Paper Palate

Do you think it’s true that many of today’s top selling food magazines feed our eyes more than our stomachs? According to Ingredients For Success, an article published recently in the New York Post, some of today’s most successful magazines are not much more than glossy show pieces. The article all but butchers Everyday With Rachael Ray, saying that her “fake-it, don’t-bake-it approach to food doesn’t make for the most interesting reading” and that her growing fame is going to her head. The article criticizes “Rach”, while in the same breath praising Martha Stewart’s Everyday Food, pointing out the short list of ingredients needed for Martha’s nearly fool-proof recipes, along with the helpful shopping lists in each issue that will save you from those repeat trips to the grocery store each week.

While I must agree that each issue of Everyday Food has an ample amount of delicious recipes that even the novice would feel comfortable preparing, I think that’s largely the appeal of Everyday With Rachael Ray also. Both magazines are full of helpful tips, and recipes that promise to be tasty and quick to prepare. People either seem to love Martha Stewart or hate her, and the same goes for Rachael Ray. I can honestly say I’m on the fence about both women. I’ve never been a huge fan, but I’ve never disliked them either. At the same time, I can say I love Everyday Food and Everyday with Rachael Ray so much so that I don’t miss an issue of either magazine. It’s not about the woman behind the magazine, it’s about the magazine itself for me. Both magazines are beautifully styled and never fail to provide recipes or ideas I can’t resist trying.

Not every book or magazine is for everyone, we all know that. Everyday Food, and Everyday With Rachael Ray are amoung the growing number of publications, and television shows geared toward people who love food but may not have a great deal of free time they can set aside to prepare it. The editors and writers of these magazines recognize that time is something many of us don’t have a lot of, so we’ll do whatever we can to make the most of it.