Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Cookbook

      I am in the process of publishing a cookbook.  Can you believe it?  The idea started when I decided to see if I could have the recipes from my blog printed into some sort of book to give my children and grandchildren as a surprise Christmas present.  After doing some research online I discovered it is much more economical to print many books (100-200) from a website that specializes in cookbooks than it is to print 25 from the site that specializes in printing from blogs.  It seemed a "no brainer" to get more for the same price, don't you think?
     But the catch is, it is quite a lot of work to determine what recipes to include and to get all them typed in the right format for submission.  I called the printing business to see if I could also include the comments I posted with each recipe on the blog.  They think it is possible, but won't know for sure till I submit all the recipes.  I have spent many hours the past few days working on getting it organized and have been enjoying the learning process.
    I'm almost ready to send the recipes in for publishing.  In addition to those posted on the Recipes Page I have been adding those I had planned to post in the coming weeks and months also.  And then yesterday the thought occurred to me that I would like to have at least one recipe included from other members of my family so I called them to tell them what I am doing--thus spoiling the surprise--to see if they want to contribute, too.  They all encouraged me in the project and most have sent me additions for the book or have given me suggestions of things to include in the book--such as Jess' idea of a "How to" section.
     I am excited to have all my favorites from family and friends, the new discoveries I've made over the years, and especially the recipes I learned to make from my Mom, all in one place.  It looks as if I have accumulated over 200!  Can you tell I have spent a lot of time cooking in my life?  Our family loves to eat but cooking is only fun for me if I am making something really good, or trying something new, so I'm always searching for great new recipes.
     If you have any you would like to share with me, I would love to have them.  It may be too late for this cookbook, but maybe next year for Christmas we could print another one filled with recipes from readers of this blog.  That would be fun!
    Since I am ordering many more cookbooks than I had originally intended, I'm sure I will have some extras available if you need "a one of a kind Christmas present" for friends and family.  Does that sound like a sales pitch?  I didn't mean it to be.  I don't think I will have any trouble dispensing of the extra books.  With Christmas coming up I will be glad to have extras, and then since we have lots of out-of-town guests it will be great to have something special to give them when they leave.
     I don't yet know the final cost--it depends on several things--like how many books I order, how many recipes included, and the format for the book.  Hopefully, I will be ready to submit the recipes by the first of next week and then I will know, but I would imagine they will be around $10-$12 shipped.  If you are interested in reserving one, send me an email.  (Or for those of you who have my phone number--just call.)

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sounds like a really neat idea! Impressive that you have over 200 recipes! Here is one of our family's favorite appetizers. I will think of others and send them too.
It's bruchetta, but I found it written out on a recipe site, that's the exact version that we make. They call it "Double Tomato Bruschetta"

6 roma (plum) tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, packed in oil
3 cloves minced garlic
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup fresh basil, stems removed
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 French baguette
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
Directions
1.Preheat the oven on broiler setting.
2.In a large bowl, combine the roma tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, vinegar, basil, salt, and pepper. Allow the mixture to sit for 10 minutes.
3.Cut the baguette into 3/4-inch slices. On a baking sheet, arrange the baguette slices in a single layer. Broil for 1 to 2 minutes, until slightly brown.
4.Divide the tomato mixture evenly over the baguette slices. Top the slices with mozzarella cheese.
5.Broil for 5 minutes, or until the cheese is melted.


Meredith

Country Girl said...

Thank you, Meredith! I am eager to try this! How nice of you to leave a comment so all the readers can try it, too.