Monday, May 30, 2011

Cooking

Famous Food Bloggers


Experienced chef and award-winning author of numerous cookbooks, Dorie Greenspan has been writing about food for more than 20 years. She is an expert especially in baking and pastries, and brings to the table the benefit of an international perspective, splitting her time between New York and Paris.
Trained at the famous Alice Waters' restaurant Chez Panisse, multi-cookbook author David Lebovitz has quite the resume as a pastry and dessert chef. Combine that with his enjoyable wit and humor, and it is no surprise he has generated such a following – his website is visited by thousands every day. His site also offers a multitude of recipes, restaurant info, and interviews with other food industry heavy hitters.
Knowledgeable food man Matt Armendariz is also a professional photographer, and it shows in his lovely photography. Fans are also drawn to the humor and charm of this Los Angeles-based food blogger. Matt claims to cover "food, drink, and everything inbetween," and sure enough, he doesn't disappoint.
Well-known blog star and world traveler Pim, formerly employed in Silicon Valley, left her job to pursue her passion for food, and her blog now attracts thousands for recipes, restaurant reviews, and authoritative all-round food commentary.
Excerpt: "Recipes come to us in odd little ways.  I remember learning how to make truffle omelettes from a giggling, nearly toothless old lady in Southwest France.  Of course I took her seriously, she happened to be Marthe Delon, the famous truffle huntress who has been training a truffle-hunting pig a year for over 50 years.  She calls them all Kiki - couldn't be bothered to remember a new name each year, she said."
Author of numerous books about food and writing, Mark Bittman has been writing The New York Times' Minimalist column for over a decade, sharing his witty, well-written thoughts on food and other things.
Food critic Michael Bauer of the San Francisco Chronicle here promises to update regularly and share with us what he has learned in his food-immersed life. His proposed upcoming topics include the noisiest restaurants in the Bay Area, the best-kept secrets, tips for finding great wines and more. Anything that deals with food, wine and restaurants is right up his alley – especially if he can keep it personal, provocative, informative and fun.
Diner's Journal is the Dining blog of The New York Times, where the staff and correspondents discuss dining in the city, restaurant news, eating and drinking, food politics and more juicy tidbits.
New York-based Luisa Weiss started blogging as she worked her way through recipes clipped from The New York Times and LA Times. The result was a blog charming not only for its recipes, but also for humorous anecdotes from Luisa's personal life. It is jam-packed with information.
Excerpt: "But that corn. That corn! It was the star, the bright and shining thing on my plate that actually made me smile as I ate, because it has been far too long since something as wonderful, as cheap and quick and as special as this unassuming little side dish came along, and in one fell swoop that corn made me fall in love - in love ! with frozen corn ! - and that, my friends, is all I have been trying to say."
This is a blog for the thoughtful food lover, where Ruth Reichl regularly shares her food and philosophical life. Former chef and restaurant owner and longtime restaurant critic, joining Gourmet as Editor-in-Chief in 1999, Rachel has been writing about food for over 35 years, including critically-acclaimed, best-selling memoirs.
Excerpt: The Last Party: Tuesday, November 03, 2009. " When the party ended, nobody wanted to go home.  So we drifted, one huge amorphous group, across the street and into Grand Sichuan where we just kept eating and drinking.  The chiles with black beans teased and tingled, and I realized that I'll never eat them without thinking about all those lunches in the conference room at the magazine, the table covered with little white boxes.  It was always too much food, and we always ate it all."

Easy/Convenient Cooking


This Week For Dinner creator Jane Maynard, busy wife, mom, and graphic designer in the Bay Area, got the idea for the blog from her regular struggle to figure out what to make for dinner. Her blog now posts weekly dinner plans, and welcomes dinner plan contributions from others. Jane loves good food, and wants to keep it simple and delicious. She also posts other fun foodstuffs throughout the week, including recipes, kitchen tips, giveaways and more.
Published by Everyday Food Magazine off the MarthaStewart.com site, this blog includes a daily recipe, as well as frequent updates by the editors, and categories such as chicken, comfort food, entertaining, family friendly, healthy eating and vegetarian.
Excerpt: "Does cooking a meal after a hectic day in the office seem completely daunting? It doesn't have to be if you opt to serve dinner between a couple slices of bread. Choose a hearty sandwich like this steak version topped with sweet golden onions. Keep the cooking time short by using minute steaks, and add some rustic flare by toasting up crunchy country bread to serve your sandwiches on. Toss a quick, crisp salad like this Boston lettuce one, and you have a satisfying meal in under half an hour."
Since it was originally started by New York Times journalist Ed Levine, numerous knowledgeable contributors have joined on to share with you all the information you need about food. This site includes restaurant reviews, recipes, dinner inspiration, and helpful videos. It also has an emphasis on typical "American" foods such as hot dogs.

