While at one point the awards given out by the Association of Food Journalists (AFJ) to various food writers and food sections only really mattered to their local readers, this is definitely no longer the case. Since most newspapers are online, we can look at food sections from all over the world in a matter of minutes, and the AFJ awards can help point us towards the good ones that we might take a look at in addition to our local papers. The 2006 awards were just released and some of the winners are:

• Best Food Sections (small): Akron Beacon Journal, The Advocate (Baton Rouge), Reno Gazette-Journal
• Best Food Sections (medium): The Oregonian, Baltimore Sun, San Jose Mercury News
• Best Food Sections (large): LA Times, Chicago Tribune, San Francisco Chronicle
• Food critics Jonathan Gold (LA Weekly), Tom Sietsema (Washington Post) and Michael Bauer (SF Chronicle) were all honored for their restaurant reviews.

For full details, and to check out the names of all the very worthy other winners, you'll have to take a look at the press release (pdf).

We've already started our Sarah G. vs Sarah G., Seattle vs Pittsburgh super food war. The Seattle Times can't miss out with its volley across the bow of the S.S. Seahawk.

• Make a meal out of your Super Bowl food with recipes for Seattle seafood chowder; hot smoked salmon dip; apple-glazed ham (Washington apples I hope!); sandwiches made with apple chutney to use up that yummy ham; and a Northwest Waldorf salad (which is pitiful, honestly, couldn't it have included hazelnuts instead of walnuts? what's Northwest about a Waldorf salad? it's from New York City for goodness' sake).
• Nancy Leson gives some recommendations for takeout (if you're too excited to cook), like Ezell's Famous Chicken, Sushiland, and Salumi Artisan Cured Meats.
• Skip the Budweiser and try some microbrews - and learn how to pronounce "hefeweizen" - it's HAY-fe-VITE-tzen, for the record.

According to Gastropoda, the latest thing in the food sections of major newspapers is utilizing stock photos to illustrate recipes. "It’s more insidious than outsourcing journalism -- why should the Wall Street Journal shoot a fresh creme brulee from a New Orleans chef when there are iconic images to be had for almost nothing? All cremes brulee are alike, no?"

It's economical, sure, those photo stylists and food photographers are pricey. And then there's the cooking. What food writer wants to cook? Especially when the good people at the USDA are working so hard baking apple pies for you. For free.

Gastropoda says that USA Weekend was the worst offender. I checked with the Oregonian "Food Day" that arrived on my front steps today and was pleased to see Oregonian photo credits under every picture. I'm wondering if this is isolated to a few national papers for whom food sections are not a focus or is more widespread. How 'bout your local paper?

• A recipe for duck that's so good you'll think it came from your favorite restaurant.
• At Christmas, Italian families eat a lot of fish.
• Do you have a cooking question? Ask the cooks.
• How does an 82 year-old woman make 3000 Christmas cookies with one 1960s era stove, all in one day?