Thursday, May 20, 2010

Rotation Changes

Hey everyone. I’m thinking of changing things up a bit starting with our next rotation. I’d like to keep the group open, informal, and fun, but I’d like to come up with some ways to encourage more participation on the blog.

One of the purposes of the group is to get new recipe ideas, but the main benefit of having this group is to get feedback on how the recipes work out. We have a pretty good sized group now, but feedback is mostly coming from a very small handful of people. We’d really like to hear from the rest of you, at least occasionally.

Here is something I’d like to try with our next rotation, which starts July 3. Please let me know what you think, so I can figure out what will work best for everyone. You can either post a comment or email me.

I’d like to ask that you post on the blog at least once a month if you are going to participate in the recipe selection rotation. Our rotation is getting fairly long, and for most group members, this is the only time we ever hear from them. I’d like to reserve recipe picking for people who participate at least occasionally. If you don't post regularly, you won't be kicked out. You just won't get to pick a recipe in the next rotation. If you start to post more regularly after that, you'll be included in the recipe selection.

Also, please be on time when you post your recipes. If the normal timing doesn’t work well for you, you can either post your recipe early or you can have a draft post ready to go and I can post it for you. It’s disappointing, though, when we’re expecting a new recipe and one doesn’t show up. If you can’t post on your week, please let me know so I can make other arrangements.

For those of you who try out the recipes but don’t post about them on the blog -- are there specific reasons you don’t post about it? Do you not like spending the time to post it on the blog? Do you find it intimidating to put your thoughts about the recipe out there in front of everyone? Do you not post because you don’t have a picture? (If it’s because of the picture, a picture is by no means necessary for posting about a recipe!)

One last thing. What do you think about Baked: New Frontiers in Baking? Are you getting tired of it? Have all the good recipes been taken? Do you want to try something new? Do you have a recipe book in mind? We're looking for suggestions on what YOU want to do with the blog. What would make you want to be more active in delish?

I’d love to hear your ideas about all this. Please let me know your thoughts!

12 comments:

Lisa said...

I regularly try the recipes, but I don't have the access to post about it.

I often find awesome recipes from food blogs and specific websites. I don't know if you are interested in those or not.

Unknown said...

Cami, thank you for this post. I think that your suggestion of recipe rotation participants being required to post once a month is a good one. Hopefully, that minimum will get us all in the habit of posting more regularly instead of only when it's our recipe turn.

As far as Baked goes, my only issue is that the recipes aren't just something you can pull together in one day. There are a lot of abstract ingredients and a lot of work. But the results are worth the work! Trying them and posting at least once a month is easy enough.

Cami, thank you for all the hard work you do to keep this fun site going.

LuAnn said...

I don't post because of time and that's the only reason. I think its a good idea though to just keep those that participate at least occassionally in the rotation so I like your plan with that. I would like to get a recipe book for dinner recipes...maybe the one that southwest one Danielle has. I have loved those recipes (potato and goat quesas and the nachos...I think they are both from the book). I am burned out of Baked, but I absolutely love the recipes. I still like to hear about the recipes so I'd like to cook out of it once a month, maybe the cookbook twice a month and then any random recipe on the other week.

LuAnn said...

Just to add to that...I think the benefit of picking a cookbook is you learn to cook in a certain way. With Baked I feel like I've learned a lot and it helps to have some consistency in the methods. But I really need to expand my dinner repertoire.

Jen said...

I'm a lurker. Would love to join you if you are looking for other cooks. I had been working second shift and not cooking as much but am back to days. Thanks, Jen

Danielle said...

Yay for LuAnn suggesting the southwest cookbook! I love that book!

acandiedapple said...

I also feel like I've learned a lot from Baked and will probably continue to try new recipes from it even if we switch to a new book.

I really like the Southwest cookbook idea. Does it have appetizers and desserts Danielle? I can't remember. Like LuAnn, I need to expand my dinner repertoire as well.

Danielle said...

The book has a lot of appetizers, but we'd probably want a separate dessert cookbook.

Melanie said...

I want to keep participating! Sometimes I get busy and forget to post my recipes. I also don't make many of the desserts because they often have ingredients I don't have or I that don't want to spend money on, or because I don't want a huge dessert in my house! I have enjoyed the Baked cookbook though.

I think the Southwest cookbook sounds good, but in honesty I would probably start posting less if we starting using it for our recipes. I don't really want to buy another cookbook right now, and I've really enjoyed having a wider variety of dinner meals to make! To me that's the best part of this food blog.

Whitney said...

I think all your suggestions are great - I'd love to try to post more often - meaning at least once a month and I think a shorter rotation list will be beneficial. And I think you and Danielle should be able to get in the rotation more often than everyone else, but that's just me.

Confession: I don't even own "Baked" .. I just check it out at the library regularly (since I'm there weekly anyway). I'm sad to admit that "Baked" is out of my league - it's just too advanced and would take me too much time, so I don't cook the recipes very often. Plus, my husband doesn't appreciate food/desserts like I do, so it's only me who gets any satisfaction out of trying something new. Like, he doesn't eat breakfast ever and only eats lunch if it's provided at the firm and then he will always try whatever I make at home, but his heart of hearts desires the same staples that his mom used to make him growing up. And if I ever make a dessert, then I end up eating or giving away 95% of it because he hardly eats any of it (there's only a few exceptions). And he doesn't really like to go out to eat either. Ok, pity party over! Really, I love that guy to death! My point is, me and Rach are the only ones that are eating the new recipes, which is the reason why my posts have been limited.

I get excited about diversity, so I'd be game for something like the Southwest cookbook in the rotation, plus other dinner recipes (like go-to quick type meals) and dessert recipes that could come from anywhere, not just one specific book, but they need to be DELICIOUS! :) That would be a complex rotation probably, so I'm sure whatever you ladies come up with will be fabulous!

Thanks, Cami & Danielle for all your hard work!

The Jayroes said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
The Jayroes said...

Personally, I wouldn't want to make a recipe I didn't get to choose and I'm guessing most people would feel that way. I mean what if the people choosing pick a recipe of something you absolutely hate - like for me I HATE coconut and can't stand eating anything that has even a speck of coconut in it! So if someone gave me coconut cream pie or bars with coconut in it..... :( I would want to bow out.
Also, since I'm new on board.. Danielle has told me all the recipes that have been done out of the baked book and most of them are the ones I want to try! I think there are still 3 or 4 things (out of the ones that have not yet been done) that I am interested in. There is a dessert book that I really think looks good that could possibly be up in the nominations for the next delish dessert book. I'll put the info up on the blog so everybody can check it out.