TasteBook

Screw FaceBook - who cares what the kids are up to today?! It'll be at least another month before I cave and open and account, and I've been resisting for well over a year ( * pats self on back *). I caved immediately upon discovering TasteBook however. Wait - not true. I found it once, thought "Wow, what a great idea, I need to do this," and then promptly forgot the name. Food Network (bless its heart) reminded me the other day when I seriously thought I heard them say they had a new FaceBook application. "What is the world coming to?!" I moaned. "Is EVERYTHING going to have a FaceBook app?!" Then I realized the announcer said TASTEBook.
Oh.
Never a fool twice (okay, rarely) I went straight to the site and signed up. I've already created four books, although none have any recipes yet. I'm just not sure where to start and haven't had the time to play with it any further than picking out the pretty pictures that will be the covers of these amazing books. There are so many recipes in the world! This could either take forever, as I slowly select only the best, tried and true recipes; or I could do it in a day - plunking in every recipe sitting in my kitchen, even though I haven't attempted most of them. I'm even doing a See Jen Eat one, so that once I'm famous on the interwebs I can sell them for a ridiculously high profit. I'm sure you'll all want one. I have one for entertaining, one for family recipes (I've got Big! Plans! for that one), and one for healthy eats.
The upside is you can put all your recipes in, label them, they get filed under their own little tabs et voila. Instant organization. The part that bothers the cheap bastard in me is having to pay for the recipes from their partner, Epicurious. I got a lot of recipes from there and their affiliated sites. And they're free. Now I need to pay 50 cents for the convenience of selecting them from a list to put into my book? I can save myself that 50 cents and copy and paste! I am totally admitting that my time is worth less than 50 cents. But really - that could add up. The books can have up to 100 recipes in them!
Other awesome points - the recipes are in a ringed binder that opens so you can take recipes out to read while cooking, take shopping, or add new recipes later as you think of them! I am seriously so excited. If you could see my "recipe collection" right now you'd understand. I have about thirty different systems, none of them working. In fact, the best cookbook I've ever gotten (and the one I use the most) is that old reliable picnic patterened BH&G one (thanks Dad!). I feel like this is the next best thing - still a reference, still easy to use, still a binder, but now it houses all my faves. There is even a notes section where I can suggest a wine pairing or maybe even a story about why this recipe is important to me. Love it.
A 25 recipe book is only $20, 50 recipe book is $30, and 100 recipe book is $34.95. If you opt to purchase one of the smaller books, it's 50 cents per recipe later - then they're printed out and delivered to you to pop into your book.
Now if only I could remember then name of the company that allows you to send all of your handwritten recipes and scraps of paper in and they compile a book for you that way.