Food & Wine

Great food and superb wines tempt me. Thus, I am an aficionado of food magazines. Three magazines (Food & Wine, Gourmet, Southern Living) nested in my mail box monthly and all of them satiate my longing for great food and wine.

Food & Wine is supreme. It promotes dishes that are 1) fast, 2) healthy and 3) can be made ahead and each recipes gives you the time needed to prepare, the recipes' calories, fat and the carb. count.

I really like the table of contents "Recipes" page, where all the magazine's recipes are categorized much like a cookbook (Soup&Starter, Salads&Vegetables, Pasta, Grains&Breads, Fish/Shellfish, Poultry, Meat, Desserts).

When there are recipe photos they are good to very good (more photo would be a welcome addition) thus enticing you to attempt the recipe.

One suggestion for improvement would be a column of "best buys" wines or "Good wines under $10". Most of the wines that are profiled are, for me, expensive (i.e. 1/2003 issue `Ice Wines' $52, $75, $65 $17, $35, $40).

Food & Wine is excellent in all regards and highly recommended.


Yummm   June 11, 2003
 9 out of 10 found this review helpful

Hey, hey, hey -- Grilling in the USA! This is the lead article in in the first issue of Food and Wine I ever got, and as the summer approaches, and I am ready. I just pulled my grill out of the garage last week, as the temperature is warming up. This is what I love about this magazine--they are timely, and somehow know what I'm thinking.

Yes, I know--many are thinking about grilling now. This doesn't lessen the value of the magazine for me; it comes monthly with seasonal dishes and ideas for parties, formal and casual, as well as general items that would be appropriate all year round. The grilling article this month concentrates on atypical grilling possibilities -- grilled salmon with dilled mustard glaze; grilled Maryland soft-shell crabs with tartar sauce; grilled pork tenderloin fajitas; barbecues leg of lamb; many other things, including the grilling essentials (from taste-oriented requirements such as dried vines and herbs to practical needs such as mitts and a brush).

That issue of magazine also had An Ode to Beer & Baseball, another apropos article, with the subtitle which reads:

'Forget Chardonnay. The only drink that can do justice to baseball is a lukewarm, sudsy, mass-produced domestic beer.'

Now, you might not agree with this (I personally would prefer a higher-grade beer with my low-standard hot dog at the ballpark), but from this you can see this is not just a 'woman's magazine', as so many magazines of this sort get labelled.

The magazine is well-organised, well-pictured (I like to see the way food is supposed to look), and well-written; it has an index of recipes in the back of each issue, separated by food types--soups and starters, salads, eggs, vegetables, pasta etc., fish & shellfish, meat & poultry, desserts, condiments & sauces, and (in this particular issue) salsas. They also index types of cooking (formal, fast, etc.), wine recommendations and reviews, and places.

Past issues included a gatronomic tour of the restaurants of San Francisco, as well as Amsterdam. One previous issue did a 'tour of the islands', which took in not only Caribbean islands, but also Tahiti, Madagascar, and Australia. There is always at least one international article in Food and Wine which discusses both local cuisine and restaurant options, as well as how to recreate some of the dishes at home.

The section on wines is always of particular interest to me. A recent issue included a useful guide to 10 common blunders with wine, which includes storage tips, glassware cleanliness (don't destroy a good wine with a glass which has a soapy residue!), serving sequences, and more. The preceding issue kept with it's island theme by going over the best wines from islands by wine experts from 12 top resorts; earlier in the year articles included tips for getting best buys at restaurants (how to really read a wine list), how to buy to build a collection, and how to determine value in the confusing world of French wines.

One article I highly recommend comes from the February 2000 issue, The $100 Dinner Party, which discusses chef Julia Serrano from the Picasso restaurant in Las Vegas and his construction of an elegant dinner party for 10 that only cost $100. Then it has pages of wonderful tips for those on a limited budget (like poor struggling seminary students!) on how to build good and memorable menus on a shoestring.

I was given a subscription to this magazine as a gift from someone who despaired of my Domino's diet, and I have maintained the subscription due to the wonderful variety of articles, the interesting writing style, and the temptation the magazine inspires each month.

Bon appetite!


First Rate   January 24, 2002
 9 out of 11 found this review helpful

This is the perfect magazine for those who like to cook and LOVE wine. Most of the recipes do not call for advanced cuisine knowledge. Many are designed for the fast-paced lifestyle of the USA.

The wine segments are very current and accurate. I live within 2 hours drive of Champagne, Mosel, Rhine, and Alsace wine regions. There have been many articles focusing on these areas and I know from experience that the reporting is first class and highly reliable.

Cheers


Grilling, Fast Foods, Tasty Gourmet Delights PLUS Wine   August 28, 2004
 3 out of 3 found this review helpful

This magazine would be a delightful reading experience for a wide audience. It appeals the *most* to busy young adults, who are looking for quick, healthy, easy-to-make delicious meals, which they just *might* want to spice up with an occasional adventurous new taste in wine recommendations. There is a wonderful column on "new flavors". In the June 2004 issue it is "lemongrass". In the July issue it is "miso". There are fine recommendations for new restaurants in exotic locales, such as, Bermuda or Sao Paolo, Brazil. Also included are foods for special holidays, such as in June for "Father's day". Naturally, grilling is the "haute cuisine" on this auspicious day. The recipes for "Salmon Nicoise Sandwiches" and "Tuscan Baby Back Ribs" are mouth-watering ...

The "fast food" section is loaded with tasty healthful salads, such as, "Spicy Chicken, Avacado, and Mango Salad" and "Turkey and Green Bean Stir-Fry with Peanuts". Some grilling suggestions include, "Tandoori Pork with Gingered Mango Salad" and "Korean-Style Chicken Wraps". Needless to say, all the food is tempting and the recipes are not too difficult to accomplish, provided one is already familiar with cooking techniques.

Overall, the emphasis on this magazine is *not* on wine but instead on food. For a change of pace, the June issue has a very fine article on "vodka". In the July 2004 issue there is a superb article by Robert Parker called, "Australian Wine Guide". The regular wine column covers "German Reisling" by Richard Nailey. Most impressively, the July issue introduces the reader to "America's Best New Chefs of 2004". Of course, each selects a recipe to share. This magazine is loaded with unique articles for the adventurous cook and aspiring gourmand. Highly recommended. Erika Borsos (erikab93)