Do you have a budding chef at home? Do you have a kid that just can’t stay out of the kitchen? I found the cutest website for future chefs created by The Culinary Institute of America. www.ciakids.com is a great resource for kids and parents. They have recipe, tools, and technique suggestions for kids of all skills from beginner to advanced. There is a great culinary dictionary, a section on planning to be a chef, a safety in the kitchen section and lots more. They also have sections for teachers and parents. Want to get your kids started cooking? Click on the picture above to go to the CIA kids website.
Ever try to find a really exotic spice in your local grocery store, it’s like trying to find a needle in the haystack. Sometimes, it is just impossible to find what you need or want close to home. That’s why websites and catalogs like Penzeys Spice exist. Save yourself the headache and hassle of checking every store in town and get online and find what you need. Granted their website is not the fanciest website in the world, but they do know a thing or two about exotic herbs and spices. Where else can you find four different kinds of cinnamon? Tired of your store bought chili powder, make your own. Penzeys carries a wide variety of dried chilis from mild to super hot. The pricing is reasonable and you can decide the amount you need, all the way from 1/4 cup to 1 lb. You can download the current catalog online with Acrobat Reader. Intrigued, want to find out more, go to www.penzeys.com .
I don’t know if you have had the chance to check out the newly updated epicurious website or not. It looks great! The new color scheme is actually quite reminiscent of deglazing, that’s probably a coincidence…One of the things I really like is the how to cook tab in the articles & guides section. The how to cook section shows you how to work with a particular ingredient like dates, tomatoes, etc. I think this is a great section if you have a seasonal ingredient you want to work with, but want to try something different than you normally make. The how to cook section gives great tips like how to chose produce and how to store it properly. It also gives you great recipe ideas for breakfast, snacks, lunch and dinner. If you haven’t seen this section, it’s worth checking out. Another section worth checking out is the epi-video library under the recipe tab. This section is full of great videos from basic cooking to celebrity chef interviews.
The new epicurious website still maintains the functionality of the old site. You can still create your own account and save recipes to your file. They have also created new user forums for people to chat with other foodies.
Overall, I like the look and the feel of the new site. It’s functional, it’s fun, and as always, it has tons and tons of cooking advice for foodies.
I don’t know about you, but I miss Chow magazine. I use to love getting this magazine and tearing it open to see what new and interesting things they were going to talk about every other month. Where else do you get reviews of panini presses, ways to avoid bad Italian restaurants, and an article on the science of revulsion all in one place? I loved this magazines funny approach to all things food. It was part instruction manual, part science experiment and loads of fun. Well, if you were a fan of Chow magazine, like me, have no fear you can still get your fix online at http://www.chow.com/. Their site is just as fun as the magazine, so check it out.
So you may find this extremely funny, just as I was writing a very positive review of the Food TV site the webpage threw me an error and closed all my tabs including my deglazing post. Despite that little glitch, I still have some really positive things to say about this website. If you are a die-hard Food TV watcher this site is probably your best friend. The recipe search feature is extremely useful. I really enjoy the recipe box for storing recipes I have seen on my favorite shows. I also like the filters the network put in place for recipe searching. If you don’t remember the exact name of the recipe you are looking for attempt something close to it and then filter them down using chef name. The other feature that is really useful is when you search for something like corn chowder you can click on the headers (Recipe, Chef/Show, Difficulty, User Rating) to sort your results. A word to the wise, some shows only post their recipes for a short time, like Barefoot Contessa. If you want a recipe I suggest printing it within a week of it airing to be sure you don’t miss your opportunity.
This page also has great features like video demonstrations, Q&A sections, party ideas, etc. I really like how easy this site is to use. You can also find out more information on your favorite chefs and what shows are airing during the week. Each chef has a bio and a list of the shows that they are currently on. I think if you love Food TV then this is the place for you. Check it out at www.foodnetwork.com.
I am a food information junkie. I find I just need my fix. I subscribe to many home and food magazines including Cooking Light, Gourmet, Bon Appetit. I absolutely love Bon Appetit and to a slightly lesser extent Gourmet. If you find you love Bon Appetit or Gourmet then I highly recommend you check out Epicurious.comEpicurious is the place for all things food. This website is full of great recipes, instructional videos, links to other food sites, and the list goes on and on. If you want to find the latest in food then this is the site for you.
One of the features that I like best is the recipe box. Many of the food websites have these now and I think they are an excellent feature for saving and printing recipes. The great thing is once you set one up you can go back and review your saved recipes at any time.
The epicurious site pulls in all kinds of recipes, but most importantly the recipes you see in the Gourmet and Bon Appetit magazines. So if you have the magazines and really want to try a recipe, but misplace the magazine, you have a chance to look it up on the web.
Another feature of this site that I really enjoy is the shop section. If you click on this section you will find it is broken down into many subsections. There is a baking section, a cookbook section, a coffee espresso section, etc. You can find many specialty ingredients you may not find elsewhere.
The definition section is great for those just starting out in the world of food. It’s very helpful to know the difference between a dice, a small dice, and mince.
Overall the site is very useful, if a little busy looking at times. The images are beautiful and the text is readable, even if it is a little small on the sidebars. It would be nice if they created a larger text version of the site for those with less than perfect vision.
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