http://cookbooker.com/test-dir/forum/discussions/p7/feed.rss Mon, 07 Apr 25 11:03:32 -0400 All Discussions - Cookbooker Forums en-CA http://cookbooker.com/test-dir/forum/discussion/9/future-challenges Sat, 18 Sep 2010 22:24:03 -0400 andrew 9@/test-dir/forum/discussions
Currently, our challenge is Vij's: Elegant & Inspired Indian Cuisine. I'm a big fan of the restaurant, the book and of the publisher and I'm hoping we can get some reviews in for this excellent book.

Our next challenge will be in late October or early November and is slated to be a new cookbook "High Flavor, Low Labor" by J.M. Hirsch.

After that, we're open for suggestions. Ideally books which lots of our members own. In a previous thread some members suggested Ina Garten, and I'd be delighted to do a Garten cookbook or an all round Gartenfest for the holiday season. Then we do need to tackle a vegetarian cookbook. One suggestion was Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, though given his output and popularity, I think we could probably hold a Bittmanfest too! ]]> http://cookbooker.com/test-dir/forum/discussion/46/new-features-for-recipes Tue, 17 May 2011 12:26:03 -0400 andrew 46@/test-dir/forum/discussions
1. Ingredients. Now any member can add and edit ingredients for any recipe on Cookbooker. Right now, they are all blank, but as people add ingredients we will build up another useful tool for everyone. For myself, I know that for some of my favorite recipes if I just have a list of ingredients I can put the recipe together without having to go back to the cookbook itself, so I'm going to be entering the ingredients for those. This will be searchable eventually, but since there are no ingredients yet, there's no sense in putting this into search.

Example: http://www.cookbooker.com/recipe/14481/coconut-oil-roasted-sweet-potatoes?view=ingredients

Extra feature: every member has a private substitutions/instructions box under the ingredients list. You can put directions in here which will be visible only to you. What does this mean? Well, you could combine the ingredients list and directions to store your favorite recipes on Cookbooker. We will keep the substitutions/instruction box private to protect the copyright of the recipes.

2. Links. Are there versions of a recipe online, blog posts about them or news articles? Here's where you can post links.

3. Chatter. Do you have a question or comment about a recipe which isn't suitable for your actual recipe review? Put it here.

Bugs: as usual, with a new feature there may be bugs I haven't noticed in my testing. Please let me know either here or by email (click 'contact us' on any page) if you discover one.

Going forward:

Upcoming features related to this will be the ability to comment on an existing recipe review as well as a better way to keep track of activity in the cookbooks, magazines and websites you own, and members you have friended. In addition, we'll be adding the ability to create your own custom cookbook and enter your own recipes in it, either privately or shared with the rest of cookbooker. This last item may be part of a group of features available for a modest fee as we move cautiously into a 'freemium' model for Cookbooker. ]]> http://cookbooker.com/test-dir/forum/discussion/54/new-challenge-summer-grilling Thu, 14 Jul 2011 15:13:21 -0400 andrew 54@/test-dir/forum/discussions
As it says in the details, we're looking for recipes cooked on the grill and related outdoors cooking methods - so whether you are using a dutch oven on briquettes or the coals of a fire, cooking on the BBQ or roasting a pig on a spit, if you tag your recipe review with 'grilling' you'll be in the challenge.

We're offering a choice from three summer cookbooks as prizes, so check out the details at www.cookbooker.com/challenge and get cooking! You have until August 21st.]]> http://cookbooker.com/test-dir/forum/discussion/47/search-engines-and-recipes-nyt-article Wed, 18 May 2011 11:19:04 -0400 Queezle Sister 47@/test-dir/forum/discussions here.

Someone should write the NTY a letter telling them about the awesomeness of cookbooker - instead they end up plugging "eat your books" - a pay-for service that doesn't seem nearly as good as this site!

Do you use google searchers to find recipes? ]]> http://cookbooker.com/test-dir/forum/discussion/53/new-feature-recipe-tags Sun, 03 Jul 2011 13:32:52 -0400 andrew 53@/test-dir/forum/discussions
Right now the tags are connected to your individual recipe reviews, enabling people to add and edit their own tags. So you can't tag a recipe you are indexing. But otherwise, go crazy! Tags will show up on each recipe page right under the photo of the recipe.

