Someone, help rearrange my brain. I'm a cheese lover having been raised on it since childhood. Lo and behold, married a Frenchman and ate more cheese in France that I never heard of growing up, but???......why can't I partake of Roquefort and Goat cheese. I am totally turned off on those two. What do I do to overcome this?
For one of my vegetarian friends I found a recipe that combined leeks, cabbage and diced potatoes all of which were cooked in water (can use chicken stock with the right company) and then added a bunch of dill. Never thought the taste would be so good. Also added lots of butter. surrah@optonline.net
You never know. From the mouth of babes. I sure would like to take a peek. surrah@optonline.net
Get a recipe for pickled green tomatoes. If you like sour pickles (Jewish style) you'll love pickled green tomatoes. You can see them in the supermarket. Check the ingredients; that will give you an idea of what makes them pickled or get yourself to the library and find a cook book with instructions. It's as easy as pie and probably easier. Or get on the internet; they'll find you a recipe for sure. I got a great recipe for french cornichons. I grew them in my garden when my French husband brought back the seeds from France one year. They were great. surrah@optonline.net
Shame Shame all you spoil sports. I had my hopes for Aaron right from the start; I knew as soon as he eased up he'd make it. (Trust me, I have a white face, never mind all this racist nonsense). I know Lisa is good but she has to get over trying to impress with her "haricot verts". Thanks for the French lesson, we now know it's just ordinary string beans. I wish you well. Get a new look - stop squinting, your eyes are beautiful; we want to see them. Be real. Aaron, good luck and as we say in French (Bon chance). See I know some French, that's 50 years of life with a Frenchman. surrah@optonline.net
The best cheesecake I ever made was a recipe from a Hadassah cookbook and it was made with cottage cheese and sour cream (I decided I would put the cottage cheese in the blender so it would be smooth. Added all other ingredients and poured it into a cookie dough crust. The concensus of opinion from all who tasted it found it fantastic and it was. Smooth, silky and who cares if there's a little crack in the top.
If anyone wants the recipe I'll send it on.
surrah@optonline.net
Shirl says, make a sponge cake. That'll take up at least 8 to ten. My husband used to pour some rum on the finished product. I just put whipped cream on the slices or some ice cream. Go for it. You'll love it. Good luck. Shirley
Thank you all for your comments. I loved that you took the time to answer me. But I have decided tht the "cheese police" can do what they want. I'm going to stick to the ones I like and there are plenty of those. I'll just have another puff pastry with whipped cream instead.
Now tell me why I make the greatest mussels this side of France (the only compliment I ever got from my french spouse) but yet I will not eat them and he loved them and so did my two sons. I guess there's a reason I'm a little weird. My late husband always turned his head when I ate "gefilte fish" but I thought it was great and I'm sure there must be a french version of this item. So who knows what turns one on and what turns one off. Thanks again for clearing things up for me. Shirl
@cooked7, keep in mind that the book you want to write and the book that will sell may be two completely different things. If you manage to get a publisher interested in you, the publisher may ask you to do something vastly different than what you're envisioning now, because they know their markets, and they are going to want you to write for the market. If you want to do that, it's fine, but it may not be even close to what you're planning on writing. If you aren't interested in changing your book to fit what a publisher asks for, you can always self-publish, but that isn't going to get you into Barnes & Noble.
What you're talking about sounds sort of interesting, but there's also a huge "so what?" factor. If you're a brilliant writer and the stories are interesting and the recipes are show-stoppers, you might get some media attention and it might sell. But if it's less interesting than that, a lot of people won't care about a 15-year-old's "story" unless there's more to it than you've hinted at. If you happen to be someone famous, or you have some amazing stories, this could work. If it's just about the cooking, it might not be enough.
Of course, a publisher might take a look at it and think it's perfect and publish it exactly the way you want it. Things like that happen now and then. However, rejection happens much more often.
I would have to see the cookbook before I say for certain, but there are three things that make me disinclined:
1) Very few recipes. These days, unless it is a booklet or has some very specific theme (ice cream, or cupcakes, or muffins, or sandwiches) I don't think a cookbook with only 68 recipes would be very successful.
2) Too often cookbooks by or for younger persons seem to be focused on the kinds of food they enjoy. I may or may not like that kind of food. If I want a focused cookbook (beautiful basics, or vegan) there are usually cookbooks with a broader range of recipes that I will investigate. Also, if written for beginners or younger cooks, I find that it's not a basic cookbook that I need.
3) Unless the recipes build on each other, I probably won't be interested. If you show a technique in the "homey" section (such as, how to make a white sauce that turns into mac-n-cheese) that then is the basis for something in the more elegant section (souffle), that could be useful. But saying "a beginner cook needs to know mac-n-cheese and meatloaf, and for entertaining you need to know beel Wellington and three-layer vegetable pate" - where's the link? Why should I get THIS cookbook over all the others that tell me how to make these things?
I agree that the age focus could be a problem for a lot of people. It could limit the audience even if you don't think it should be. Books that focus on beginning cooks, new cooks, people on their own for the first time, seem to be more successful angles for the type of book you're describing.
You might want to check out Simple to Spectacular, a collaboration between Mark Bittman and Jean George Vongerichten. They took the theme of starting from a simple dish and building up into increasingly complex, restaurant-style dishes. It's a very interesting book, but your idea, with its personal aspect, is still quite distinct.
Just a thanks, I followed the advice of many who suggested roasting the tomatoes (I'd already "ripened" them to a red state). I'd done this before with Romas but not this variety ("standard supermarket" is the best description I can give). Cut into large wedges, tossed in extra virgin olive oil and kosher salt and roasted for about 1 1/2 hours at 300F. We also roasted some garlic until sweet and then tossed both with angel hair pasta and served with parmigiano reggiano. Absolutely fabulous. Talk about turning a sow's ear into a silk purse.
I actually think that would be interesting, now that you've described it differently--going from the simpler to more complex and showing what you learned along the way about cooking/life gives the book more structure. But definitely with the 'entertaining' inserts, or about parties you threw/would throw--I think even on this board there was a thread about teen Halloween parties and the lack of party food/entertaining ideas that filled the gap between the 'cup of pudding dirt and gummi worms' crowd and the 'stiff Bloody Mary' crowd.
I agree with LiveToEat, this would be a great gift to inspire someone in a similar situation and age group. I would probably read it too.
Hillary
Chew on That
IF the stories from your life are a key aspect, then you need to make damn sure that the writing is great. Have you considered trying to get some more writing experience via blogging? It's free and a great way to build an audience and a voice.
@heartofglass- I guess I failed to explain clearly that this is my story the recipies in this book gradually grow out of homey style food into more elegant and gourmet foods. Each recipe is incoporated with stories from my life (how it came about and my thoughts ect.) And thanks for the great Idea I just might have to incorporate some entertaining skills in it!
I don't think I'd buy it. There are plenty of Essentials/ Basics cookbooks out there already that were written by folks with a lot more experience than a 15 year old, and many are written in language that is clear to both adults and teens.
This doesn't mean you shouldn't write a book, though. Think about changing your focus a bit. And whatever you write, if you feel it is worthwhile, see if you can get a publisher interested.
Although this may be targeted for young cooks, I think that all cooks could learn from a cookbook that offered reasoning for technique and ingredients. I pass many cookbooks because I'm annoyed that I don't understand why the instructions ask you do something or put in a particular ingredient. If, I am at Barnes and Noble, browsing through the cookbooks and I open one up and it gives me an innovative recipe with reasoning behind it, I am likely to buy it.
I think the market is in need of more cookbooks like these and I encourage you to publish.
Best of luck!
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