2011 version of a cookbook - FoodNetwork.com on my Xoom tablet
Every home cook needs a little help from time to time, whether it’s a great recipe or a demonstration of an unfamiliar cooking technique.
I rely on lots of resources to help me put dinner on the table. And the internet, smart phones and now tablets have changed the way I plan my meals. I love that I can quickly check the upcoming sales flier for my grocery store when I stumble across a great recipe, or surreptitiously look up recipes from my phone in the produce aisle when I find a great sale at the grocery store. And these days, I’m just as likely to use my propped-up Motorola Xoom (provided by Verizon Wireless) as I am to crack a traditional cookbook. That doesn’t mean I’ve given up on print, though: magazines and cookbooks still play an important part in my kitchen!
While I’m constantly adding new sites and publications to my repertoire, here are five that see the most action right now:
FoodNetwork.com
Since I’m a bit of a Food Network TV junkie, I like being able to select recipes based on the personalities behind them. I know that if I’m in the mood for something like butter fried in oil, I should look for a Paula Deen recipe, if I want something smokey and spicy, I should go with a Bobby Flay dish, or if I want a yummy recipe paired with seriously detail-oriented food education, I should go no further than Alton Brown.
Eating Well Magazine
This gorgeous publication combines health and wellness stories with yummy, nutritious recipes, showing that you don’t have to give up taste to eat well. It also features cool stories about unique restaurants and food culture. It’s not easy to find on the newsstand, so it’s worth a subscription.
AllRecipes.com
I’ve tried quite a few online recipe sites, and AllRecipes seems to deliver the most consistently great meals. Since it’s backed by a thriving, food-loving community, the reviews are plentiful and can be a great source for alternate ingredients and techniques, though sometimes I have to roll my eyes at comments like “This recipe stinks! I substituted the cream for milk, left out the onion, added chili powder, eliminated the salt and garlic, and didn’t like it at all!”
The Joy of Cooking
I’ve had my (now much smudged and stained) copy since I got married in 1997, and even though more colorful cookbooks have come my way over the years, I always find myself returning to The Joy of Cooking for its sheer thoroughness and attention to detail. I’ve never had a cooking-related question that wasn’t answered somewhere in its pages, and it’s taught me a ton about technique and handling ingredients.
StillTasty.com
As somebody who can’t bear to waste food, I’ve returned again and again to Twitter and Facebook to ask my friends, “Hey, think I can still eat this chicken that I cooked on Tuesday?” Somewhere along the line a helpful soul directed me toward StillTasty.com, a resource that helps you decide whether that food is still well within the safety zone or pushing the limits. I still use common sense, but knowing the general guidelines helps me be a better (and safer) judge.
What resources – books, apps, sites or shows – help you most in the kitchen?
I’m an AllRecipes junkie and have about 100 recipes saved in my online recipe box and have tried at least half of them. My husband uses the Food Network for the same reasons you do.
Two of my other favorites are Pilsbury’s Kitchen Family Cookbook (that was my mother-in-law’s Bible) and my Betty Crocker’s 40th Anniversary Edition Cookbook (my first ever). It is so nice to get recipes for the most basic things, like whole wheat pancakes or chocolate chip cookies, that are different than those on the package. And when my husband wants me to make chocolate cake with the peanut butter frosting he grew up with, then I know exactly where to get it.
http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes
We’ve had several subscriptions to taste of Home for years. What I like about the magazines is they always have a section for “fast,” “few ingredients” or “low cost” meals. Which are not as easily searchable on their website (that I can find).
allrecipes.com might be better from a purely internet standpoint, but I am always linking the recipes on Taste of Home and sending to others (after I try them out from our magazines – which our gifts, so free to us!). Taste of Home has definitely given us a wide repertoire of easy and frugal meals.
Oh, and I LOVE this website: http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/
GREAT reviews of an insane amount of crockpot recipes. We’ve gotten several great crockpot recipes from this site.
My mom always got Taste of Home, and I have very fond memories of that magazine. I’ve always liked how down-to-earth and real it is. I’ll have to check it out more regularly!
