Everything Cookbooks

Originally aired on June 19, 2024

Kate, Kristin and Molly venture back into the user experience arena as they discuss recipe presentation in cookbooks. They highlight the need for this section to delight not distract and prioritize form over function as well as the need to write with a specific audience in mind. They discuss their thoughts as a consumer and developer on elements like: ingredients, equipment, serving size, prep time, method, sub-recipes, headnotes and bursts. Finally, they share their advice for recipe developers on things to think through and ways to research to bring clarity and individuality to their own work.

Hosts: Kate Leahy + Molly Stevens + Kristin Donnelly + Andrea Nguyen

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

 

Mentions

Episode 91: The UX of Cookbook Design

Episode 28: All About Headnotes

Episode 42: How to Write Recipe Titles

Episode 24: Genius Recipes with Kristin Miglore

Episode 59: Lerato Umah-Shaylor on Africana

Episode 33: Becoming the Writer You Want to Be with Andy Baraghani

Episode 93: The Secret of Cooking with Bee Wilson

Episode 88: On Being a First-Time Cookbook Author with Michelle Braxton

 

Visit the Everything Cookbooks Bookshop to purchase a copy of the books mentioned in the show

Genius Recipes by Kristin Miglore

Brooks Headley's Fancy Desserts by Brooks Headley

Originally aired on November 9, 2022

Today, Andrea tackles the topic of the ever elusive headnote with Molly, Kate and Kristin. They discuss what a headnote is, how they go about writing them and the pitfalls to avoid while composing. They bring examples of some favorites and also their pet peeves as they chat about the format, design and variety that goes into these important cookbook ingredients.

Hosts: Kate Leahy + Andrea Nguyen + Molly Stevens + Kristin Donnelly

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Kristin's newsletter - Mission Dinner

 

Visit the Everything Cookbooks Bookshop to purchase a copy of the books mentioned in the show

All About Braising by Molly Stevens

All About Dinner by Molly Stevens

Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan

Ever-Green Vietnamese by Andrea Nguyen

Greenfeast by Nigel Slater 

Rice Is Life by Kristin Donnelly 

Silver Palate Cookbook by Julee Rosso & Sheila Lukins

The Slow Mediterranean Kitchen by Paula Wolfert

Small Victories by Julie Turshen

The Chef’s Garden by Farmer Lee Jones and Kristin Donnelly

The Taste of Country Cooking by Edna Lewis

Wine Style by Kate Leahy

Originally aired on February 22, 2023

Kate talks with Molly, Andrea and Kristin all about recipe titles. They share what makes one stand out, what is an immediate veto and how these have evolved over the years. They discuss the importance of indexing, the challenge of translation and how grammar, structure and formatting are used in titling along with some of their own that they'd like to revisit.

 

Hosts: Kate Leahy + Andrea Nguyen + Molly Stevens + Kristin Donnelly

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

 

Mentions

Gourmet Cookbook

Boston Cooking School / Fanny Farmer Series

Cook it in a Casserole

Cooking Bold and Fearless Recipes from Sunset Chefs of the West

The Book of Yogurt

Secret Ingredients

Chez Panisse Cafe Cookbook

 

Visit the Everything Cookbooks Bookshop to purchase a copy of the books mentioned in the show

Change of Appetite by Diana Henry

Nigel Slater

Vietnamese Food Any Day by Andrea Nguyen

Ever-Green Vietnamese by Andrea Nguyen

Mi Cocina by Rick Martinez

The Woks of Life by Sarah Leung, Bill Leung

Rice is Life by Caryl Levine, Ken Lee, Kristin Donnelly

Originally aired on April 20, 2022

Kristin gets into the fundamentals of recipe writing as she chats with Tina Ujlaki, her mentor and the former executive editor at Food & Wine magazine. Tina explains her recipe writing philosophy, how testing can be the antithesis to cooking and the what bothers her about the format's evolution. She shares her thoughts on voice, headnotes, titles and the top 3 things to do before sharing recipes with the world.

Hosts: Kate Leahy + Andrea Nguyen + Molly Stevens + Kristin Donnelly

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

 

Mentions

Tina Ujlaki

Nigella Lawson

Nigel Slater

David Lebovitz

Dorie Greenspan

 

Visit the Everything Cookbooks Bookshop to purchase a copy of the books mentioned in the show

Originally aired on April 13, 2022

Kate leads today's discussion about the recipe development, curation and testing that go into creating a cookbook. Andrea, Molly and Kristin each share their individual recipe writing processes and the tools used behind the scenes to keep everything organized. They discuss sticking to theme, finding your audience and what can take away from the magic of cooking as well as the juggling act of attribution and importance of recipe testers. Finally, Molly tells us about a recent cookbook that has her inspired.

Hosts: Kate Leahy + Andrea Nguyen + Molly Stevens + Kristin Donnelly

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

 

Mentions:

Kristin spreadsheet template

Bryan Ford

 

Visit the Everything Cookbooks Bookshop to purchase a copy of the books mentioned in the show

Colombiana: A Rediscovery of Recipes & Rituals from the Soul of Colombia, by Marian Velásquez