The Family Cookbook Project

Category: FamilyCookbookProject.com

  • Using Custom Recipe Layouts in a Family Cookbook Project

    One of the things that we are most proud of at FamilyCookbookProject.com is the ability to give complete control of every aspect of making a cookbook to the project’s editor. We provide professionally designed options that are perfect for most people, but some have visions of something different.

    We have already covered creating custom categories and custom cookbook cover or recipe category dividers. This article will cover creating a custom cookbook recipe layouts.

    FamilyCookbookProject.com currently offers 19 pre-set recipe layouts that set three aspects of your recipes that are perfect for most editors:

    • Font type
    • Font size
    • Number of columns for ingredients

    However if you want something different, that is where custom Layouts come in. You can control each section independently – title, contributor name, ingredients, directions and personal notes.

    In addition to the font type, size and columns above, you also can control:

    • Bold text
    • Italic text
    • Justification of text
    • Label of the Comments Field

    This option is not for someone who does not have strong computer skills, but it can be very effective in displaying your recipes exactly how you wish them displayed.

     

     

    Bill Rice is founder and Co-Publisher of the Great Family Cookbook Project, a website that helps families and individuals collect and share food memories through customized printed cookbooks filled with treasured recipes. Follow us on Facebook and Pinterest!

  • Customizing your Family Cookbook Cover

    One of the things that we are most proud of at FamilyCookbookProject.com is the ability to give complete control of every aspect of making a cookbook to the project’s editor. We provide professionally designed options that are perfect for most people, but some have visions of something different.

    Our last article was about creating custom categories. This article will cover creating a custom cookbook cover or recipe category dividers.

    A custom cookbook cover was the third most popular cover option last year. Some people simply have a white cover with a photo, others with graphic design skills create beautiful designs to personalize  their cookbook. Creativity knows no limit with Family Cookbook Project.

    • When creating a custom cover or divider, here are the specifications to use:
    • Images MUST be in JPG format to be used in your cookbook. GIFs and BMPs will not import correctly.
    • Your images should be 150-300dpi resolution – or they may seem pixilated in printing.
    • Full page with Bleed Custom Covers and Dividers must be sized at 6″x9″ with 4.75″x7.75″ active content or 1800 x 2700 pixels.
    • Full page non-bleed Dividers and other images must be sized at 5.5″x8.5″ with 4.75″x7.75″ active content or 1650 x 2550 pixels.
    • Also, do NOT upload files of the following type — they will not work: .doc, .pps, .ppt, .txt, .htm

    If you wanted to have a special photo on your cover, we suggest to use a page layout program or even a word processing program like Microsoft Word and design the page exactly the way you want it and save it as an image using the guidelines above. Then you can simply upload the image to the FamilyCookbookProject.com site and your custom cover is complete.

     

     

    ill Rice is founder and Co-Publisher of the Great Family Cookbook Project, a website that helps families and individuals collect and share food memories through customized printed cookbooks filled with treasured recipes. Follow us on Facebook and Pinterest!

  • Customizing Your Family Cookbook Recipe Categories

    One of the things that we are most proud of at FamilyCookbookProject.com is the ability to give complete control of every aspect of making a cookbook to the project’s editor. We provide professionally designed options that are perfect for most people, but some have visions of something different.

    One of the things that you can customize went creating your family cookbook project is your recipe categories.  We provide 8 basic recipe categories that organize your recipes into types of meal.

    • Appetizers & Beverages
    • Bread and Muffins
    • Soups, Stews, Salads and Sauces
    • Main Courses: Beef, Pork and Lamb
    • Main Courses: Seafood, Poultry, Pasta and Casseroles
    • Vegetables and Vegetarian Dishes
    • Desserts, Pies, Cakes and Cookies
    • Miscellaneous

    By using our custom category tool, you can add different categories or change them altogether. For example, if you wanted to create a dessert cookbook, the categories would all be dessert related. We’ve also seen people organize their recipe sections by family member.

    You can also create sub-categories or categories within categories. In my personal cookbook I have a category for Seafood and then I have added subcategories for Clams, Fish, Oysters, Crab and Shrimp. This way, if I need a shrimp recipe, they are all grouped together.

    You can create your own Custom Categories and sub-Categories by going to the Recipe Center on your Editor’s Homepage.  Then click on Category Add/edit.   Once you add your new categories, you’ll see a sort field – simply number them as you’d like them arranged and Save.

    One note, if you use both our default categories and your own custom categories, ours will come first, then yours in the order you set.  If you want full control, create all your own categories and set the selection to “Use ONLY your own custom categories” .

    If you need to move recipes, there is a bulk move tool at the bottom of the Category Section Editor.

     

    Bill Rice is founder and Co-Publisher of the Great Family Cookbook Project, a website that helps families and individuals collect and share food memories through customized printed cookbooks filled with treasured recipes. Follow us on Facebook and Pinterest!l

  • Target Temperatures for Grilling Meats and Chicken

    For a long time, judging if meat was cooked to our liking was judged by look and feel, an uncertain art at best, it is actually pretty easy to get great results all the time when you use an instant-read thermometer. A thermometer is the only reliable way to measure internal temperature.

