Actually, not much cooking around here literally and figuratively. I always said that this wouldn't be a recipe blog not so much because I have anything against recipe blogs (I don't!) but because I rarely cook from recipes myself and if I had to sit down and figure out measurements, translate them from standard to metric (or vice versa), cooking would be less a pleasure for me and more a chore. Not to mention that I'm not much of a photographer. The point is that I love to cook, but I've never really advertised it on my blog.
Cooking used to be my way to relax at the end of the day but with a 13-month-old trying to climb up on the range, it is most certainly not relaxing anymore. And the end of the day is a rush to get my piccolino fed, bathed, read to (that seems like such an awkward verb but is there a better way to say it?) and in bed that by the time I'm done, I'd just as soon eat a frozen pizza or one of those shake-em-up salads.
In other news, I just finished a proposal for my book and it was an eye-opening experience. I hadn't thought about it much before but a book really is a product much as a can of stewed tomatoes is and when you write a proposal, you've got to present it that way. You've got to compare it to other "popular products" and write things like "It's Eat, Pray, Love meets Down Came the Rain" and then rip those bestsellers apart and explain while yours will outsell them.
Speaking of smart packaging, anyone see those Tavernello commercials (below)? Tavernello is a cheap table wine in a box (I buy it to cook with - it's good for risotto; but if I'm going to go cheap, I'll chip in another Euro or two and get an actual bottle of wine) but the latest commercials feature a group of enology students studying the Tavernello phenomenon. At the end of the commercial, they are all sitting around a table over a meal and the professor has to tell them to "slow down on the wine." The subtext: Tavernello is so delicious that even sophisticated enology students with their discerning palates can't help binge on it. I guess they are trying to go for a more upmarket demographic. The current one (based on those I see buying Tavernello at the supermarket) seems to be old drunks on a tight budget.
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7 comments:
I like the juice box size tavernello. It cracks me up. Imagine packing that in your kid's lunch?
I hated Eat Pray Crap. It was another Under The Tuscan Sun B.S. to me. It must be nice to have a nervous break down on your bathroom floor over your divorce (this chick should try getting a divorce in Italy), and then get a book advance so she can go travel around the world and write about it. Soooo realistic don't ya think?
Autumn
I buy the "lunch box" size for risotto! It is funny how it has that little aluminum foil hole on the top as if you would be putting a straw in it. Never thought of it that way...
Yes, well living in Rome near the Spanish Steps (who can afford that?), making out with your hot Italian professor and eating gelato daily is not a real representation of Italian life either. Not realistic but I do think she's a good writer.
Congrats on finishing your proposal. Fingers crossed.
I heard Gilbert's The Last American Man was a fantastic book and I liked her articles for GQ.
Signed,
Broke And Single Under A Roman Sun
My personal favourite in terms of wine advertising is the one where they go down into the farmhouse cellar to choose the wine for lunch, and there are racks full of Ronchi San Crispino laid out horizontally in their tetrapak containers.... Gets me every time!!!
I ripped off your idea and now buy tavernello for cooking too (the juicebox size ones). Husband was kind of astonished the first time I brought 'em home though. I guess he figured I'd decided to move out and join the winos over in the station...
I'm looking forward to your book. Glad someone's telling it how it is here in Italy. I predict the Italian media will rip you apart but that'll be good for book sales! I hope the publishers aren't putting too much pressure on you to add a sugar coating though. Unforunately the Eat Pray Live fantasy Italy stuff sells. :(
I LOVE this commercial! Was not aware of it but now must steal and post it on my FB page because it is comic relief. My favorite part is "We don't waste a stem" or however you translate grappolo. It's like, of course you don't, freaks, because you use all the left overs. So funny!
On another note though, I am very excited for your manuscript and I know you can do the necessary marketing. Remember my autographed copy. Don't forget the little people. Esp. the little people who survived the same hell known as pregnant and birthing in Italy. ODDDIO DIO.
NYC/Caribbean,
Thanks but I haven't even found an agent yet. And if literary agents are anything like Hollywood agents, it doesn't sound like just finding an agent = automatic ticket to success. I know they say you have to steel yourself for rejection but I don't think I'm prepared for it. Eek!
Kataroma,
Thanks! The book may collect dust in a drawer. But it's done, and it definitely was a cathartic experience.
Shelley,
If you liked the Tavernello commercial, you'll love Ronco San Crispino. Hee hee. You are mentioned in the book. If Oprah calls, you can come up on stage with me. :)
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