Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

So I didn't see the last post, and I haven't read all the comments, but it's a topic that depends on the situation, imo. If it was a large group of people, I would ask again, because that does eat up a lot of one waitress's time. I dined at a nice little place with a friend a few months back, and it was my second time there (pretty sure the waiters recognized me). I had tipped well the first time, as it was a great experience, and the second time, my friend and I completely miscalculated the tip. My waiter came back around and asked us if everything was ok. It was a bit awkward, but I'm glad he did ask, because he deserved more than the $3 we had somehow managed to leave.

Go to www.tastebook.com - it is great!

I used tastebook.com as a gift for my bridesmaids, my mom and my MIL. I was able to upload my own photos and put stories in so I could "dedicate" a recipe to each of them. It was a HUGE hit and they all loved it.

I did have some issues with it though. I suggest putting all your recipes into word and then copy and pasting it - more than once I'd get done typing a recipe into tastebook and then it wouldn't save. I also couldn't figure out a way to change any recipes I downloaded from epicurious, so I ended up having to retype those. It also seems to encourage plagarism - I adapt a lot of recipes, so when I tried to put in "Adapted from Emeril Lagasse's. . ." (I wanted to give credit!) it would flag it for violating the terms of use, but if I took that line out I was fine.

I do love the finished product though!

Although I haven't made a recipe book yet, I have successfully used Word for similar projects. My one tip for those who decide to use Word is this: make sure you allocate adequate space in "Margins" for the vertical "gutter" that runs down the binding side of your pages, and select "Mirror Margins" if you plan to print on both sides of the paper. Otherwise, you could have your recipe butting right up against whatever your binding material is (spiral, comb, 3-ring, etc).

I put all of the recipes on a CD and put it in the back of the binder when I made my cookbook for my daughters. That way if a recipe gets damaged or comes up missing they can reprint it. And my oldest daughter made copies for her best friend whe she went out on her own.

Years ago my kid sister [now 58] put together something like that when I became a single parent. She typed and dot-matrixed printed them, put each page in a plastic sleeve and put them in a 3 ring binder. The plastic sleeves protect the pages in the kitchen and also from age a bit. I've added to it quite a bit over the years [the 3 rings] and when Sis' daughter grew up I sent her a copy.

I use a MAC and iPhoto, and am currently working on a cookbook for my kids. I can save PDFs to iPhoto and crop them as I please. I also like the fact that I can copy / scan recipes that I like from Julia Child and others, that are really not mine, but ones the family loves. iPhoto has book formats you can choose from, for a variety of looks and they can come hard-bound, spiral, or soft in different sizes. I like the fact that I can post a photo of my mom or mother-in-law in the kitchen, with a recipe on the opposite page. Last year I made Christmas Cards and a calendar using it, and the quality is excellent. After checking Blurb's pricing, I found iPhoto / Apple was comparable, if not cheaper.

I am doing something similar for my daughter who is getting married in October. I have been collecting recipes from all of our family members including a short story about the dish or who prepared it for what occasion or party, giving some history on the dish and the people who enjoyed it!

My plan is to print the recipes on recipe cards that will fit into a specially made recipe card holder that my daughter received as a gift. I have found several really neat recipe card options on Etsy.com. There are several artists that sell custom made stationery on that site that include cool food related graphics. So...that is my idea for the moment!

Thanks to all of the others for their ideas on Lulu.com and Blurb.com and Tastebook! Good luck on the project.

my favorite meatless dish is a veggie burger!

Any pasta dish with zucchini! Love it!

A new dish I just made up that I call creamy eggplant ziti, it is out of this world delicious. One everyone, even the eggplant haters kept going back for more of.

Veggie Pizza.

Meatless Lasagna with Ricotta and Parmesan cheeses, tomatoes, tomato paste, noodles, onion, green pepper, mushrooms and spices; a Caesar Salas and a glass of Chardonnay is my favorite meatless meal. garrettsambo@aol.com