Burnt Lumpia: Filipino Food | Filipino Recipes | Culinary Hijinks

Cookbook Update: Manuscript & Photos Done

Golden. Not Burnt.

Just about a year ago, I ended one brief (yet exciting) chapter in my life to focus on something entirely different--writing my first cookbook. Although there were other major factors that pulled me away from the road as well (e.g. family, health, family health, sanity, etc.), I knew that I wouldn't be able to finish a big ol' book of filipino recipes if I didn't devote a huge chunk of my time to it while also considering all the other things going on in my life.

And let me tell you, there's a lot to writing a book of cookery! Especially if there's to be 100 or so recipes in said book of cookery. In addition to developing and writing each recipe, there's the testing and re-testing (and testing again) of each recipe and incorporating some of the feedback from my recipe testers (many thanks to those of you who volunteered!), not to mention writing all the additional text, stories, and anecdotes, and the research that goes along with all of that. And that's only half of the battle!

The other half of that GI Joe equation is in the food photography. Besides all the writing and recipe development, I also took it upon myself to do my own pictures and food styling.

If you've been following this here blog for any amount of time, you may have noticed that food photography ain't my forte (neither be grammar). So with an already full plate of stress and despair, I also managed to pile on more worry with my relative inexperience with a big fancy camera. Now, all 100 recipes had to be individually styled and photographed. And because nothing ever goes as planned with me, that meant thousands and thousands of photos at different angles, in different light, and with different settings--only to whittle that number down to a couple hundred photos. Sheesh.

So you can probably imagine just how difficult these past 12 months have been for me trying to cobble together the cookbook of my dreams. And I loved every minute of it! Even the ones where I was cursing myself and my camera, or cursing myself and my stove, or just cursing myself in general (cookbook writing can be downright introspective and self-deprecating). But I'd do it all again (which I probably, hopefully will, but much much much further down the road...).

But first thing's first. A little over a month ago I finished the manuscript and photographs for my very first Filipino cookbook and submitted everything to my editor at Tuttle Publishing. Soon, I'll be getting some edits back of my draft manuscript for my review, and I'll also probably have to re-shoot some things as well. So even though I'm done with the manuscript and photos, there's still plenty more to do in the months to come before an actual cookbook hits the shelves.

Aside from more editing and photos, there's layout and cover design, color separation and pre-press, many more reviews and edits, printing overseas and shipping to the US, and a whole bunch of other minutiae that I'll probably cover in other posts.

And although I first reported that my book would be out by late 2012, it's more likely to be early 2013. It takes time to craft a quality cookbook, you know? I will keep you posted...

Cookbook Recipe Testers Wanted!

***UPDATE 12/20/11: "Boy, that escalated quickly."

Thank you all so much for showing such great interest in this cookbook! I'm thrilled with the overwhelming responses in just a short amount of time. I won't be able to choose everyone to be a recipe tester, but I will choose many many of you that have left comments. As such, the call for testers is now closed.

I'll be in touch with the selected recipe testers soon via email. Thanks again for your participation!

***

Wow. Nothing can quite sneak up on you like a LOOMING deadline. Not ninjas. Not zombies. Not zombie-ninjas. 'Tis a scary thing indeed, that deadline.

So as I'm nearing the finish line for the manuscript of my Filipino cookbook, I can't help but to feel all kinds of anxiety, worry, and downright fright. And even after the manuscript is done, there's still plenty more things that can sneak up on me before the book is really done and I can finally stop looking over my shoulder--but those are details I'll perhaps save for another time.

For now, dear readers and friends, I need your help. Pretty please.

I need recipe testers. Recipe testers of all shapes, sizes, and culinary expertise. And because this lil' cookbook of mine will be released worldwide, I need recipe testers from L.A. to Laoag and everywhere in between.

And no, you don't have to be Filipino. And heck, you don't even have to like Filipino food. Maybe after testing a couple of my recipes, I can persuade Filipino food haters to think differently about something I care very dearly about. At least that's my hope. And yes, lovers of Filipino food are welcome too, of course.

Sound good? Good!

Here's what I need from you if you're interested in being a recipe tester for my New Filipino Cookbook:

• Leave a comment in this post, making sure to leave your correct email address in the appropriate box.
• Let me know where you are from, and what your skill-level is as a cook.
• Test 2-3 of my recipes as written, and let me know about the results.
• I need your feedback by January 9, 2012!
• "Mum's" the word. Keep my recipes, concepts, and ideas to yourself! Keep it on the DL! Zip the lip! Shhhhh! If you start going around town telling people about my recipe for Hippopatamus Adobo, why would they want to buy my cookbook?

Not Hippopatamus Adobo. Or is it?

In return, my recipe testers will have the opportunity to get a sneak peak of what I've been working on for the past many months. And as a recipe tester, you'll have the chance to be a part of what I hope will be something very special for the Filipino community specifically, and the bigger food community in general. Recipe testers will also be thanked by name in the acknowledgements section of my cookbook. Woohoo!

