What do you like best in a cookbook?

[John Atkinson]

Originally Posted by Ferd

My wife would tell you pictures. She hates cookbooks that dont show you what the food should look like.

for me the absolute worst thing is an index that isnt user friendly.

I have a cookbook at home that came from my home church. These ladies are some of the best cooks and there are some things in there that I just love, but the people who put the index together need to spend six weeks in time out.

It is just aweful!

Thank God they have done more recent ones with good indexes..


Make sure the index and the table of contents is user friendly. Make sure the book is organized in a logical manner.

Yeah, those thiings are key. picture are nice but not necessary.

Oh, and I like em electronically in IPHONE readable format!

I put it in a ziploc bag to keep the spaghetti sauce out of the peaker

[rgcraig]

Originally Posted by Esther

The company we are going with does a LOT of church cookbooks. I will look at the sample and see how the index looks.

Thanks for pointing that out.

Those are the ones that usually don't do a realy good job of indexing.

[Esther]

Originally Posted by rgcraig

Those are the ones that usually don't do a realy good job of indexing.

They have them listed Alpha by catergory.

How would you do it differently?

[Esther]

Originally Posted by rgcraig

The question was "what do you like best in a cookbook?"

lol Yes, but what kind of samples are you asking for?

Something cooked from the book?

Don't let Timmay tempt you with a scratch and sniff. lol

[rgcraig]

Originally Posted by Esther

lol Yes, but what kind of samples are you asking for?

Something cooked from the book?

Don't let Timmay tempt you with a scratch and sniff. lol

Yes, it was just a joke.

[RandyWayne]

What do I like in (or on) a cookbook?

A picture of Nigella Lawson (chef, Iron Chef America judge, Food Network host) on the cover!



http://www.foodnetwork.com/nigella-feasts/index.html

[Blubayou]

I love church cookbooks, because the recipes usually are easy, practical and have ingredients that are easy to find. A couple of suggestions- index is a must- try an list of contents for each section at the beginning of the section, also try having the recipes in alpha order within the section. Have a variety of recipes- recipes for holidays, recipes for entertaining, recipes for a crowd, quick and easy recipes, recipes that have 5 or fewer ingredients, and basic recipes, crockpot recipes, casserole recipes. When I was a new cook, I needed to know how to make steak and gravy, or how to cook fresh mustard greens. Hope this helps.

[Timmy]

Ah! Here's one: an indication of whether it would be a sin to eat it. It may not always be obvious from the ingredients list. Who knows, maybe something in the list contains blood, or meat offered to idols, or meat from a strangled animal. Or shellfish (in case you don't believe the OT laws were really repealed).

[Timmy]

Oh, and if there's alcohol in it, a chart showing how many servings would be sinful, based on body weight.

[commonsense]

I own several church cookbooks and they usually have good selections .

The downside------poor directions; no oven temperature; incomplete list of ingredients---------these are the issues I've seen multiple times.

Have a good proof reader and add some pictures or clever church stories.