So yeah, I decided to start a food blog.
 

I've been thinking about it for a while and decided to make the leap today. I'd appreciate your feedback on the concept and the Wordpress site, and if you like it, I'd appreciate if you'd help spread the word.

http://recipenotincluded.com

Thanks.

Peas looked over cooked.

Frozen/steamed. Not great peas to begin with.

Cook something already asshole.


Good looking site though
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ROFL

Is the recipe included?

Was j/k. Nice idea on the blog.

I like it FMB! That's how I cook to a T. I'll read it. You ever want ideas let us know

There better be some LJS.jpg on that ****ING blog!!!

4321

need pics of you feeding your face

Yeah... that's not gonna happen.

Looks like you lost a couple of your fingers in those peas. How did you cook them?

Just steamed 'em.

Site looks good. If I was to offer any suggestion it would be to put a picture of your homemade bacon across the top. That'll draw people in like flies.

I'll take a look at that, see how it works.

I'll have to take some pics specifically for the header. The ones I have of the bacon don't work in that space.

I normally don't blogroll blogs outside my own niche, but your a Chiefs fan. I'll blogroll you if you blogroll me.

Let me know when you do an entry on cashews. I love cashews.

I don't know what that is...

Thats nuts

What's a blog?

Would it be more closely related to a log or a bog?

It's a big log, this is a poop thread.

It means I put a hyperlink to your blog title on my sidebar and whoever comes to my blog may see it and click on your link. I average roughly 1000-5000 hits per day JUST from SEO...I don't do the whole "comment on other peoples' blogs to prompt them to comment on your shit" as universally recommended. I can hyperlink your blog to a phrase, "The BEST food blog in the world," and my readers may be tempted to click on that ok phrase/link which will link them directly to your blog.

Problem is, your blog is a food blog and mine is a crude humor blog. So...different niches. Like I said, though, exceptions can be made. Also, on the flip side, I did used to have a cooking blog called "The Cooking Asshole" on my blogroll and vise-versa...and that mutually worked out well for us.

It's on my food blog list now. I wish you good luck and look forward to following your blog.

I need a good popcorn recipe.

What recipie do you have in the area of ice cream bread?

Way to go, I'll keep checking it. Hope it catches on!

Like that initial approach, interested to see how it plays out. I do so much of my cooking by feel. Not enough sweet, not enough heat, a little unctuous here, a little char there, crispy from tortilla or crispy from frazzled onion straws? Toothy from pecans or walnuts. Mental registers of what paid off and what I wanted a little more out of it. Works really well in chili variations, chicken and tuna salads, grilling [particularly] beef cuts, and coming up with variations on good ol' burgers and dogs.

To that end, I offer the following link to what I'm sure you readily recognize as 'the world's greatest sandwich' which also links to other food in cinema scenes that might inspire you in expanding your blog.

http://www.filmfood.nl/2011/01/film-...n-and-her.html

BTW - the key to that sammich is the sharpest cheddar, the richest mayo, Companion bread baked that day, and sufficiently peppery and thick cut bacon [not usually a fan of pepper bacon but with the egg it evens out nicely].

I've had 10 since vine-on tomatoes were back in Aldis.

THIS!!

You're a well informed chef. I like your takes on food a lot.

Good Luck
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Ok. Question for the foodies.

Hosting an upcoming taco night where it's make your own. Chicken or beef with rice, lettuce, cheese, etc.

What are some good side dishes for a taco night?

Good luck with your blog!

Thanks!

I appreciate all the kind words. I really have very little idea of what I'm doing here, so I'm open to suggestions. I'm holding off on my bacon post for the ATK interview to come out.

I'm out of town on work, so I'm not able to cook this week. So I'm gonna pull a couple from the vault to get this going. Most of these have been on CP at some point, and this gnocchi "carbonara" was one of my better concoctions.

http://www.recipenotincluded.com

Who's doing the photography?

Pico De Gallo

Frioles a la charra

Me, for now. Thoughts?

softbox and umbrellas

I've got two umbrellas, but no softbox. Tell me what you're seeing in the shots as they are so I can improve, if you don't mind.

bean/corn/ pepper salad. Black beans, diced red and green peppers, diced onions, grilled corn off the cob, chopped cilantro, lime juice, and salt and pepper. A bit of diced jalapeno if you like some heat. mix it all up and serve cold.

Doesn't look bad.

Food photography is very hard because of the styling.

Only thing I can suggest is don't try for the art effect all the time, sometimes get a nice exposure with some pop and some depth of field.

And shoot everything multiple ways and pick the best exposure out of that.

Try window lighting, direct flash, softbox, umbrellas, etc.

Some of the best food photography is with a bright strobe in softbox 6 inches away from the food.

Play with it all.

If you want to see an 1st rate food blog and video's on how to cook go to:

http://foodwishes.blogspot.com/

Chef John if fantastic.

The photos are great, the videos are great and the dude can really cook too.

He has lots of fans, so much that All Recipes bought him out.

But he still does the blog and videos.

Yep, I'm new to the art, so thanks for the feedback.

I generally do a lot of what you suggest and then pick my favorite shot. So I'm always shooting different exposures, different depths of field, multiple angles. Unless I'm shooting at night, I've always opened the windows (I generally much prefer natural light to artificial).

