Blogging 101

From time to time, it is helpful to see good examples of  things you are trying to do. It helps you improve by learning from someone else. In my case, I find this particularly true in the area of social media. (They didn't have social media classes at college back in the day. Typewriters were still all the rage then.) Social media is a new medium when it comes to marketing and I am constantly looking for good examples to follow, and to share with our publishers.

A recent post on the Junior League of Tampa's blog  is worth pointing out. Written by Krista Dietrich, Cookbook Co-chairman, the post has a nice narrative and shares a delicious recipe from Capture the Coast, the League's newest cookbook. Check the post out here.

And please share any great examples of blogging that you know about. I would love to add to the "blog roll" that I follow.

A Salad Had Me Sold on the Book

Occasionally a single recipe can motivate me to purchase a cookbook. In the case of Capture the Coast, Volume 4 in the Culinary Collection by the Junior League of Tampa, it was the combination of a lunch coupled with a discussion about the anniversary promotion of the League's older title, The Gasparilla Cookbook, that had me sold.

After we completed our meeting regarding ideas for the 50th anniversary edition of The Gasparilla Cookbook, which was released in October of 2011, a small group of Junior League of Tampa members invited me to the Columbia Restaurant for lunch. I had always wanted to try the  Columbia Restaurant because of its reputation but just never had the opportunity. The restaurant is a testament to why you should always go "where the locals eat". The  Columbia Restaurant features a dish entitled the "1905 Salad". When the ladies mentioned that this salad was featured in Capture The Coast, I decided to try it.

We now prepare and eat this salad 3-4 times a month at home. It is truly a special signature dish and yet readily available in this classic community cookbook. One of the reasons that community cookbooks have been so successful through the years is that they truly involve the entire community including local chefs and restaurants.

If you want to give yourself a treat try the "1905 Salad" (recipe can be found here on the Junior League of Tampa's blog) and then buy a copy of Capture the Coast to find out what other great surprises are included--you won't be disappointed.

Leadership by Example

In my previous blog post I gave a "shout out" to Denise Schultz, cookbook co-chair with Aspen Kohl at the Junior League of Tampa. I mention this League often because of their strong commitment to publishing through their six cookbook titles. Amazingly some of the very best leaders I have encountered through the years have come from this League. Obviously, the League itself has seen the same leadership qualities in the cookbook committee chairs, as many of these women have gone on to serve on either the Board or as President of the League.

Denise sent me a story and some photos of an event she recently hosted.  I found it inspiring, humourous and fun. I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did. This story serves as a perfect example of leadership and supports the theory the that it is impossible to lead if you aren't passionate about what you are doing.

Thanks Denise for taking the time to share--no doubt others will be inspired as well.

Sunday, July 24, 2011 – Mission Accomplished

If you know me it’s no secret the main appliance I use in my kitchen is my microwave to reheat food that I got from eating out the night before. In fact, I lived in my house for over a month without a stove or oven – not kidding. I realize this is not a good thing.

I sat down and started to reflect on my positions in the Junior League of Tampa (JLT). I noticed that The League is determined to have me in the kitchen. Last year I was the Kids in the Kitchen Chair and this year I’m one of the Cookbook Co-Chairs. I thought about it more and both of these positions have been MY FIRST CHOICES; therefore, it’s not The League that wants me in the kitchen I obviously subconsciously want to be there. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like I’ve never hosted a dinner or lunch, etc. but I realized I have been fortunate enough to always date men who love to cook. I just figured I would be on permanent dish duty forever. I’m now single and realize that I need to work on my MRS skills and start to take charge and ownership of this quest I obviously want to go on.

I decided to give myself my first mission: host a brunch. I had to decide my first victims, I mean guests, carefully. I needed to choose people that would be honest with me, ones I could potentially cook dishes that were complete flops for but would also challenge my ability. After much thought I choose my good friend Sarah Herbling, who spent a month with me in Brazil (after that trip you either love the people you are with or hate them), Michelle Bremer (one of my dearest friends for the past fourteen years and after-college roommate) and I was very daring with my last invite. I thought about inviting her to another mission, once I had some practice but then I reconsidered and thought why not bring in the big guns in the beginning? I’ll really find out if I’m on the right track or not by having her taste my food and she’ll be honest, so I made the call: Mrs. Aspen Kahl. In my opinion Aspen Kahl is the host of all hosts. Every party she has is pristine, detailed oriented and picture perfect – literally. It’s one guest list everyone wants to be on. Besides being fortunate enough to be a guest at her events a number of times through out the years, she is my other half on the Cookbook Committee, the other Cookbook Co-Chair and very good friend. She has been warning me that at the first Cookbook Committee meeting I would have to say my favorite dish that I’ve cooked from the cookbooks… I think she keeps warning me knowing FULL WELL I have cooked NOTHING from them. From a leadership perspective, how can I help lead more than 40 women to sell something that I have no knowledge of? I have to get to know the product, period. The guests confirmed and I have to say with this line up I was nervous but it was all so much fun and exciting at the same time! The date was locked in on the calendar.

