Tuesday, January 25, 2011

It's Not Me, It's You

Picture sourced from allyou.com


I love the magazine Real Simple. I think that it is beautiful to look at and has helpful information. My official subscription began this month and I have made two recipes from the magazine. Real Simple is not just about food, but they sure make the recipes they feature look good.

Unfortunately, the actual results have been just ok. This brings me to ask: is this my fault or are these crappy recipes? Has anyone else been seduced by a beautiful picture and then been disappointed by the results of the recipe the picture is plugging?

I guess I'll keep trying the Real Simple recipes and rotate them with my other sources. Only with time will I answer my question.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Petunia,
I also agree, RealSimple is a bad ass magazine. Great photos, great design! They actually win all sorts of industry design awards every year. Crazy. But back to the matter at hand. I believe that its 100% their photos, 50% their recipes. 150%? Because, not all but a lot of their recipes are geared towards stretching regular fridge staples into great dishes. Something like, trying to make celery more elegant than it is, you know? But some of the recipes are kinda cool like, 'chicken satay skewers' or something. Either 'exotic' or mundane great photography is still gonna make ants on a log look sick!

Sean of S&S

Unknown said...

Hey Sean. I can totally get behind the idea of getting the most out of fridge staples and making the ordinary look beautiful. I think with a few adjustments I could really punch up the flavor on the dishes. Thanks for your imput :)

Maybz said...

Apparently all you need is salt. :)

Unknown said...

You are hillarious Maybelle! Love you little one!!!

The Beastmaster said...

Just a little FYI, I'm also rather into the lovely design and handy tips from Real Simple. I have taken to checking out back issues from the public library and poring over them for good ideas I may have missed. In the October 2010 issues there is a spread on a 4 week dinner plan with recipes and shopping lists included. I thought this might encourage me to shake up the tried and true, plan ahead for home-cooked meals, and maximize my perishable items at the beginning of the week.

Of course I have not embarked on this rather large undertaking- yet! But as my meals get made I will have more to report on the final product. Then we can "dish"

Unknown said...

Great Beast! Can't wait to hear about it.