Ethnic/International Food Blogs


This blog of pastry chef Aran Goyoaga, who describes herself as a "Basque ex-pat living in the US," is notable for its exquisite recipes and equally stunning visuals. No wonder it soon became a huge success. Some recipe examples to satisfy your cravings: salted caramel ice-cream, roasted fig frozen mousse, lemon verbena with chamomile crème brulee.
Excerpt: "Why the name Cannelle Et Vanille? Because those are the smells and tastes of my childhood and this blog is very much filled with nostalgia."
Run by Meeta who now makes her home in Germany, this site features an appealingly international menu. Meeta invites the reader to experience the sensuality of the world through various senses, and is avid about food photography. She focuses on the quality of ingredients, making sure 90 to 95 percent of all her fresh products are organic. Her recipes are her own adaptations inspired by a variety of sources – a newspaper or magazine, the Internet, a cookbook, her parents, grandparents, family or friends – and are prepared with care and passion.
Excerpt: "It was simply divine to see people relish the food I had prepared and then to see the perfect look of satisfaction on their faces. That was it! I did not need the compliments - it was that look that had me hooked. You know the one I mean. A bite, forkful or a spoonful of a dish and as you place it into your mouth your tongue begins to tingle with the burst of flavors you have been craving for all along - but simply were unable to find the perfect combination. You close your eyes because you just want to relish this one second for a moment longer."
Food photographer, cookbook author and television star, multi-talented Jaden Hair originally created the Steamy Kitchen blog to keep track of the recipes her mother related over the phone. While she focused initially on Modern Asian Cooking – including favorites like Sesame Seared Tuna with Lime Ginger Vinaigrette, Sesame Shrimp with Honey Mustard Sauce, and Japanese Noodles with Shimeji Mushroom – she has now expanded her repertoire to include cuisines from all over the world.
Started in December 2005, Cream Puffs in Venice is the creation of a Toronto woman named Ivonne from a large, food-loving family of Italian background. Influenced by childhood summers in Italy, and especially her grandmother's cooking, Yvonne has always loved to cook and experiment. This blog is a delightful culinary journey – largely of sweets – in imaginative cuisine, traveling from Paris, to Florence, to New York and to London. Mmm.
An upbeat southern gal, passionate about cooking and photography, recreates the much-missed food of her childhood from her current home in New York. The blog began in 2005, and soon grew to reach a wide audience. Though she has always wanted to live in New York – she blames Woody Allen and Sesame Street – the author's identification with her Southern roots remains the key theme as she provides a funky, charming helping hand for those looking to enjoy barbecue, sopapilla, Tex-Mex, chili and more in the Big Apple.
This site features delicious recipes from a Swede now living with her family in rural Tuscany. Ilva Beretta's delicious recipes and breathtaking photographs of her home in Tuscany have made her a consistent finalist for Best Food Blog over the past few years. Her Italian-style cooking features lots of "genuine" food and experimentation. This former vegetarian now eats meat, but still enjoys dishes with a vegetable focus, and makes great uses of fresh herbs from her garden.
This is the food blog of Jen, an energetic, rugged, opinionated outdoor enthusiast and photographer who makes her home in the Colorado Rockies. Jen explains that the title of the blog is "less of a mantra for my cooking and baking and more of a directive for life." She wants to do things all the way. Her recipes include Asian and non-Asian savories, and a long list of sweets, and she also features restaurant reviews and a less formal list of "good eats." The site also has a photoblog and gallery.
Café Fernando is the creation of a Turkish food enthusiast from Istanbul, who started cooking in college and has since made tremendous strides, bringing his local influence and talents to his to the kitchen. Recent updates have made this wonderful site more user-friendly, including larger photos, easier to navigate archive pages, refined categories and easier searching.
Cook Sister is a born and bred South African, now living and enjoying food in London. While not a professional foodie by trade, she has long nurtured interests in writing, cooking, travel and photography, and here brings them all together to share with us. The blog took shape out of a weekly newsletter, and food soon became a main theme, inspired by her mom, an enthusiastic cook who used great ingredients. CookSister takes a laid-back approach to creating tasty food, often reminiscent of the tastes of her childhood.
