How to Use This Site

Dear readers,

As you will no doubt have noticed, we recently switched to the new Blogger Dynamic Views format. I think this format really enhances our readers experience of the site, but for those of you who are more accustomed to a traditional blog format, it may be a little unfamiliar. So here are a few tips on making your way around the site: 

The key to navigating the site is the menu bar at the top of the portal, just below the title. At the very left, you will see a tab labeled "Magazine".  This is the view I've chosen to appear by default. But if you click on that tab, a menu of alternative view choices will drop down: 

Classic View shows the blog contents in the "old-fashioned" way, with each post lined up chronologically down the page. 

Flipboard View shows you a board of the cover photos of each post. You can sort posts by month or label if you like. Mosaic and Snapshot Views are snazzier versions of Flipboard but without sorting options. These are great options if you prefer a more 'visually driven' approach, not too different from Pinterest. 

Sidebar View shows you a chronological list of all the posts on the lefthand side of the page. As you click on a post, it will appear on the right hand side of the page. 

Timeslide View is similar to Magazine View, grouped into time 'chunks' (hard to describe but you'll see what I mean.) 

To the right of the view tab, you will find the following tabs:

Home: Brings you back to the main page (just as clicking on the banner would do.)

About: A short introduction to the site.

Recipe Index: Here's your key to getting to your favorite recipe fast or getting more familiar with what we have to offer. An alphabetical list of all the recipes on the site, organized by course and then by main ingredient. Every listed item is hyperlinked, so if you click on the name, it will take you right to the recipe you want. 

Then comes reference articles on the Italian Pantry, Italian Food Culture and Authenticity. (The last one is my three-part series on the varieties of Italian cooking, how to tell 'real' Italian food from the fakes, and how to prepare authentic Italian food at home.) Must reading—if I do say so myself—for people who want to learn something more about Italian cuisine than individual recipes can convey. 

Glossary: Like any cuisine, Italian cookery has its own vocabulary and you will see some Italian words sprinkled here and there in the posts on this site. If you don't know the meaning of the word, just go to this Glossary to find out. 

Links: This tab replaces the 'blog roll' on a traditionally formatted food blog. A list of some of my favorite Italian and non-Italian food blogs, some great travel blogs, and some useful online resources about Italian cuisine. 

Subscribe: If you like what you see, here's where you can sign up for emails, subscribe to our posts on the reader of your choice, like our Facebook page, or follow us on Networked Blogs, Twitter or Pinterest.

In the upper righthand corner, you will see a search box to quickly find the recipe post of your choice. 

Besides the navigation bar, you will find the Dynamic Views equivalent of 'gadgets' on the righthand side of the page: The Google profile for yours truly and some of the traditional ways of accessing posts through the labels cloud and the archive, plus a link to basic recipes and techniques, my blog rolls (again!) and more ways to subscribe to the blog. Just hover over each icon to see what you get if you click on it. 

Last, but certainly not least, you can still leave comments on posts with this new format. Just click on the words "View Comments" at the very bottom of each post. That will open up a page where you can leave a comment, just like with the old format. This feature is a bit hidden away now, which may explain why, although traffic to the blog is way up, comments on down... :=( Also at the bottom of each posts, you can share the post on Facebook or Google Plus or tweet it on Twitter.

One drawback to this new format is that printing is not as easy as it used to be. In fact, there is no print button at all, but the best way is to select a post from the Sidebar View and use your browser's print function. Not perfect but it works well enough. Or, of course, you can sign up to get posts by email, which you can print out at your leisure. 

Finally, as one reader recently reminded me, this format is not very compatible with iPads. Hope that gets fixed soon! 

Well, hopefully this short tutorial will help you get the most out of the site. And if you have any questions, don't hesitate to drop us a line!

Cheers,

Frank

PS: You may have noticed that I did not post last week—too busy with home renovations. And this week I'm down with the flu. And next week I'll traveling to attend my niece's college graduation. As the saying goes, life is what happens while you're busy making other plans... 

Hope to be back online around May 20. In the meanwhile, please enjoy all the other posts on the site. I've updated the recipe index so there should be plenty to keep you entertained until then either here or on one of the great sites you'll find under "Links" above.