Bon Appegeek

Reviews are in alphabetical order by name of publication except for new reviews at the top.

Fine Cooking magazine. An absolute joy, I can’t recommend it enough. Their use of master recipes, so rare among food magazines that constantly recycle old recipes, allows for multiple variations. For instance, a fruit crisp article lists not one apple crisp recipe but different fruits, fruit combinations, various flavorings, baking times for each kind of fruit, and to top it off (literally), three variations on the streusel. Top-notch photography, warm writing, and a loving attitude to food itself make this my favorite magazine. Every recipe that I’ve tried has been excellent. Fine Cooking is also one of the very few food publications that provides full nutritional information for every recipe.

Cook’s Illustrated. The clinical sterility of CI can get on my nerves, but there’s no denying that I’ve had great success with nearly every recipe. It shouldn’t be a surprise–they meticulously test and experiment with methods and ingredients until they’re satisfied. I have 99% faith in every recipe they publish. That said I have a minor complaint about the heavy east coast slant. As a national publication they should work far harder to do taste test of products widely available in other parts of the country. Their anchovy reviews failed to list any products I’ve ever seen in central Illinois, including the ubiquitous Reese brand. I’m also not impressed with what they do to some ethnic cuisines. While I can understand tinkering with methods to make things easier, the minor changes they sometimes make often reflect their very American palates. That said, they are geeks after my own heart. Highly recommended.