Searching for a new recipe has become a lot easier in the age of technology.
Today, home cooks rarely dig through tattered recipe boxes or flip the glossy pages of Food and Wine issue when it’s easier to click a few keys on the laptop and discover a whole new culinary world.
In his article “Laptop Chef” in the March issue of Dwell, Jonathan Olivares argued that kitchen computers helpfully multi-task our cooking lives and will soon become a necessary staple, like salt and sugar.
Kitchens have become the home’s social hub, explained Olivares, and “computers support every facet of our daily lives,” so it’s only natural that kitchen computers will be the next cooking trend.
“Online cookbooks replace their printed ancestors; video conferencing with family and friends reinforces and enhances social nature of the space; music software eliminates the need for audio players; and web browsers provide access to information and entertainment,” Olivares continued.
The problem is most laptops aren’t kitchen-proof. Imagine following a stir-fry recipe on your laptop. One clumsy move and it’s the keyboard that could be fried in garlic sauce.
While we’re waiting for the spill-proof laptop, there are many food-oriented websites and blogs worth bookmarking. Let’s not forget the utility of Smartphones too, with their countless food apps. And I don’t know about you, but I find it much safer to cook with my iPhone in arm’s reach.
Here are just a few of my favorite digital cooking and/or food references.
Websites
Food News Journal (foodnewsjournal.com): This site provides all the food-related news you can stomach each weekday. It compiles the daily food-news articles from reputable newspapers, magazines and journals and organizes them into an easy-reading format.
Epicurious (epicurious.com) is my go-to recipe finder. Partnered with Bon Appetit and Gourmet this website is a home cook’s paradise with recipes ranging from easy to very difficult. The user key and fellow cooks’ comments help one find (and perhaps modify) that perfect dish.
Blogs
Live to Cook … At Home (livetocookathome.come) In the same vein as The Julie/Julia Project, home cook Dave Whittaker is cooking and eating his way through celebrity chef Michael Symon’s cookbook “Live to Cook.” Humorous, passionate and honest, Whittaker’s blog offers the everyday home cook’s reaction to Symon’s sometimes ambitious recipes.
The Everyday Palate (everydaypalate.blogspot.com) I’m not above shameless self-promotion. My blog recounts my cooking adventures and reflects on how food shapes our daily lives. I like it quite a bit, but then again, I’m biased.
Apps
Ratio Smart Phone App: Based on Michael Ruhlman’s “Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking” This handy app creates recipes — using ratios — for the portion size a user needs. No math skills necessary. Two other bonuses: users can save and share their recipes on Twitter or Facebook. According to the Chicagoist, “This application is so good it almost makes us regret buying the book first.” In my own experience, I concur; the app has been much more useful than the book.
Jamie Oliver’s 20 Minute Meals: Known for his healthy-school-lunches-for-American-kids crusade on the television show “Jamie’s Food Revolution,” British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver devised a fantastic app that allows users to choose a quick, healthy recipe, create a shopping list for its ingredients, and view a step-by-step video demonstration. “Cool Hunting” named it “the best cooking app we’ve come across yet.” And I whole-heartedly agree.