I woke up the Saturday morning before the big event and pulled out all of The JLT cookbooks. I poured over them for hours trying to determine the best brunch menu I could come up with. I choose the following:

• Champagne Lime Cooler (Capture the Coast, pg. 31)
• Brie with Herbs in a Baguette (EveryDay Feasts, pg. 27)
• Asparagus Pecan Stack (The Life of the Party, pg. 64)
• Strawberry Spinach Salad (Savor the Seasons, pg. 39)
• Mushroom Frittata (Savor the Seasons, pg. 95)
• Fresh Orange Sherbet (Capture the Coast, pg. 118)

I have to be honest, when I choose the Fresh Orange Sherbet I truly had no idea how I was going to make it but I thought I would put it on the list and go from there. I entered my kitchen and started looking at my sparse kitchen counter space and thought I really need to purchase a rolling island. There was no way I could cook everything I needed to at my house so I headed over to a kitchen that I could borrow, my parent's.

I got there, made my grocery list and realized I was now going to spend hours in the grocery store given I had no idea where the items were kept and I wasn’t familiar with the store at all. Luckily my mother offered to go with me to the store.

Once everything was bought I headed home and started on my quest. The rules were no short cutting anything and my mother could observe and add comments but not do anything. She said fine, sat at the kitchen table and enjoyed her glass of sauvignon blanc watching me work away, must have been nice.

I reviewed all of the recipes and realized that by complete chance everything I choose could be prepared at least the day/night before. This was great news especially given I did not want to worry about having to cook everything in the morning! I looked at the prep time of all the dishes and decided to start with the sherbet. Once I told my mother how I wanted to create this tasty dessert but I had no idea how to pull it off, she said, “I’ll call Connie – if anyone has an ice cream maker it would be her.” Ah, Mrs. Galbraith. Mrs. Galbraith is the cook of all cooks on the street I grew up on, San Mateo – another Aspen in regards to cooking. Of course she would have one!

I made the mix and started to grate the orange peel. Let’s just say the grater won. My whole thumb was bleeding (the peels were spared) and I thought great, I have to take a time out to mend a cooking wound on my first dish. This could be a long day. While the sherbet was mixing I began the brie with herbs in a baguette. Once I figured out how the recipe was telling me how to cut the bread (remember I am only a beginner) it was a pretty easy dish to make. My favorite part was making sure the bread was smashed like a Cuban sandwich.

From there I just kept going. It seemed to take some time but luckily I was drinking wine. I have a new appreciation for items that help you prepare the food. For example, I used my mom’s chopper so I immediately went out and bought one. Using only knifes would have drove me crazy. I was so exhausted by the time I completed everything I stayed the night at my parent’s house and went to bed.
I woke up early the next morning to head home, clean my place, bake the frittata and get the last details completed. The guests arrived and they were all pleasantly surprised. They enjoyed everything that was made and I have to say it felt good to be able to say how the food was prepared. I felt like I now know the jargon of a secret club I wasn’t in before. They left that afternoon stating that I had earned my ‘M.’


Mission accomplished until next month. I’ve decided to invite the close guy friends of mine to dinner. I figure if I really want to work on my MRS skills I have to let the guys let me know if I’m heading in the right direction or not. Until then happy cooking!

If you are marketing a cookbook, what about the job are you passionate about?

It's True--One Great Recipe is Worth the Price of a Book

What a treat I had last week. I was in Tampa for a meeting with the Junior League of Tampa cookbook committee members and we were working on some promotional ideas for their upcoming 50th Anniversary of Gasparilla. Prior to the trip I suggested that since our meeting was starting at 11:00 a.m. we end with lunch. Lisl Unterholzner, who is my primary contact, suggested several spots we could go for lunch, but when she mentioned the Columbia Restaurant I said, "that's the one". As many times as I have been to Tampa I had never had occasion to visit the original Columbia Restaurant.

Four of us drove over and immediately began discussing the menu and the fact that the Columbia Restaurant had generously contributed several recipes to the League's latest cookbook, Capture the Coast. One of the contributed recipes was the "1905 Salad" which they prepare table side in a wooden bowl. WOW! It was terrific. On my way back to the hotel I decided to try it at home over the weekend.

Robin was making the grocery list on Sunday and we made sure to pick up a few of the ingredients we didn't have. I made the salad using similar techniques as I do with a Caesar--hand crushing the garlic and whisking by hand to emulsify the dressing. It turned out as good or better than the salad I had in Tampa.

As we were cleaning up the kitchen the thought passed through my mind that any price I had paid for Capture the Coast was worth it because this recipe will now be made many times a year and will become a tradition in our home. On top of this, we have now selected several other recipes from this book to try and the value proposition grows as we use this book more and more.

