We all know there are millions of food blogs available and we all know that a different one appears each time we search Google for a new recipe. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could all simply decide which food blogs are the best? Perhaps, list those websites someplace to use another time? To search through the recipes listed on such sites because we adore the authors’ writing and cooking styles? Oh yes, how nice that would be. Well, you’re in for a treat today because I’ve done exactly what I described above. I’ve gone through the hundreds and hundreds of top ranking food blogs and have chosen my personal favorites. Then, I’ve listed them in a blog post of my own and have described why each website is so fabulous. As you can imagine, an undertaking such as this consumed many days and nights – but I don’t mind at all. At least a list like this is organized and ready for use by my valued readers. Please click through to view my list of best food and cooking blogs. If you’d like me to review a site you feel I’ve missed, please leave a comment below the post and I’ll take a look at it just as fast as humanly possible. Thanks! Continue reading…
Minestrone Soup Recipe by Gino D’Acampo
There’s nothing like a nice bowl of hot minestrone soup during the heart of winter. It’s one of my favorites. It’s chock full of fresh vegetables like carrot, celery, potato, onion, mushroom, zucchini, and beans. Add to that some small shaped pasta, such as elbows, ditalini, or conchigliette, and you’re all set. Obviously, choose whichever pasta you’re able to get your hands on – not all are available at every grocery store. As long as the pasta consists of small shapes, it should be good. Minestrone soup has been around for thousands of years. It was created after Rome conquered Italy and new types of vegetables flooded the region. The Italians, being as resourceful as they were, used their leftover produce to create a soup – minestrone! Through the years and among different places in the world, minestrone has changed little. It’s still a wonderful soup that calls for whatever is on hand. The primary ingredients though are traditionally onion, garlic, celery, carrot, tomatoes, and pasta. But again, it’s about what’s available and what’s in season, not about sticking to a rigid recipe. If you’re interested in making some minestrone yourself, please click through to see the recipe I share in this post. It’s one of Gino D’Acampo’s, so you know it’ll be good. Continue reading…
Slow Cooker Butternut Squash Soup Recipe by Williams Sonoma
There are as many varieties of butternut squash soup as there are days of the month. Some are super sweet and creamy, but not the best for you and some are rather plain, but ultra healthy. I’ve tried them all. I tend to lean toward the sweeter side, but every so often a soup comes along that straddles the line between taste and health. I think we’ve got one of them here. I adapted this butternut squash soup from a recipe I found on the Williams Sonoma website. I changed it up a bit to fit my needs. This soup is a slow cooker version of so many other versions out there; instead of using a slow cooker though, I used my Dutch oven and wood burning stove. I cubed the butternut squash and added the pieces to the Dutch oven and then added all the other ingredients, including browned onion, spices, vegetable broth, brown sugar, salt, pepper, and a few other minor things. The beauty in cooking this soup is that the process is slooow. It takes three hours, but during those three hours, the flavors of the broth and other ingredients infuse themselves into the pieces of squash. When mine was finished, I puréed the squash to create a soup that was pretty much perfect. Just sweet, salty, and full bodied enough to keep me wanting more. To check this recipe out, please click through to the post. You won’t be disappointed. Plus, in this post, I teach far more about the butternut squash than any one person would ever want to know. Continue reading…
Mediterranean Style Orzo Pasta Salad Recipe
I’ve been making orzo salad for as long as I can remember – for good reason(s). It’s a relatively simple dish to prepare, it’s as versatile as any dish I can think of, and it has the potential to taste incredible. For today’s recipe, I chose to follow the Mediterranean route; one that leads to a diet that’s rich in flavors and healthy habits. The Mediterranean diet was developed back in the 1960s and was inspired by the southern regions of those countries that border the Sea itself; Italy, Spain, and Crete. Mind you, the Mediterranean diet doesn’t mimic the foods that are consumed in the Mediterranean regions themselves, it merely mimics the eating habits of folks in those regions. What exactly are those eating habits? Ones that include focusing on a plant-based regimen. Unprocessed foods. Cereals, legumes, vegetables, and fruits. It’s a diet that avoids the over indulgence of red meat and is one that includes a moderate consumption of fish and dairy products. If you click through to read this post, you’ll find that what I just shared above describes the ingredient list to a “T.” Think balsamic vinaigrette, olive oil, Italian herbs, orzo, bell peppers, tomatoes, Kalamata olives, and so much more. If you’re interested in learning about the Mediterranean diet, orzo, and how to prepare a quick and easy meal, this one’s for you. Continue reading…
How to Interview a Food Blogger
If you’re a food blogger or have ever thought about food blogging, there’s something you need to know; it’s a very social game. There are millions of lonely bloggers out there right now whose websites will never grow any larger than their current size. Part of the problem these people face is that they’re the behind the scenes types. They enjoy cooking and sharing their recipes, but that’s about it. In order to grow and become popular, a person in this space needs to mix and mingle. A great way to do that is to reach out to others in the industry and ask for an interview. In this post, I share a few things. I tell you all about why it’s so beneficial to interview others as well as have someone interview you. I tell you how to find those rare souls who can add so much flavor and energy to your website. I also tell you how to contact these people, how to approach them, and what questions you should ask them. There’s a lot that goes on with this type of food blog marketing and content creation, but nothing is beyond your skills or abilities. If you’ve like to learn more, please click on through. Continue reading…
Mushroom & Chives Omelette on Ciabatta Recipe by Mary Berry
