Blogs That Make Me Drool

I really do spend the majority of my day researching/ drooling over food blogs… which I don’t mind whatsoever. I could think of many worse things such as stapling papers, shredding documents, and making coffee. Trust me, no one wants me to be making coffee- I mess up the most elementary cooking techniques yet I am able to pull off esoteric dishes at the drop of a hat. Weird. Anyway, after having spent the last year (before my internship even began, I spent an inordinate amount of time on food sites) I am now able to say I found a few that truly blow me away. 

1) Smitten Kitchen- http://www.smittenkitchen.com- Ok so I came upon this site over 3 months ago, so my adoration for the site just began recently. I will say, however, I rarely see as many followers for one site as I do on S.K. Every recipe posted receives around 150-200 comments. That is utter insanity. Even if the recipe is something as mundane as “Brioche rolls” there are usually 180 comments. Why you may ask? The unbelievable step by step photo photography. 

2) 101 Cookbooks- http://www.101cookbooks.com- I have loved this website for over a year now; this vegetarian recipe site is unreal- I wish some of the dishes for main courses would include poultry, fish, steak ANYTHING but clearly, unless she changes her opinions on animal cruelty and or her disposition against eating animals, I must choose recipes that consist mainly of beans, and lentils. I think her baked goods are the main draw to the website, but that’s just my opinion.

3) Serious Eats- http://www.seriouseats.com- Ok, so, if you’ve ever met me you know how much of a Serious Eater fan I am. I have been a daily reader of this food blog for way over 2 years now. It is nothing out of the ordinary, nor does it contain beautiful photographs or even recipes! Why you ask am I just a fan? I can’t really explain it. The site is primarily a compilation of food news, gossip, and clips from other bloggers/ food related websites. I think it’s the ability to get all of your foodie news on one site that makes me enjoy reading. I have asked them for internships/jobs/writing positions for 2 years now, unfortunately, they respond that Boston isn’t their headquarters and in order for me to sell my soul for free as their intern, I must find housing in NYC. No thanks.

4) Tastespotting- http://www.tastespotting.com- This site is very straight forward- they are an open forum based site that allows foodies, chefs, anyone who really likes to cook and photograph it to upload their gorgeous food pics onto their website. The site literally contains thousands upon thousands of images of amazing looking food. Ok so you may be asking what’s the point of this? It’s to “inspire” they claim. My interest in the websites a bit different, seeing as that I don’t cook good enough to even properly toast waffles let alone “re-create souffles” uploaded on their site. I love the feature of the site that allows you to click on the person’s personal blog after you view their photography. It opens your world in terms of up and coming food bloggers. I find new pages daily that I love. 

5) Closet Cooking- http://closetcooking.blogspot.com- If you were to click on the profile photo of the blog’s owner you would be so surprised. I would assume he was a librarian, perhaps a mechanical engineer that never really saw broad daylight. When you see the skill this guy has in cooking and the ability to photograph it- you will be blown away, I am certain. His recipes are so expansive and delicious I have no doubt this blog will blow up very soon.

Mustards Grill

After three hours of wine tasting on an empty stomach we were in dire need of some quality food. While driving towards St. Helena on the highway we passed Mustard’s Grill. It was at that moment I asked Av to swing the car around and park. I read a few really solid reviews about their dinner so I figured it would carry out to their lunch as well — boy was I right. Known as the “Food Roadstop of Yountsville” this lunch was by far the best I’ve had thus far on vacation.

I had the Seafood Stew of the day. It was so unbelievably fresh; it included most of the usual “bouillabaisse” add-ins. The mussels, clams, and scallops were out of this world. I then ordered the Tumeric Chicken Lettuce Wraps with Coconut-Peanut and Pineapple Dips. The tumeric was not over powering yet added an extremely flavorful rub to the chicken. I am used to eating minced chicken in lettuce wraps, however their rendition featured rather large strips of chicken which was innovative.

My mom had the Chinese Chicken salad with Rainbow vegetables, ginger noodles, and peanut-sesame dressing. It was somewhat over dressed, however, after having it be taken back to be less dressed it was absolutely delicious. The dressing tasted less like a peanut flavor and more like a soy based dressing.

While it probably would not be my pick for a dinner choice if you’re dining in the area of Yountsville, Napa, and St. Helena for a short amount of time. I would say though it is most definitely worth venturing into for a great, fresh, and fufilling lunch in an unusual atmosphere. Their cookbook, which can be found online as well as wineries including the one I visited today (Silverado Vineyards) has truly mouth watering recipes including Roasted Garlic with Croutons and various dishes that incorporate Morel Mushrooms… a personal favorite.

Serious Eats Has It Right- Paula Deen is Definitely Trying to Kill Us

For years I have mocked Paula Deen… I can’t even count the amount of times I’ve done jokes revolving around her. How the woman is not MORBIDLY obese is beyond me. She is probably, behind Emeril the top Food Network Celebrity Chef On Air. I will say this, I think she has good “intentions” but she MUST realize that each and every recipe she presents to her audience, will automatically lead to at least a 5 pound weight gain for each audience member. There is no such thing as a “teaspoon” or a “morsel” of anything on Paula’s shows.. every measuring unit is either “a slab of” or “drenched” in whatever the ingredient. I will say this loosely, on mostly every episode I have tuned into she has added at LEAST two sticks of butter to every, single, dish she goes through. The dish could even be entitled “Fresh Seafood Gumbo” and you think to yourself, OK HERE WE GO finally Paula’s whopping out a normal dish. OH no. You realize, that “without all of the butter ya’ll, nothin is tasty“. 

While interning today, one of my daily “tasks” if you will is going over the numerous Food Blogs that are popular; some include Epicurious, Grub Street (Personal Favorite), and Serious Eats. While researching/brushing up on my foodie news, I came across an ongoing piece on Serious Eats entitled, “Paula Deen is Trying To Kill Us” also known as P.D.I.T.T.K.U. Not only is it brilliant, but I totally was thinking the exact same thoughts. 

For example, here are a few “recipes” Paula has given to her viewers. As Serious Eats points out, clearly she is aiming to clog every Americans arteries, each viewer at a time. 

 

“The Lady Brunch Burger“- Let me ask you Ladies something, is this what you typically eat for Brunch? Two glazed Krispy Kremes sandwiching a big ass burger, fried egg, and slabs of bacon? Because that SURELY is not what I eat. Perhaps, if I were pregnant with quadruplets that MAY be acceptable, probably not though. 

“Mama’s Fried Biscuits“- Again I state, is it necessary to “fry” something that is extremely unhealthy for you BEFOREHAND? Let’s use FOUR ENTIRE CUPS OF VEGETABLE OIL Paula, really, there is no way we would make it to our next meal…. ever. 

“Mike’s Best Burger”- Right, I’m sure it’s the best burger, and most likely the last you will ever eat. So enjoy it.