Thousands of cookbooks were published in the last year, but which ones are really worth buying? The International Association of Culinary Professionals, or IACP, tackled the question as it announced its cookbook award finalists for 2012 today. Among them: plenty of cookbooks from top restaurant chefs, like Jean-Georges Vongerichten, John Besh, and Andrew Carmellini, as well as new books from Read more

After months of media buzz, the winners of this year's James Beard Awards are in. The awards — which are being bestowed upon the nation's top chefs thisveryminute by the likes of Tom Colicchio, Ming Tsai, and Traci Des Jardins — are taking place at a star-studded gala in New York's Lincoln Center. As for the winners: José Andrés was predicted to take home the Outstanding Chef Award, which Read more

Last year, US District Chief Judge Vaughn Walker ruled there was no evidence same-sex marriages harm heterosexual marriages, and thus California's Proposition 8 is unconstitutional. Since then, Judge Walker, a Republican appointed by George Bush Sr., has retired and revealed he is gay and has been in a long-term relationship for 10 years. (Disclaimer: I worked for Judge Walker in the Summer of Read more