thinking of writing a Cookbook

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Forum -> Household Management -> Kosher Kitchen

Thinking of writing a Cookbook

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baby's mom

Thu, Oct 20 2005, 3:27 pm

I'm thinking of writing a cookbook. I would love your input.
What would you like to see in a cookbook, whats important for you when you buy a cookbook....

shayna82

Thu, Oct 20 2005, 3:36 pm

quick inexpensive recipes that dont involve all these unheard of ingredients that youll buy and never use again!

good luck

613

Thu, Oct 20 2005, 3:43 pm

ditto on shayna82's post
I like color pictures- but that's probably expensive. I also like a good index- like you shouldn't have to know the EXACT title of the recipe in order to find it in the index!
smaller is better- I LOVE spice & spirit, but the book is just SO big!
(hey, can we get them at a discounted rate Wink

)

Chanie

Thu, Oct 20 2005, 3:58 pm

I second the food picture idea... those are the recipes I always try first when I buy a new cookbook....
My DH also likes to look through the pictures and offer his opinion on what I should make.

Tefila

Thu, Oct 20 2005, 4:02 pm

Quote:

I'm thinking of writing a cookbook. I would love your input.

1) The price cannot be overboard however nice it is, since it's not the only one out there.
2) Exactly how much it yeilds Exclamation

3) Pictures and lets be real no use making it look glorious when one actually makes it and doesn't look anywhere near the same Wink

4)Write how long preparation time is etc
5)Not soo big that I have a prob placing it down anywhere like my spice and spirit cookbook Sad

If all thats done then ia"h I will be one of u'r first customers Tongue Out

baby's mom

Thu, Oct 20 2005, 4:03 pm

Great ideas, thanks you guys!!
I was thinking of very simple and tasty, thats my style!
and layout is definitely important with nice attractive pictures.
I was thinking of maybe finding nice psukim to put in..

baby's mom

Thu, Oct 20 2005, 4:04 pm

How many recipes would you want?
What are mostly the recipes you look for?

baby's mom

Thu, Oct 20 2005, 4:08 pm

Quote:

(hey, can we get them at a discounted rate Wink )

Of course! Very Happy

hmm but then I'll be giving away my identity Confused

proudmom

Thu, Oct 20 2005, 5:05 pm

baby's mom, this is a quick question but nothing to do with this post, did you write the book that you used as your pic under your name too?

supermom

Thu, Oct 20 2005, 5:14 pm

I have to second with shayna82 I see a lot of recipes that I like to try but then when I buy the ingredients I never end up using it again since I have no use for it. so it is a waste of money down the drain. I love pictures and so does my hubby since he also loves to look at the food and then tell me what looks interesting to eat. price makes a big difference since if it is over priced no one will buy it. and defintly should be hard covered so it lasts longer.

baby's mom

Thu, Oct 20 2005, 5:23 pm

proudmom wrote:

baby's mom, this is a quick question but nothing to do with this post, did you write the book that you used as your pic under your name too?

daisy

Thu, Oct 20 2005, 6:20 pm

I agree with simple recipes that don't use a lot of ingredients, but I don't mind interesting herbs and spices, since they are relatively inexpensive to buy and they do last. I can't tell you much my cooking repertoire expanded when I got over my fear of cumin and coriander (they are great in soups).

I'd like to see healthy type of recipes for soups, weekday supper dishes, salads, and desserts that do not require raw eggs and nondairy whipped topping.

Pictures are nice, but the finished products (meaning the actual cooked foods) have to look professional or they defeat the purpose. I don't think that the presentation needs to be as fancy as KBD (which probably makes most of us feel either poor or decoratively impaired - at first glance I was too intimidated to make anything, eventually that feeling lessened), but I remember looking at a certain cookbook and not being impressed by looks of the dishes in the pictures at all.

carrot

Thu, Oct 20 2005, 10:37 pm

I agree with everything everyone else said. about the ingredients, I like getting new spices and stuff that last, but I sometimes run into problems when recipes ask for ingredients that I have never heard of and have no idea where to get. usually I skip those recipes, because shlepping from store to store can be way too frustrating. I am not a big fan of cookbooks that ask for lots of specialty produce or things that can only be gotten in frum stores (but who knows until you try.)

I think a really good good cookbook that would not be too expensive to emulate is moosewood cookbook by molly katzen. there are no expensive photographs but it still looks nice and appetizing. the steps are clearly written. and it has the useful info that freilich mentioned such as prep time and how much it makes.

oh another thing. I get so disappointed when they have these really exciting looking recipes and then it turns out that the whole base of the flavor is msg soup mix. what kind of cheap trick is that? (I get headaches from msg so it is not just an idealistic crusade that I am on - I really can't use it.)

I think the biggest lack of most of the good cookbooks is that there are still not enough of the simple and healthy weekday recipes.

that's all I can think of.

shanie5

Thu, Oct 20 2005, 11:21 pm

how about pages that wipe clean? you can tell my familes favorite recipes by how dirty the page is LOL

RivkaS

Sat, Oct 22 2005, 5:53 pm

sprial binding - an absolute must in a busy kitchen! Than you can just "fold" your cookbook into a corner and work, for something like this I am even ready to forgo pictures. For examples see Targum/Feldheim "The Plain and Simple Family Cookbook" there are others out there according to the same system, but that was just at hand.
Be'hazlacha
Rivka

lucky

Sat, Oct 22 2005, 8:46 pm

I second SPIRAL BINDING. They lay flat on the counter.

I usually add comments to recipes in my books. That way I remember details of how my family liked the food best. I also put an X next to recipes that flopped or family did not like.

Chanie

Mon, Oct 24 2005, 12:51 pm

I like when cookbooks give meal suggestions of what the side dish or main dish would go with to make a complete meal.
I also like when it says cooking time and how many servings

RivkaS

Tue, Oct 25 2005, 12:38 pm

Chanie wrote:

I like when cookbooks give meal suggestions of what the side dish or main dish would go with to make a complete meal.
I also like when it says cooking time and how many servings

dito and to add - but it is probably a horrible amount of work - how many calories are in one serving or in the whole dish.

momtomany

Sun, Oct 30 2005, 12:18 pm

something I would love to see but have never yet seen is:
a list of all utensils I'll need. a lot of times I cshoose a recipe based on whether or not I'll need to take out the mixer, and how many bowls I'll need to wash afterwards.

baby's mom

Sun, Oct 30 2005, 9:30 pm

good ideas, keep them coming Very Happy

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