My Word with Douglas E. Welch

Books on Hold is a blog series dedicated to books I have seen in passing and requested from my local library. See more in the series at the end of this blog post. — Douglas

Contagious: Why Things Catch On by Jonah Berger

From Amazon.com…

“If you said advertising, think again. People don’t listen to advertisements, they listen to their peers. But why do people talk about certain products and ideas more than others? Why are some stories and rumors more infectious? And what makes online content go viral?

Wharton marketing professor Jonah Berger has spent the last decade answering these questions. He’s studied why New York Times articles make the paper’s own Most E-mailed List, why products get word of mouth, and how social influence shapes everything from the cars we buy to the clothes we wear to the names we give our children. In this book, Berger reveals the secret science behind word-of-mouth and social transmission. Discover how six basic principles drive all sorts of things to become contagious, from consumer products and policy initiatives to workplace rumors and YouTube videos.

Contagious combines groundbreaking research with powerful stories. Learn how a luxury steakhouse found popularity through the lowly cheese-steak, why anti-drug commercials might have actually increased drug use, and why more than 200 million consumers shared a video about one of the seemingly most boring products there is: a blender. If you’ve wondered why certain stories get shared, e-mails get forwarded, or videos go viral, Contagious explains why, and shows how to leverage these concepts to craft contagious content. This book provides a set of specific, actionable techniques for helping information spread—for designing messages, advertisements, and information that people will share. Whether you’re a manager at a big company, a small business owner trying to boost awareness, a politician running for office, or a health official trying to get the word out, Contagious will show you how to make your product or idea catch on.”

* Discovered via KnowledgeBlocks

Previously in Books on Hold:

• Salty Snacks: Make Your Own Chips, Crisps, Crackers, Pretzels, Dips, and Other Savory Bites
• Pancake: A Global History
• Breakfast for Dinner: Recipes for Frittata Florentine, Huevos Rancheros, Sunny-Side-Up Burgers, and More!
• Blog, Inc.: Blogging for Passion, Profit, and to Create Community by Joy Deangdeelert Cho
• Nigellissima: Easy Italian-Inspired Recipes by Nigella Lawson
• Just Start: Take Action, Embrace Uncertainty, Create the Future
• Meatless: More Than 200 of the Very Best Vegetarian Recipes (Martha Stewart Living)
• How to Boil An Egg by Rose Carrarini
• Dirt Candy: A Cookbook: Flavor-Forward Food from the Upstart New York City Vegetarian Restaurant by Amanda Cohen
• See more Books on Hold here!

Books on Hold is a blog series dedicated to books I have seen in passing and requested from my local library. See more in the series at the end of this blog post. — Douglas

Salty Snacks: Make Your Own Chips, Crisps, Crackers, Pretzels, Dips, and Other Savory Bites

From Amazon.com…

“This collection of 75 recipes for savory puffs, chips, crackers, breads, nuts, veggies and meats puts a fresh, crunchy spin on homemade snacks.

Are you ready to take your love of salty snacks to the next level?

This collection of seventy-five recipes for veggie chips, cheese straws, toasted nuts, pita chips, herb crackers, savory cookies, and snack mixes puts a fresh, crunchy spin on homemade nibbles.
So broaden your horizons beyond microwave popcorn and bagged chips to include inventive snacks like Roasted Chickpeas with Sumac, Coconut Crisps with Basil and Chiles, Salami Chips with Grainy Mustard Dip, Stilton and Walnut Pinwheels, and more.
Indeed, with all the excess sodium and hidden preservatives in prepackaged foods, it’s smart as well as delicious to make your own savory bites from scratch. Nutritious offerings like Parsnip and Carrot Chips, gluten-free recipes like Cumin Lentil Crackers, and the option to customize the amount of added salt (or alternative spices and sprinklings) will appeal to snackers of every stripe. Perfect for cocktail parties, after-school snack time, or anytime you need a nosh, this collection’s easy techniques and exotic flavors are sure to delight anyone with a “salty tooth.”

