Where do you turn for menu inspiration? Or a fresh twist on a tired recipe? Or for culinary daydreaming—when you just want to zone out, ogle beautiful food photos and lose yourself in other cooks’ gastronomic narratives?
In addition to cookbooks and Google, I’m lucky to have a great community of Twitter foodie friends.
But if the Interwebs could visually reveal my travels, you’d see rutted paths from my IP address to a handful of food blogger sites.
If you don’t know these inventive cooks, take a few minutes to visit them.
Food blogs to follow
The Messy Baker, formerly Christie’s Corner. Charmian Christie, the friendly cook behind Christie’s Corner, claims her site is about “Real food. Real life.” And “It ain’t always pretty.” I beg to differ: While Charmian always serves “real” food—recipes are simple and simply delicious—it’s always beautifully presented and glowingly photographed. And because Charmian is a professional writer, her posts are invariably well-crafted and delightful to read. Charmian’s cooking emphasizes local, seasonal foods with wonderful ethnic recipes thrown in to spice things up. When my weekly menu needs a pick-up, I often run over to Christie’s Corner and add one of her terrific recipes to improve my meals.
Must-try recipe: Matar Paneer, a divine and searingly spicy Indian spinach soup.
Revel & Feast. Janée, a busy lawyer, wife, mother and blogger at Revel & Feast, is one of the most innovative home cooks I’ve met online. Without being fussy and difficult, her recipes deliver rib-sticking satisfaction and fabulously complex flavor. Janée created an incredible Christmas dinner for less than $100. The menu includes Creamy Pumpkin Sage Soup, Polenta Crackers with Bacon Jam and Potato Crisps with Roasted Garlic & Chive Cream—and that’s just the appetizer course. An eclectic, from-scratch cook, Janée has a special gift for delicious, authentic West Indian dishes.
Must-try recipe: Not Quite Jerk Chicken: This astonishingly easy recipe delivers real Caribbean flavor.
Food & Style. A former fashion designer—and now a chef, food writer and blogger at Food & Style—Vivian Bauquet Farre creates elegant main courses, cocktails, side-dishes, desserts and much more. Viviane’s creations are hallmarked by flavorful seasonal ingredients, intriguing taste combinations and great presentational flair. In addition to detailed recipes Viviane’s helpful videos let you watch, learn and recreate her signature dishes. The stylish chef frequently includes great wine pairings with her recipes.
Must-try recipe: Chestnut Cake with Pan-Roasted Pears and Chestnut Honey Syrup, a flourless dessert made with smoky chestnut meal.
Undomesticated Me. This delightful blog chronicles the domestic journey of Paula Bernstein, a Brooklyn writer, teacher, editor and mother. “I don’t know how to cook or clean,” says Paula. But she’s learning fast. Visit her site to vicariously experience Paula’s triumphs and disasters, read home-cooking tips, offer her a helping hand with a comment—and recall your own sweaty hours as a neophyte cook.
Must try recipe: The failed Nanaimo Bars—I’m sure Paula will master these gooey indulgences if she gives them another try.
Smitten Kitchen. This incredible blog raises the bar for food-obsessed home cooks. The sheer number of regularly posted, scratch-cooked appetizers, biscuits, soups, pastas and desserts is impressive enough. But the blog also includes photo after glistening, gorgeous photo of blogger Deb Perelman’s up-close and ravishingly detailed ingredients and plated dishes. (I swore I’d avoid the term food p*rn, but it’s tough when describing Smitten Kitchen.) Most impressive of all, Deb manages her gastronomic miracles from a tiny Viking-free Manhattan kitchen. And now she has secured foodie canonization: Deb recently gave birth to a beautiful baby boy, but sleep deprivation and parenting duties have not diminished in the least this incredible cook’s culinary creativity—nor the number of exciting food posts she publishes.
Must try recipe: Black Pepper Parmesan Biscotti: I made this recipe three times in one month. Dee-vine.
Who inspires your cooking? Please tell me about your favorite food bloggers.
Thanks for the shout out, Lorraine. I’m flattered to be included in this list!
Lorraine! Thank you so much for including me in your list of 5 Favorite Food Blogs. I am truly honored to be listed and to be in such great company. You are so, so wonderful and, if I may say so, you have very good taste too… (not speaking for myself here of course :-))!
i stumbled upon your blog from my friend Mrs Trefusis’ blog. i like your food blogs to follow list- (great photo of the ducklings, too), they are all lovely, but I do love Food & Style very much. best wishes, shayma
Hello Shayma:
Anyone coming by way of the elegant and erudite Mrs. Tresfusis is most welcome here at Copywriters’ Kitchen.
I agree about Food & Style. Viviane is remarkable not only for her culinary originality, but her tremendous panache.
Speaking of which…Your blog is fabulous. Look forward to perusing your archives.
Lorraine, thank you ever so much. I look forward to following your blog, too. During teatime we Pakistanis like to have savoury things in addition to the sweet stuff- I would love to have one of your olive oil biscotti with my tea. best wishes, shayma