This well-written blog, based out of London, provides a guide to seasonal foods and flavors, as well as offering recipe tips. It offers a section on seasonal foods of the week, and takes an interest in describing the health benefits of the seasonal produce as its uses.
Excerpt: "A generous sprinkling of the ruby-red pomegranate seeds adds a festive flavor to a whole range of dishes from starters to desserts. Try the fruit capsules with a warm duck breast salad or Shaun Hill, co-owner of the Walnut Tree Inn, near Abergavenny, Wales serves a winter salad with pomegranate, pine nuts and chicken livers."
This Australian blog brings us restaurant reviews and recipes from Sydney and all over the world. The blog is written by Helen Yee, born and raised in Sydney, who loves to eat, and strives to take advantage of the great fresh produce Sydney has to offer. Unlike many foodbloggers, Helen humorously notes that she prefers eating to cooking, which is why much of the site is made of (somewhat informal) restaurant reviews or memories, mostly in Australia. Her food preferences are often Asian influenced, and she hopes this site intrigues the appetite of readers internationally.
Author Julia Parsons' site features home cooking from England. A self-taught cook, her warmth and passion about food really comes across in her writings. She believes that good food and home cooking is all about "comfort, pleasure, indulgence, relaxation, looking after body and mind, creating a home and welcoming friends," and this is evident throughout.
Excerpt: "Who doesn't love a good, hot, buttered crumpet? I'm talking about the snacks, you naughty things. English crumpets are irresistible at any time of the day. They're great smeared with Marmite for breakfast, topped with fried, scrambled or poached eggs for lunch, or served with a little honey or jam for afternoon tea. They're one of those foods that are like a great big culinary hug; especially good for a grey, drizzly day."
This blog is the brainchild of a Munich-based team of two, Nicky and Oliver, and includes travel experiences, a photo gallery, food news and recipes. The site is visually striking, and could quite aptly be described as an international culinary adventure to "all things delicious." The very popular blog boasts a variety of international foods, but with a satisfying German influence. It is easy to navigate, and keeps the reader updated with a food news feed from all over the world, both original and adapted recipes, and tips for other hopeful food bloggers.
This site is a heartwarming mix of thoughts on food and marriage. Based out of Singapore, author Aun Koh's writing covers the local flavor, restaurants and recipes, bringing a wealth of knowledge about Asian food. He also refers touchingly to his partner in the kitchen, his wife S.
This famous site is a delectable international adventure with tour guide Clotilde Dusoulier, who launched the site from her home in Paris in 2003. Clotilde's blog is full of delightful Parisian eating and musings on food culture, French idioms, and innovative recipe twists.
This is a blog by traveling journalist Karen Coates, an Asia correspondent for Gourmet magazine. Her multi-dimensional journey covers the author's musing on food, drink, travel and politics, recently including Thanksgiving in Thailand, and haggis in Edinburgh.
Excerpt: "Welcome to my ramblings on food, drink, travel, politics, history and all the other avenues that converge in life. I'm a journalist, author and media trainer; and for five years I was Gourmet 's Asia correspondent until the magazine's recent closure. I'm a bit obsessive in the kitchen. Much like my mother, I start thinking about dinner well before breakfast…"
A combined effort of experienced writer Robyn Eckhardt and photographer David Hagerman brings to life street vendors and markets from all over Asia. This blog is aesthetically pleasing, fresh and inspiring, as the pair explores culinary culture and traditions in Southeast Asia and beyond.
Another culinary success across nations, this bilingual food journal is written in both English and Japanese. Exquisite photographs of delectable treats are a primary means of communication. Author Keiko interweaves recipes and thoughts on English culinary life.
Excerpt: "I've just come back from a week's trip to Italy – a few days in Rome as well as a wonderful weekend in Amalfi… I've been to Rome a few times before, but I seem to like it more and more every time I visit – the city definitely has something over above the great food and atmosphere… (my new favourites include Gelateria del Teatro and Il Pagliaccio, but please let me know your favourites also, I'm already ready for the next trip)"