* Discovered via Baking Bites

Previously in Books on Hold:

• Pancake: A Global History
• Breakfast for Dinner: Recipes for Frittata Florentine, Huevos Rancheros, Sunny-Side-Up Burgers, and More!
• Blog, Inc.: Blogging for Passion, Profit, and to Create Community by Joy Deangdeelert Cho
• Nigellissima: Easy Italian-Inspired Recipes by Nigella Lawson
• Just Start: Take Action, Embrace Uncertainty, Create the Future
• Meatless: More Than 200 of the Very Best Vegetarian Recipes (Martha Stewart Living)
• How to Boil An Egg by Rose Carrarini
• Dirt Candy: A Cookbook: Flavor-Forward Food from the Upstart New York City Vegetarian Restaurant by Amanda Cohen
• See more Books on Hold here!

Sorry folks, but no show this week as Babette is off enjoying the splendor that is the Austin, Texas food scene during the South by Southwest (SXSW) Conference.

We’ll be back next week, Thursday with the folk from Chameleon Cold Brew Coffee. We’ll be trying out their coffees during the show and finding out what it is all about.

You can watch past episodes of #KitchenParty at http:/youtube.com/bakespacetv

See you next week!

Books on Hold is a blog series dedicated to books I have seen in passing and requested from my local library. See more in the series at the end of this blog post. — Douglas

Pancake: A Global History

From Amazon.com…

“Round, thin, and made of starchy batter cooked on a flat surface, it is a food that goes by many names: flapjack, crêpe, and okonomiyaki, to name just a few. The pancake is a treasured food the world over, and now Ken Albala unearths the surprisingly rich history of pancakes and their sizzling goodness.

Pancake traverses over centuries and civilizations to examine the culinary and cultural importance of pancakes in human history. From the Russian blini to the Ethiopian injera, Albala reveals how pancakes have been a perennial source of sustenance from Greek and Roman eras to the Middle Ages through to the present day. He explores how the pancake has gained symbolic currency in diverse societies as a comfort food, a portable victual for travelers, a celebratory dish, and a breakfast meal. The book also features a number of historic and modern recipes—tracing the first official pancake recipe to a sixteenth-century Dutch cook—and is accompanied by a rich selection of illustrations.

Pancake is a witty and erudite history of a well-known favorite and will ensure that the pancake will never be flattened under the shadow of better known foods.”

Previously in Books on Hold:

• Breakfast for Dinner: Recipes for Frittata Florentine, Huevos Rancheros, Sunny-Side-Up Burgers, and More!
• Blog, Inc.: Blogging for Passion, Profit, and to Create Community by Joy Deangdeelert Cho
• Nigellissima: Easy Italian-Inspired Recipes by Nigella Lawson
• Just Start: Take Action, Embrace Uncertainty, Create the Future
• Meatless: More Than 200 of the Very Best Vegetarian Recipes (Martha Stewart Living)
• How to Boil An Egg by Rose Carrarini
• Dirt Candy: A Cookbook: Flavor-Forward Food from the Upstart New York City Vegetarian Restaurant by Amanda Cohen
• See more Books on Hold here!

Recipes in Rotation is a series that allows me to highlight recipes that have made their way into “the book.” This book is the binder that contains recipes we make on a regular basis — at least monthly and in some cases, every two weeks. I keep them in this special binder for quick and easy access without sorting through a bunch of other recipes to speed things up when I need to get dinner on the table.

Today’s recipe is a Fluffy Pancakes

I have never been much of a pancake fan before, but lately I have been having cravings for them. I like my pancakes light and fluffy, so I went looking for a recipe with just those qualities. After looking at quite a few recipes, I developed my own recipe which combined a little of each. The secret of fluffy is to have enough leavening to make the pancakes pop. The “double-acting” baking powder used here develops fluffiness when mixed the the wet ingredients and agin when the pancakes are cooked.

This photo is an example of a fresh batch just off the cast iron griddle that always sits atop our stove — perfect for just such a meal. If you have a hankering for pancakes, this recipe works very well. It only makes about 6 average-sized pancakes, but the recipes is easily doubled or tripled if you want to make a larger batch. I do add a bit more milk than the recipe calls for, just to make them a little bit lighter. 

Fluffy Pancakes

(See this recipe on Bakespace.com)

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoon sugar
2 tsps baking powder
1/2 tsp slat
1 egg
1 cup milk
Splash orange juice
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup butter, melted 

Instructions

Heat griddle or pan to medium

Melt butter in microwave but do not brown. Set aside to cool a bit.
In small bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
Combine egg, milk, orange juice, vanilla and cooled butter in small bowl.Quickly whisk together with fork.
Stir wet ingredients into dry — mixing just enough to moisten. Do not over beat or they will be less fluffy. 

