10 Awesome Things Food Bloggers Did In 2011 Slideshow

They Watched Julie & Julia 365 Times

Northwestern student Lawrence Dai decided to watch Julia & Julia (yes, the amazing Meryl Streep terrible Amy Adams one) for an entire year, and blog about it on The Lawrence/Julie & Julia Project. He finished on Nov. 29 of this year. During the 365 viewings, Dai counted the number of chews on the film, chopped up 30 pounds of onions, synced the movie to Kanye West, and got a couple marriage proposals out of it. His flippant, profanity-filled, and occasionally raunchy blog rages against Amy Adams's character and chronicles how he managed to watch the two-hour film every single day. Props for completing the task, Dai. Word is, he's moving onto other blogging projects.

They Ate Rotten Cheese with Maggots… in New York!

The Sardinian delicacy called casu marzu is essentially rotten cheese teeming with maggots (see the squeamy video here). Lucky (?) New York blogger Bradley Hawks of Amuse*Bouche got to give the rare cheese a taste at a Queens Italian restaurant. The review? "The initial taste was pecorino, followed by gorgonzola, and then a spicy aftertaste, like freshly cracked black pepper. Had it not been literally moving, I might have enjoyed a lot more..." Word.

 

They Got Us Close to the Chefs, Because Sometimes They are the Chefs

One of our favorite bloggers, Helen Cho of IntoNoRes+, started giving us behind-the-scenes peeks into the No Reservations shoots this year and we were hooked. Who else will give us shots of Bourdain chillin' with the crew and cooking turkey for Thanksgiving (plus bonus scenes)? She even got prolific blogger/chef Eddie Huang of Baohaus to write about meeting Tony.

Speaking of which, Huang's blog Fresh off the Boat may have downsized the posting content this year, but he still made headlines by speaking up about Sam Siftonracism, the best eats, and everything in between. So keep it up, Huang. We're still reading.

 

They Made Infographics

If anything, 2011 was the year of the infographic. While large companies produced highly designed graphics about coffee, soda, and the most popular bacon dishes, small graphic artists started drawing up their own charts, graphs, and maps. Take, for instance, this cheat sheet for cooking vegetables or this amusing map of condiments. And seriously, for the holidays, follow this guide to getting sloshed at your office holiday party. If I Love Charts is any indication, the infographic trend isn't ending soon.

They Got Fashion People to Eat (and Spill About It)

Do we really have to say this again? Fashion and food always go hand in hand, and a new food blog from publicist Michael King and M.A.C.'s Lauren Levinger, The Food Life, combines both beautifully. This year, the site published stories about dinner with Alexander WangNicole Richie's secret snacks and favorite New York restaurants, and Vena Cava dinner parties. So now we can be hungry and jealous, too.

They Did Jell-O shots, Lots of Them

Is it us, or are Jell-O shots making a comeback? First, the long-time Jell-O expert behind Gelology announced his plan to become a full-time Jell-O caterer. Then, Michelle at That's so Michelle made waves with her adorable Jell-Os filling real strawberries, lime peels (left), and chocolate cups. They bring back fond college memories while still looking classy.

They Turned Famous Movies Into Food Movies

The amazing tumblr "Snack to the Future" turned a Back to the Future poster into Snack to the Future, and Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure into Bill & Ted's Egg Salad Adventure. Posting has slowed down in the last couple months, but the Supper 8 and Thoreo (The God of Om Nom Nom) posters are still brilliant.

They Interviewed Fancy Francophiles About France

One of our favorite Paris blogs, Lost in Cheeseland, started a new feature called "Franco File Friday" this year, picking the brains of in-the-know ex-pats and locals such as David Lebovitz, macaron queen Jill Colonna, and a dozen other food bloggers and authors. It's the best insider's guide to Paris you can get.

They kept Us Posted on What the President Was Eating

Obama Foodorama has to be one of the best blogs out there in the food world. Founding editor Eddie Gehman Kohan gives us the dish on what the Obamas do for the holidays, and where they get their eats. This year, she wrote about Obama's visit with The Prince of Wales for "The Future of Food" conference, as well as what happened on the Dinner with Obama campaign dates, all the while satisfying our gossipy minds with what the Obamas were having for Thanksgiving.

They Showed Us Just How Bad Hurricane Irene Was

While video blogs have been around for a while, nothing really showed us the impact of the moving image as much as this video from Food Curated. Telling a strong, compelling story about farmers in the aftermath of Hurricane Irene, this reality check woke up city dwellers and West Coasters to the real effects of Irene.