The omelette is definitely my favorite egg dish. Through the years I’ve prepared so many different types of omelettes that I can remember them all. I’ve made complex and intricate omelettes and simple, yet delicious ones as well. Today’s omelette happens to be the latter. It’s actually one of the simplest I’ve ever prepared. And it’s awesome. I pulled this recipe from Mary Berry’s Complete Cookbook and what’s so nice about it is that it calls for only a handful of ingredients; mushrooms, chives, eggs, ciabatta, butter, salt, pepper, and that’s about it. As I explain in this post, there are two ingredients that make this dish special – the mushrooms and the ciabatta. The mushrooms, when nicely browned, are simply unbeatable. They offer such a distinctive earthy flavor that’ll keep you wanting more. As for the ciabatta, it’s soft and chewy and perfect for a sandwich like this. Interested? Click through for the recipe as well as much more information than you’ll ever need for a dish like this. Thanks! Continue reading…
Perfect Lentil & Kale Soup Recipe
Lentils possess a great many positive attributes; ease of preparation, low cost, and health benefits being the top three. Flavor, texture, usage being a few more. Lentils are considered a superfood due to their dietary characteristics. They’re low in calories, rich in iron and folate, and an excellent source of protein. They’re also full of health-promoting polyphenols and may reduce several heart disease risk factors. I can go on about the health benefits of these small legumes and I do in this post, but for right here and now, let me tell you that they’re one of the most underrated healthy foods in the U.S. They’re wildly popular in India due to their versatility and high levels of plant protein, but here, not so much. This lack of recognition is part of the reason I’ve written this post. I’ve gone ahead and combined the lentils with some utterly fantastic ingredients to create a tasty soup to be remembered. Think garlic, tomatoes, onion, carrots, cumin, curry, red pepper, and kale. The soup is a health powerhouse that can fill the bellies of an entire family. And at under $10 for a pot full, you honestly can’t go wrong. To learn more about this fantastic ingredient and for the soup recipe, click on through. Thanks! Continue reading…
Cutting Food On the Bias – What Does it Mean?
Learning to cook involves a lot of technique. Some of it has to do with how to properly sear a steak and some has to do with how to properly peel and dice an onion. Much of what you’ll find has to do with how to use your chef’s knife for slicing, dicing, and mincing. It’s not that anything is too terribly difficult, it’s just that there are some terms and styles that need to be understood. Cutting on the bias is one such style. If you’ve ever cut a celery stalk, carrot, or loaf of French into rounds, you can surely cut on the bias. What is cutting on the bias? In this post, I’ll answer that question. I’ll also answer the question: why would anyone actually want to cut on the bias. Believe me, there are very good reasons for both. So, if you’re interested in this next cooking lesson, click through to learn everything there is to know about cutting on the bias in the culinary world. Continue reading…
Linguine with Tomatoes, Anchovies, & Chilis Recipe by Gordon Ramsay
There’s nothing like an incredibly tasty pasta dish that hits the spot like none other. That pretty much describes what I’m sharing today. It’s one of Gordon Ramsay’s recipes from his cookbook titled Home Cooking. The dish is outstanding in that it melds the flavors of fresh garlic, chili pepper, anchovies, olives, capers, and tomatoes together in a base of extra virgin olive oil. The dish is extraordinarily easy to put together. Simply cook the pasta and sauté the vegetables. Combine it all and you’re good to go. Because the olives, anchovies, and capers are so naturally salty, you likely won’t need to add additional salt. Yes, this dish contains garlic, so I wouldn’t recommend it for a first date, but if you’re in the mood for an Italian dinner that’ll thoroughly satisfy, go ahead and give this one a try. It’s definitely robust and the flavor is all there. Click through for ingredients and instructions. Continue reading…
How to Start a Food Blog
All the signs were there. It was just a matter of time before you pulled the trigger and decided you should start taking pictures of and writing about your cooking. Food blogging has been happening for years. Better late than never. All kidding aside, I’m absolutely thrilled you’ve decided to take the plunge into food blogging. I began writing about my cooking in 2015 and I can honestly say it was one of the best things I’ve ever done. Before that, my meals were just ho-hum. I had little motivation to prepare anything special. After I began writing about food, I also began learning about food. I also began learning how to properly cook. I purchased real plateware and cookware and spent more time in the grocery store inspecting ingredients. Before I began food blogging, I would never prepare a list for the grocery store. After? You wouldn’t catch me without a list. Needless to say, I elevated that part of my life. Why am I telling you this? Because I’d like to see you elevate that part of your life too. If you’re already an awesome cook, that’s perfect. If not, learning is the best part. It’s the blogging thing I’m going to tell you about most in this post though. I’ll share the secrets of how to buy a domain name and hosting and set up a WordPress website. I’ll tell you how to find a theme for your website and then I’ll tell you about photography and WordPress plugins and so much more. I’ll even lead you to a list of my favorite food blogs, so you can learn from what they’ve already done. If you’re totally psyched, click through to get started! Continue reading…
10+ Most Popular WordPress Food Blog Plugins
You’ve installed or set up WordPress for your food blog and you’re at the point of making the website as functional as possible. You’ve heard whispers of these things called “plugins” that’ll make everything so much easier to use and that’ll encourage the search engines to gobble up your content. The question is, which plugins are the best for food blogs? Which are the go to plugins that all the famous cooking bloggers use? Are there even go to plugins? Do you need to install any of them or can you use WordPress right out the box? In this post, I answer each one of these questions and I also list the ten most popular food blog plugins available today. Yes, you may use WordPress straight out of the box, but your website functionality and search engine visibility can be improved substantially with the use of plugins. Let’s just say there’s a reason all the pros use certain ones. If you’re interested in getting set up like the best of them, click through to learn what to do. Continue reading…