A few of my favorite things...

I am a Food Network junkie. I watch it constantly. I buy the magazine. And of course, I visit the website.

The Food Network website is phenomenal. Typically it has a really vibrant green background (just happens to be my favorite color, so maybe I'm biased) but lately it's had a nice pink/magenta shade to celebrate Valentine's day. The main picture is a decadent-looking chocolate covered strawberry. It looks so good, I kind of want to lick it right off of the screen.

On the right-hand side is a series of dropdown bars, to help you find a recipe to suit you. So if you want to make "lunch" with "pasta" in "forty-five minutes or less," they'll find you a recipe.

The site also features tons of links. You can find specific cooks, if you're like me and play favorites (I like Bobby Flay, Giada De Laurentiis, and Rachael Ray), or categories of recipes, or shows  on the station...the list goes on!

I have two small beefs with the site. First, the recipes are generally not low-budget. This isn't really  problem I suppose, as I tend to tweak recipes anyway. But keep in mind, if you go to this site, you'll probably have to adjust most recipes to fit your wallet.

The real problem with the site is that it is so cluttered. I mean, links everywhere. It would take ages to really navigate the site in its entirety. Again, it's a bit of a necessary evil; there's so much content. At least the information is organized, I suppose.

Another good site is the online version of Every Day with Rachael Ray. This magazine (and the website) is mostly food-based, with a little of Rachael's personal life thrown in. Now, I could care less about Rachael's recent vacation to the Caribbean or wherever she went. But her food. Is. Fantastic. I love it. Her recipes are creative and unique, and can be made cheaply with minimal changes.

The site's color scheme is a dynamic orange and yellow. Like the Food Network site, this one has a ton of links. Unlike the Food Network site, however, Rachael Ray's site is organized into little blocks of information and content. It's far easier to navigate; I suspect this is due to the size comparison. Rachael Ray has a much narrower audience than Food Network does.

Whether you're new in the kitchen or a seasoned chef (ha...seasoned...get it?), you'll really love what both of these sites have to offer.