The Family Cookbook Project

Category: Resources on the Web

  • Sharing Family Traditions

    One of the most important reasons for starting a family cookbook project is to preserve the family food traditions for future generations.

    This about it. Growing up, was there a special dish you grandma use to make when the family got together? Did an aunt who lived in a different part of the country serve different interesting food when you visited?

    Have you tried to make that dish, but it never quite seems the same? Don’t you wish you had her recipe (not that she wrote anything down!).

    This is why FamilyCookbookProject.com was created. To help families come together and share stories, member loved ones past, and eat great food!

    Another way we can help preserve our family traditions is to learn more about are ancestors and family members that can before us. Knowing more about the people in our family helps us to better understand our family history and why certain food traditions started.

    For many, many years, I have learned about my family tree with the help of ancestry.com. I have found many long lost cousins and we are working on a family reunion later this year. I have really enjoyed searching for and meeting relatives that I have lost touch with.

    Here is a way for you to start looking up your family members using free records available on Ancestry.com. Of course if you pay a small fee, you will get access to hundreds of thousands of records that will greatly help your search.

    However it is free to get started. Just enter a family member’s name and location below to get started:

    Learn more about the
    people in your family story:
    your ancestors.


    If you have an issue with the box above Try Ancestry.com FREE with a 14-Day Free Trial

    Preserving our family food traditions is only one way we save our family history for our children and our grandchildren.


    Bill Rice 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!

  • Two Great Magazine Offers from Family Cookbook Project

    Two Great Magazine Offers from Family Cookbook Project


    At Family Cookbook Project,we are always looking for ways  to save you time and money in the kitchen. Here are two special offers that you might like.
    We were able to secure a great deal on a wonderful cooking magazine for our editors.  You can get a full year of CookingLight Magazine for only $5! This I the lowest price on the web! This offer is available for a limited time at MagazineOutlet.com. Click the link and enter the code CKJUST5 to receive your special price.
    This is another magazine we love and you can get 12 issues of Bon Appetit for only $12. Save 80% for the entire year! Subscribe Now.

  • Copy-writing and proper usage of recipes

    Copy-writing and proper usage of recipes

    One issue that comes up regularly for family cookbook project editors is the topic of copy-writing recipes and proper usage. While we at the FamilyCookbookProject.com are not lawyers and do not give legal advice, our research shows that recipes cannot generally be copyrighted. 

    At the same time, it does not make it right to simply take credit for other people’s work. One way to avoid this is to give credit where credit is due. If your contributor submits a recipe that they originally found in a magazine or cookbook, it is appropriate to list the source in the notes section of the recipe.

    A few articles of interest in this topic

    Copyright Office flyer on recipes
    http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl122.pdf

    Copyrighting Recipes
    http://smallbusiness.findlaw.com/copyright/copyright-realworld/recipe-copyrighting.html

    Questions & Answers – Copyrighting Recipes
    http://whatscookingamerica.net/Q-A/CookbookAdvice.htm

    Bill Rice 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!

  • 4th of July Cookbook and Reunion Time!

    Happy Independence Day, U.S.A.!  It’s 4th of July and family reunion time!  If you are planning to have your family cookbook ready for your reunion, make sure to allow 2 weeks for printing and delivery.  If you have a tight time crunch, let us know and we’ll see what we can do to help.

    If you don’t plan to have your cookbook ready for summer – no problem!  Right now is the perfect time to get everyone involved – and print your book for Thanksgiving and the holidays!

    We wish you and yours a great holiday – have fun and how about fixing a few items from your family cookbook!

    If you get a chance, we’d love for you to “Like” us on Facebook.  Just visit our home page http://www.FamilyCookbookProject.com and click the like button in the middle right – thanks!

    Here is a recipe we tried recently for a fun dessert:

    This recipe for 4th of July Banana Smores, by Cheryl Botkin, is from Family and Friends Cookbook, one of the cookbooks created at FamilyCookbookProject.com.

