Tell us what you LOVE about C@H!
#11
  Re: (...)
I am starting a new thread different from the 'Critique' thread to help us tell the publisher what exactly we loved about the publication.

Why don't we all pull out our favorite C@H issues (we all have our favs) and list the articles and recipes that inspired us and kept us coming back!

I love this magazine and want to do whatever I can to keep it going and keep it something we use everyday, recommend to friends, and talk about on this forum.

This is a quote from the 'Critique' thread:

Quote:

I want to put my 2 cents in here about subscription costs.

My mother is a longtime publisher, she's smalltime, but still she's a publisher. Newspapers and magazines are having a difficult time keeping circulation up these days. I am sure partly due to the current economic state, but also in part due to other factors as well. Lots of smaller magazines are simply 'out of print' and closing their doors.

As far as the cost of THIS particular magazine. It never bothered me to spend $24 for a year or even $42 for two years. The way I saw it was this: If I purchase a cookbook for $30-$40 and get 2-3 great recipes out of it, that was great. With Cuisine at Home I would spend $42 and get 5-6 great recipes every month! I really felt like I was getting a great deal actually.

I would love to continue subscribing to this magazine for years to come. While I am sure that not EVERYONE is unhappy with the overall changes of the magazine, I think our input is import to the future success of our beloved publication.

Do you think it might be a good thing to list or give input to them about the things we really LOVE about previous publications? Maybe that would help all the people behind the scenes get a better idea of what their longtime subscribership is looking for.



"Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time."
Laura
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#12
  Re: Tell us what you LOVE about C@H! by luvnit (I am starting a new ...)
That's a great idea, Laura. I'll go through some of my favorites tonight and make a list. I just hope all of our good intentions aren't just ignored.
Maryann

"Drink your tea slowly and reverently..."
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#13
  Re: Re: Tell us what you LOVE about C@H! by Mare749 (That's a great idea,...)
Well, even if they don't listen, we all get to reminisce and look at our favorites from the past! I go through my old magazines every now and then anyway. This is just a good excuse.
"Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time."
Laura
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#14
  Re: Tell us what you LOVE about C@H! by luvnit (I am starting a new ...)
Hello, I am new to this forum. I just recently let my subscription lapse(due to economics) since I am not a current subscriber maybe I shouldn't be commenting. Regardless, what I had enjoyed and appreciated was:
1. A lot of recipes.
2. Layout for the instructions on each recipe. ie:easy step by step instructions and pictures. I am not a beginner cook but there are times when one just needs a visual.
3. Lack of advertisments
4. Testing of products - at times very interesting.

Kat
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#15
  Re: Re: Tell us what you LOVE about C@H! by grammy2005 (Hello, I am new to t...)
WELCOME Kat!!!!! Your input is VERY important and I agree with you 1000% with your opinions!!!!

Now I have to go and check out my favorite Issues and give my own opinion----

I DO NOT LIKE the new format---too many adverts and not enough with respect to recipes---IMHO!!! BRING back the old ideas, PLEASE!!!!
"Never eat more than you can lift" Miss Piggy
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#16
  Re: Re: Tell us what you LOVE about C@H! by grammy2005 (Hello, I am new to t...)
Thanks Grammy2005 for putting in your opinion. I think your thoughts do matter. I am sure you loved the magazine and will be a subscriber again in the future.

One reason I enjoy cooking from this magazine is that it presents recipes I would find in a great restaurant. I don’t want the recipes you get in a doctor’s office waiting room for salads, casseroles and chicken. The recipes in this magazine promote a dining experience.

One of my favorite issues was No. 54. It was one of my favorites because my hubby really loved the food in that issue a lot.

The CuisineClass article about Stuffed Filet Mignon was really done well. In the article, they gave some background about beef tenderloin and gave pretty simple instructions about prepping the meat for the recipe. Also the pictures with the instructions were excellent. Just enough to get a clear picture about the food’s preparation. The recipe I did was the Spinach-Blue Cheese stuffed filet along with the Warm Roasted Vegetable Salad.

These recipes were perfectly paired together. Not only were they dazzling to look at, but wonderful to eat. Both my husband and I agreed that this meal was better than we could have gotten at any restaurant.

The other standout (for me) was the Molto Manicotti on page 42. Again great article, great pictures and in the end was a restaurant quality dish. The addition of the Fresh Tomato Salad really brought this first recipe over the top for me. This is a goto crowd-pleaser. We also made the Squash and Chard Manicotti with Balsamic-walnut Salad. This too was over-the-top delicious and again the salad was perfectly paired to the entrée.

There was just something about the way these were all presented that made me WANT to make them. I think Grammy2005 summed up things nicely in her post.
"Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time."
Laura
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#17
  Re: Re: Tell us what you LOVE about C@H! by luvnit (Thanks Grammy2005 fo...)
Nicely said, Laura!!!! I TOTALLY AGREE with your comments!!
"Never eat more than you can lift" Miss Piggy
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#18
  Re: Re: Tell us what you LOVE about C@H! by Roxanne 21 (Nicely said, Laura!...)