Healthy, Sustainable & Vegan/Vegetarian Eating


This popular blog, with several years of success already behind it, follows a Californian blogger who indulges in buying one too many (and then one more too many) cookbooks. The recipes are generally easy to access (helpfully indexed by ingredient and category), and also health conscious – largely with vegetarian recipes, and using natural, whole foods and ingredients.
Excerpt: "I'm writing this as I'm eating dinner, which is not something I normally do. But I think this is one of those recipes that a lot of you are going to like, and I'm feeling the need to share it with you now rather than later. It came together as I was riffing off one of Lora Zarubin's recipes from I Am Almost Always Hungry - her Potatoes with Tomato Curry. I love an all-in-one-pot meal, and was cobbling together a hearty, vegetarian version of her recipe with tempeh. It wasn't at all complicated, just an onion sauteed with a short list of spices, diced tomatoes, a splash of cream, and eventually potatoes and tempeh."
The Local Beet is dedicated to a practical approach to eating local. This frequently updated guide to local eating allows you to search for farmers' markets in your area, offering resources for helping you eat local wherever you are, and publishing articles and columns and a forum for sharing ideas, as well as the Local Beet blog. Editors and columnists include seasonal and sustainable-cuisine focused restaurant owner Melissa Graham; local food enthusiast Robert Gardner; homebrewer Tom Keith; life-long Michigan farmer Vera Videnovich; and amateur gardener Brad Moldofsky, who hopes to one day to feed his whole family from his backyard.
In this delightful blog with attitude, English ex-pat Sam Breach describes her efforts to live up to a self-imposed challenge to eat local foods. "Becks and Posh" is a modern addition to Cockney rhyming slang, meaning "nosh." Now living in San Francisco, Breach brings her dry British humor to the west coast's regional and seasonal produce.
On this blog, Tina enthusiastically shares her love of food and eating. Her goal is to incorporate favorite but not necessarily nutritious foods into an overall balanced, healthy diet.
Chef Beverly Lynn Bennett strives to share her passion for vegan cuisine, and believes it can be not the most boring, but the most exciting of diets. Columnist, author and chef Beverly shares vegan cooking tips, advice, and information. This simple and easy-to-navigate site is a great resource for vegan eating, and the recipes section contains a large selection of many raw, wheat-free, gluten-free and low-fat creations.
This blog focuses on healthy living and eating, vegetarian-style. The main contributors are a husband and wife team (Amanda and Paul) who share their kitchen adventures and favorite restaurants in a relatable manner, having fun along the way. The blog features helpful recipes and holiday menus, including the latest Thanksgiving menu, and recipes for Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins, Simple Spaghetti Squash and Veggie Fajitas.
This blog describes itself as the "world of food, from the farm to your table," encouraging readers to explore the environmental issues surrounding food and its production. There are resources here on farming practices and local markets, and lots of free recipes. Contributors to the blog include New York City-based writer Julie Knapp, and green, organic enthusiasts from various backgrounds. The site discusses topics from local beers and hangover cures to organic pumpkins and vegan desserts. Eat. Drink. Better. is published by Green Options Media, which specializes in environmentally-focused blogs on a number of topics.
This useful site includes a recipe index and a shop for helpful fat-free cooking essentials, as well as colorful pics and recipes galore. Creator Susan V. guides us in a balanced vegan diet of whole foods with minimal fats and sugars, for a healthy, happy lifestyle.
Multi-disciplinary creator Nava Atlas has written and illustrated numerous books on vegetarian cooking, as well as articles on healthy cooking with natural foods. Nava also works as a visual artist, and has published books on family themes, humor and women's issues.
Creator Shauna felt lousy for 40 years until she discovered what was causing her stomachaches and other nasty symptoms – an intolerance for gluten. Now she's turned this apparent curse into a blessing. This wonderful, educational weblog features stories, photographs, recipes and links – wheat-free wonders and tips for the celiac.
Excerpt: "I have never learned so much as I have these past four years. My mind has been alive with ideas, always kicking, sometimes singing, sometimes stumbling over themselves. Going gluten-free, and especially learning to bake gluten-free, has awakened me."

Cooking at Home


The fun approach and humor here will refresh the reader, as host Cathy travels on the journey of not-eating-out in the great dining city of New York. The blog shares Cathy's personal experience of home cooking, and includes recipes, advice and an ever growing list of reasons "for not eating out," from the funny to the thought-provoking.
Excerpt: "Reason For Not Eating Out #23: Good Service. Cooking for myself is always about being good to myself. Never have I heard myself complain, 'the service is really crappy' when referring to my own dining room, because there, I'll set the house rules. If I want my food prompt, I'll make it prompt. If I want to carry out a languid, leisurely affair, I might uncork a bottle of wine, put on a record and Zen out to the task of slicing onions. Saying the service is crappy is like saying, 'I'm crappy,' and who wants to feel like that? Sure, it's easy to be critical of oneself when it comes to the food, but gruff? Negligent? These things simply do not exist."
Ree Drummond describes herself as a ranch wife and mother, having moved from a childhood in the city to her current home on a cattle ranch in the middle of nowhere. With warmth and heart, great pictures and great humor, this self-proclaimed Pioneer Woman has attracted a huge following.
Excerpt: "I'm a thirty-something ranch wife, mother of four, and moderately-agoraphobic middle child who grew up on a golf course in the city. I attended college in Los Angeles and wore black pumps to work every day. I ate sushi and treated myself to pedicures on a semi-regular basis. I even kissed James Garner in an elevator once. Now I live in the middle of nowhere on a working cattle ranch. My days are spent changing diapers, chipping dried manure from boots, washing jeans, and frying calf nuts. I have no idea how I got here, but you know what? I love it. Don't tell anyone."
This colorful and cute site is created by busy mom Mandy. While she says she mostly posts "fun" and "whimsical" food that she makes with her three kids, she also enjoys gourmet cooking. She hopes to inspire other moms and families to get in the kitchen. This site also features a craft and family fun page.
A self-described homemaker from Canada, the Garden Gnome author of this regularly-updated site strives to create the best home atmosphere and food for her family. She cooks, has fun, and invites you to join her in the kitchen!
With strong writing, photography and excellent cooking, this blog following recipes cooked in author Deb Perelman's tiny New York kitchen. Deb shows us how to simplify intimidating recipes, and have no fear in the kitchen. This blog ranges from comfort foods and quick meals to food made from scratch, and information on a wide variety of kitchen questions.
Molly Wizenberg's blog is a certain standout for those who love food. This lovely lifestyle blog site includes a delicious range of recipes from the simple to the exquisite, and often transforms even the seemingly boring into a delightful dish, all interwoven into Molly's musings so well you won't even blink.
This helpful blog, created and maintained by Elise Bauer, features a wonderful range of personal recipes. The recipes are homepicked and tested by Elise herself and her friends and family. She invites the visitor to understand Simply Recipes as a family sharing site, and the recipes are often personally edited and improved as feedback comes in.
This site is a part of the enormously popular larger blog Apartment Therapy. It has a wide range of offerings, including daily recipes and kitchen tips, stylish kitchen tours, how-tos and news. According to The Kitchn's mission statement, "This is a site for people who like to get their hands dirty while they cook." Editor and writer Sara Kate's site also answers a variety of your everyday kitchen questions, giving the reader an all-around satisfying source of inspiration.
LiveJournal is an online journaling community, and LiveJournal Cooking features extensive postings on wide range of food categories, some of the latest including questions about becoming a vegetarian, making creamy garlic prawns, recipes with goat cheese, and a new stuffing recipe for Thanksgiving. While the site is informal rather than professional in nature, questions can attract dozens of responses, making it a great resource for the beginning or amateur cook.

