WRITING CLIPS
4 cookbooks sure to inspire creative moves in the kitchen
Feature by Becky Libourel Diamond
BookPage
November 1, 2024
Cookbooks are among the most treasured gifts for anyone who loves to cook, bake, grill or simply learn about food and culture. Many food aficionados enjoy reading cookbooks cover to cover, while others hunt and peck for recipes that will hit the spot. Our four picks offer gorgeous photography, mouthwatering recipe descriptions, enlightening social context and inspiring ways to make the most of the food in your larder. But proceed with caution: You may decide to roll up your sleeves and make some of the recipes, as I did, before you can gift wrap the book!
Valentine's Day Sweets: CHOCOLATE VALENTINE CONFECTIONS TO SHARE WITH LOVE
Chocolate is now such a staple treat, it's hard to imagine a time when chocolate cookies, candy, cake and ice cream weren’t so common or available. However, it wasn’t until the 19th century that chocolate confections started appearing in cookbooks. Improvements in cocoa-processing created a much smoother, more delicious-tasting chocolate.
Article by Becky Libourel Diamond
Photography by Heather Raub/Front Room Images
Originally published in Newtown City Lifestyle
The Gilded Age Cookbook: THE AUTHOR'S LAUNCH: RECIPES AND STORIES FROM AMERICA’S GOLDEN ERA UPDATED FOR MODERN TASTES
Article by Becky Libourel Diamond
Photography by Heather Raub/FrontRoom Images
Originally published in Newtown City Lifestyle
The Gilded Age era brings to mind visions of lavish banquet tables, fancy debutante balls, elegant tea parties and exclusive dinner parties. But it also was a time of invention and innovation, particularly in terms of food and cooking. Culinary roles for women and minorities became more significant, and revolutionary technologies, such as kitchen appliances and canned goods, were game changers.
Head To Terrain's New Space At DelVal
Article by Becky Libourel Diamond
Photography by Becky Libourel Diamond
August 2023
Originally published in Newtown City Lifestyle
Located in the spot previously occupied by Market at DelVal off Lower State Road, Terrain team members expanded the former garden center and market to a gorgeous facility with a café, events space and retail store offering a variety of indoor and outdoor home and garden products. It's an extensive transformation that warrants at least an afternoon to fully take in all that it has to offer.
Summer Food Fun
Summer foods should be fun and flavorful. Use fresh herbs, such as basil, parsley and mint, to garnish both sweet and savory foods. Serve on colorful, uniquely shaped dishes for striking presentation combinations. Meals should be as attractive as they are delicious!
Originally published in Newtown City Lifestyle
June 2023
Fresh, Spring Recipes: EXPLORE ASPARAGUS SALAD WITH FRENCH VINAIGRETTE AND GRAPE-ALMOND QUINOA SALAD
How to Edit Chef Recipes and Triumph!
September 21, 2021 by diannejacob
A guest post by Becky Diamond
Writing your own recipe in a clear, concise way that makes sense to readers can be difficult enough. But transcribing and then working on another cook’s recipe, especially one from a professional chef, poses challenges. Not to mention that you must edit chef recipes while keeping a good relationship with the chefs themselves.
For my current book project, The Delmonico Way, I work with fellow epicurean Max Tucci. The book will be published by Rizzoli in the fall of 2022. It includes several chef recipes based on dishes served at Delmonico’s, the iconic New York City restaurant. It has been great fun to interact with these cooking experts and gain an even deeper appreciation of their skills and creativity. (more...)
Books That are Good Enough to Eat
Feature by Becky Libourel Diamond
November 02, 2020
Bookpage
Many gourmands are restless from hunkering down these past several months, and the added cold weather is enough to make anyone a bit stir-crazy. But never fear—we’ve rounded up five books that are sure to warm hearts as well as ovens. (more...)
SOUL SATISFYING AUTUMN SOUPS
Article by Becky Libourel Diamond
Originally published in Newtown Lifestyle
Autumn Harvest Soup
This comforting soup is perfect for a chilly fall day. The sweetness of the carrots and apple nicely balance the rich, earthy flavor of the beets. Roasting the vegetables first caramelizes them, bringing out their complex flavors. Curry and smoked paprika gives the soup a little kick.
Potage à la Reine
Potage à la Reine (the Queen’s Soup) is a creamy soup made with chicken and almonds that dates back to the Renaissance. The almonds give the soup its characteristic whitish color - the use of dairy products or rice to provide a creamy look and feel were added later. (more...)
Recipes for Subversion: Women's Suffrage Cookbooks Turn 100
September 1, 2020 by diannejacob
A guest post by Becky Libourel Diamond
The year 2020 commemorates 100 years since the passage of the 19th Amendment, which secured women’s constitutional right to vote. The U.S. suffrage movement began in 1848, when women demanded the vote at the first women’s rights convention in Seneca Falls, NY. The battle continued for 72 years. Women lobbied, marched, picketed, and protested for the right to cast their say.
While these demonstrations are well documented, there were other, more subversive ways to spread their message: women’s suffrage cookbooks. These cookbooks were compilations of recipes submitted by women devoted to the cause and published by suffrage organizations. Cookbooks were a resourceful way to convey their argument, share information with other suffragettes, and help fund the movement. (more...)
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Chocolate Jelly
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BOOK REVIEWS
COPYWRITING
MURDER, INC., AND THE MORAL LIFEGANGSTERS AND GANGBUSTERS IN LA GUARDIA'S NEW YORK
By (author) Robert Weldon Whalen
In 1940 and 1941 a group of ruthless gangsters from Brooklyn’s Brownsville neighborhood became the focus of media frenzy when they—dubbed “Murder Inc.,” by New York World-Telegram reporter Harry Feeney—were tried for murder. It is estimated that collectively they killed hundreds of people during a reign of terror that lasted from 1931 to 1940. As the trial played out to a packed courtroom, shocked spectators gasped at the outrageous revelations made by gang leader Abe “Kid Twist” Reles and his pack of criminal accomplices.
News of the trial proliferated throughout the country; at times it received more newspaper coverage than the unabated war being waged overseas. The heinous crimes attributed to Murder, Inc., included not only murder and torture but also auto theft, burglary, assaults, robberies, fencing stolen goods, distribution of illegal drugs, and just about any “illegal activity from which a revenue could be derived.” When the trial finally came to a stunning unresolved conclusion in November 1941, newspapers generated record headlines. (more...)