You love eating out but you know nothing ever beats a home cooked meal. That satisfaction you get from seeing your loved ones enjoying the food you make inspires you to want to be a better cook. While in the past we mostly received recipes handed down to us by our family members, today with just a few clicks of a button, we’re able to read and share tried and true recipes from all around the world. Today, we’ve rounded up six of these sites that do an excellent job at curating these recipes. Not only that, they’ll also guide you with step-by-step instructions on how to actually make these dishes. So whether you’re craving a perfectly cooked steak or some sweet pecan pie, check out these six sites that aim to make you a better cook.
1. Joy the Baker
Los Angeles-based Joy Wilson is a self-taught cook who has a passion for food. The blog, Joy the Baker, started in January 2008 and since then Joy has enjoyed considerable success including a cookbook that will published by Hyperion in early 2012. Saveur recently named Joy the Baker the “Best Baking and Dessert Blog of 2011″. Come to this site to see recipes like double dipped apple doughnuts, salted caramel cheesecake pie and chocolate coconut almond scones. Is your mouth watering yet? Though she has a clear preference for sweet desserts, you can still expect to find recipe after recipe of savory dishes like crustless quiche with spinach and mushrooms or potato frittata.
Tip: Have something in mind that you’re looking to cook? Check out Joy’s extensive recipe index to find tons of recipes divided up by sections like bread, drinks, holidays and more.
2. Smitten Kitchen
4 million unique visitors a month. That’s how many people visit Smitten Kitchen to read about Deb Perelman’s home cooking recipes that she whips up in her tiny NYC kitchen. Like Joy of Joy the Baker, Perelman will release a cookbook in the spring or fall of 2012. Recent accolades include Time Magazine’s listing of Smitten Kitchen among the 25 Best Blogs of 2011, which they called “a blog with a wonderfully homey feel”. Perelman not only writes every entry, she also photographs every dish with assistance from her husband. If apple pie cookies and coconut milk fudge sound delicious to you, make sure to check out this site. As she calls it, it’s “comfy food stepped up a bit”.
Tip: If you’re expecting a baby or have one now, check out http://smittenkitchen.com/baby/ to find healthy, delicious recipes for your little one.
3. Simply Recipes
Created by Carmichael, California-based Elise Bauer, Simply Recipes is a blog that has a few hundred recipes that will remind you of your family’s favorite dishes. An ex-Silicon Valley consultant, Bauer now devotes her time running this award-winning site that currently receives over 200,000 visitors each day. Simply Recipes is a great place to learn how to make basic, popular dishes like meatloaf or apple pie and she even has a tips and tricks section where you can learn how to poach an egg or how to make the perfect lemonade. There’s a family feel to each of her recipes, nothing is ever too pretentious. With simple, clear and concise recipes, this is a great site for easy and delicious meals you can serve practically every day.
Tip: Check out the Book Reviews section if you’d like to see some of the books that Bauer has personally read and reviewed herself. It’s also a great place to find a gift for your cooking enthusiast friend.
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