  1. The recipes were interesting - not prosaic and predictable, but not extravagant and unattainable, either.
  2. They stayed away from advertising and product placement, so we knew we could trust the recipes to make objective statements without having a hidden (or blatant) sales pitch behind them. In fact, whenever I see a recipe or article that promotes (and not just reviews) a specific brand while ignoring others, I make it a point to make the recipe using a DIFFERENT brand of the product, if I make that recipe at all.
  3. Although there was a SECTION about "healthy" recipes, it wasn't the magazine's purpose (as it IS with too many magazines and cookbooks, nowadays) to remove every thread of the authenticity of recipes by deconstructing them into "healthy Latin," "healthy French," "healthy Italian," etc.

Actually, I have never subscribed to C@H. I only discovered it shortly before my coming to Honduras, and I purchased individual issues at Borders. Otherwise, even without my move to another country, I had already been in the process of switching almost all of my recipe searching to the Internet, anyway, especially since it allows me to find the most authentic recipes possible, without the Americanisation or "healthification."

My mother, however, after I moved down here, looked through my issues of C@H, and decided to subscribe, although she DID express confusion about the way in which the recipe instructions and pictures were set up. For economic reasons, and because she had found that the recipes ad been getting less and less interesting, of late, when her subscription recently came up for renewal, again, she just let it lapse (ironically, just before the change of recipe format that some people have mentioned). She said that, with all the other recipes she already has, or to which she already has access, she no longer found C@H to be interesting and instructive enough to warrant the renewal of her subscription.
If blueberry muffins have blueberries in them, what do vegan muffins have?
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#19
  Re: Re: Tell us what you LOVE about C@H! by Roxanne 21 (Nicely said, Laura!...)
"One reason I enjoy cooking from this magazine is that it presents recipes I would find in a great restaurant. I don’t want the recipes you get in a doctor’s office waiting room for salads, casseroles and chicken. The recipes in this magazine promote a dining experience."

What a great comment and compliment to the magazine!
Maryann

"Drink your tea slowly and reverently..."
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#20
  Re: Re: Tell us what you LOVE about C@H! by Mare749 ("One reason I enjoy ...)
Laura, this is a great idea. I agree with you on the restaurant quality of most of the recipes. Then there were just enough "new and different" that I was "teased" into trying them, especially with the support from here. There was also such variety! The fact that the recipes were elaborate enough that I wanted to try them, but written well enough, that I didn't get discouraged. Plus, I felt like someone took the time to think out an old recipe and make it new. One person, or people, that took an interest in cooking and did what I would LOVE to have time to do, but don't...Play with food, then share their successes with me....not just print the same old stuff. Plus, while I didn't always use them, a lot of thought seemed to be put into offering a side or sides to make my meal complete. And if that wasn't enough, there always seemed to be a section for just sides, most of which could easily be coordinated with the entrees in the book...as a matter of fact, I remember in some of the older issues I have purchased, there was a side and then an alternative was noted with a page number.

Now for my favorites: (I KNOW I left some out, but....)
-My first dinner review: the Pork Wellington Cuisine At Home, Holiday Menus 2007 (I'll never forget it! It was the most professional looking and tasting thing I had ever prepared and I felt like a pro! I think this is what hooked me on the magazine!)
-Basic Meatballs Cuisine at Home, October 2002, issue 35
-Beef Bourguignon with Buttered Parsley Noodles Cuisine at Home, October 2007, Issue 65, page 15
-Bock Barbeque Sauce-Chicken Parmesan Roulades Cuisine At Home, June 2006, Issue 57
-Cajun Shrimp Fettuccine, Cuisine Tonight page 79
-Chicken Cordon Bleu Cuisine at home, October 2004, Issue 47, p. 23
-Guinness Pot Roast Cuisine at home, October 2006, Issue 59, p. 17
-Lasagna Soup Cuisine at Home, December 2005, Issue 54, p. 34
-Meatloaf Muffins with Tomato Topping
-Molto Manicotti Cuisine at home, December 2005, Issue 54, p. 43
-Mushroom Pork Marsala Cuisine At Home, Weeknight Menus
-Shrimp Roll Cuisine Tonight page 85
-Skinny Meatloaf with sweet-&-sour ketchup
-Taco Salad Cuisine at Home Sandwiches and Salads, page 87
-Thai Chicken Skewer Wraps

And let's not forget the FABULOUS New York Cheesecake and the Ruby Sippers!

BTW, WELCOME GRAMMY! I think you had some really positive things to say and really pinpointed most of the things that I truly like about the magazine! Well done! I hope you will join us often. Since you don't have your subscription any more, maybe we can help you out from time to time when we find something we love! Then you can join us and comment as well!
Daphne
Keep your mind wide open.
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