If you have a community cookbook don't underestimate the value of getting someone to try a signature dish that you know they will use over and over, as well as motivate them to try other recipes from your book.

Helping Families Taste the Best of Life

The Junior League of Tampa adopted this tag line for their Culinary Collection in 2009. This is an accurate depiction of the series. As they complete the collection with Capture the Coast, families within the Tampa area will have benefited by over $300,000 in profits raised by the League, which they will invest back into great community causes.

Capture the Coast - Available September 2010

Laurie Ann Burton, my good friend, led the charge in creating Capture the Coast. This fourth and final book in the Culinary Collection focuses on the regional and ethnic diversity of Tampa. Laurie Ann, like several of her predecessors, is a full-time professional and this undertaking was stacked on top of her “real” job. I truly believe that community cookbooks are so tremendous because of the dedicated individuals who create them.

Since this book will not be released until September, I will hold off sharing too much detail. I will say however, that while the format is the same as the other three, the overall feel will be unique and a great “finishing touch” for the series. Kristie Salzer and Rob Adamo again provided the food styling and photography while Laurie Ann and her committee assisted. I think you will enjoy the musical slide show of their photograph shoot days captured on film.

During the 2010-11 League year, The Junior League of Tampa will fund and staff eleven community projects and provide additional funding to non-profit organizations through their enabling grants. A few of the projects, which highlight their focus, are Love Bundles, Children’s Literacy and Food 4 Kids. In partnership with the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Department Child Protection Investigation Division, their Love Bundles project provides children removed from their homes by the Sheriff’s office with special backpacks containing essential developmental items and basic necessities. Children’s Literacy provides volunteers to read aloud to kindergarten students in Title 1 schools, giving children of low-income families age-appropriate books to take home, and providing the children and teachers with other classroom aides to enhance their love of reading. Food 4 Kids, a partnership with America’s Second Harvest of Tampa Bay, provides children enrolled in the Kids’ Café program at Wilbert Davis/Belmont Heights Boys and Girls Club with a bag of food that is nutritionally adequate for the children to eat over the weekend and holidays when the meals they typical receive at school and at the club aren’t available.

Indeed, I have been fortunate to meet so many talented, creative and fabulously committed volunteers. In fact, there are literally hundreds of names that could and should appear for credit in this series of blogs. Not only did each committee have a great leader, but the leaders also had terrific teams of people supporting them. Each book had copyrighters, editors, proofers, and testers. Each book developed a “launch” and had volunteers creating events and marketing efforts. Each book ran its own PR and media campaign. No one person was responsible—this was truly a League effort.

The Junior League of Tampa is an inspiration to me for their dedication and commitment to finishing a job started. Imagine how proud I was of the League in 2008 when The Junior League of Tampa won the coveted FRP Junior League Cookbook Award at the AJLI conference. This award recognizes the Junior League that creates and implements the best and most creative sales and marketing campaign for a community cookbook in the US. The winner receives a framed cover of their cookbook to display in their headquarters, and a $5,000 cash prize. Congratulations, ladies, on a job well done!

A Unique Approach and Lesson in Commitment

This post is going to take place in multiple parts because it is so unique and so personal I don't want to leave anything out of the story. Over the last decade I have been privileged to meet and work with some of the "BEST" and most dedicated volunteers in the US. Along the way I have developed friendships with many of the individuals that will last long after I retire.

In 2001, I noticed that two members from the Junior League of Tampa were attending FRP's Cookbook University, an annual seminar for those who want to learn more about developing and marketing cookbooks. I was excited to know that they were thinking about producing a new book. Little did I realize, the power of long-term relationships, and how important these two ladies, Danielle Welsh and Kristie Salzer would be in both the life of their books, but in my life as well.

We took a short drive from the seminar to my office and they presented me with the challenge of coming up with something that hadn't been done before in the world of community cookbooks. The idea I shared with them was a simple one which I had presented unsuccessfully to another prospect: Create a series of smaller books each with its own theme, but with a consistent look and design.

Both Danielle and Kristy loved it and proceeded to "make it happen". They, along with other leadership within JL Tampa were the creators of The Junior League of Tampa Culinary Collection, a four volume set of cookbooks. The first three titles have collectively sold approximately 60,000 copies thus far with the fourth and final book coming out in September.

What started out as a rough idea has turned into over $300,000 in profits to better the community of Tampa, FL.

One lesson to be learned from watching this group in action is how important commitment is to a plan. I can assure you that obstacles presented themselves to this League over the last decade that could have caused others less committed to a plan to throw in the towel and say, "we've done enough." Little events like hurricanes ripping through the state--not once, but several times, is just one example. Or, how about Danielle finalizing the manuscript before sending it off for printing while going into labor? Yes, these ladies were committed.

In the next installment I will share with you some details on each book plus more information about how the League and the community have benefited from this pioneer effort of grit and determination.