I have a food blog and I love food blogs. A Year of Slow Cooking by Stephanie O’Dea is a favorite. Cookie Madness is fun for sweet stuff. I also use Tasty Kitchen. Pinterest is also a fun place to find inspiration.
Thanks for telling about Still Tasty. That’s new to me.
I LOVE allrecipes.com and it’s always my go to spot. I’ve gone there so many years… I know I was a regular visitor long before my 7yo was born! One of my first recipes I tried was the chocolate cavity maker cake … it’s in their top 10 or 20. I’ve made it for so many parties at my work – my friends love it! It has Kahlua in it – and I remember buying a huge bottle at the liquor store when I was about 8mo pregnant and the clerk looking at me funny. “It’s for a cake, I swear!!”.
One thing about allrecipes though — I’ve learned to always read several reviews first because often there are tweaks to the recipe that are very good suggestions. Many times they really make a difference (for example, doubling spices, etc).
We don’t have cable anymore, but when we did I was a food network junkie. If I watched something that looked interesting, then I’d pull up the recipe from their site.
One I found last a couple weeks ago that I can’t get enough of is http://www.skinnytaste.com/
I’ve made a list of recipes I can’t wait to try. I’m not doing weight watchers, but it can’t hurt to lighten up some recipes.
tastykitchen.com, foodnetwork.com, allrecipes.com, marthastewart.com, foodnetwork magazine, everyday food magazine, cooking light magazine and now punchfork recipe finder, a Google chrome app that leads me to recipes from most of the food blogs.
I like Joy of Cooking, The African American Kitchen, by Angela Shelf Medearis, and I love everything Pioneer Woman. I am also known to go to foodnetwork.com from time to time, and Rachel Ray’s 30 minute Meals is definitely a lifesaver.
I love love love All Recipes–enough that I keep toying with paying for a membership rather than just using the free service. Right now the free service meets my needs, though, so I haven’t taken the plunge. I also like The Joy of Cooking as a reference, as well as the source of some of our traditional family recipes. The New Basics Cookbook by Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins is another terrific reference; their cooking style and mine are different, but the information on how to cook eggs, pasta, and potatoes has been tremendously helpful and easy to understand.
Hi Meagan,
I agree that the Food Network is a great place to get free but high-quality recipes.
I think a subscription to Cooks Illustrated online is worth it — since their recipes are tested a million times, I know I can trust them. Plus I love being able to use their unbiased equipment ratings and product taste tests whenever I need it.
How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman is my food bible. Even with all the Italian cookbooks I have, his recipe for pizza is our favorite. You really can find everything here, and it’s all presented in a simple way.
Hope you’re having a relaxing Sunday,
Amy
Meagan, I have three shelves of cookbooks, but I always seem to use the same ones over and over. Right now my absolute favorite go-to book is Michael Smith’s Best of Chef at Home. Michael lives here on Prince Edward Island, which makes me slightly biased, but this book really is fabulous, packed with REAL recipes that I would actually make. His whole-grain pancake recipe is the best! Most of the recipes call for ingredients I might actually have on hand, and he always gives different options as well. Love it, love it.
real simple or 101cookbooks. com (the last is vegetarian, seasonal, and very yummy!)
Evernote! I scanned all my recipes into it and whenever I find a new one online I use Evernote to clip it. I LOVE it. Now I can search my recipes by ingredient!
My favorite online recipe resource is http://www.epicurious.com. It has all the recipes that have ever been published in Bon Appetit or Gourmet magazines. We subscribe to the magazines, but have found it’s a pain to keep years and years worth of magazines lying around, especially given how hard it is to figure out which issue the recipe I want is in. They have good user reviews as well.
I love foodnetwork.com, my betty crocker cookbook, joythebaker.com and my recipe folder on my desktop that contains my scanned recipes and recipes from lots of websites all neatly categorized!
I too look to foodnetwork.com and was a subscriber to Bon Appetit but am going electronic with it. I was given a book titled “The Food Lover’s Tiptionary: An A to Z Culinary Guide with More Than 4000 Food and Drink Tips” by Sharon Tyler Herbst that I have referenced over and over. Even seasoned cooks will enjoy this-it’s arranged alphabetically and describes the selection, prep and storage of anything culinary related. (I just saw there is a newer version that I am going to have to get!)