FFF: Justin Can Cook

Happy Friday! It is just a week away from Christmas Eve, I have dinner plans with one of my oldest and best friends at 10 Center in Newburyport, a restaurant I love for its great beer, oysters, and multiple fireplaces, and I get to meet my brand new niece tomorrow, finally! Yesterday was full of aggravation, annoyance, and a little bit of sadness about a sick family member, so a fun weekend is just what is needed.

Today’s Friday Foodie Feature is Justin from Justin Can Cook. I first encountered Justin on Twitter last spring when he was planning a trip to Iceland, and met him in person on Gordon’s Vino Voyage shortly after that. Justin wasn’t a blogger when most of us in the Boston blogger community; he was a Citysearch dictator, foodie, and fun Twitter person to follow. I think I can speak for many people when I say that we were very excited when he decided to put all of his culinary knowledge and adventures into a blog of his own! He succeeds at many recipes and techniques I wouldn’t try, and I love reading his blog because he actually makes some pretty complicated things seem possible. I have had the pleasure to spend time with both Justin and his wife Leah at a few events, and they are really great people. I am happy to have met them and to bring you Justin as today’s Friday Foodie Feature. Have a fantastic weekend!

How long have you been blogging?

Well, my first Justin Can Cook post is dated September 28, 2010, which means just under 3 months. But, I’ve been squeezing recipes, ideas, and general thoughts about what I was eating, into 140 character blurbs for about 2 and a half years.

What is your favorite thing about blogging?

Blogging inspires me to experiment with new and interesting recipes. Before the blogging, I  never shied away from preparing an elaborate meal or embarking on a 2 month infusion project, but the blog definitely adds to the enjoyment and the payoff. Instead of just eating your dinner, or drinking your bacon-vodka (yes, I made this many years ago), you have a story to go along with it. Whenever you want, you can go back to the story and relive the experience.

Also, I love getting feedback on my posts. I especially like when someone reads a post and is inspired to try the recipe, or has some ideas on how to make improvements or changes.

Least favorite?

How quickly you can realize that it’s been too long since your last post. It really pains me to think that someone might check my blog and nothing has changed since the last time they looked. When I started, I had high hopes of updating 2 or 3 times a week. I’ve had to scale that back to 1 or 2 times a week, at least for the near future..

What has been your most fun blog post to write?

I think my Peanut Butter and Jelly Bread post (http://www.justincancook.com/2010/11/peanut-butter-and-jelly-bread.html) was the most fun. As soon as I decided to make that bread I was having fun. It was fun to take pictures of the process, and fun to eat. I knew a lot of people were going to enjoy that post as I was writing. I wanted to publish it so quickly that I had to be disciplined to make sure I didn’t rush through the story.

Where do you see your blog this time next year?

I hope to still be posting about interesting recipes at a reasonable rate. There are a lot of improvements I’d like to make to the layout of the blog. Maybe I’ll have my own template by then, hopefully I’ll find some ways to make the blog show some more of my personality.

Is there anything else about your blogging experience you would like to share?

I know everyone says this, but it’s true: Boston has a great food blogger community. Great people, great events, great blogs.

Thanks for the great feature, Justin! And remember, if any of you want to be featured or to write a guest post, please send me an email to traveleatlove (at) gmail.com. In the New Year, one of my goals is to add perspectives from more food, wine, and travel bloggers AND readers, so please don’t hesitate to write something and send it over, preferably with a photo or two (or more!).