Image from Live by the Book: BBQ USA by workmanpub

Become a Master of the Grill with Help from Workman & Steven Raichlen! #BBQUSA

Looking to improve your grilling game? We’re here to help. Tag Workman Publishing on Facebook or tweet us using the #BBQUSA hashtag, and send us your tips and questions about the perfect barbecue foods and how to host a successful BBQ. Your tweet or tag will qualify as an entry for a chance to win a BBQ kit, including books by grilling expert Steven Raichlen!

On Wednesday 8/8/2012 at 8pm ET, we will announce the winners during a live Twitter chat with Steven Raichlen (@sraichlen). Steven will put your grilling questions to rest, and you’ll be ready to bring the heat. Follow the chat by using the hashtag #BBQUSA, and get the answers to all of your questions & more!

2 Grand Prize Winners will receive:

• 2 “I Love My Ribs!” aprons
• 1 jar of Steven Raichlen’s Planet Barbecue grilling sauce
• 1 copy of BBQ USA, 1 copy of Best Ribs Ever & 1 copy of Barbecue Bible by Steven Raichlen
• 50 napkins inspired by John T. Edge’s Truck Food Cookbook

3 Second Place Winners will receive:

• 1 “I Love My Ribs!” apron
• 1 Copy of BBQ USA & 1 copy of Best Ribs Ever by Steven Raichlen
• 50 napkins inspired by John T. Edge’s Truck Food Cookbook

To enter the #BBQUSA contest, follow these steps:

1)         Follow Workman Publishing on Twitter (so we can DM you if you win!).

2)         Tweet at Workman Publishing using the #BBQUSA hashtag or tag us on Facebook with your tips or questions on how to host a successful BBQ! Both qualify as an entry for a chance to win a BBQ kit. Entries must be received between noon ET on 7/19/2012 and midnight ET on 8/8/2012

3)         Each Twitter and Facebook account is allowed multiple entries – keep entering!

4)         Join the Twitter chat with Steven Raichlen (@sraichlen) on Wednesday 8/8/2012 at 8pm ET with the hashtag #BBQUSA, to find out if you’ve won!

Steven’s other titles from Workman Publishing

Click here for the Official Rules

Click here to sign up for Steven Raichlen’s email list

Everyone knows that New York is an international city. So it follows that—outside of Paris—it’s the next-best town in which to celebrate Bastille Day, France’s national holiday. Today, among the many opportunities for reveling, Francophiles can get their fix at the Cercle Rouge street fair in TriBeCa. The street outside Cercle Rouge restaurant will host bands, magic shows and face painting for kids, and a pétanque tournament (a game similar to bocce, the objective of which is to throw hollow metal balls so they land as close as possible to a small wooden ball called a cochonnet).

“Quel dommage!” (“What a pity!”) you may sigh. “I reside far from New York. What can I do to maximize my enjoyment of this holiday?”

Well, we have an easy answer: Throw your hat in the ring for a chance to win a Cuisinart Elite Collection Food Processor! All you have to do is cook up one dish from the following menu from Richard Grausman’s French Classics Made Easy. Then blog about it and send us a link to your blog. Even better: The first 100 bloggers to post about their experience will receive a free copy of this exciting new cookbook that teaches home cooks how to master traditional French fare with maximum flavor and minimal fuss. (We’ve already heard from the bloggers at www.BethFishReads.com, www.bookingmama.net, www.davidschiller.com, www.kitchensimplicity.com, and www.thecolorsofindiancooking.com!)

Winning your own copy is as easy as un, deux, trois: Cook up at least one of the recipes from the book (below), write about the experience on your blog, and email LauraF@workman.com with the link to your piece (either on a blog or on Facebook) and your mailing address and phone number. Plus, let us know if you’ll be taking us up on the challenge in our comments section! The deadline for submissions is July 31, 2011.

Richard Grausman himself will judge the posts based on clarity, writing style, and fun had—the livelier, the better! On August 15, we’ll announce the Blue Ribbon winner of the Cuisinart Elite Collection Food Processor on our blog and post links to all the blogs who participated. The first 100 bloggers to send in their post will receive a copy of French Classics Made Easy!

Le menu de French Classics Made Easy:

• Watercress Soup
• Basque-Style Sauteed Chicken Breasts (Vegetarian option: Ratatouille Omelet)
• Lime Mousse

Marie Antoinette once famously said, “Let them eat cake.” We at Workman say, “Let them eat Lime Mousse…and Boeuf Bourguignon…and Quiche Lorraine…and Chocolate-Almond Macaroons…” And all the other sublime delights found in French Classics Made Easy!

In Paris on July 14, 1789, the rebels and upstarts of the Third Estate stormed the medieval fortress/prison called the Bastille, giving a form to their discontent and sparking the French Revolution. That date is a national holiday in France. You’ll find the apotheosis of Bastille Day celebrations in Paris, where the revelry includes a sumptuous parade down the Champs-Élysées and fireworks over the Eiffel Tower.

Que c’est belle!

The upside of all this (aside from the introduction of a French Republic and the birth of the modern era) is that we’re giving up to 100 bloggers a chance to win a copy of Richard Grausman’s magnifique cookbook French Classics Made Easy—and one Blue Ribbon winner will get a Cuisinart Elite Collection Food Processor!

