Blogger Spotlight: Blogghetti
Blogger Lisa Kerhin's love of cooking and documenting her kitchen adventures first began as a logical way to organize her cookbook collection, personal recipes, and kitchen notes. Now a full-fledged blog, Kerhin's Blogghetti is a space for her to share her favorite recipes with friends, family, and beyond.
She invites her readers to "grab a cup of coffee" and take a look around, noting that while she may not have the prettiest of photos, her recipes are worth our time and encourages us to try new things.
"One of the things I have learned is that you have to step out of your cooking comfort zone and dive into a recipe that may not be on your level of expertise," she writes in her 'About Me' page. "How do you know if you can move to a new level in anything if you don't try, right?"
As a member of The Daily Meal's Culinary Content Network of food bloggers, Kerhin is this week's featured blogger — check out her interview and a selection of some of her favorite Blogghetti recipes below:
The Daily Meal: What is the mission of your blog?
Lisa Kerhin: Blogghetti is dedicated to simple and delicious recipes that anyone can create no matter their culinary skill level. It features family favorites, healthy options, classic dishes, and sweet treats.
How'd you get started?
We all have cookbooks that we cherish with well-read pages, bookmarks, and even scraps of paper sticking out of them with other recipes we want to keep. I started Blogghetti because I was tired of keeping the small scraps of papers in the books and of not being able to find the recipes I needed in the many, many well-loved cookbooks in my collection. It was definitely not organized and it was driving me insane.
At first, I never took pictures of the process of creating my recipes; I just typed them up because I thought that Blogghetti would be a place where my recipes could be easily accessible to family members and friends who live in various places across the country.
After following other cooking blogs, though, I recognized the benefit of adding photos to increase the speed of creating dishes and to decrease any confusion that readers might have. I also saw how important it is to join blogger communities for support and for networking. From there, the blog has grown to be a widely read source of easy-to-make, get-it-on-the-table-quick recipes that today's families need in their fast-paced lives.
What are some foods you can't live without?
Oh my gosh, where to start!? I don't even know what I would do if my local barbecue place, Georgia Bob's, went out of business. Georgia Bob's chicken salad sandwich is so delectable that I'd cut off my right arm for it! Life without that sandwich, without chocolate chip cookies, or without unsweetened iced tea would be so very, very sad.
Are there any foods you can't stand?
I will pass up peas, liver, and Doritos — every single time.
What is your proudest post?
My proudest post would have to be my Ukrainian Babka Bread recipe (Easter Bread) because I not only share part of my heritage, but I finally conquered my fears of making bread from scratch with this recipe.
This recipe holds a place in my heart because my grandmother served it every Easter at our family get-togethers. It's those memories that I cherish when I make this bread. The post was part of several round-ups and was one of my more popular posts on the blog and on Pinterest.
What is your biggest blog blunder?
Ha! Very early on, before I knew what I was doing with snapping pictures of my recipes, the photographs were bad...bad...bad. Photographer, I am not; but I am learning and updating old posts in the process.
Do you have a memorable comment from a reader?
I have several; however, one touched my heart more than others. One reader commented that the love I have for my family shows through my posts and "spills out into my cooking." It's so true. I love my family and my readers!
What's on your cooking playlist?
I don't often have music on while cooking unless I am home alone; but, when I do, it's "all '80s, all the time" in my kitchen.
What are some other blogs you love?
Some of my favorite blogs are Little House Living, Shugary Sweets, To Work With My Hands, Life of a Georgia Artist, and Hippocampus Magazine. It was hard to narrow it down to a few!
What are some food apps you love?
Food Network in the Kitchen, AllRecipes Dinner Spinner, and Yummly are the big recipe apps that I use most for clipping recipes; and then I save the clipped recipes in the Big Oven app.
Two of my favorite apps for food resources are Consumr, which allows you to scan barcodes on products to read consumer reviews (comes in handy when you are deciding if buying a new item is really worth the price); and Amount, which is fabulous for people who hate math and need to convert measurements or halve (or double) a recipe's ingredients.
What is the best thing about blogging?
My favorite parts of blogging are interacting with readers and visiting other bloggers' sites. I love that I can connect with people over various topics (especially food) and that I've made some really great friends through blogging. And that's not to mention the endless knowledge I am picking up from blogging communities. Plus, blogging is free therapy! I mean, where else can you tune out the world for a while and just clear your mind?!
The worst thing?
The worst part of blogging has to be the time and effort required to create posts, to follow up on networking opportunities, and to generate readers. At times, blogging can be depressing, especially when there are few readers, followers, shares, or comments. The lack of interaction sometimes even makes me doubt my capabilities; but I know if I keep putting 100 percent into this journey, success is sure to come.
What would even your most loyal followers be surprised to learn about you?
I think they would be surprised to know that while I bake a lot, I rarely eat any of it. It's for family or others to enjoy. In fact, when I am in a baking frenzy, I have to have family members be my taste-testers because it's just too much sweetness for me.
What are five of your all-time favorite posts?
Luke Bryan's Easy Chicken, Rice, and Tomato Bake