We'll be using this for the new challenge, summer grilling, so people can tag recipes from all over the place (cookbooks, magazines, websites) and have them show up in the challenge. This will start after the holiday weekend, but if you're doing some grilling this weekend, keep some notes and you can go back and tag the recipes with our challenge tag later. ]]> http://cookbooker.com/test-dir/forum/discussion/55/amazon.com-summer-ebook-sale Thu, 21 Jul 2011 21:08:44 -0400 Jayme 55@/test-dir/forum/discussions
http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/ref=amb_link_356944782_1?ie=UTF8&docId=1000705681&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=top-1&pf_rd_r=0CPWJEZRD3DR7HT5HY93&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1309944182&pf_rd_i=3074452011


]]> http://cookbooker.com/test-dir/forum/discussion/44/baking-powder Wed, 04 May 2011 13:53:29 -0400 Queezle Sister 44@/test-dir/forum/discussions
My beautiful looking scones had a bad baking powder flavor (http://www.cookbooker.com/recipe/15676/oat-and-maple-syrup-scones). Having now done some googling, I'm wondering whether the recipe's baking powder+flour to liquid ratio was off. 1T BP plus 2 3/4 C flour with only 1/2 C liquid (1/4 C maple syrup and 1/4 C milk). Was there too little liquid to properly activate the baking powder? I also just opened a different brand of baking powder than I've used before (ARGO). Baking experts out there - any thoughts on this?]]> http://cookbooker.com/test-dir/forum/discussion/16/podcast-interview-with-harold-mcgee Sat, 30 Oct 2010 10:22:06 -0400 aj12754 16@/test-dir/forum/discussions
I know I'll be tossing out my cheapo instant-read thermometer after listening to it.

http://www.npr.org/templates/rundowns/rundown.php?prgId=13&prgDate=10-21-2010]]> http://cookbooker.com/test-dir/forum/discussion/28/polenta-advice Mon, 03 Jan 2011 22:12:14 -0500 andrew 28@/test-dir/forum/discussions
I've spread it on a sheet pan to cool and I'm going to try roasting it tomorrow, or doing the polenta hash. Hope springs eternal...]]> http://cookbooker.com/test-dir/forum/discussion/32/new-feature-cover-uploads Sat, 29 Jan 2011 19:15:24 -0500 andrew 32@/test-dir/forum/discussions
Now you can add cover images to any cookbook or magazine issue on the site. Look for the little add or view cover(s) link on the left menu, under the Title/Author information. You can upload a picture from your computer, or paste in a link to an image online. As far as we can figure, taking photos, scans or grabbing covers from the web (I've used Google image search quite successfully in the past), should fall under fair use since we're both commenting on the works and trying to sell them. There's a little warning on the page, just in case.

We take GIF, JPG and PNG files, up to 1MB in size.

If there is more than one cover uploaded, you can even choose one to be your default cover, to better reflect the cover on the copy of the book or magazine you own.

We've also set up a connection to LibraryThing, who generously offer access to scans of covers made by their users. When you add new books without Amazon covers (we get most of the images on the site through Amazon at the moment), Cookbooker will quickly check LibraryThing and import a cover if it can find one. This check will also happen when you visit the title page of a book that's already been added to Cookbooker but has no cover.

As ever, this is a new feature, and could have some bugs. Please let me know if you discover them. If you are pasting an image URL, be sure there are no mistakes in the link, or you'll get an error message. ]]> http://cookbooker.com/test-dir/forum/discussion/51/favorite-summer-time-meals Thu, 16 Jun 2011 16:08:57 -0400 BethNH 51@/test-dir/forum/discussions
What do you like to eat for dinner in the summer?]]> http://cookbooker.com/test-dir/forum/discussion/50/new-feature-recent-activity-stream Thu, 16 Jun 2011 14:10:02 -0400 andrew 50@/test-dir/forum/discussions
It seemed to me to be necessary now, so that comments won't be missed. I may also set up a notification system for comments on your reviews.

