Hello food/magazines (or food magazine) addicts! All the magazines are about carbs this month - hardly surprising given we all love a bit of comfort food as the weather gets cooler. I never cease to be amazed by the craftmanship of each issue - the photography, the layout, the content, the cohesion of an issue is a truly a work of art in itself - and I know we're talking about magazines here and not works of fine art but since going behind the scenes, I am looking at these magazines now with fresh pairs of eyes.
Now onto the issues this month!
Good Food
This magazine for me is going from strength the strength - again with a large celebrity contingent like last month - and sharing achievable - homestyle recipes - it's a winning formula. The photography style of this magazine is fresh without being clinical.
I know some of you love souffles - Manu shows you all about souffles this month and there's a number of variations too. The cover recipe is Gary Mehigan's minestrone, which inspired me to make my own this month too.
My favourite spread in Good Food this month is the focus on almonds - not only as a dessert but in mains and a great alternative for those gluten free folk. I adore almonds (I think you may have worked that out right?) so there's a few recipes there I'd like to try - most notably the flourless coconut and almond cake.
Donna Hay - Autumn issue
I love Donna Hay and the magazine but I have to say this issue feels a bit weak to me. Gosh those donuts on the cover totally have me salivating but the issue as a whole left me a bit luke-warm. Can't quite put my finger on it - though there's nothing bad about it I just expect more 'wow' these days.
There was a lot of recipes that seemed more about styling than taste .... it could be as simple as that (and I'm such a visual person!) but the recipes that stand out to me is the series on steamed puddings.... I'm so doing at least one of these!
Super Food Ideas
It's the Italian issue this month and what I love about Super Food Ideas is how it can cater to so many but at the same time cater to minorities. The gluten-free focus on Italian is a great example of this. I am also giving the smoked fish and corn chowder a try... :)
Masterchef Magazine
Well I suppose it's the last ditch effort to put Callum and Adam on the cover because there will be a whole bunch of fresh faces next month when Masterchef resumes. I'm undecided if I will continue my subscription as I can't relate to 80% of the recipes in the past few issues.
I'm hoping the inclusion of Matt Moran as a new judge hopefully injects some more relate-ability for me - if his recipe for chocolate and pear tart this month is anything to go by - I'm hopeful.
Recipes +
This issue is consistent - it's got attractive recipes and they are quite easily relate-able - but not a lot with wow factor - the recipes that caught my eye was the upside-down cake feature with pineapple, coconut and rhubarb.
Australian Good Taste
My favourite (and this would be no surprise to my long term readers!) is that that HOORAY... there is a 'how to make your own curry paste' feature. How I have waited for this! I make mine where I can and I'm always on the hunt for more paste recipes! Thank you Michelle! xx
Do you have any favourites this month? An issue you've got your eye on or a recipe you've tried?
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8 lovely comments:
I agree with the latest Donna Hay. I can't put my finger on it either but there isn't a lot I want to cook from it. Oh well, I'll just enjoy the lovely pictures.
Have you ever purchased the Diabetic Living magazine? Not exactly a cooking mag but has awesome recipes in it!
I also agree with you about the latest issue of Donna Hay. I normally love this mag and mark ten to fifteen recipes each issue but this one, not so much.
I'm loving your magazine round-ups. Lat month you pointed me to a couple of recipes I'd skipped right over.
I love these posts! I can't justify buying any magazines due to our budget so I love reading about what is current. I still haven't heard anything from the Super Food Ideas team about my subscription, should I contact them directly through facebook for a gentle reminder? I would SO love to get those magazines, right now I borrow OLD copies from the library for my food porn fill!
I completely understand what you mean by "more styling than taste" as it seems to apply to quite a few publications!
Sometimes I am left wondering whether certain ingredients have been added into a recipe just so it will look colourful in a photo - particularly things like capsicum (which I can't eat) and coriander (which has a very distinctive and strong flavour and does not always "go with" the dish)...but red and green is always so much prettier.
Thanks for the wrap-up, Italian issues usually I don't buy but this gluten free one was interesting (SFI).
@Super Sarah Sweetie you should have an email in your inbox NOW. xx
@LizYes many italian issues are pretty the same but this one (and an AGT one coming up in August shh)kind of put a new spin on things without getting uber-OTT which I like.
My hubby doesn't eat capsicum either o no arguments there :P Yes I find Masterchef and Donna Hay are a bit infamous for style over substance.
And what do you know? Delicious just arrived on my doorstep!
Yes, I stoppped the Donna Hay subscription a few years ago for that reason (and they rarely sent subscribers the freebies you get when you buy it in store, after subscribing for 3 years I felt a bit gipped). I still get SFI delivered and there is maybe only one 'ho-hum' issue a year, the rest are full of postits, my own scribbles and photocopied for others. I love your round up Liss, and look forward to next month :)
I just came back to read the comments and realised (thanks to Liz) that SFI's had a big GF section in it this month so I'll be buying that tomorrow when I do the shopping.
Also, the new Delicious is just, well, delicious. Nothing beats the Italian issue :)
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