When griddle or pan is hot. (Drops of water on pan skitter about energetically)
Spoon 1/4 cup batter onto hot griddle or pan for each pancake
Cook on each side until golden and fluffy. 

Serves 4

More pancake recipes:

  

Previously in Recipes in Rotation:

• Black Bean Soup
• Tuscan Sausage and Potato Soup
• Gnocchi alla Ciociaria
• Italian Wedding Soup (Zuppa di Matrimonio)
• Risotto Rosso with Sausage
• Spicy Turkey Burgers or Sliders
• Douglas’ Italian Red Sauce
• Buttermilk Cornmeal Waffles
• Douglas’ Secret Christmas Chili
• No Fuss Focaccia Bread 
• Turkey curry with potatoes and sweet potatoes
• Potato Soup with Add-ins
• Taco meat seasoning for ground turkey
• Mild Taco Sauce in the style of Taco Bell
• Gnocchi Au Gratin Orleans from Emeril Lagassé

If you subscribe to my Pinterest page, my @douglaswelch Twitter account or my Google+ feed, you know that I am always finding recipes I want to try. This series, New Food, will highlight some of those finds as we make them for the first time in our own kitchen. Then, I’ll report back to you on the results — for better or worse! — Douglas

Fried Radicchio with Chicken Breast – Leftover Mashup

Today’s recipe is a bit of a mashup from last week. We cook at home a lot, so there are always significant leftovers to be put to use. For today’s lunch, I poked around in the fridge and came up with this leftover mashup.

First you take some of the friend radicchio from last week’s Radicchio Risotto. Then, fry or grill some boneless chicken breast. We had some left over from our chicken, mashed potato, veg dinner a few nights ago. Heat these up together, add a bit more spice, or different spices as you desire. I added some more salt and black pepper (which I love) to balance the relative sweetness of the radicchio. You could also add in some balsamic vinegar. I don’t use this when making the radicchio for the risotto, as I think the vinegar would overpower the risotto. In this mashup, though, I think it would bring a nice kick to the flavors.

Fried Radicchio with Chicken Breast – Leftover Mashup

Ingredients

1 head radiccchio
1 Tblsp Olive Oil
1/2 cup white wine
Salt
Pepper
*Balsamic vinegar (optional)

Mozzarella or Parmesan Cheese

Pre-cooked fried, baked or grilled chicken bread (1-4 depending on how many people you are serving) 

Instructions

Chop radicchio into strands. Heat 1Tbls olive oil in skillet
Add salt and pepper to taste
Toss with tongs until wilted
Add 1/2 cup white wine
Cook until wine is absorbed an evaporated.
Add 1 tdsp balsamic vinegar, if desired

Slice or chop cooked chicken breast and add to radicchio to reheats

Plat up and top with mozzarella or parmesan cheese, if desired

Want more food content? – Join me each Thursday for #KitchenParty live at 8pm EST/5pm PST.

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Previously on New Food:

• Radicchio Risotto
• Soft Pumpkin Ginger Cookies
• Video: Making Sparking Fruit Juice
• Cornflake Crusted Chicken Tenders
• Chocolate Porter Cake
• Slow Cooker Jambalaya
• Lentil and Sausage Stew
• Slim Scalloped Potatoes and Ham
• Sweet and Spicy Bacon Chicken
• Parmesan Paprika Potatoes

Here is a selection of free wallpapers for your computer desktop or smartphone. Right-click and select Save Image As… to download them to your own computer. On your smartphone, click the image to see the full-sized image, tap and hold, then select Save to Camera Roll. You can then attach the wallpapers using your phone’s preferences.

