Despite the multitude of cookbooks in my kitchen (and in the dining room, and the den, and the guest bedroom), the Internet is my first stop when I’m looking for food inspiration, recipes and ideas. Probably because I’m umbilically attached to my computer. I thought I would share my favorite foodie websites with you, to spread the wealth, and I hope you’ll share your favorite sites in the comments.
King Arthur Flour blog (and store!)
The folks at King Arthur Flour are the baking EXPERTS, in my opinion. And their blog is an excellent step-by-step source for baking recipes. For instance, this recent post about pavlova includes photos of every step, a detailed explanation of sugars, different options for shaping your pavlova, even the best way to add ingredients to the mixing bowl. They include a link to the recipe – a print version too – and you can switch the recipe measurements between weight and volume (great for me since I weigh my ingredients when baking). Be sure to check out their pizza recipes (the Easter pie is still on my to-do list). And if you don’t have some of the ingredients or equipment they mention (but they generally mention substitutes), their store is a cook’s dream.
Tastespotting
Warning! This site is very dangerous, especially if you’re hungry! Tastespotting is a picture blog with submissions from food blogs all over the web. Just the food photography alone is to die for, and make me realize I have a long way to go in my pictures on this blog. So it’s great inspiration for photos, but also an international recipe idea book. Search for “chicken” and see 5722 recipes for chicken (at the time of this writing) from blogs around the world. Click the picture to go straight to the blog. You can submit a picture from your own blog, or a blog you follow. But real people review the submissions and only posts that pass muster with them get posted on the site. My mouth is already watering, and I just ate lunch a little while ago!
Food Network
Now, I know some foodies scoff at Food Network, and I don’t watch *nearly* as many of their shows as I used to. But their website is a great resource because it still has recipes from shows that were on air 10 years ago in addition to shows currently airing. As I habitually print recipes from a show and then misplace them, I’m always going back to the website to search again. Often, when I want to make a particular dish and don’t have a recipe to start from, I’ll see what the varied chefs at FN have to offer. For instance, I couldn’t find my favorite deviled egg recipe last night (and unfortunately it wasn’t online), so I searched FN for deviled eggs. To me, deviled eggs are a Southern thing, so I thought Paula Deen’s version would suit me. (And it did, except I only had dill pickle relish instead of sweet pickle relish, so the taste was a little off right after mixing, but they were great at lunch today.) I have multiple printed copies of Good Eats Baked Mac and Cheese, plus my favorite scone recipe, delicious boiled potatoes, and what my husband calls Johnny Marzetti (I just call it fabulous).
My Recipes
Myrecipes.com is the online database of every recipe from Cooking Light, Southern Living, Real Simple, Food & Wine, and more. I could have searched for a deviled egg recipe here, and found an excellent Southern Living one, I’m sure. If I’ve torn out a great recipe from Cooking Light, and then misplaced it (no, that never happens), I can search for it here. I also get different daily emails from them with dinner ideas, dessert recipes, holiday entertaining meals, etc. If possible, make sure you’re using some kind of ad and popup blocker before you visit this site. I love the resource, but they are awful with the advertising.
Serious Eats
Serious Eats is a food blog on another level. I consider myself a pretty advanced cook, but these guys are beyond. Thankfully, their recipes hit multiple levels – they run from simple ranch dressing to exotic sweetbreads (which I’m not adventurous enough to try – if I can even find them locally!). I always learn a ton from the equipment reviews, gadget cooking (sous-vide in a beer cooler!), ingredient tastings, and the discussions in the Talk forum. The no-cook freezer jam is on my list to try with blackberries and peaches this summer.
Tartelette
A Southern-but-French blog with breathtaking photography – and the recipes aren’t too bad either! If you need a showstopper dessert for a party this is the site to visit! As she’s gone gluten free, so have many of her recipes. As my fridge and yard is spilling over with summer berries right now I have an eye on her Goat Cheese and Berries Tart. You won’t get the step by step instructions of the King Arthur Flour blog, but you will get fabulous recipes from an expert pastry chef.
Summer Tomato
If you’ve spent any time on this blog, you may have caught on to the fact that I love tomatoes. (Love, love, love.) So how could I not love a food blog called Summer Tomato? Food scientist and foodie Darya Pino focuses on fresh, local food and healthy eating tips. Her market posts make me sooo annoyed that I don’t live in California for these amazing farmers. She’s as wordy and full of explanations as I am, so you know that’s super-appealing to me. I know a lot about food, but I always learn something from her posts. Healthy somethings.
So that’s just a sampling of the sites that I love to visit for kitchen inspiration. What are your favorites? Please share in the comments!
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