Let me know how it's working for you. You get six recent comments and can click through to read the last 100 (when there are 100 available). You won't see anything if nobody has reviewed from your bookshelf, if you have no titles in your bookshelf, and if you have nobody in your friends list (currently titled 'favorite users', but it will be changing to 'friends' and be overhauled to look better in the near future).

]]> http://cookbooker.com/test-dir/forum/discussion/11/how-do-you-store-and-organise-your-herbs-and-spices Fri, 01 Oct 2010 14:49:47 -0400 friederike 11@/test-dir/forum/discussions How do you store you herbs and spices? What makes you find what you need quickly?]]> http://cookbooker.com/test-dir/forum/discussion/38/substitutions Wed, 30 Mar 2011 16:32:16 -0400 friederike 38@/test-dir/forum/discussions http://cookbooker.com/test-dir/forum/discussion/48/bug-fixed-with-useful-voting Fri, 20 May 2011 08:56:40 -0400 andrew 48@/test-dir/forum/discussions
Sorry if this causes any confusion or angst!]]> http://cookbooker.com/test-dir/forum/discussion/40/aprilmay-2011-challenge-smitten-kitchen Tue, 12 Apr 2011 20:42:28 -0400 andrew 40@/test-dir/forum/discussions http://www.etsy.com/shop/summerpierre?section_id=7949150).

Get cooking!]]> http://cookbooker.com/test-dir/forum/discussion/45/recommended-websites Thu, 12 May 2011 16:10:48 -0400 friederike 45@/test-dir/forum/discussions http://www.foodpairing.be/. Love it!

PS: Andrew, what about another catergory for posts, something like 'other' or 'random' - would that be easy to do? None of the existing categories really fits this post...]]> http://cookbooker.com/test-dir/forum/discussion/42/white-asparagus Wed, 27 Apr 2011 12:33:04 -0400 Queezle Sister 42@/test-dir/forum/discussions Any advice is welcome!]]> http://cookbooker.com/test-dir/forum/discussion/41/recipe-notebooks Thu, 14 Apr 2011 08:32:40 -0400 lagoldberg8397 41@/test-dir/forum/discussions http://cookbooker.com/test-dir/forum/discussion/36/modernist-cuisine Sat, 12 Mar 2011 17:47:29 -0500 andrew 36@/test-dir/forum/discussions
The book's website has a lot of information: http://modernistcuisine.com/

It's here on Amazon (with a couple of months shipping delay as the 6,000 copies they initially printed have apparently sold out and they're trying to decide whether to print 20,000 or 25,000 for the second printing!): Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking

There's a great Q&A with the team on the food forum eGullet: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?/topic/137271-qa-with-the-modernist-cuisine-team/page__fromsearch__1]]> http://cookbooker.com/test-dir/forum/discussion/34/newest-challenge-the-moosewood-cookbook Sun, 13 Feb 2011 22:04:03 -0500 andrew 34@/test-dir/forum/discussions Moosewood Cookbook Challenge. It's going to last for five weeks, and I'm hopeful we'll see a treasure-trove of new reviews from members old and new. Because we have six different editions of the cookbook on the site, we'll be accepting reviews from any of the books, including The New Moosewood Cookbook.

Long-time members will notice a few changes: first, we're starting the clock from today, so the challenge statistics will only show reviews contributed from today onwards; older reviews will not count towards prize eligibility. Second, we're going to try out a weighted random draw for prizes; each review gets you one ballot towards a prize. We'll also limit winners to two prizes per calendar year. There will be three prizes; winners can choose another one of Molly Katzen's more recent cookbooks.

Also, we'll recognize the top reviewers with our kudos, whether they win an award or not.

This thread is here for challenge-related chatter. Let me know if there are any bugs, and also how you're doing with the book. I'm going to dig into it a bit further, as although my wife and I have a good half-dozen or so favorites from Moosewood, there are lots of recipes we've not yet tackled. ]]> http://cookbooker.com/test-dir/forum/discussion/37/great-cookbook-cake-posters Fri, 25 Mar 2011 11:55:02 -0400 andrew 37@/test-dir/forum/discussions http://www.etsy.com/shop/summerpierre?section_id=7949150

I am strongly considering this one: http://www.etsy.com/listing/69635618/cookbooker-poster - the name alone does it for me, but I do like the style too!

