Cooking & Baking
Related: About this forumMay I complain about Food and Wine?
No, not really good food or wine, such as described in C&B, an oasis of my DU posting...
The magazine, IMO (not so humble) is something I subscribed to from around 2003 to 2006. I still have those issues for good reason, because the recipes and some articles, wine listings were all really, really good.
My grandson's school recently wanted to raise money, and since I'm not physically close to just handing him over the money, I said, "I'll contribute and choose one of your magazines", and the only one tempting me was F&W.
It's so awful. I can sum my extreme displeasure this way... For one thing, it's now put out by American Express Publishing Corporations thought it has the same executive editor. For every 5 or 6 pages of glossy advertisements that somehow tie into the travel adventures a la American Express, there are a few appealing recipes, but mostly things that grill cucumbers, make "cocktails out of things the average cook would raise an interested eyebrow to, and so much other eye candy crap ads! By the time you find any usable recipes or stories worth reading, you're almost to the back of the issue, which is smaller and thinner, but same price.
It's just crap, and I wanted to say that here and now.
Glad I saved the older issues and called them personally to take me off the lists they admit that they sell to for being a "subscriber", which I will be no more!
Phentex
(16,334 posts)I haven't read it in years but we did subscribe years ago. Then they would send those cookbook collections and bill you for them. Well, we did purchase a ton of them and I still use them today. However, it became a battle when in addition to the unsolicited annual cookbooks, they began sending other versions and I could not get them to stop. So I canceled everything and haven't looked back. Maybe they do things differently today.
Now, I'm down to only Everyday Food as a subscription. It doesn't have a lot of stories or anything but it has tons of recipes. I still enjoy it and it is relatively inexpensive.
MrMickeysMom
(20,453 posts)Maybe it's in Barnes and Nobel magazine section.
I find reading recipes so relaxing that I actually keep it by my bed stand!
grasswire
(50,130 posts)It's a bit larger in size than Readers Digest, but sort of like that size, which would be handy to read in bed.
Many recipes and features; no travel or celeb stuff. Not so much food porn photos.
Warpy
(111,317 posts)but like to display such fare on the living room coffee table or given out as gifts. If people who actually read it were the subscribers, it would have gone under a long time ago.
I stopped being able to read food magazines in the late 70s when they all started putting those awful Scratch and Sniff ads for loud perfumes into them. You'd flip to page two of a wonderful garlicky recipe and get blasted in the face with something really awful, usually Giorgio.
Even today, when I flip through one in the dentist's office, I find myself tensing whenever I flip a page.
My favorite then was Bon Appetit. The recipes were at least as plentiful as the ads, although most of the articles were pretty silly.
MrMickeysMom
(20,453 posts)Never subscribed as I did F&W. Funny, I always thought BA was rather hoitee-toitee over the F&W.
Now, I just guess I'll search the internet and come here for some real inspiration!
grasswire
(50,130 posts)....Saveur, and Eating Well.
Saveur does have fascinating articles and some of those are about other food cultures, but always accompanied by recipes, recipes, recipes. The recent issue featuring artisan bread is just marvelous.
Eating Well is an excellent magazine, too. I find it very inspirational -- so many delicious and nutritious recipes!
Browse your magazine stand and see what new and interesting things are out there!
MrMickeysMom
(20,453 posts)Just what I need for a few days of "stay cation", damn it!
pinto
(106,886 posts)Last edited Sat Jul 21, 2012, 12:20 AM - Edit history (1)
SP's Sunset Limited train was its premier line, running between the West Coast and the East Coast. The magazine, originally distributed in 1898 on board and at SP stations along the route, was geared to promote West Coast tourism, especially to SF and LA. For moneyed tourists / vacationers in the late 1800's, the West Coast was rarely a first choice. SP and the magazine targeted that market, specifically. All trains were sleeper / diner cars only. No coach cars.
The magazine evolved a number of times, keeping its decidedly West Coast focus yet shedding much of its promotional jingoism. A good read today, imo. Food and Wine may do well to look at that history.
The Sunset Limited still runs and has evolved, as well. Rode it recently. Still a good ride, imo. I've some negative opinions about the buy out by Union Pacific as operator, but that's another topic.
(ed for grammar)
MrMickeysMom
(20,453 posts)grasswire
(50,130 posts)It has been a real big part of my family's life. Some of our favorite recipes ever are from Sunset. Plus, the magazine is the authoritative voice for western gardening.
grasswire
(50,130 posts)kurtzapril4
(1,353 posts)Cooking Light. I pick up Everyday Food a few times a year. I like both of these magazines. I know it's weird, but I tear out the ads from Cooking Light to save space on my kitchen shelf, there's still quite a bit of magazine left over after that!
After my pop died he left me a little bit of cash. So, since I cook a lot, I treated myself to some Calphalon cookware. A 12" covered skillet, a 4 quart sauce pan, and a 2 quart sauce pan that weighs about 4 lbs. Mind you, these are not the top of the line Calphalon, they're the economy models, I guess you could say. I'm in love with the skillet and 4 quart sauce pan, and the only reason I'm only in "like" with the little sauce pan is that it's so damn heavy.
My meandering point was, the skillet came with a year's subscription to Martha Stewart Living. It's more of a lifestyle mag, but it does have some good recipes, and ideas. But the thing that makes me laugh out loud is the "Martha's Calendar" column every month. "Tuesday, May 3rd, Martha will needlepoint tea cozies and take her Friesian out for a trail ride."
Phentex
(16,334 posts)When I subscribed I enjoyed only about half of the magazine. Some good recipes and some really interesting articles at times (stories about her mom or some very detailed piece on milk glass or something.) Then there were the parties or gatherings and the Ralph Lauren ads that I could not relate to. When I'd end my subscription, I'd see a pretty cover on the newsstand and miss the mag. The kids' school fundraisers made it easy to re-subscribe. And then I'd get several months behind and I finally let it end.
MrMickeysMom
(20,453 posts)My Paula Deen set (not associated with any mag) is warping, and I need a new set!