5 Favorite Food Sites: Roundup November 2011

I have been cooking since I was 8-years-old. My cousins used to plead with me to make my spicy spaghetti with turkey meatballs. When I was in college, I worked as a banquet server. I learned how to prepare wedding-banquet-worthy chicken marsala and prime rib. Since I enjoy running 5Ks and staying in shape, I try to maintain non-food hobbies too such as DIY interior design, museum visits, and blogging. These are my five favorite go-to sites when I want to learn a new recipe and impress guests. Check back in the new year for a new set of five.




Pinterest

Where else can you visit a flurry of cute images, bulletin board-style, connected to DIY tutorials? Well, actually you can also go to Weheartit and Notcot.org. However, I love Pinterest for its quirkiness. I also appreciate how quickly communities form. I have the option of repinning images onto my own boards. I can also follow all the boards of someone else. As for an example of quirkiness, today I found faux turkey bread. Bread made into the shape of a roasted turkey? I love it! I use Pinterest for work, consumer research and play.

NotMartha

When I came across this blogger's tentacle pot pie and Halloween meatloaf hand, I became a follower. I found her site through DIY home decor searches. Then I found her work on Babble. I like her writing style and her tutorials.


MrsHappyHomemaker
I plan to make this blogger's apple pie muffins for holiday brunches. I met MrsHappyHomemaker through email exchanges for work. She reviewed bathroom lighting for my employer's online lighting retail company. I approached her because she is a frugal homeschooler and I admire that.


Food Network's Giada de Laurentiis
This celebrity stays in great shape plus she uses flavor combinations for her dishes that are less common. For instance, she suggests pancetta seasoned with cinnamon! I've applied her bread pudding recipes and dazzled guests. I'm only guessing but I imagine her recipes are lower in fat than Paula Deen's. I wish Giada de Laurentiis would come out with a clothing line for petite women. I like her makeup too and fashion sense. I aspire to be in great shape like her if I become a mom someday.

Food Network's Alton Brown

Alton Brown's "Good Eats" show was a classic. It was funny, instructive and used puppets! Since I grew upon the Muppet Show, this won me over. My husband likes the kitchen chemistry explanations. I'm sure Alton Brown has an audience of males and females because of his kitchen stadium narration too. His aforementioned show used kitchen mixers emblazoned with flames like an Indian motorcycle and I bet it made men feel more comfortable making doughnuts and man food.

His mantra of using multi-functional gadgets keeps my kitchen tidy. In addition, I learn fool-proof recipes from Alton Brown and save money doing so because the first batch comes out right. To illustrate, I won compliments using his scone recipe.