Two LDS food bloggers recently won the Better Homes and Gardens Blogger Cook-off. Sara Wells of Boise, Idaho, and Kate Jones of Pineville, La., authors of the blog, Our Best Bites, garnered the most online votes for their recipe, BBQ Bacon Burgers with Bleu Cheese and Crispy Onions.
Authors of five blogs were invited to choose a recipe from the new Better Homes and Gardens cookbook and give it their own spin. Then, through their blog, at ourbestbites.com, they drummed up online votes for their recipe. They also traveled to the magazine headquarters in Des Moines to cook their recipe for the editors. Wells and Jones received a cash prize of $1,500 for themselves, and 10 sets of Better Homes & Gardens' new cookware and Walmart gift cards to give away to their readers.
"And our recipe will be featured in an issue of Better Homes and Gardens," said Wells in a telephone interview.
The duo started their blog in March 2008, because they love to cook.
"We don't try to be foodies," said Wells. "We're just moms and we cook what we know, we're cooking for moms with families and kids, we're realistic. We want to show people that good food doesn't have to be complicated."
Wells grew up in the Seattle area, and earned a degree in horticulture at Brigham Young University. She served a mission in Brazil, "so I'll often add a Brazilian touch to my cooking.".
Jones was raised in Logan, Utah, and earned an English degree at BYU. They knew of each other, but didn't really connect until they were both posting on an online message board for new moms.
They take turns writing new blog posts on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, said Wells.
Their cookbook, "Our Best Bites: Mormon Moms in the Kitchen," will be released in the spring of 2011 by Deseret Book.
— Valerie Phillips