookie jar. Click the picture of the jacket to get your copy.

SEVEN STEPS TO GET OFF PROCESSED FOOD

Click on the book jacket for your copy. Simple steps, a hundred recipes, lots of motivational help, all in an easy plan that starts small and could change your life!

COOKING FOR TWO

Every dish for just two--and no waste. Cut it, open it--and use it. It's a feast for twosomes.

THE ULTIMATE PARTY DRINK BOOK

Up, shaken, frozen, pitcher punches, shooters--here's a guide to drinks to make your next party a splash!

BRUCE (AKA The Chef)

MARK (AKA The Writer)

 

DREYDL (AKA The Dog)

OUR ULTIMATE TOME WITH 900 NEW RECIPES

Our big compendium cookbook--900 new recipes, tons of cooking tips. You'll be an ultimate cook in no time.

Want to see a video on this book. Check it out here.

Our Youtube Channel

Want to see more? Come on over to our youtube channel. We're cooking up a storm! Check it out here.

THE ULTIMATE MUFFIN BOOK

Get your muffins! The chocolate chip ones soon became a holiday tradition in our house.

THE ULTIMATE PEANUT BUTTER BOOK

America's favorite spread? Yes, but also the world's. Wait until you see all the no-cook Asian sauces, the African stew, the Filipino braise, and a host of favorites from breakfast to dessert!

FIRE UP THE GRILL FOR GREAT PIZZA

Our brand-new pizza book. That's the squash, caramelized onion, and pine nut pie. And there are 89 more.

THE ULTIMATE POTATO BOOK

Spuds forever! We love everything about the potato--and in this book, we made our favorite vegetable front and center since every recipe is a main course with spuds aplenty.

WE TAKE DOWN THE TOP 101 FOOD AND COOKING MYTHS!

Check out our fractured take-down of the top 101 food myths! Does an avocado pit stop guacamole from turning brown? Do you gain more weight if you eat at night? Do microwaves cook from the inside out? Has your grandmother been lying to you? No, no, no . . . and probably. Click the pic to order your copy today!

THE ULTIMATE CANDY BOOK

Start your holiday baking! It's one of our best-selling books--and a sure way to fill your holidays with treats galore!

LOOK WHAT BOOK GOT NOMINATED FOR A JAMES BEARD AWARD THIS YEAR!

Our hymn to porky backsides: American country ham, European dry-cured hams, wet-cured hams, and even fresh hams, the best pork roasts ever. FINE COOKING calls the book "a witty ode to pork." Click on the cover to get your copy.

LEARN THE ART AND SCIENCE OF COOKING.

WINNER OF THE 2009 GOURMAND AWARD at the Paris cookbook show for the "BEST COOKBOOK IN THE WORLD" for "easy recipes." Also a main selection of the Good Cook Book of the Month Club, a selection by NPR as one of the best cookbooks of 2009, and a favorite of the San Jose Mercury--they called us "culinary wonks."

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We're home for the summer. We're so exhausted from the road for months this winter and spring that we've made a commitment to be home from Memorial Day to Labor Day. After that, we're back in the world. Check back for more events.

THE PERSONAL STUFF
Bruce's Blog

Bruce has his own blog. A knitting blog. Knits Men Want. It's a companion site to his new knitting book: ten rules every woman should know before she knits for a man--plus ten patterns men are guaranteed to like. And I do. I have some of the sweaters. And I wear them. Imagine that. Check on the cover to check it out.

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    DANCING WITH A COLLIE

    brought on no doubt by that empty bottle of wine on top of the fridge

    THE ULTIMATE SHRIMP BOOK

    A one-book compendium for America's favorite seafood

    THE ULTIMATE ICE CREAM BOOK

    The book that started a whole career. A quarter million copies in print and still going strong!

    Monday
    Feb152010

    Fort Celery

    Last week, Bruce and I have passed a rather auspicious milestone. In just over ten years at this food-writing career, we have crafted, developed, and tested over 5000 recipes.