Delicious Desserts


Founded in 2004, this blog is for all those who love delicious sweets – homemade cookies, muffins, and more. Cooking and baking enthusiasts will surely find a favorite recipe here, whether they are looking for a simple treat or an artful dessert or bread. The blog aims to be a recipe resource for home bakers, as well as provide baking advice and tips, food news, reviews and discussions.
Written by a baking and decorating enthusiast, Bakerella.com is a place for exploring recipes, desserts, decorating and food photography. You'll find ideas and inspiration to keep your sweets fun and easy.
Joy is a down-to-earth twenty-something from Los Angeles sharing her personal recipes and heartwarming stories. This blog includes: in the kitchen (cookie love, cakes to bake, pie don't lie, cupcake creations etc.) and beyond the kitchen (around town, things that grow, friends indeed, life happens, always learning etc.). Tasty recipes, with a nice homey touch.
Excerpt: "In the event of some sort of big fat natural disaster in California, I may be up a creek without a paddle…My grandfather!?  He'll fare better than all of us in an emergency.  He's got Ham Radio.  Ham Radio is a sort of amateur radio system that allows people to talk to one another all over the world.  Don't be fooled by the name.  Ham Radio is actually pretty badass.   Sort of like… trucker radio meets old school technology meets grandfather hobby.  In emergencies, Ham Radio is booming.  You better believe that in an emergency, my grandfather will be all over that radio.  Who he'll be talking to?  I'm not exactly sure.  He'll probably be saving the world.  I'll be jogging my way to safety.  My parents will still be screening their phone calls with their answering machine.  Who is the hero?  Grandpa. I tell you all of this because Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins (specifically the giant ((seriously giant)) kind from Costco) are my grandfather's favorite.  He no doubt has a 48 pack of those giant muffins in his emergency kit."
Wild yeast is a blog brought to you from the kitchen of Susan, a student in the professional bread and pastry program at the San Francisco Baking Institute. Her focus is on bread, and especially sourdough, which she started baking in 2006. She makes it clear that her approach is not professional, but informal, and in this vein she shares her passion for baking and experimentation with the baking community. The site features a recipe index, a store (proceeds donated to non-profits fighting hunger), and YeastSpotting, a weekly showcase of yeasted baked goods and dishes focused on bread, such as Cherries and White Chocolate Bread and Buttered Rosemary Rolls.
One out of sixteen lifestyle sites in the Sugar Network, this well-written, attractive site has its own twist and take on sweet treats. Yum indeed!
Lorraine Elliott, a cake and food enthusiast, is deeply into the artistic aspect of cake making. She loves food and food photography, the unusual, and meals inspired by her travel to countries around the world.
For those with a sweet-tooth: fabulous photography and styling, and delicious desserts. As of January 2010, Tartelette will be published in both French and English.
Featuring enchanting photography and delicious sweets, as well as savory recipes and helpful video demonstrations, writer Ashley's goal is to showcase food as much more than just a way to satisfy hunger. She writes: "Food is culture, it nourishes our bodies, it is passion, it is hard work, and for many it is their livelihood."