    4th of July Banana Smores Recipe

    Contributor:  Cheryl Botkin

    Ingredients:

    Bananas
    Chocolate Chips
    Small Marshmallows
    Graham Crackers

    Directions:
    Pull one section of peel back from banana, but leave attached.
    Scoop out center of banana, just enough to where it looks like a boat.
    Fill banana with chocolate chips and marshmallows.
    Cover with section of peeled back banana and wrap in foil.
    Put bananas filled and wrapped in foil on the grill.
    Let set until marshmallows and bananas melt.
    Remove from grill and top with Graham Cracker crumbs.

    The Great Family Cookbook Project has surpassed 400,000 public recipes in the system thanks to you!  If you need a fun recipe idea that’s not in your own cookbook, go to our home page and use the search function to see what’s available – lots of good eats!

    Do you love BBQ Recipes?  Check out this list of over 600 BBQ recipes and treats we created!


    Enjoy!

  • Family and Fundraising Cookbook Videos

    We are launching a new series of videos on how easy it is to create family cookbooks and fundraising cookbooks! Our first two are fun starter videos for our home pages. Check these out:

    Family Cookbook Video on YouTube and Cookbook Fundraiser Video on YouTube

    Watch for more soon!

  • Special-Occasion Cooking

    (NAPSI)-Whether it’s a birthday, anniversary, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, graduation day or other special time for you and yours, you can make it even more savory with a delicious meal.

    To help, there’s a brand new cookbook with 300 recipes, such as:

    • A sumptuous brunch: Dreamy Orange Waffles, Baked Puffy Cheese Omelet with Peach Salsa, Overnight Blintz Bake or Cheesy Vegetable Quiche.

    • Lunch or dinner might include: Slow Cooker Burgundy Stew with Herb Dumplings, Skillet Chicken Parmesan, Oven-Fried Pork Cutlets with Apple Slaw or Impossibly Easy Quesadilla Pie.

    • Special sweet treats: Peach-Praline Tart, Fudgy Frosted Brownie Cookies or Impossibly Easy Toffee Bar Cheesecake.

    • Take breakfast to the next level: Bisquick, the nation’s bestselling convenience baking mix, makes it a snap to prepare Pear’n Ginger-Topped Waffle, Scrambled Egg Biscuit Cups or Carrot-Walnut Coffee Cake.

    “The Betty Crocker Ultimate Bisquick Cookbook” (Wiley) offers plenty of stress-free cooking inspiration to make any meal you prepare-brunch, lunch or dinner for Mom or Dad, a birthday celebration or just a get-together of family or friends–a good time.

    This posting is sponsored by the Family Cookbook Project which helps families and small groups create personalized cookbooks that are easy and affordable.

  • Cooking Up Southern-Style Dishes

    (NAPSI)-Southern cooking is not just fried chicken and grits. From hearty meals to mouth-watering desserts, the cooking style spans from quick, healthful dishes such as fresh tomato biscuits to decadent entrées, salads and even beverages.

    Now a new cookbook features 1,250 easy recipes, along with cooking tips and 50 menus for everyday and special occasions.

    Called “Southern Living Cookbook: America’s Best Home Cooking,” it pulls the best recipes and cooking ideas from Southern Living magazine and presents them in an easy-to-use binder, complete with a bonus CD-ROM of “how-to” cooking videos and more.

    With over 500 tantalizing photographs of special themed recipes such as Seaside Suppers, Brunch For A Bunch, Ragin’ Cajuns Dinner, and Old Southern Breakfast, it’s a cookbook you can use year-round. Here’s a look at one of its top recipes:

    TUSCAN PORK CHOPS

    ¼ cup all-purpose flour

    1 teaspoon salt

    ¾ teaspoon seasoned pepper

    4 (1-inch-thick) boneless pork chops

    1 tablespoon olive oil

    3 to 4 garlic cloves, minced

    ⅓ cup balsamic vinegar

    ⅓ cup chicken broth

    3 plum tomatoes, seeded, diced

    2 tablespoons capers

    Combine first 3 ingredients in a shallow dish; dredge pork chops in flour mixture.

    Cook pork chops in hot oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat 1 to 2 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Remove chops from skillet.

    Add garlic to skillet and sauté one minute. Add vinegar and broth, stirring to loosen particles from the bottom of skillet; stir in tomatoes and capers.

    Return pork chops to skillet; bring sauce to boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 4 to 5 minutes or until pork is done.

