The One Food Magazine You Need to Buy in February

updated May 30, 2019
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(Image credit: Joe Lingeman)

You can count on a few things from February food magazines. There will always be Valentine’s treats, Super Bowl-themed spreads, and so much citrus.

True to form, that’s what we’ve got in this month’s crop of food mags (no complaints here!). But there’s also a lot more to enjoy.

(Image credit: Joe Lingeman)

The One Food Magazine You Should Buy in February

Our pick for the one food magazine you should buy this month is Food Network Magazine‘s January/February issue. This is really the magazine at its best: readable, entertaining, and stuffed with recipes that we found ourselves drooling over. Plus, the issue has a huge focus on breakfast, which is too often overlooked by food mags and just happens to be our favorite meal to cook at home. Dear food mags, more breakfast recipes, please!

So why are we recommending Food Network Magazine this month?

In part because it’s got the single best feature in any food magazine we read this month: the 2018 Hot List, a look at the trends we’ll see in ingredients, restaurant dishes, and the grocery aisle this year. (The feature isn’t online — pick up a print copy!) Magazines compile trend lists like this all the time, but this one seems especially sharp and well-thought-out. It’s a fun, informative read. And thanks to the Hot List, when you spot jackfruit, cascara, nduja, or French-style yogurt throughout the year, you’ll feel very in-the-know.

(Image credit: Joe Lingeman)

That feature is followed by the big spread on breakfast that we mentioned. There are more than a dozen recipes, but our favorites are for shakshuka and two Bobby Flay recipes: a Persian baked omelet with fresh herbs and waffles with blueberry compote and lemon ricotta cream.

And though we couldn’t tell you who’s playing in the Super Bowl, we enjoyed the magazine’s cute feature for NFL-inspired cocktails, with a drink for every team in the league. One of our faves is the Pittsburgh Steelers’ “Steeler Draft” beer cocktail, because how often does a cocktail recipe tell you to “garnish with a mini pierogi and kielbasa slice?”

And as if those features aren’t enough, Food Network tops it all off with an Ina Garten cover recipe for rigatoni with sausage and fennel. Have mercy.

Other Magazines We Recommend This Month

(Image credit: Joe Lingeman)

Food & Wine spotlights Manhattan chef JJ Johnson, with recipes from a new cookbook he co-authored, Between Harlem and Heaven: Afro-Asian-American Cooking for Big Nights, Weeknights, and Every Day. We would cook every single recipe in this feature, particularly the soupy rice with chicken and vegetables and spicy black bean stew with lamb sausage. We’re eager to check out the entire cookbook.

(Image credit: Joe Lingeman)

Good Housekeeping surprised us with a feature called “Tastes Like The Weekend,” with recipes for game nights and other gatherings. It has some great entertaining ideas, like build-your-own baguette pizzas (talk about Insta-ready recipes) and Korean pineapple beef lettuce wraps.

(Image credit: Joe Lingeman)

Southern Living delivers “A League of Their Own” with five citrus dessert recipes from Junior League cookbooks. We love the look of the Florida orange grove pie and the Grand Marnier cakes.

(Image credit: Joe Lingeman)

And lastly, Martha Stewart Living wows this month with “Humble Beginnings,” featuring basic combinations that serve as powerful flavor bases for dishes in different parts of the world. There’s ginger, shallot, and lemongrass, which form the beginnings of a Laotian shrimp larb with lettuce. And there’s onion, garlic, cilantro and cubanelle pepper that kicks off a recipe for chicken with rice and pigeon peas.

Let’s get to cooking!