by 5 people |
The Quest to Find An Online Recipe Book
A Boy, A Baby, and A Burnt Mircrowave
Well, I guess I should explain why finding a recipe book online became a quest to begin with.You might not be able to tell by looking at my profile picture, but I love to eat. Unfortunately for my poor wife, that's where my culinary expertise begins and ends. For awhile now, Paula (that's my lovely's name) has been asking me to learn how to cook.
I've been hesitant to do so because Paula is a wonderful cook and I know as much about cooking as Christopher Lowell does about NFL football. So in my mind I'd never had the need or desire to become the next Bobby Flay.
But 2 things have changed that have motivated me to take the dive into the unknown waters of culinary bliss:
First, we are having our 3rd little girl any day now, and I need to start stepping up to the plate and do my fair share of cooking duty.
Second, and maybe most importantly, the Microwave Meltdown happened. A couple of weeks ago Paula called me from the store and asked me to put on a pot of boiling water. I figured I could handle the task, and proceeded to very skillfully put a pot of water on a burner. Five minutes later, the house is filled with smoke, the smoke alarm is blaring, and flames had engulfed our over the range Microwave. I won't go into details about how it all went down, but I've posted a pic of the damage I caused.
I had to do some serious self reflecting and come to grips with the fact that my cooking is so bad that I couldn't even boil water without almost burning down my kitchen.
It was time for a change. It was time for redemption and to prove to myself and my ladies that I could figure out this cooking thing. It was time to get on the computer and search for a recipe book online.
MY CRITERIA FOR THE PERFECT RECIPE ONLINE BOOK
1. The recipe book had to be easy to follow. A must, since I've proven I have the culinary I.Q. equivelant to that of Corky on that bad '90's sitcom.
2. The recipe book had to be affordable. I wanted to invest in a good recipe book, because it would make me more committed. If I just relied on free online recipes, I would have no skin in the game. Having said that, I didn't want to pay too much either. Plus, a lot of the free recipes online were either garbage or didn't have a collection of easy-to-make meals that I liked.
3. The recipe book had to have a variety of dishes. I knew if I got an online recipe book with just one type of cuisine, I would get bored and, or frustrated. I wanted to find a recipe book that offered a ton of different options and types of cuisines. My family also likes all sorts of different foods, so I didn't want to be pigeon holed to just one type of recipe book
AND THE WINNER IS....
It hit on all MY criteria for a good recipe book. This recipe book has easy set-by-step instructions, is affordable, and best of all it was loaded with recipes that I knew I'd love, because they were recipes for famous dishes at some of my absolute favorite restaurants like PF Chang's, Chili's, Red Lobster, The Cheese Cake Factory and many more.
America's Most Wanted Recipes was it. This would be the recipe book that would finally take me from a culinary dud to a gourmet stud :). I was a little cautious at first, because I saw a lot of other recipe books both free and for sale that claimed to have copy cat restaurant recipes. But after looking at all the options, America's Most Wanted Recipes by Chef Ron Davis was the real deal. It's the #1 selling online recipe book on ClickBank, it's sold on Amazon with magnifient reviews, and Ron and his staff havespent literally thousands of hours perfecting the recipes and made them easy to understand.
As I read all the different recipes and dishes from my favorite restaurants, I realized that for less than the cost of taking my little family to a night out at Chili's, I would literally have an encyclopedia of recipes of my favorite dishes!
I can take the plunge by cooking such things as PF Chang's Lettuce Wraps, Chili's Southwestern Egg Rolls, and Panda Express' Orange Chicken.
I've put the link to America's Wanted Recipes on my lens, so you can check out all the different dishes I'm going to be cooking. I'm really excited about all the different recipes they offer and hope you'll take the time to check them out yourself and continue to follow me on my culinary adventures.
Best of all this online recipe book is an E-book, so that means you can quickly download it and start cooking the delicious recipes right away. You don't have to pay for shipping, or clutter your kitchen with another recipe book. Just print up the recipes when you want to cook them.
You can go to America's Most Wanted Recipes page by clicking here.
