That Timeless Read...And Some Fine Cooking

Welcome back! It is that time of the month again, and it happens to men and women, you know what I am talking about: my monthly musing! So how do you feel about magazines? Love 'em? Hate 'em? Well there are over 2300 magazines being published that you could read, so there is definitely one that fits your reading, or skimming, criteria. Magazines can actually be considered calming. They first appeal to the limbic part of your brain (that is the part that processes images and music) with a friendly image on the cover and colorful text:

Courtesy of Google Images

Now doesn't that picture of a cat just pop? But the image could also stir up other emotions (the limbic brain is also referred to as the emotional brain), like hunger. And yes, I consider hunger an emotion. At the same time the limbic brain is being accessed, the neocortex is also in use (that is the part of the brain that processes words). So you will notice the image on the cover, but you will notice the words as well. So I will see a cooking magazine, and feel calm, hungry, and ecstatic, but I will also be reading what recipes are inside, and this is happening all at once. My favorite one is Fine Cooking. I read it like my life depends on it. It is my bible. I guarantee you have seen one of these covers on newsstands before:

Fine Cooking cover found through Google Images

Well that is an issue from last spring, but the beauty of cooking magazines is they are always relevant. I use Fine Cookings from way back when, before I was born, and the recipes are just as delicious as they would have been on their publication month. I have the actual magazine, multiple months worth, sitting next to me from the year 2007, and every recipe is just as exciting each time I reread it. And yes you could read Food & Wine, or any other cooking magazine being published, but it just isn't the same. Fine Cooking is one of a kind, even it's publisher, and owner Tauton Press is unique. They only publish magazines with the word fine in it, and that has to be saying something. But it is more the quality of the magazine, that puts me in awe. I have read my fair share of cooking magazines, but none as complete as my Bible. It starts out with a few articles on different appliances, the pros and cons of the high end brands and the less expensive brands, then it has some recipes, but at the end is detailed instructions on how-to do certain things within each issue. Last year I got an issue that included paella. And in the back of the issue there were instructions on buying a paella pan, and caring for it. That is why I love this magazine, I have never seen such a complete how-to section ever before in any type of magazine I have ever read. The website even has a how-to section for anything you need help with! Say you want to make a layer cake, but you don't know how to assemble it, well you could watch this lovely video and make the most beautiful layer cake around:

courtesy of Fine Cooking's How-To section

I have recently discovered the convergence of multiple media platforms on the website. The website is accessible because of Web 2.0, and it has everything I could ever need. There is a Cooks Talk section, which consists of blogs, and forums, and even some games. There is a Create Your Own Link which allows you to chose the ingredients you want to use, and then it creates the recipe for you! There is even a box on the homepage if you want to subscribe and aid our consumerism world. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing.

But what I love about Fine Cooking is the variety of recipes. And certain recipes always play on your emotions and transfer you to a happy memory associated with something like Chicken Pot Pie. I think of chicken pot pie and I think of sitting with my mom watching TV and being so relaxed after a chicken pot pie lunch. Food to me is a symbol of happiness, of family, of silliness, and I believe it is for most of you reading this blog. Food brings people together, it makes you feel nostalgic, good food can even divert from a messy kitchen, but only for so long. And that is why Fine Cooking is my Bible, because there is always a new recipe for me to try. Each issue of Fine Cooking is a new opportunities to make new memories. And yet that seems to leave me in a bit of a conundrum because I want to cook, or bake, or eat everything at once. For instance, this Sunday I will be making dessert for a small gathering, but there are so many things to choose from, so you tell me, dedicated reader's, should I make Homemade Oreo Cookies, Banana Split Brownies, Black and White Cookies, or something of one of your suggestions? Feel free to browse the dessert section and give me your vote. Who knows, you might even get a bonus blog post out of me this month talking about your choice!

I hope you learned that magazines are timeless and amazing. I hope I have persuaded you to fall in love with Fine Cooking. I also can't wait to see what you guys pick for me to bake on Sunday. So enjoy your magazines and other media related experiences!

Until next time,
Your resident geek