Culinary Quests & Adventures


The Bitten Word is put together by the dynamic duo Clay and Zach from Washington D.C. Inspired by a post on Serious Eats, they committed themselves in 2008 to putting food magazines to work, cooking at least one recipe from each magazine. This blog is a chronicle of their cooking adventures and results.
This site is home to an international community of food lovers, and is a place you can come together to share expertise and ask questions about food, wine, beer, cooking, restaurants, cookware and more. It includes recipes, restaurant and bar reviews, discussion boards, food blogs and videos. The viewer has a number of search options, including topic of interest and region. Chowhound is geared to those avid on the hunt for the best food, and started as a grass-roots alternative to traditional media.
Grub Street, from New York Magazine and MenuPages guide to restaurants, keeps you updated daily on restaurant news, food trends, recipes and more. You can search recipes, chefs, and popular topics, as well as selecting a city to learn about the local food and restaurant news. The site covers Boston, Chicago, New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Philadelphia.
"What Would Alpana Drink: The Merry and Often Spirited Musings of a Master Sommelier" offers frequently updated food and drink recipes – the latest being Cinnamon Apple Sangria, and a Napoleon Dynamite-inspired tater tot casserole – as well as event suggestions. Alpana Singh is the Director of Wine and Spirits for Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises, Inc., and is also the host of the restaurant review television show, Check, Please! This is her fun, colorful journey through everyday life, seeking and enjoying good food and spirits.
Eating Out Loud lives up to its slogan of "ordinary cooking – extraordinary taste." This visually attractive site is produced by a Vancouver-based writer who grew up on his family's farm in Michigan, where he learned about local livestock, edible nuts and mushrooms, and preserves. He shares his personal cooking experience, combining farm-style cooking with urban flavors. The site features a broad variety of recipes, including recently chewy cranberry date cookies, pesto palmier appetizers, and five-spice Jamaican jerk chicken. There is also a kitchen gift guide and cooking-related product store, and an ongoing project to collect vintage recipes to preserve our food history.
63. Hedonia
Hedonia is a site where you can read about "Eating, drinking and living the good life in America's most hedonistic city, San Francisco." This fun, saucy blog is the work of Sean Timberlake, who describes himself as a "professional writer, amateur foodie, avid traveler and all-around bon vivant," and his partner photographer and fellow-cook DPaul Brown, to whom he was married in 2008. Includes categories from Cajun/Creole to Canning, Condiments, Galleries, Friends, Fruit, Infusion, Pickles, Wine and Sushi. Humorous, broad-ranging and entertaining, with an ample helping for the food lover.
Excerpt: "A few months ago, we made an investment in our cocktailian education by attending the Beverage Academy Tiki class at Bourbon & Branch. The good professor Martin Cate, formerly of Forbidden Island, waxed eloquent on the rise and fall of tiki culture in America.
Beginning with Don the Beachcomber's 1934 Hollywood début and the advent of Victor "Trader Vic" Bergeron's empire of restaurants, tiki joints held the promise of something exotic and fun, a dose of escapism in a novelty mug. After World War II, soldiers came back with stories from the south seas, and tiki bars blossomed like island hibiscus all over the country."
La Tartine Gourmande: Stories about Food and Life, is pleasing to both the senses and the soul. It has fabulous photography and great recipes, and has brought in rave reviews from critics. It includes the categories of appetizers, desserts, tarts, and chocolate – plenty for the sweet-toothed – as well as gluten-free and vegetarian offerings. The site is the creation of Béa, of French roots now making a home in Boston. She has also lived in New Zealand, and her international influences and interest in travel is clearly evident. Béa, a contributor to the Boston Globe Food section, enjoys exploration through words and photos, and shares her food discoveries and stories with us through her talent as a food stylist, photographer and writer.
Excerpt: "Meanwhile, an overwhelming chocolate craving took me over. A few days ago, we started the day with a pile of chocolate crêpes on the breakfast table — Lulu enjoyed her first one too — then I made chocolate mousse , and the next day, I had a chocolate snow eggs for dessert at lunch. One full serving * just * by myself! Juste pour moi!
It tasted rich and chocolaty, leaving wonderful aromas in my mouth. It filled me with so much happy energy that after I licked my fingers and the spoon clean, Lulu and I went for a long walk in one of our favorite nature reserves close to the house.
It was still somewhat mild for the season so I decided to lay a blanket on the grass where she and I sat. She looked at me, surprised, and then smiled, clapping her hands and moving her legs and feet swiftly. She was a happy baby, with her hands full of the grass she grabbed."
Another very visually striking culinary delight. Although she now cooks out of San Diego, creator Nicole's love for cooking was inspired by four years of sights and tastes in Sicily. On Pinch My Salt, Nicole shares her enthusiasm for cooking, combining fresh ingredients and imagination for healthy recipes that anyone can make at home – and enjoy cooking in the process! The site mainly focuses on recipes Nicole posts, all of which she has personally tasted, and is helpfully organized by category. The step-by-step recipe photos are easy to follow, and the photos delicious and inspiring.