    When grilling or baking meat and chicken, it is important to let the meat rest before cutting into it and serving.  If given the time to rest the meat will lose less juice when you cut it and when you eat it the meat will be juicier and tastier. Steaks or chops should stand for 5 minutes before serving while other thicker cuts should be longer. Remember that the meat with continue to cook even after being taken off the grill or out of the oven. Include that fact in your calculation of when to take the food from the heat.

    Rely on the thermometer for doneness, and save your creativity for seasoning and presentation.

    USDA Safe Minimum Family Cookbook Project Sugests
    Chicken & Turkey
    Whole or parts 165 165 breast 165-175 thigh
    Beef & Lamb
    Rare 125 + 3 minute rest
    Medium rare 130-135
    Medium 135-140
    Medium well 145 + 3 minute rest 140-150
    Well done 155+
    Ground 160 160
    Pork
    Medium rare 145 + 3 minute rest 145 + 3 minute rest
    Medium 150
    Well done 160
    Ground 160 160

     

     

    Bill Rice is founder and Co-Publisher of the Great Family Cookbook Project, a website that helps families and individuals collect and share food memories through customized printed cookbooks filled with treasured recipes. Follow us on Facebook and Pinterest! Also check out our BBQ Recipes Facebook Group and Family BBQ and Grilling Recipes Pinterest board.

     

  • How To Share Your Family Cookbook Recipes

    One of the real benefits of collecting all of your recipes in your online cookbook on FamilyCookbookProject.com is to be able to share them very easily with friends and family.

    Say you have friends over and they really like your split pea soup and want the recipe. All you need to do is go to your cookbook account either on your desktop computer or even on your mobile Mobile phone or tablet and pull up the recipe.  Now all you have to do is choose how you want to give it to him.

    Email – In the upper right hand corner, you’ll see a box marked email a recipe. Enter your friends email here and send them your recipe. It’s that easy!

    Posted on Facebook – Wow your friend might like your recipe, so will other friends. You can select the Facebook icon and post your recipe to your Facebook page to be seen by call your friends. Especially if you’ve been adding photos to your recipes, your posts will really stand out and be appreciated by lots of your friends and family.

    Posted on Pinterest – Here’s another way to share your recipes if they have photos attached. Pinterest was built around sharing photos and when you share one of your recipes on this social media platform, the photo becomes the pin and people who click on it will see your recipe.

    Print your recipe – If your friend simply wants a printed copy of your recipe, it is easy to select the print icon and simply print them a copy and give it to them.

    You also might want to suggest to your friends that they create their own family cookbook account so they can share their recipes as well!

     

    Bill Rice is founder and Co-Publisher of the Great Family Cookbook Project, a website that helps families and individuals collect and share food memories through customized printed cookbooks filled with treasured recipes. Follow us on Facebook and Pinterest!

  • 8 New Recipe Card Themed Covers Added to Family Cookbook Project Design Center

    At Family Cookbook Project, we are always trying to improve our offerings to our members. We have a lot of requests about using recipe cards in cookbooks and that got us thinking about recipe card themed cookbook covers. So we are please to announce eight new pre-designed cookbook covers that you can choose when designing your own personal cookbook.

     

    All of these new cookbook covers options are now available and can be found in the new Recipe Card Covers section of the Cookbook Cover Design Center.

     

    Bill Rice is founder and Co-Publisher of the Great Family Cookbook Project, a website that helps families and individuals collect and share food memories through customized printed cookbooks filled with treasured recipes. Follow us on Facebook and Pinterest!

  • Stuck inside? Now is the time to add recipes to our family cookbook!

    We at Family Cookbook Project know that the Corona virus is a health concern for everyone. Dealing with our current pandemic is no fun for anyone. Specially with so many people now out of work and having to shelter in place, unable to keep up with their busy lifestyles.

    If you are looking for something interesting to do while you are stuck home, consider adding a few new recipes to your family cookbook.

    Adding a recipes is as easy as filling out a short form on our cookbook’s website. If you cook the dish, you can also take a photo of your food and add it to your recipe.

    The other idea to try while you are shut in is to cook one of the fabulous dishes that have already been added to our cookbook. If you like what you try, please add to the story at the bottom of the recipe and let others know what your thought.

    You can also use Family Cookbook Project’s communication tool to reach out to your contributors and suggest they use this free time to submit recipes. Go to the Communication Center in your Editor’s Account and click on the “Contact existing contributors” link. Here you can select the people you want to receive the email and send them as message. Use the text below to populate the message field and then modify for your own personal use.

    Subject: Stuck inside? Now is the time to add recipes to our family cookbook!

    We know that the Corona virus is a health concern for everyone. Dealing with our current pandemic is no fun for anyone. Specially with so many people now out of work and having to shelter in place, unable to keep up with their busy lifestyles.

    If you are looking for something interesting to do while you are stuck home, consider adding a few new recipes to our family cookbook COOKBOOK TITLE. Adding a recipes is as easy as filling out a short form on our cookbook’s website. If you cook the disk, you can also take a photo of your food and add it to your recipe.

