25 Top Food Blogs Of 2011 Slideshow

Orangette is Molly Wizenberg's food blog. It is full of daily musings and stories about her everyday dealings with food and cooking, with the occasional recipe and beautiful photo also included. Wizenberg is a budding restaurateur and, along with her husband, she opened a pizza restaurant in Seattle called Delancey. Wizenberg is currently hard at work publishing her second book.

The title says it all — the Amateur Gourmet, also known as Adam Roberts, cooks, writes, and eats with a passionate sense of humor and a no-frills style.

Born and raised in Texas, Lisa Fain started Homesick Texan in 2005 to share her food photographs and connect with other Southern transplants in New York City. The recipes are a mix of true Southern-American classics and Tex-Mex dishes. Fain published her first cookbook this past September.

The author behind Gluten-Free Goddess, Karina Allrich, began writing this blog to document her original gluten-free recipes. Each week, Allrich posts new recipes that utilize fresh, seasonal produce and promote a gluten-free lifestyle.

Cupcakes Take the Cake was founded by a trio of friends — Rachel Kramer Bussel, Nichelle Stephens, and Stacie Joy. The blog is the ultimate haven for New York cupcake lovers, as the writers cover everything related to shop openings, tastings, and general cupcake news throughout the city.

This blog is full to the brim with nostalgic recipes and warming comfort food dishes. The founder of Mommy's Kitchen is Tina, a Texas-based mother of two. Readers can expect to find Southern classics done the traditional way.

Bee Yinn Low, the author and professional recipe developer behind Rasa Malaysia, has published authentic and approachable pan-Asian recipes since July 2006. Low's cookbook of easy Chinese recipes hit bookshelves this past September. The blog has one of the largest Asian recipe collections available online.

Baking Bites is a great source for sweet recipes (think chocolate-drizzled espresso chocolate chip cookies) and savory classics alike. The founder of Baking Bites, Nicole Weston, is a food writer and recipe developer based in Los Angeles.

Acclaimed former professional pastry chef David Lebovitz has a food blog that's chock-full of recipes, reviews, and all things Paris. With six cookbooks under his belt, Lebovitz uses his blog as a place to share musings on his travels and newly created recipes.

Joy the Baker, the founder of her namesake web site, has been delighting readers with beautiful photos and sweet dessert recipes since January 2008. The blog has spawned a series of podcasts and a cookbook, scheduled to come out early next year.

Silicon Valley-based computer engineer Michael Chu started Cooking for Engineers in 2004 as a place to document his original recipes. Chu's unique marriage of a highly scientific and technical approach with his homegrown culinary skills touches a nerve with his dedicated readership.

This national blog from New York Magazine publishes daily dining and restaurant news, covering six cities in total. Grub Street focuses on reporting the latest news and trends in the food industry with pithy, smart commentary. The former chief editor of Grub Street, Daniel Maurer (pictured), moved on from the blog this summer, leaving Alan Sytsma (known as a Top Chef Masters judge) to helm the ship as senior editor.

Characterized by stunning photographs and recipes contributed by community members, Tastespotting is a self-described "highly visual potluck" of all things food. Founder Sarah J. Gim (pictured) and Jennifer Bartoli, an online editor of the blog, make a point of paying extra attention to visual detail when choosing which submissions to publish.

Sara Wells and Kate Jones are the friends and mothers who started writing Our Best Bites in 2008 to inspire working mothers everywhere with simple, hearty recipes fit for the family. Thanks to the success of their blog, the duo published their first cookbook this past February.

Founder Angie Dudley was inspired to start baking and blogging after taking a cake decorating class. Bakerella focuses on "fun and easy baking," featuring recipes, decorating tips, the occasional giveaway, and lots and lots of dessert.

Jaden Hair, professional recipe developer, food columnist, and food photographer, runs the show at Steamy Kitchen. Dishing out "fast, fresh, and simple" recipes, the blog has become a favorite of busy home cooks.

Cake Wrecks documents the most outrageous, silliest, and creative cakes out there. Users submit snapshots of the cake wrecks they come across and the best are handpicked by founder Jen Yates and published. Interestingly, this blog fell two spots this year, from number seven last year to number nine this year. Perhaps the recent release of Yates' second Cake Wrecks book will shoot them back up the list next year.

Skinnytaste features recipes developed by author and founder Gina Homolka. Skinnytaste's recipes are "healthy dishes that don't sacrifice any of the flavor" of their full-fat counterparts.

Eater produces some of the best original and aggregated food news content and covers some of the nation's most important food cities. Edited by Raphael Brion, Eater is a favorite for food pros and amateurs alike.

Since 2003, Heidi Swanson has written about her meals, travels, and interests in her blog, 101 Cookbooks. Swanson's recipes — taken from either her personal cookbook collection, friends, and family or created by Swanson herself — focus on utilizing natural, whole foods and ingredients. While a large portion of the site's recipes are for savory vegetarian dishes, Swanson occasionally features desserts as well.

Moving ahead a spot on this year's list to round out the top five food blogs is Deb Perelman's Smitten Kitchen. This blog has it all — beautiful food photography, contemporary twists on classic comfort food, and cooking technique tutorials. Perelman's recipes are inspired by her quaint New York City kitchen.

The Kitchn is the food-focused arm of the home improvement site, Apartment Therapy. The Kitchn believes that, "simplicity and luxury are not mutually exclusive," and provides its readers with simple tips, how-tos, and recipes. Sara Kate Gillingham-Ryan is the founding editor of this blog, however, Faith Durand (pictured) manages The Kitchn on a daily basis.

Pioneer Woman Ree Drummond documents her life as a "domestic country wife," with photos and recipes she whips up for her husband and four young cowpokes. This year, Drummond went from blogger to television host, bringing her "cowboy-friendly" dishes to Food Network.

Serious Eats combines original and user-generated content to create a blog focused on food news, recipes, tips, and techniques. Founder Ed Levine announced his plans earlier this month to expand coverage of Serious Eats beyond New York City to Chicago.

A virtual recipe box of founder Elise Bauer's favorite homespun dishes, Simply Recipes features her tried-and-true recipes, along with those crafted by family and friends. Bauer started the blog in 2003 as a way to document the recipes that she grew up with and those that she developed. Simply Recipes claims the top spot on our list for the second year running.