    That's nuts. 

    Such a moment could only occur because of eighteen books and counting (that's way more than one a year--almost two a year in fact), zillions of feature articles (just now doing three features in a row for COOKING LIGHT this very week), four national columns running at different times over the years (and The Every Day Gourmet still up and going strong on weightwatchers.com), and even a couple cookbooks for persnickety celebrity types who insist on confidentiality agreements.

    If you do the math, you'll realize that ten years = 3650 days--so we're talking more than one published recipe created every day. Sheesh. And my fat hips' damnation.

    Was every recipe a winner? By no means! Sure, there are lots of great ones. Wait until you see the grits and ham casserole up this week on the blog. But oh, do we have some great stories.

    We still fight about who came up with the concept of pickled shrimp for The Ultimate Shrimp Book. Imagine this: a big glass jar of shrimp, topped with vinegar, whole spices (think mustard seeds and such), as well as floating bits of soggy dill.

    In a word: blech.

    And I'll lay claim to the Elvis Spread in The Ultimate Peanut Butter Book. (Bruce will NOT let me forget it.) Get this: peanut butter, honey, bananas, and--yes--fried bacon, all whirred up in a food processor, then used as a dip. (For what???) I got the idea from the sandwich the king liked to make. Hey, I thought it was a good concept.

    But I think this behemoth is out all-time funniest recipe ever: Fort Celery. We made this for a (no joke) President's Day spread in a book published by the Cooking Club of America. They wanted a dinner in which kids could be a part. Check out the original headnote:

    Lincoln grew up in a log cabin. Andrew Jackson, Benjamin Harrison, and Ulysses S. Grant all defended log forts.  So we thought this salad fort would be the perfect tribute for your President’s Day dinner. Why not have one of the kids read the Gettysburg Address?

    In what family does some kid stand up at the table and read the Gettysburg Address? The family of the corn?

    Anyway, if you really want to know, here's how you, too, can have Fort Celery at your President's Day feast.

    Take long bamboo skewers and push them through the ends of celery spears to build a fort, the skewers spearing the corners together. Cut down some of the skewers into small bits. Stick these in the ends of a few shortened celery stalks; also stick these skewers into the top level celery slats, thereby building a roof. Run long skewers between the roof supports to old it in place. Fill the whole thing inside with dressed salad. And then use sliced portobello caps for the up-top shingles. Oh, and little celery leaf spears, stuck on with more skewer chips, as the flags. Oh, and a walk-way up to the thing with sliced, canned water chestnuts.

    Last night, as we realized we'd passed such a momentous milestone in our career, we sat around looking at pictures from the past. Believe it or not, we have shots of almost every recipe we've made, whether for books or magazines. Lo and behold, Fort Celery popped up on Bruce's computer.

    We laughed until our sides ached. President's Day? Fort Celery? And yet we continue to find work.

    So I had to share this jewel of a concept with you on this auspicious holiday. Surely it was one helluva shining moment in a career, no?

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    Reader Comments (5)

    Congrats to you both on the milestone! And Fort Celery is a work of pure genius... :)

    February 15, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterCelia

    Gee, and to think my mom just made cherry pie for Washington's birthday.

    February 15, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterHarriet

    I once made an entire Nativity scene (complete w/barn animals and camels) with pipe cleaners and felt fabric . . . alright, it wasn't edible so it doesn't count in comparison to Fort Celery. But the crafty crafter and hearty eater in me totally appreciate the spirit of this structure!

    Congratulations on an amazing milestone and it doesn't sound as if either of you are ready to stop, fat hips be damned! 8-)

    February 16, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterTangled Noodle

    Thanks guys. I don't think we're ready to stop. But boy, do I need a long-term gym membership!

    February 17, 2010 | Registered CommenterMark Scarbrough

    Amazingly!I was interesting for something special and found it, thanks.

    June 12, 2010 | Unregistered CommenterIsland Eye

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