Desktop Wallpaper 

Download full-sized version

iPad/Tablet Wallpaper

Download full-sized iPad/Tablet wallpaper

iPhone4/Smartphone Wallpaper

Download full-sized iPhone 4 wallpaper

iPhone5/Smartphone Wallpaper

Download Full-sized iPhone 5 Wallpaper

 Previous desktop, tablet and smartphone wallpapers:

• Native Sunflower
• Koi Pond
• White Chamomile Flower
• Palm Tree
• Water Lily
• Artichoke Wallpapers
• Morning Glory Wallpapers
• Sunflower Wallpapers
• Hibiscus Closeup Wallpapers
• Garden Face Wallpapers
• Passiflora Wallpapers
• Daisies Wallpapers
• Cherry Blossoms Wallpapers
• Paperwhites Wallpapers

Books on Hold is a blog series dedicated to books I have seen in passing and requested from my local library. See more in the series at the end of this blog post. — Douglas

Breakfast for Dinner: Recipes for Frittata Florentine, Huevos Rancheros, Sunny-Side-Up Burgers, and More! 

From Amazon.com…

“Inside Breakfast for Dinner you’ll find more than 100 classic breakfast recipes made with a twist. Enjoy hearty “brinner” dishes like Bacon Fried Rice, Breakfast Ravioli, Pizza over Easy, and Cornmeal Pancakes with Beer-Braised Short Ribs, plus such sweet treats as Sunrise Margaritas and Maple Bacon Cupcakes—to name just a few. This cookbook is a breakfast lover’s dream come true.“

* Discovered via The Boastful Baker

Previously in Books on Hold:

• Blog, Inc.: Blogging for Passion, Profit, and to Create Community by Joy Deangdeelert Cho
• Nigellissima: Easy Italian-Inspired Recipes by Nigella Lawson
• Just Start: Take Action, Embrace Uncertainty, Create the Future
• Meatless: More Than 200 of the Very Best Vegetarian Recipes (Martha Stewart Living)
• How to Boil An Egg by Rose Carrarini
• Dirt Candy: A Cookbook: Flavor-Forward Food from the Upstart New York City Vegetarian Restaurant by Amanda Cohen
• See more Books on Hold here!

Books on Hold is a blog series dedicated to books I have seen in passing and requested from my local library. See more in the series at the end of this blog post. — Douglas

As I move the my career more in the direction of blogging and other New Media pursuits, I am happening across more and more books like this. Certainly worth a read to see if there is anything I can glean from their experiences and advice.

Blog, Inc.: Blogging for Passion, Profit, and to Create Community by Joy Deangdeelert Cho

From Amazon.com…

“With roughly 95,000 blogs launched worldwide every 24 hours (BlogPulse), making a fledgling site stand out isn’t easy. This authoritative handbook gives creative hopefuls a leg up. Joy Cho, of the award-winning Oh Joy!, offers expert advice on starting and growing a blog, from design and finance to overcoming blogger’s block, attracting readers, and more. With a foreword from Grace Bonney of Design*Sponge plus expert interviews, this book will fine-tune what the next generation of bloggers shares with the world.

Learn how to: – Design your site
- Choose the right platform
- Attract a fan base
- Finance your blog
- Maintain work/life balance
- Manage comments
- Find content inspiration
- Overcome blogger’s block
- Choose the right ads
- Develop a voice
- Protect your work
- Create a media kit
- Leverage your social network
- Take better photographs
- Set up an affiliate program
- Partner with sponsors
- Build community
- Go full-time with your blog
- And more!“

* Discovered via Vale Design : Freelance Package Design & Branding by Erin Vale

Previously in Books on Hold:

• Nigellissima: Easy Italian-Inspired Recipes by Nigella Lawson
• Just Start: Take Action, Embrace Uncertainty, Create the Future
• Meatless: More Than 200 of the Very Best Vegetarian Recipes (Martha Stewart Living)
• How to Boil An Egg by Rose Carrarini
• Dirt Candy: A Cookbook: Flavor-Forward Food from the Upstart New York City Vegetarian Restaurant by Amanda Cohen
• Homemade Pantry: 101 Foods You Can Stop Buying and Start Making by Alana Chernila
• To Sell Is Human: The Surprising Truth About Moving Others by Daniel Pink
• Risk Intelligence: How to Live with Uncertainty by Dylan Evans
• Harnessed: How Language and Music Mimicked Nature and Transformed Ape to Man by Mark Changizi
• The Naked Brewer: Fearless Homebrewing Tips, Tricks & Rule-breaking Recipes by Christina Perozzi, Hallie Beaune
• The Backyard Parables: Lessons on Gardening, and Life by Margaret Roach
• Pure Dessert by Alice Medrich
• The Science of Good Cooking: Master 50 Simple Concepts to Enjoy a Lifetime of Success in the Kitchen (Cook’s Illustrated Cookbooks)
• Martha’s American Food: A Celebration of Our Nation’s Most Treasured Dishes, from Coast to Coast by Martha Stewart
• The Layered Garden: Design Lessons for Year-Round Beauty from Brandywine Cottage 
• Home Made Winter by Yvette van Boven (Author), Oof Verschuren (Photographer)
• Come In, We’re Closed: An Invitation to Staff Meals at the World’s Best Restaurants