A welcoming site with lovely, clear visuals making it simple and easy to navigate. Run by Patricia Scarpin of Brazil, the site includes recipes for Sweet Days, Savory Days, Bread and Muffins and helpful information about ingredient measuring. Some recent recipes include banana and dried cranberry tea cake, rum and raisin pillows, and raspberry swirl ice cream. The blog celebrated its third birthday in November 2009 with a recipe for chocolate-mayonnaise cupcakes with raspberry cream. Also includes a helpful link to baking books, magazines and other sources.
As promised, the Traveler's Lunchbox is a culinary exploration of "food, travel…and more food." Recent features have included The Silk Road Gourmet, Culture Shock, Home is Where the Cake Is, Ricotta in Print, and 10 Great Things to Do (and Eat) on PEI. Writer and photographer Melissa is American, and her cooking gets back to these roots – even though she has spent more than a third of her life abroad, most recently in Germany, Scotland and Seattle. Melissa describes herself as a sociolinguist by training, and a food and travel writer by choice. Her recent projects include creating a global food guide, and a list of food bloggers' top picks of things everyone should eat at least once before they die. This site is a rich exploration of international culinary treasures.
This look of this simple, elegant, and visually appealing site is not unlike the cooking of its creator, private Los Angeles chef Celeste Kellerhouse. Celeste says she keeps her cooking philosophy simple, using local, seasonal and organic ingredients whenever possible, and sharing the love with friends and family. She hopes this blog inspires you in the kitchen.
Sassy Radish is the blog of home-cooking enthusiast Olga Massov, originally from Russia, and still deeply influenced by her love for all things "pickled, herring, pelmeni, cabbage and sour cream." She combines this love with the taste she's developed in the U.S. for things like bourbon, barbecue and bluegrass. Her reliable recipes keep it simple, creative and fun.
This visually simple and readable site demonstrates the various interests of its creator, who is, in her own words, a "wanderer come home to local food." Past professions have included photojournalist, writer, shark wrangler and culinary school student, and she now strives to improve the world through her cooking, one meal at a time.
A quirky and funny adventure in healthy baking from writer with a Texas background. This "fairly typical Austinite" grew up on a less-than-healthy diet, but has over the years come to embrace a diet low in meat, high in whole grains, and using local ingredients. Recent recipes include Pumpkin Risotto and Peanut Butter Shortbread.
The passion flows on this fun and artistic site, which features not only kitchen musings, but also nature, art, photography, travel and more. Sahm, who makes her home in the New Delhi suburbs, works from the mantra "do it from scratch," seeking good looks, good taste, good nutrition and new flavors in her cooking.
For those who seek a lush life on limited funds, this is the place to get tips on everything from gifts, outfits and, of course, food. Brooklyn-based blogger Sarah is intelligent and full of easy, do-it-yourself ideas for every occasion.
Blue Kitchen author Terry has a friendly and approachable style and equally un-intimidating recipes – like his tasty Hazelnut Rosemary Jam Cookies.
This culinary journey through Asian delights is exotic, memorable and mouthwatering. A book by the editor will be out soon.
The Paupered Chef authors Nick and Blake invite us along on their food adventures, as they seek to satisfy their crazy food cravings. Whether they're searching for lamb intestines or for Rome's best slice of Pizza Bianca, you'll enjoy coming along for the ride.
Working from the slogan "Empowering the young, broke, and hungry," recent Yale grads Claire and Kevin share what they've learned being, well, young, broke and hungry, in New York's East Village. They don't claim to be experts, but they love to cook and are passionate about starting a culinary conversation. Categories include Beer, Wine, and Cocktails, Breakfast, Philosophy, Raves, Tips, Vegan, Recipe and Restaurant Reviews.
Self-described as a community-driven visual potluck, this site allows you to search for recipes, food, drink, dining out, products, people, news and trends. You can also search by popularity and special features. Overall, a delicious, colorful, lively community and a great selection of offerings.
A very entertaining and saucy guide full of food and character. Created by Sarah in 2005 as a food blog – though she doesn't consider herself a "foodie" – it became a more fulltime project in 2008. She runs TasteSpotting as well as this blog.
Excerpt: "Tequila. All summer long… They told me they wanted to pair food with their various tequilas. Do you know how hard it is to pair food with tequila ? Oh right. It's not that hard if you don't have a sense of taste. Nor a sense of smell. Nor sense in general. It's not difficult at all to dip a chip in salsa between tequila-based margaritas. It's rather easy to inhale a burrito after an entire evening strung together with shots of tequila. But to pair tequila with a dish so that the two flavors complement each other, maybe even bring out the subtleties in each other? It's damned near impossible. Is there really anything subtle about tequila anyway?"
This site has a host of interesting and thoughtful feature articles, as well as recipes and menus, restaurant reviews, food politics, wine and travel sections.
Excerpt: "About the only rule we have for feeding our two-year-old is that we won't usually give her anything we wouldn't eat ourselves. I learned long ago not to anticipate what she will and won't like, since I'm always wrong. (Olives? She loves them. Shell beans? Bring 'em on.) We're not big on enforcing arbitrary rules, either.