Here's to good cookin' and keepin' the kitchen from burning ;)
YOU CHOOSE WHICH RECIPE I COOK EVERY WEEK
I've put up a poll with 3-4 recipes that I'm looking at making. The poll is just below this post, so check it out and vote. After I cook the meal, I'll give you my feedback and take on how things went.
PICK THE MEAL YOU WANT ME TO COOK THIS WEEK
OTHER COOL COOKBOOKS
I could definitely use the Biggest Loser Cookbook!
The Biggest Loser Cookbook: More Than 125 Healthy, Delicious Recipes Adapted from NBC's Hit Show
Amazon Price: $14.93 (as of 07/10/2009) 
Paula Deen's My First Cookbook
Amazon Price: $14.95 (as of 07/10/2009)
NBC Sunday Night Football Cookbook
Amazon Price: $18.45 (as of 07/10/2009)
GET UPDATED ON MY WEEKLY DISH AND MUCH MORE
I've had several requests asking to get emailed about my progress in the kitchen, and reviews of the weekly dish I'll be cooking.
Unfortunately, Squidoo doesn't allow an opt-in page to enter your name and email address, so posting your name and email in this section is the only way.
Don't worry, no one else will see your name or email address, and I will NEVER sell your information. I will keep your information private, and I will only add you to email my newsletter.
My newsletter will include:
1. My review of the weekly dish that you the people have voted for me to cook (Trust me this will be an entertaining blurb).
2. Photos, and maybe some video of my cooking feats. (Again, highly entertaining with a dash of disaster)
3. Notifications and updates about my lens (blog)
4. Free Recipes and cooking tips (probably not by me just yet, this will be Paula's section),
I hope you'll take the time to join me as a I go on this culinary adventure.
Brian Rawlins wrote
John,
Good luck with the cooking this week.
Brian
Posted October 05, 2008
vbright105 wrote...
This is a good lens. Love the SOH. When people join your fan club, every time you send out a squidcast, *like when you update your lens, or make a new one...everyone gets a note. That's one way to keep people informed!
Posted October 04, 2008
Culinary Advice and Pointers
I'd love to hear about your culinary adventures. Drop me a line
Margo_Arrowsmith wrote...
Nice lens. You might want to make a squidoo recipe lens, which would be like you making your own cook book and it will always be here.
My Squidoo Library
Posted October 04, 2008
stephen001 wrote...
Great information and great lens. 5* and favorated. Recently I have also made a lens about latest technology news and Recent Inventions . If you can review it and give me your suggestions I would be highly thankful to you.
Posted October 04, 2008
Lorri wrote
It looks great!
Posted October 03, 2008
Alicia wrote
Great idea! Go for the pizza, start easy.
Posted October 02, 2008
Robyn Mons wrote
Oh wow. I never thought the day would come that my brother would have his own cooking blog. Don't get me wrong, I think it's a fantastic idea.
Glad your sweet family is safe!
Posted October 02, 2008
Emily wrote
Great idea! We can't wait to see how you and your family likes your cooking! The lettuces wraps are awesome, make those!!
Posted October 02, 2008
Emily wrote
Great idea! We can't wait to see how you and your family likes your cooking! The lettuces wraps are awesome, make those!!
Posted October 02, 2008
Louis wrote
Heaven help that poor wife of yours. Based on the burned water story, maybe you should start with something less challenging, like Ramen noodles and cheese toast. While I am impressed with your initiative, please try not to poison those sweet nieces of mine. Having said that, I'm glad to hear you are taking good care of my sister. I am sure this will only make her love you more.
Posted October 02, 2008
j-lo wrote
this looks awesome! i'm way excited to try out these recipes thanks!
Posted October 02, 2008
Chad wrote
When you need someone to "taste test" please call your crappy HTer.
Posted October 02, 2008
Stevo wrote
I like to eat myself, so I was excited to see a cook book online. I am going to have to check it out. Nothing like impressing the lady with a good ole home made dinner and some VINO at home.
Posted October 02, 2008
