"Becks and Posh" news and stories

You might remember me gushing over Becks & Posh's perfectly posh cookbook note-taking last October. The image had sent me into a flurry of thoughts about how much more I should be writing in my cookbooks, and made me wish that my writing looked nicer when I did get out the pen. But all of that was about comments, substitutions, and all-around good cookbook tidings.

But what do you do when the recipe, to put it bluntly, sucks? Once again, we have note-taking gold via Becks & Posh. It seems that once, poor Sam made a Castagnaccio, which went down in infamy as "really bad food Sam has made." It was so bad, in fact, that she wrote the above note in the margin. if you can't read it: "This is the shittiest crapest most disgusting tasting cake I ever made in my WHOLE LIFE."

So it got me thinking: What do you do when a recipe turns out terribly? Do you rant in the margins? Cross it out with a big, thick X? Doodle a little skull and crossbones near the title?* Clip it out and give it to a friend to try, so they can unknowingly share your tastebud misery?

*Now that is what every cook needs: small skull and crossbones stickers to plunk down on offensive recipes!

One of the best additions to a cookbook is not the mouth-watering images, but rather the margin notes. They are not only a great way to remember thoughts and alterations on a dish, but also a way to give it all a sense of history. One can record the thoughts and feelings that a dish evokes, and years later revisit it, or share the thoughts and pages with others -- making it a communal experience well after the fact.

But I have a confession to make. I can rarely bring myself to do it -- no matter matter how many times I regret it after the fact. It all comes from a sense of symmetry and visuals -- if I could make it look great and suitable for the page, I'd do it every time. If I could make it look like the picture to the right, from Becks and Posh (click there to see it full-sized), I would. That woman writes notes so sleek that it looks like they were printed on the page.*

So, here I sit, still trying to convince myself. Do you, Slashfoodies, write in the margins? Share your experiences, and if you can, definitely share images of your notes!

*Edited, thanks to Anu.

Sam Breach writes on her food blog, Becks n Posh, and while I love reading her charming stories about her adventures in and around San Francisco, what always gets me about her blog is her photography. How gorgeous is this photo?

The Pavlova has a tan, yes, and while purists might argue that it should be white, Sam made these with brown sugar, topped them with whipped cream, the first cherries of the late spring season, and caramelized almonds. I really do love the light brown color of the pavlova, making it so much softer looking with the cream and cherries!

A hearty round of applause please for Sam and her Food-Runners fund raising 24 hour blogathon. She has published the final post for the session.

The best Brit-blogger in San Francisco has accumulated pledges of over $2300, more than double her target, and provided a a great array of posts during her day. These ranged from making crostini for a blog event, joining the guys collecting and delivering the food and finishing with a cookie.

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