Maybe these would make good challenge prizes too...]]> http://cookbooker.com/test-dir/forum/discussion/39/sign-in-time Thu, 31 Mar 2011 16:00:37 -0400 andrew 39@/test-dir/forum/discussions http://cookbooker.com/test-dir/forum/discussion/27/how-do-you-rate-recipes Sun, 02 Jan 2011 08:24:37 -0500 friederike 27@/test-dir/forum/discussions
Sometimes I find it hard to give a rating that is fair. What do you do, for example, with a recipe you think has a lot of potential if only one little aspect of it were tweaked? Or, what if you have a very simple dish that produced excellent results? Last week, for example, I made Stir-fried Snow Peas with Garlic, and although I really think that it's a great dish, something in me keeps whispering: "But what do you do with a more complicated recipe? Isn't it too easy to give five stars for such an easy recipe? Wouldn't a complicated dish be more deserving?"]]> http://cookbooker.com/test-dir/forum/discussion/29/user-name Mon, 10 Jan 2011 08:25:13 -0500 southerncooker 29@/test-dir/forum/discussions http://cookbooker.com/test-dir/forum/discussion/31/cabbage-club-cooking-with-winter-vegetables-and-the-new-york-times Sun, 23 Jan 2011 21:44:40 -0500 andrew 31@/test-dir/forum/discussions http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/12/dining/12vege.html?ref=dining - My wife and I got excited, as we've resolved to eat more seasonally, and have already been exploring greens like kale and cabbage. I'd recently made a couple of nice cabbage soups from Epicurious, and so I happily plunged into the featured recipe, Bess Feigenbaum's Cabbage Soup.

Ironically, I didn't check my own site for reviews before going ahead. If I had, @aj12754 would have informed me that I was in for a big disappointment. You can see the results here: http://www.cookbooker.com/recipe/12785/bess-feigenbaums-cabbage-soup

I'm still interested in charging onwards, however, and doing more cabbage from the Times and elsewhere. Anyone want to join me in cooking things cabbagy and wintry? I've currently got an oxtail stew cooking away in the oven (I'm doing it a day in advance to let the flavours combine) with a recipe from Jennifer McLagan's 'Bones' and the wonderful smell is banishing the sense of failure that was lingering in the kitchen after dinner (I actually feel a bit depressed after a recipe turns out to be a dud).

In the 'Recipes for Health' section of the TImes, there's a huge trove of cabbage recipes: http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/health/series/recipes_for_health/cabbage/index.html, and I'm intrigued by the cabbage and caramelized onion tart, for one. Also, my wife really wants to try this Andean stew with butternut squash and quinoa: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/06/health/nutrition/06recipehealth.html

Anyone else?]]> http://cookbooker.com/test-dir/forum/discussion/35/looking-for-easy-romantic-dessert Mon, 21 Feb 2011 10:15:30 -0500 BethNH 35@/test-dir/forum/discussions
Any ideas?]]> http://cookbooker.com/test-dir/forum/discussion/22/newest-challenge-the-zuni-cafe-cookbook Tue, 07 Dec 2010 11:04:54 -0500 andrew 22@/test-dir/forum/discussions http://cookbooker.com/test-dir/forum/discussion/12/what-im-working-on Wed, 06 Oct 2010 17:13:24 -0400 andrew 12@/test-dir/forum/discussions
October 2010
Tags. Currently changing the default Bookshelf view to show tags associated with a member's books. Also making it easy to add tags to books. After this is working, I'll be adding tags to recipes. Then updating the search so that it's easy to search or filter by tags. Finally, when that's all working, I'll be looking at the best way to add ingredient lists to each recipe, which I think would be very useful to have.
]]> http://cookbooker.com/test-dir/forum/discussion/25/ad-hoc-question Mon, 27 Dec 2010 22:27:28 -0500 bhnyc 25@/test-dir/forum/discussions If you have the Ad Hoc cookbook could you help me out please? I would like to make the pork loin stuffed with figs for New Years. Do you think I can use dried figs instead of fresh?
Curious too- what are you cooking for New Years? I look forward to reading all of your reviews after you have cooked. Have a good one!]]>