This month, Xulon Press is all about self-publishing your recipes—we’ve gone cookbook crazy! One of the most important components of a cookbook is, of course, the pictures! To get the skinny on how to capture your picture-perfect casseroles, sauces and sides, we’ve tapped into the brains of our resident food & photography experts. Meet our panel: Krystina Murray, Xulon Editor, blogger and passionate foodie; Nick Lopez, Author Support Rep and photographer extraordinaire; and Sabine Khouri, our super-trendy, tech-savvy Product Coordinator. Me: Thanks for getting together! Our authors have been pretty excited about this month’s topic. We all know that pictures are…

Every now and again, I run across character traits that leave me wondering if I’m the black sheep of my family. Usually, it’s an action I’ve never seen anyone else do and I wonder, is it me? For instance, I love chocolate chip cookie dough, but I hate the chocolate chips in the dough. Something about the crunchiness turns me off and when the chips aren’t cooked the chocolate messes with the flavor of the dough. I took to standing over a garbage can as I ate the dough, so I could easily spit the chips into the trash; much…

The moment has come to compile your favorite recipes in a fun cookbook. You may be wondering where to begin, where to get your recipes from and how to make your cookbook unique. Compiling a cookbook may not be as hard as you think! But first, why not dabble in writing about your favorite dishes? The list below can help you get started. Passing down family traditions and recipes. Your cookbook may be a way to share a unique cultural background with exotic cuisines that you have fond memories of making. You can also commemorate deceased relatives by dedicating your…

I’m always anxious for the advent of summer and the wonderful things it brings with it: the musical hum of lawn sprinklers being turned on full-blast for children to run through; the lazy way that the sun starts to drag out each evening; the electric snap-crackle-pop of a thunderstorm as a universally welcome reprieve from the smoldering heat. I think I love the tastes and smells of summer just as much as the sights and sounds: family bbq’s, church luncheons and picnics come alive with lip-puckering homemade lemonade, sweet seedy watermelon and the spicy tang of bbq sauce on a…