My cookbook is due out in late 2012/early 2013 and will be published by Tuttle Publishing. The book is tentatively titled "The New Filipino-American Cookbook: A Celebration of Culture in the Kitchen and at the Table"--or something kinda sorta like that. My cookbook will present a variety of classic Filipino dishes and comfort foods with my own modern and contemporary twist on them.

Hopefully there will be some of you out there that will want to help with this little endeavor of mine. Thanks in advance to any and everyone that apply!

WTF?

An Interview with Claude Tayag

Photo courtesy of Claude Tayag

To American audiences, Claude Tayag may best be known as Anthony Bourdain's Pampangan host and tour guide in the Philippines episode of No Reservations. But Claude Tayag is more than just a tour guide.

Tayag is a renowned artist, chef, and food writer in the Philippines. In addition to authoring Food Tour, a book exploring culinary traditions throughout the Philippines, Tayag is also the co-author of Kulinarya: A Guidebook to Philippine Cuisine.

And most recently, with his wife Mary Ann, Tayag co-authored Linamnam: Eating One's Way Around the Philippines--a unique and reader-friendly culinary travel guide that will lead readers to the best eats in every region of the Philippines.

[Record screech]

THE BEST EATS IN EVERY REGION OF THE PHILIPPINES??!!!

Once I get my hands on this book, I'm heading to the P.I. ASAP! Linamnam will be released in Manila on November 3 of this year.

Linamnam Nom Nom Nom

In short, Tayag is perhaps one of the foremost experts on Filipino cuisine, and it's a shame that Mr. Tayag's works aren't more readily available here in the U.S.

Now, I know that I laid it on pretty thick for Mr. Tayag in the previous paragraphs, but with good reason. I've been lucky enough to have corresponded with Mr. Tayag via a few emails for the last year and a half or so, and Mr. Tayag has always been gracious and kind to me when he didn't necessarily have to be. After all, I'm just an idiot food blogger;)

Consequently, I was supposed to have a one-on-one meeting with Tayag a couple of weeks ago at an event in San Francisco. But as luck would have it, Mr. Tayag had to cancel his trip to the U.S. at the last minute. Thankfully though, Mr. Tayag was nice enough to agree to an interview with me via a Q&A over email.

The following are Mr. Tayag's candid and very thoughtful responses to a few questions I had for him. There is much for all of us to learn from Mr. Tayag's views and expertise on Filipino cuisine.

Two Words: Done Deal

It's funny.

I've been daydreaming about writing this particular blog post and making this particular announcement since perhaps day one of this blog. Every now and then, for the past four years, I'd catch myself staring off into space, quietly wondering and hoping:

Wouldn't it be cool if I were to write a...

One of these days I'm going to write a...

Man, I really think I could write a...

And then before finishing my thought, I'd shake my head and continue banging on my keyboard, posting Filipino recipes and just sharing a part of my life and culture with anyone who happened across this blog.

Eventually though, after a couple years of wondering and hoping, I sat down and got to doing and writing. A proposal was written, and re-written, and massaged, and fine tuned, and...

And now, now that I actually am writing this blog post and actually do have something to announce, I'm at a loss for words.

Or maybe I'm just nervous.

Here goes:

I've got a cookbook deal!!! A cookbook deal!!! A mother-effing cookbook deal!!!

Wow, it felt insanely gratifying typing those words just now (especially the mother-effing part).

Yes friends, I am so very happy to share with you that over the next year or so I'll be busy writing a Filipino cookbook. I've signed a contract with Tuttle Publishing, and my manuscript is due in January 2012. My cookbook is tentatively titled The New Filipino-American Cookbook (ooh-lar-lar) and is scheduled to land in bookstores, Amazon, and my car trunk by Fall 2012.

I can already see some people out there who may be decrying the title and asking "Filipino-American? Does that mean this cookbook is geared toward Westerners?"

The answer, NO. The cookbook is intended for ANYONE interested in Filipino cuisine and culture. I'm envisioning this cookbook to be an extension of this blog in the sense that I'll continue exploring what Filipino food is, as well as what Filipino food can be. There will be new recipes featuring some traditional dishes, as well as some recipes with my own wacky take on things--you know, business as usual here at the Burnt Lumpia Worldwide Headquarters.

I would also like to take this time to thank Jaden Hair, Andrea Nguyen, and Pat Tanumihardja--three brilliant cookbook authors and all-around wonderful women who have each provided guidance and advice to me for the past couple of years. Thank you all for being mentors to me. And thank you for being inspiring cookbook authors. Thank You!

And lastly, thank you friends and readers. This is really, truly a wonderful/scary/exciting time in my life. I couldn't have gotten to this point without making the connections I've made with all of you. I've got a long road ahead of me still, and I hope you'll continue on this journey with me, as many of you have from the beginning.

I can only promise you that over the next year I will pour everything I've got into writing this cookbook, this FILIPINO COOKBOOK!!!, and hopefully you'll find the time to flip it open.

Cookbook Rules Everything Around Me