    Your personal log in instructions are at the bottom of this email.

    The other idea to try while you are shut in is to cook one of the fabulous dishes that have already been added to our cookbook. If you like what you try, please add to the story at the bottom of the recipe and let others know what your thought.

    While the impact of this pandemic will be hard on many people, it does give us an opportunity to get caught up on many things that we have not had the time to do in our busy lives.

     

    Bill Rice is founder and Co-Publisher of the Great Family Cookbook Project, a website that helps families and individuals collect and share food memories through customized printed cookbooks filled with treasured recipes. Follow us on Facebook and Pinterest!

  • How Many Recipes Should My Cookbook Have?

    One question every cookbook editor wants to know is how many recipes should my cookbook have? Too many and printing costs are higher, not enough and the cookbook is not as valuable. What’s a family cookbook editor to do?

    Looking at the thousands of cookbooks we have printed over the past decade, there is no real number of recipes that make up a good cookbook – you have what you have. We have printed cookbooks with just 15 great recipes and as many as 1200! However, that 1200 recipe book was 750 pages – HUGE!

    The average size seems to be around 150 recipes and that is why we use that number in our cost calculator.

    When a great cookbook has less recipes, often the editor includes other content to augment the food offerings. Photos of each dish, a section of family photos, a family tree or family stories about people remembered can really add value to a smaller cookbook.

    Larger cookbooks can be impressive simply by the number of recipes it contains. However, since printing cost is directly related to the number of pages that need to be printed, it is important to be mindful of your design choices when choosing your layout options.

    At the end of the day, your cookbook is exactly that – your cookbook. You need to balance the number and quality of the recipes included with the needs of your family.

     

    Bill Rice is founder and Co-Publisher of the Great Family Cookbook Project, a website that helps families and individuals collect and share food memories through customized printed cookbooks filled with treasured recipes. Follow us on Facebook and Pinterest!

  • Anatomy of a Great Recipe

    One of the keys to a great family cookbook is to have great recipes that your family and friends have come to love. Here are some simple tips to help you capture the magic of the food you make.

    1. Use catchy titles. Using a catchy title will make your recipe sound more interesting. It is more interesting to people when they see the title “Gooey Triple Chocolate Cake” rather than just “Chocolate Cake”. When you are writing a title for a recipe, try to think of not only what the final dish will be, but what makes it special as well.

    2. Include photos. Using images in your recipes can allow the person reading your cookbook to see what the final dish will look like and give then a guidepost to follow. Next time you make one of your special dishes, snap a quick photo and add it to your recipe the next time you log in.

    3. Be specific with your Ingredients. For many cooks, include a can of crushed tomatoes in your recipe and they know exactly what you mean or maybe not. Tell them to include a 12oz can of crushed tomatoes and everyone will know exactly what your recipe needs.

    4. Use step by step instructions. You might have made this recipe a thousand times, but someone new will need detailed directions for how to do it. Remember to include pan sizes, cooking times, the order that ingredients are added and how to tell when a dish is done. Also adding how many servings a recipe can make will help with meal planning.

    5. Add personal notes. One of the things that make a family cooks so important is that it helps to capture the family traditions. Include a note with each recipe about how you first were introduced to the recipe and when it is typically served in your household. It makes the recipe more interesting and more meaningful to later generations.

     

    Chip Lowell is Co-Publisher of the Great Family Cookbook Project, a website that helps families and individuals collect and share food memories. Follow us on Facebook and Pinterest!

  • Your Recipes on the Internet

    One of the benefits of having your recipes on Family Cookbook Project is that they become available to you from any computer.

    Google and other search engines regularly crawl our site looking for new recipes. When they find them, they make them available to the entire Internet. That way you can access a recipe simply by typing in The title of a recipe and your cookbook name into any browser.

    This is useful for when your family cookbook is not available, like at a grocery store buying ingredients for recipe, or wanting to share a dish with a friend.

    You also can have access to all your recipes if you download our award-winning mobile app for iPhone and android devices.

    Not only are the recipes made available to you online, but many other people around the world can enjoy them as well.

    Currently the most popular recipe on family cookbook project.com is Saskatoon Berry Crisp, by John and Verna Heinrichs, is from The Heinrichs Family Cookbook . This recipe has had almost 50 people view the recipe in the past month.

    Be all time most viewed recipe on family cookbook project.com is Camp Fire Pizza Roll, by Danyeil Reed, is from 40 Something Cowgirls Restless Riders Cookbook, which has been seen by more than 7,000 people since 2013!

    Of course if you don’t want to share your recipes with the public then simply mark them private when you post them. This keeps them out of the public domain.

    Since our founding 15 years ago, Family Cookbook Project has helped more than 63,000 families and fundraising groups collect more than 1.5 million recipes and that number grows every day.

     

    Bill Rice is founder and Co-Publisher of the Great Family Cookbook Project, a website that helps families and individuals collect and share food memories through customized printed cookbooks filled with treasured recipes. Follow us on Facebook and Pinterest!