Every Day with Rachael Ray (1-year auto-renewal)

Rachael Ray's "Everyday" magazine (clearly modeled on Martha Stewart Everyday,but with a Gen X&Y appeal) is a mixed bag of goodies for foodies. It's colorful, fairly kitschy (I'm not surprised Ray will be partying with Perez Hilton at SXSW),the recipes easy to read and follow. It's the food equivalent to PEOPLE magazine with its coverage of celebrities and vacation destinations. Ray has interviewed Dennis Quaid,Jimmy Kimmel, and Barbara Walters on their refrigerator contents. Other celebrities chime in with what they've had for breakfast, lunch and dinner (as if I really care)

There are useful recipes. Ray's macaroni and cheese made with cream cheese, broccoli, and carrots is different and delicious. The lemon pasta is light and savory. The chicken stew made with red wine and dried fruits is hearty and flavorful. However,Ray also comes up with some really unholy food combinations (think of the hamburger topped with mashed potatoes she cooked up with Craig Ferguson) that are reminiscent of the '50s. Gastroanomalies indeed.

"Everyday" is fun,light reading. It's NOT for serious cooks. It IS accessible. It's good for occasional perusing,but not worth a subscription. It's a snack, not a meal.

After buying the first issue of Rachael Ray's new magazine I knew I would have to subscribe after only a few pages. Those pages were not only gorgeous and glossy, but chock full of fun facts, great shopping places for food and utensils, and of course tasty recipes that you do want to make. I have collected way too many cookbooks and food magazines that stand untouched because when it really boils down to it, its all about the food and some of those books and magazines did not deliver in the end. I have since bought some great cookbooks and pay more attention to what's inside then what's on the cover.

Rachael's recipes are not pretentious, and they certainly are interesting enough to engage the reader into trying them out. I've made several of the dishes from the Lemon cream pasta, Mushroom pizza, salmon and pasta dishes, to Sangria frozen pops and some great grilled food. Rachel provides shopping lists of standard pantry ingredients and fresh produce to buy, so its easy to see what you all ready have and what few things I can pick up on my way home to make a fun meal. I love making her recipes and adding them to my repertoire, as its nice knowing you can make a certain dish and its even nicer to whip up an easy dinner or lunch using this magazine.

I also adore the fun articles you can find about restaurants, cheese diaries, wine tasting, outdoor grilling and foods for events. The magazine is really a beauty to read and has more information and entertainment than advertising. I cant stand the regular food magazine I used to get that were half full of Cat litter advertising, along with page after page of useless products screaming in my face.

I hope this magazine will continue to bloom because I absolutely adore it and I intend on keeping every issue instead of tearing out recipes like I used to. Great buy and something you can cook out of with the feeling of a mini cookbook but simpler and prettier.

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Spa Parties and T-shirts that say "Delish" are very much a part of Rachael's magazine complete with pullout recipe cards and travel features. The recipe cards all have shopping lists on the back, so you can grab the cards and head to the grocery store. There is also a handy recipe index organized by categories at the end of the magazine.

The Kids recipe section encourages young cooks to participate in family meals. This issue had a recipe for a delicious tuna salad with roasted red pepper and grape tomatoes. Just for Kids tips give ideas for how to juice a lemon and there are cute kid comments about the recipes.

Everyday with Rachael Ray embraces life and does it with a realistic flair. In the June/July issue, ideas for picnics include shopping lists and recipes for Melon Skewers with Orange-Lime Marinade. Roy Yamaguchi cooks at home with his family and offers recipes like Miso Cod with Buttered Mushrooms.

What I like most about this magazine is the realistic recipes complete with everyone cooking and enjoying life. The pictures are spontaneous and the series of pictures for the Ice Cream Cake are step-by-step heaven. Just when you think this magazine has everything you could wish for, an Everyday Menu Planner appears to give recipes and shopping lists. Grilled Shrimp with Cucumber Salad and Smoked Turkey Panini are must-have recipes for the summer. Peaches resting on a marshmallow meringue are perfect for dessert after the Baby Back Ribs with Jammy Glaze.

This is a magazine about cooks, chefs and Rachael's recipes. The "Ask Rachael" section gives you a chance to send in e-mails to ask Rachael about her life or to have your foodie question answered in the magazine. She also has decorating advice so now you know what to do with the shells you collected at the beach (or you could find them at Pier 1).

What is the best feature in this magazine besides the recipes? "What is in the refrigerator of your favorite Celeb?" I'm always intrigued.

If you collect cookbooks, there are many featured in this inspired magazine. The advertising doesn't seem to overtake the pages and is subtly blended in so it feels very natural and interesting.

~The Rebecca Review

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Love the magazine. But go to a book store and take out one of the inserts to order. It is $12 for a one year subscription.

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I have subscribed to 'Everyday' for two years, and I don't think I will renew for a third. The main reason was that, while extracting my favorite pages of back issues to create a recipe binder, I realized how much of the magazine's content is full-page ads. Serious cooks will not likely be interested in Rachael's Faves, which shows clothing accessories and non-food gift suggestions. The travel section in each issue offers interesting suggestions for accomodations, dining, shopping, and hangouts in the profiled destination. Rachael Ray does try to appeal to readers of many ages, but her many catch phrases and 'Rachaelisms' are tired! 'EVOO' and 'stoup' were clever for about a month, and I have to shrug and roll my eyes at any adult foodie who uses words like 'yummy' and 'sammie' in a written recommendation. Lighten up, you say? Her readers aren't kindergarteners. I'm glad she's proud of her Italian heritage, but she doesn't need to declare it more than once in each issue. For the most part, I like her recipes. They are unpretentious, substantial, and ethnically diverse enough for me. They don't require two dozen ingredients, and they fit into the hectic schedules of most Americans. The photography makes me hungry. Burger of the Month is a great feature, and so is the special recipe for a dog treat. The magazine has undergone some changes in the last several months. Good change: they scrapped B, L, D. A celebrity's spartan daily menu plan doesn't belong in a magazine crammed with high-carb food. The weekly menu planner has also been changed so that all ingredients in the shopping list end up being thoroughly used. Bad change: The entertaining guide in each issue used to feature two great ideas for themed get-togethers, complete with a menu and ideas for ambience and playlists. Now that section just features many quick random tips and reminds me of the how-to-do-anything-better guide in Glamour. I wish $10-Spot would be scrapped altogether, as it seems to annoy so many readers! I understand the purpose of precise cost calculation per serving, but most of us will not go through a whole jar of chiles or chutney before its expiration date. The main thing I dislike, though, is that so much space is wasted by ads. I'll subscribe to a more costly magazine that doesn't have as many; the extra cost would probably be worth it. Time to research...

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