Let me just say how thrilled I am to be contributing a post to the AFBA blog. I’m not from Texas, I don’t even live there, but I have a genuinely fond fascination with the Lone Star state, especially the city of Austin. I love live music, I love hot weather and I love good food, so it seems as though Austin and I would be perfect for each other. Luckily for me, most of the people I work with, including Cooking Planit Co-FounderTripp Wiggins, and loads of AFBA members, allow me to live there vicariously, which makes me feel a bit like an honorary Austinite. And now, to be posting too? Well, let’s just say I feel like I am officially part of the club. Thanks, AFBA!
Now, on to the business at hand. Most of you are probably familiar with the new AFBA Cookbook. Isn’t it beautiful?! As a proud sponsor of the book, Cooking Planit is pleased to feature many of the recipes on our site. For those of you who aren’t yet familiar with Cooking Planit, it’s a cooking website (apps also available) that helps you prepare multiple recipes simultaneously so all your dishes are ready to eat at the same time. From meal planning to one-click aggregated grocery lists to step-by-step instructions, it’s truly a revolutionary cooking tool. Think of it as GPS for your kitchen: enter your destination (i.e., the recipes you want to make), click start, then let it take you where you need to go (i.e., finished meal on the table).
As Culinary Director of Cooking Planit, it’s my job to create and curate content to ensure our users have reliably good recipes to choose from. I was beyond excited when the AFBA sent me a list of final-cut recipes that had already been thoroughly tested. Narrowing down the list was a hard job, but someone had to do it. So, I selected a variety of recipes that would showcase all types of dishes, from Thyme and Four Cheese Mini Corn Muffins to Ancho Cherry-Raisin Glazed Pork Medallions; that originated from different cultures, like Persian Lamb Stewand Caldo de Pescado; and which used interesting ingredients, like Black Bean and Quinoa Burgers and Chocolate Chili. Of course, I also chose recipes just because they sounded good to me, like Bora Bora Fireballs and Smoked Salmon Hush Puppies, because if I want to eat them, I can bet someone else out there will want to eat them too.
The beauty of sharing the AFBA Cookbook recipes through Cooking Planit is that now any home cook can easily make these dishes either for fun or as part of a full meal. With access to hundreds of other recipes, you can bundle these with other dishes and create a complete dinner. Or perhaps you are an avid blog reader, but you don’t feel comfortable enough to venture into your own kitchen to try recipes for yourself. Well, now you can cook fearlessly, because Cooking Planit will literally guide you through every step of the way! So, head over and check us out. I think you’ll like what you find!
We’ve been working with some of your favorite AFBA bloggers already, like Brittanie Duncan, Amy Kritzer and Lauren Walz . Now, we are proud to have 16 more AFBA contributors available on Cooking Planit. Thank you to all who participated, and thank you to AFBA for your continued partnership. Cooking is always more fun when it’s shared with friends, and we love being a part of the Austin culinary community.
– Emily Wilson, Cooking Planit
