In case you haven’t noticed, the place for foodies is most definitely online, where amateur chefs throughout the world have attracted thousands of viewers who check into their sites daily to see what they’re cooking. The essential ingredient to cookbook blogs, or any successful personal blog? A good SLR digital camera and the know-how to use it.
Not only are there hundreds upon thousands of great chef sites to choose from, but there is a handy site called Tastespotting (tastespotting.com) that collects the day’s most beautiful and interesting dishes and posts them photo by photo. It is perhaps the best way to tour the web foodie scene as most of the best sites are represented there.
One of the most delightful cooking clubs on the net is called the Daring Bakers (daringbakersblogroll.blogspot.com). They are a group of cooking bloggers who give themselves a challenge now and then that they all have to match. One month it was red velvet cake, another it was opera cake. Each blogger adds their own style to the piece, and you’d be stunned at how many different ways there are to skin a cat, so to speak.
Which are the best food blogs? There are so many of them. They have sprung up everywhere, in the least likely corners of the world. Below are some of the best.
Tartelette (tartelette.blogspot.com) has a cookbook deal and she creates the most beautiful, elegant desserts. A French woman living in America, Tartelette is known for her small, visually stunning creations. For Thanksgiving she offered up Pumpkin Meringue Tartelettes.
Pete Bakes (peterandrewryan.com/baking) is written by a 24 year-old guy in Washington, D.C. who likes to bake. He is a particularly talented baker and all around helpful sort. His latest post was biscuits and apple butter made from scratch. The previous post was information on the various pizza stones.
Smitten Kitchen (smittenkitchen.com) just offered up a “Pie Crust 101” post, which is incredibly helpful, not to mention pretty to look at. You just wouldn’t believe the array of recipe opportunities therein, including an “Everything but the Turkey” section with delicious sides and appetizers.
The Pioneer Woman, perhaps my favorite overall personal blog, has entire section dedicated to cooking (thepioneerwoman.com/cooking), and for Thanksgiving not only did she prepare printable recipes of her best dishes but she also offered up a good schedule as to how to make it all happen and get it all done in time for dinner at 2 p.m.
We Are Never Full (wearenever full.com) had a recent lesson on how to make homemade sausage, and Wright Food (mattikaarts.com/blog/) features exotic, unusual dishes that are works of art, each and every dish.
The Kitchn (thekitchn.com) is a one-stop resource highlighting the best recipes and dishes on the web. This site updates more frequently than most and always has something interesting to look at or read.
These sites are particularly useful around the holidays. So, while you’re earmarking recipes in your Dorie Greenspan or Barefoot Contessa book, try checking out one of these cooking sites. If you follow them for a while you share in their discoveries, and there is nothing more interesting than watching the evolution of artists.