Cooking on Social
Thank you Instagram for helping me cook.
Shabbos greetings! This week, I want to reconnect with this blog’s recommendation roots and write on my favorite topic: food.
With my new job, I have to be at most Nets game, and I’m already a heavy scheduler, so I haven’t been cooking at home as much. I find when I go days at a time without cooking, I actually miss it! One of my new year’s resolutions was to cook from my cookbooks, and I’ve been doing better, but a majority of my recipes still come from Instagram. So, today I wanted to share a list of my favorite Instagram chefs. I know recipes on social media can be hit or miss because they’re not heavily tested. I’ve found great recipes from these talented cooks, and some not so great too (or there was user error). But with the added visual aid in cooking videos, I find they can be friendlier than cookbooks so you can have checks along the way to stay on track.
Gaby Dalkin (@whatsgabycooking)
It’s pronounced “Goby” and she is my favorite. Mal and I have been making her Chicken Larb Bowls for years (minus the coconut lime rice which we can’t seem to figure out). Out of this whole list, I cherish and trust her recipes the most.
Jake Cohen (@jakecohen)
Resident NJB chef Jake Cohen is jewing it up with his recipes and I love it. I have his cookbook, I Could Nosh, but his insta recipes are just as good. He’s famous for his gorgeous challah braids, but I’ve mostly done his soup, pasta, and breakfast recipes. I loved his recipe for Egg Bars, which are the perfect meal prep item for busy mornings.
Violet Witchel (@violetwitchel)
I’m obsessed with this gal’s dense beans salads that she posts every week. They are packed with veggies and different proteins for easy meals throughout the week, and they get better and not soggy as they marinate in the dressing. I’m on a grinder salad kick which started with her recipe here.
Nisha Melvani (@cookingforpeanuts)
This lady posts vegan recipes that look really good, and the few I’ve made have been tasty. She cooks for her kids, so her recipes are packed with hidden protein and veggies. My aunt Cathy cooks vegetarian and swears by her recipes. These are her favorites: Easy Miso Tahini Dressing, Creamy Butter Beans, and Easy Tofu Curry.
Diane Morrisey (@diannemorrisey)
This mom-chef does more classic recipes than health-food forward. I’ve done a few of her recipes, and I’m eager to try her Big Mac Smashed Tacos.
Carissa Stanton (@broccyourbody)
I loved her Speedy Soup Series she did this soup season. I made the Creamy Italian Sausage and Orzo Soup and Mal was obsessed with it.
Nicole Keshishian Modic (@kalejunkie)
I’ve been eyeing her recipes for a while, specifically the Kale Salad with Parmesan and Creamy Lemon-Basil Dressing and the Pumpkin Life Changing Tahini Chocolate Chip Cookies.
Stella Drivas (@hungry.happens)
Her “love your life” sign off in her videos is a lot, but I really like her Greek-forward recipes. She also recently posted a recipe for Columbia’s famous 1905 Salad, which is an old-time Sarasota establishment and a must-hit when I visit my grandmother.
Tieghan Gerard (@halfbakedharvest)
I’ve made a bunch of HBH recipes and honestly don’t love anything I’ve made, but she posts a ton and has such a wide range of recipes. I find her recipes to be slightly overcomplicated but she’s one of the big insta chefs so I wanted to mention her.
Maddy DeVita (@handmethefork)
Honorable mention to Hand me the Fork, who is a private chef for a wealthy family in NYC. The food she makes is stunning and I find her whole life fascinating, so if you’re captivated by videos of what private chefs make in a day like I am, give this girl a follow. She shares some recipes, but she tends to make up her recipes as she goes so they are not amateur tested.
We all have our people we follow and trust, so I want to hear from you on your favorite social media chefs. Please submit your recommendations using this poll, and I will share in a future post so we can all grow our lists.
In terms of the soup of the triweekly, I need to be totally honest and say the soup I made this week was not good. You can’t win them all! I promise there will be a fabulous soup recipe in my next post.
Whether you attempt some of these recipes this weekend or you just watch the videos to get hungry, hopefully there is something for everyone here. Cheers to Shabbos and cheffing!