Any chance you will blog about some of your favorite tailgaiting food when we get closer to football season? I'm always looking for something different.

I like the lyrical content, and I think you are probably pretty marketable in the positive hip hop community. Are you trying to be overtly a "Christian" hip hop artist?


Edit: DOH! Wrong thread. This was supposed to be in thurman merman's debut album thread in the media center.

Any recommendations on baking chicken? Grill is out of service for the moment and I'm forced to journey into a new area.

Throw the chicken pieces in a ziplock bag, pour a little canola oil in and lightly coat the chicken. 400 degrees for about 40-45 minutes is perfect for thighs. Salt, pepper, fresh thyme and rosemary, and a lemon vinaigrette for a little acidity at the end.

350 for around the same time for breasts?

I'm going to be eating a lot more chicken than usual this summer, so I'm looking for chicken recipes, too. Here are some I'll be using (maybe they'll give you some ideas)

Salsa chicken
Chicken cordon bleu
Chicken Kiev
Caper baked chicken
Honey butter baked chicken
Parmesan crusted chicken
Baked chicken with japanese mustard sauce

This interests me

375 for 40.

Valeu.

Use a thermometer.

165?

I prefer 170 minimum, but I don't even use a thermometer with chicken. At 375 for 40, I know that it'll be cooked properly.

It was. I'll probably upload pics at a later time. Quite interesting though, I'm not sure I prefer it over grilling but the flavor was definitely captured. Thanks again.

So this site is dishes you make without any recipe?

Can others post topics/pics/recipes or just you?

Right now it's just me. The idea behind it is to (hopefully) inspire people to get away from recipes and to experiment more in their own kitchens.

Freestyle cooking? That could be very difficult for anyone especially without looking at a recipe or looking up common ingredients.


I love to cook, but I can't just go into my kitchen and whip up a Risotto or Steak Diane without getting an idea first. You could have an edge if you took culinary classes, I don't see how anyone has common knowledge of Risotto or steak diane or any other dish for that matter.

Should incorporate humor. Pics of you stuffing your face, etc.

Always enjoyed your food takes on here will check it out.

My problem with getting away from recipes could ruin lots of food.

If anything I would tweak a recipe a little.

I'm still finding my way with this, and the end result may be more of a "here's a basic idea with some general guidelines, but no recipe per se." While I know what you're saying and can agree to an extent, this feedback is good. Thanks. :thumb:

I generally start with a recipe, but that's the starting point for me. So many people use recipes and nothing else, and I think that's a mistake. Recipes are made to give consistent results, but you rarely get a truly outstanding dish by blindly following a recipe.

I dunno, I had a great recipe for sweet potato casserole, I lost it but found many similar. Haven't found one as good as the one I lost though, lo these many years.

It depends on the setting. Baking is much more a recipe intensive process [in the case of SPC, I consider this a baked side, as it sets up like a cake]. Things like spice mixes or salads [chicken, tuna, egg], are much better suited for experimentation.

FMB! doesn't bake. Mrs. FMB! bakes. :)

But yes, you're correct. Gotta follow the recipes for baked goods like cakes, cookies, etc. Variances in moisture, sugar, flour, etc. can cause dramatic differences in the finished product.

ROFL

I'm actually working on an ice cream bread post!

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/06/12/9yqagura.jpg

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/06/12/jeby9y4e.jpg

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/06/12/3unapa5u.jpg

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/06/12/6abu9uqe.jpg

Here's some simple shit I made and plated. Taste and presentation is key to a great dish.

I have only recently learned to cook, and this was my fear for a while, but I actually broke myself of it starting with experimenting on soups. Soups are very easy to work with and even if you go a bit wrong it is pretty easy to recover.

Then because I have no time for long classes and learning to cook on equipment I don't own with pans I will never have, I hired a personal chef for four nights to come to my house and cook with my available things and teach me about cooking in a way I could actually put into practice. It was awesome. Each night we made 4 or 5 meals and he never used a recipe for anything. Asked me questions about what I like then adjusted his plan accordingly so I ended up with a weeks meals ready to reheat of well made food that I loved. One night a week for four weeks, and I was the one cooking by the end.

I learned not just to cook, but that I really like sweet and spicy mixed together so pairing things like honey with red pepper, or brown sugar with cayenne pepper work really well for me and that can be in a soup, on vegetables, or meat.

I love where FMB is going with this blog and I will follow it! It is just my kind of food blog. Good luck!

Thanks for the kind words, underEJ. I appreciate it.

I also think your idea of hiring the personal chef for a few days was a really good idea! If I can ask, what did something like that run you? I don't imagine many people could do that, but "if you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up."

This is why my wife can't cook worth a damn but bakes well. I can't bake for shit but am, at times, a pretty decent cook.

I just can't make the same meal twice, that's all.

prayers sent

I can bake, but I hate to.

Go and make me a pot pie!

It wasn't cheap, but I sat down and did the math on how much restaurant food I was actually buying, and I think I ended up making all of it back in about 6 months by cooking at home for myself. I talked with several chefs before making a deal with one for 75$ an hour, but it ranged from as low as 40 an hour to one who wanted 110. Then the food cost as well. Each of the four lessons ended up around 400 dollars, which I balked at for months before actually doing it, and then I did the math on my spending and it was an easy choice.

I got to chutney then I realized I don't know what a chutney is. Terrified, I closed the screen.