…Truth be told, about the only things we really don't want her to have are caffeine and alcohol. Sometimes we substitute apple juice in a fancy glass for wine, but two-year-olds are smart, and Squishy knows perfectly well that she's just playing along. How are we going to explain to her that anything we can eat is hers, except for this, and maybe that? I still don't know."
Alice Q. Foodie invites you to join her as she cooks, eats and entertains in the decadent San Diego area. But as much as she appreciates a good time, she also appreciates the local, seasonal and sustainably grown ingredients that should go into this.
This exotic tour around the streets, food and culture of Hanoi is sure to capture your interest.
This food and travel blog is written by Peter from Sydney, Australia, a frequent traveler of Greek descent. Peter shares his fascination with food, developed at an early age thanks to growing up with a chef father.
This San Francisco mom lived in Japan for nearly a decade, where she picked up many tips for quick and easy lunch packing. Here she shares them with us, modified for a non-Japanese kitchen and lifestyle, with a goal of creating tasty, attractive, and easy-to-prepare lunches.
This site targets the beginning chef, and offers tasty, easy recipes. Hungry Again is the author's personal cooking chronicle of food, family and fun.
Just Hungry was created in 2003 by Makiko, who was born in Japan, but has also lived in England, the U.S. and most recently Switzerland. Her aim is to present authentic Japanese recipes for a non-Japanese audience.
This user-friendly site is a great choice for compelling, delicious food photography.
Welcome to Josh Friedland's award-winning food blog about all things cooking-related, including food and restaurant news, culinary products and books, and, of course, recipes.
Tasty recipes and heartwarming stories, as the blog title suggests.
Excerpt: "The last day at the old house, I woke up on a mattress on the floor of an empty room. I closed the window to my childhood bedroom, shutting out the view of the jasmine my mother had planted for me just outside. Each summer, the scent of blooming jasmine would waft in on the breeze. I loved that. But this was the last time I would close this particular window. I wouldn't smell the jasmine ever again."
San Francisco–based cookbook author, food writer and recipe developer Amy Sherman started this popular blog in 2003. She offers original recipes, reviews, food news and information on culinary travel destinations.
Fig and Cherry creator Christie is a self-taught cook, a cookbook and magazine addict, and a fig and cherry lover. Her cooking style ranges from perfect meal planning to spontaneous cooking improv. Born in Sydney, she has traveled and lived all over the world, and this is certainly evident in her cooking.
Marc Matsumoto, freelance writer, photographer and marketing consultant by trade, has always loved cooking, and especially the dimensions of discovery and experimentation. "My philosophy on cooking is that it's 50% technique, 40% inspiration and 10% ingredients," he says. He hopes to give you the inspiration and basic techniques that you can use to whip up something great.
Created by food scientist, photographer and writer Jules Clancy, stonesoup presents the minimalist approach to cooking: better cooking through reducing the number of ingredients, steps, time, and equipment used in food preparation. The goal is to focus on simple, delicious, wholesome food that's fun, satisfying and easy to prepare in the home – nothing more.
Writers based in New York and Los Angeles attempt to discover the best hamburger, and share with you every juicy detail of their quest for burger perfection.
New York and Los Angeles writers are guaranteed to capture your interest in this unusual, fun, and hip look into dining, with approaches ranging from the provocative to the poetic.
Writer and cook Kate Hill of Gascony, France, provides a deeply engaging dive into French food and culture. What less would you expect from a woman who travels the waterways of Europe in a 100-year-old barge, and holds cooking classes at her farmhouse in Camont?
Ronald Holden's Cornichon was named one of Seattle's best blogs, and with good reason. It engagingly covers top Seattle spots from the well-known Pike Place Market to hidden delis and fancy restaurants.

Humor Blogs


Notable for its humor, the Amateur Gourmet is also user-friendly, with a helpful how-to section, as well as recipes, restaurant reviews, food videos and – seriously – original songs.
Excerpt: "We all know the big American food holiday that's fast approaching – most food blogs, magazines and TV shows are going crazy over it – but there's another food holiday that's fast approaching too, a holiday that I didn't know anything about until last year when I decided to work on a book proposal about religion and food called "Food of the Gods." The book, unfortunately, never got off the ground, but this sample chapter is something that I'm really proud of and eager to share. So, pull up a chair, take off your shoes, and join me as we journey to Elberton, Georgia for a taste of what might be for you, as it was for me, an unfamiliar holiday: Eid-Al-Adha, the Sacrificial Feast."
Launched in 2009, the Food Network Humor pokes fun at Food Network chefs. Some amusing food satire and parody on a certainly rich subject.
This entertaining and informative blog offers advice, on, well, the art of manliness. Written by husband and wife team Brett and Kate McKay, the Art of Manliness features articles on helping men be better husbands, brothers and fathers. While cooking is only one of the components, the site features great cooking articles such as how to carve a turkey like a man.
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