    Serve pork chops with tomato mixture. Yields 4 servings.

    For more information, visit www.oxmoorhouse.com.

    Tuscan Pork Chops puts a flavorful twist on a Southern classic.

    This posting is sponsored by the CookbookFundraiser.com which helps schools, churches, community groups and other groups create community cookbooks that are easy to make and earn money for your organization.

  • How To Win Recipe Contests

    Here are a few tips for increasing your chances to win a recipe contest found on Cooking Contest Central.

    Follow the rules.
    You don’t want to miss out because you took a short cut. This is probably the most important. If you omit something because you don’t think it’s important, it could disqualify you.

    Play the name game.
    A creative and unusual name will get the judges’ attention. Descriptive words that capture the feeling of your dish add to its overall interest. A catchy name is good except if the rules specify no catchy names, of course.

    What is currently a hot food topic?
    Check out some food magazines and see what everybody is talking about. If southwest flavoring is hot, then think about adding a southwest twist to your recipe. Even if you are submitting a tried-and-true dish from your favorite family cookbook, you might want to give it a trendy new twist. Judges seem to favor recipes that have a popular twist.

    Keep it simple.
    Make sure your ingredients can be found at most markets.Complicated recipes don’t often win.

    Appearance is very important.
    It might taste delicious, but, if it doesn’t look good, it doesn’t have a chance.

  • Grandmother’s Cookbook

    I came across this website from Carrie J. Gamble called Grandmother’s Cookbook which I think does a wonderful job of explaining why creating a family cookbook can be a wonderful, enriching experience.

    Carrie explains:

    For years I have wanted to launch this website for our cookbook, Grandmother’s Cookbook. There had always been one thing or another to delay its creation. Recently in an unexpected turn of events I have been given a new determination to re-introduce Grandmother’s Cookbook to the world. I am inspired once again to honor my grandmother and our family for its rich and interesting history.

    At the age of 96 Elizabeth Rose von Hohen started a “new beginning.” In September 2005 she moved into a nursing facility. In the process of helping her move, I have rediscovered our history. Vintage family photos, love letters sent from her husband, Erwin, in the early years of their marriage, letters from brothers written far from home as they served our country in World War II . . . these are just a few things that reminded me of things we should never forget. As I helped my grandmother go through her desk, we found remnates of the past in every drawer. Most everything in her desk had a “meaning” or sentimental attachment.

    One particularly poignant find was a beautful postcard. The “Happy Easter” postcard of an angel holding pussy willows actually was used as a birth announcement of sorts. It was sent by Anna and Nicholas Griffaton to Anna’s family back in Germany to announce the birth of their first child, Elizabeth Rosalia Griffaton, on April 1,1909. In German Anna writes, “we have a small angel like is on this card.” This loving note was written by a daughter who missed her family dearly and was never to see them again.

    In the moving process I was presented with another inspiration. I found a large box of letters which we received after Country Home magazine published a feature article about our book in their February 1994 issue. Of the thousands of letters my grandmother and I have received over the years, some got very personal. This box contained 50 such letters. I sat down and re-read each and every one of them. These letters amaze me! Some told of their similar family life growing up on a farm. Others said the article brought a tear to their eyes as it reminded them of their own treasured memories. Some told the story of how they met their husbands and described their own family traditions. The Country cooking style of comfort food recipes are a staple in many American homes that families just love. What made us feel so good was that every one said after reading the article they just knew they had to have a copy of Grandmother’s Cookbook!

    I think Carrie’s Grandmother’s Cookbook reminds us that a cookbook is more that just recipes. It tells the story of a family over time and helps future generations better appreciate those who have come before them. That is why the Family Cookbook Project works so hard to help families simplify the process of creating a family cookbook to preserve such memories.

  • The Top 3 Family Cookbook Mistakes

    Matilda’s Cookbook Kitchen writes about the three family cookbook mistakes to avoid.

    Mistake #1. Making the One Final Perfect Family Cookbook.

    Mistake #2. Making the Family Recipe Book About Recipes

    Mistake #3. Bad Proof Reading.

    We would add a fourth mistake – not using Family Cookbook Project to organize and print your family cookbook!