As always, let me know what types of interesting items you would like to see and I will keep an eye out for them especially. — Douglas

• Food / Squeeze Bottle Pancake Art
• Food / Un-Fried Rice Balls “Arancini”
• Food / Wisconsin Bacon Cheese Beer Bread
• Food / Cornbread Bites Recipe
• Food / Cabernet chocolate truffles for Valentine’s Day
• Food / Chocolate-Pear Tea Bread
• Food / make cornbread in the waffle maker and top with chili
• Food / Basil Asiago Risotto
• Food / Pink Parsley: PPQ: Blackberry Pie Bars
• Food / Churro Waffles Recipe
• Garden / Garden Lunchbox with succulents
• Garden / Galvanized tub garden Beds
• Garden / Make this bird feeder to hold orange for the birds in your garden. Orioles love them.
• New Media / Elsewhere: Jim Long on The How and Why of Live Web Video Streaming | New Media Interchange
• Food / Apple Upside Down Cake
• Food / Refrigerator Oatmeal — 8 new flavors of this popular no-cook make-ahead grab-and-go breakfast.
• Garden / Teddy bear Sunflowers
• Garden / Poached Egg Flower (Limnanthes douglasii) via plant-biology.com
• Garden / Colorful Cottage Garden
• Garden / La porte du jardin secret
• Food / Six Sisters’ Stuff: Slow Cooker Refried Beans (without the Refry!)
• Food / Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Pretzel Cookies | Tallgrass Kitchen
• Food / The Best Recipes of Pinterest: Honey Beer Bread Recipe
• Cupcakes Take The Cake: Doctor Who Tardis and The Princess Bride cupcakes
• Education / MIT’s Free Creative Learning Class Teaches You How to Learn Almost Anything
• Technology / Focus@Will says its music app boosts concentration, opens it to public beta
• Technology / Bookish Combines Expert Reviews and Data to Recommend Your Favorite New Book
• Books / The River Cottage Fish Book by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Nick Fisher Cookbook Spotlight | The Kitchn
• Technology / 12 Excellent Free Mac Apps For Graphic Designers
• Food / Cloud Cakes
• Technology / Ribbon Sells Your Stuff Anywhere on the Web With One Easy Button
• Food / The Bake-Off Flunkie: Creamy Herbed Chicken, Rigatoni & Spinach
• Food / Brewing Beer At Home That’s So Good You Can Serve It To A Friend: Erik Kopp
• Technology / New iOS app Winston is your Siri personal assitant for news | TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog
• New Media / Livestream releases software version of Studio video switcher, gives producers an even more portable option
• Food / The Kitchy Kitchen: BEER BROWNIES WITH MILK
• Food / New Website Crush: American Food Roots | The Kitchn
• Food / Moveable Feasts: Artisan Bacon and Cheese Bread
• Technology / Techmeme: You can download Firefox 19 for Windows, Mac, and Linux right now
• Technology / Sunrise for iPhone May Be the Last Calendar App You Ever Use
• Technology / Remains of the Day: Adobe Updates Reader and Acrobat to Address Recent Exploits
• Techology / How to Collaborate Seamlessly with Two Macs – Lifehack
• New Media / YouTube App Update Suggests Paid Channels Are on the Way
• New Media / This App Syncs Multi-Camera Footage Into One Video
• Food / Lovin’ From The Oven:Baked Apple Walnut Oatmeal – Lovin’ From The Oven
• Technology / Weezic for iPad, an augmented sheet music app for classical musicians
• Food / Rosemary Garlic Farmers Cheese

Links to all of these items, and more, are on my Pinterest Feed.