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Alex Hollender

@recipe.site

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Helping food creators make beautiful & functional subscription sites and digital cookbooks

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It’s difficult to summarize how meaningful it is to me to have created the digital version of Rome by @katieparla. To me, websites are a unique combination of design, expression, functionality, and technology. I study them, I love them, and I’ve created many of them. They are both ubiquitous and, as people like @roombaghost and Bret Victor have shown, can be whimsical, poetic, vernacular, and beautiful, while still being useful and ergonomic.

Over the past few years, I’ve developed a deeper appreciation for cookbooks as well. More so than other types of books, cookbooks are both extremely functional (you use a cookbook, you don’t just read it), and evocative (exaggerated by size, design, photos). They are objects that convey culture, identity, and community. And these two aspects have beautiful interplay—notes in the margins, dog-eared pages, splatters...the use of the cookbook often enhances the quality of the book as an emotionally meaningful object. They can also be in tension—cookbooks are heavy, difficult to travel with, take up space in the kitchen, etc.

Currently, digital cookbooks strip away both the functional qualities AND the object-ness, leaving behind something closer to a PDF than a book. The page layouts are all broken up, the photography is often missing, the text doesn’t reflow to fit your screen. There are no comments, timers, scaling, or other useful features that have become commonplace for digital cooking experiences. They are, in most cases, more difficult to use than the physical versions, and have essentially no object-qualities. I find that to be both a shame and a great opportunity for improvement.

Katie Parla has graciously allowed me to create a digital version of her cookbook, Rome. I’ve attempted to dramatically improve upon the status quo; to create something functional and beautiful. It has been a wonderful experience to combine everything I’ve worked on with Recipe.Site with the design and functionality challenges of a cookbook and my deep love for websites. Thank you Katie!!!! (and thank you @gretacaruso for introducing me to Katie :)

Please check it out (and buy a copy!) // link in bio by @recipe.site

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3 months ago

The other day I published a (long) blog post about the first three years of Recipe.Site. After reading it, @ismuisamu said she was sad she missed the part where "𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥, 𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘫𝘰𝘣". So, for anyone else who missed it, here you go.

~~ LINK TO THE BLOG POST IS IN MY BIO PLEASE GO CHECK IT OUT 😇 ~~ taken in Rincón, Puerto Rico by @recipe.site

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6 days ago

the goose drank wine taken in Muskoka Lake by @recipe.site

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a month ago

Summer’s bounty…black+blueberry cornbread by @recipe.site

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2 months ago

why do I love signs so much? by @recipe.site

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2 months ago

Made some pizza last weekend 🥫 by @recipe.site

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3 months ago

Few more photos from the cookbook club by @recipe.site

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3 months ago

cooking from Rome by @katieparla

carbonara
ravioli e pepe
mini pizza
sunday lasagna
gnocchi al ragu
panna cotta
agretti
fried marinated zucchini
pan fried peppers

more words on substack :) taken in Brooklyn, New York by @recipe.site

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3 months ago

The other odyssey…to get roast beef in Sheepshead Bay. Best I’ve ever had by far taken in Brennan and Carr by @recipe.site

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3 months ago

🍝 cookbook club ft. rome by @katieparla

space @index_space
00 flour @kingarthurbaking taken in Greenpoint, Brooklyn by @recipe.site

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3 months ago

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ taken in Di Fara Pizza by @recipe.site

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4 months ago

Had a blast making a ton of pizzas at this beauuuutiful gathering in Charlotte, hosted by @sage_zine and attended by all sorts of wonderful folks. The sense of community ran thick through the backyard— @chiarahollender . (Thank you @jessvos.studio and @tuccituccitucci for the photos !) taken in Charlotte, Vermont by @recipe.site

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5 months ago