French Classics Made Easy is the New York Times-lauded cookbook that removes the intimidation factor from traditional French dishes like boeuf bourguignon (beef burgundy) and cassoulet. (Said the Times: “For those interested in, if slightly intimidated by, the intricacies of French cuisine, this book will be a balm.”) The pared-down recipes provide simple methods without compromising presentation or that timeless taste. Author Richard Grausman, one of the nation’s premier cooking teachers, conveys recipes with ease, clarity, and an understanding of how home chefs can—and should—cook classic French food.

Winning a copy for your own kitchen is much easier than overthrowing a centuries-old monarchy. Simply cook up at least one of the following recipes from the book (below), write about the experience on your blog, and email LauraF@workman.com with the link to your piece (either on a blog or on Facebook) and your mailing address and phone number. Plus, let us know if you’ll be taking us up on the challenge in our comments section! The deadline for submissions is July 31, 2011.

Richard Grausman himself will judge the posts based on clarity, writing style, and fun had—the livelier, the better! On August 15, we’ll announce the Blue Ribbon winner on our blog  and post links to all the blogs who participated.  Additionally, the first 100 bloggers to send in their post will receive a copy of the book!

The (mouthwatering) Bastille Day menu:

• Watercress Soup (“Ooooh!”)
• Basque-Style Sauteed Chicken Breasts (Vegetarian option: Omelet with Ratatouille) (“Aaaahhh!”)
• Lime Mousse (“……” [faints from sheer pleasure])

This Bastille Day, don’t let the French have all the fun! Get cooking (and blogging)—and remember, there’s a Cuisinart Elite Collection Food Processor in it for the winner. Vive la France!

Below is a guest post from the winner of a private baking lesson with Anne Byrn, Cathy Seiple, who won the trip and tutorial as part of a PARADE magazine sweepstakes.
Click here for even more photos from the trip!

My name is Cathy Seiple and I was the lucky winner of the “Winner Bakes the Cake Sweepstakes” featured in PARADE magazine. As the winner, I chose to take my husband, Bob, with me to Nashville, Tennessee to meet Anne Byrn, the author of the Cake Mix Doctor cookbooks. As we had never been to Tennessee, we were excited about my win.

We arrived at The Viking Store located at The Factory in Franklin, TN on Saturday, July 17, and were warmly greeted by Anne and her assistant, Diane, at the Cooking Studio kitchen. We also met the ever charming Rebecca Carlisle, from the Workman Publishing publicity department.

After introductions were complete, we donned our aprons and got to work. Anne had chosen three yummy cake recipes: (1) a Cinnamon Breakfast Bundt Cake which we drizzled with a simple glaze; (2) a Lemon Lover’s Layer Cake with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting garnished with fresh blueberries and thin lemon slices; and (3) a Chocolate Chip Layer Cake covered with a Bittersweet Chocolate Ganache.

Over the years, I found that baking is a wonderful stress reliever for me. I have now learned that using cake mixes doctored with simple ingredients can be a quicker and less complicated way of achieving an attractive and rather tasty finished product. I was especially thrilled to pick up many simple garnishing ideas from Anne that will prove useful in my future baking projects. Anne is an easy person to work with so preparing and baking the recipes she chose was fun. Making the ganache was simple and I wondered why I had never attempted it before.

The highlight in the kitchen that afternoon was seeing Bob with an apron on, completing tasks that Anne asked him to help with, and enjoying himself. Of course, he could not wait to taste the finished products. He and I both favored the cinnamon cake which would be perfect at any time of day.

Meeting and baking with Anne, being able to benefit from her baking skills, combined with the camaraderie shared by all of us working in the kitchen that afternoon, proved to be a fun time and one that I will remember with fondness. So, a big THANK YOU to everyone involved. I feel fortunate to have won such a great prize.

Did you go to the prom? If the answer is yes, then chances are you could strike gold at the “Worst Prom Story” contest, part of the next literary matchmaking mixer on June 17 hosted by WORD, an excellent bookstore located in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.

Workman’s own literary date-disaster historian Virginia Vitzthum, author of My Blind Date Went Blind! will be on hand to help pick a winner and join in the revelry at The Diamond Bar (43 Franklin Street). Come for the drink specials, the DJ, and the oh-so-attractive and intelligent members of WORD’s “Between the Covers” matchmaking board. And hey, if it doesn’t work out, you can cry on Virginia’s shoulder afterwards. After all, as Faulkner said, “Between grief and nothing I will take grief.”

To enter the contest, send your Worst Prom Story to info@wordbrooklyn.com by June 15th. (Subject line: PROM STORY).

Facebook RSVP suggested, but not required (and neither is your prom outfit). Come as you are!

It’s week 2 of the Bananagrams contest, and if you play the online version of the game Bananagrams on Facebook, MySpace, Bebo, or as an iPhone app, you could win a copy of Bananagrams! The Official Book. Just get past the challenge of the week to be entered into a drawing for your own copy of the book.

This week’s challenge, running from January 18-22, is:
Beat 40 seconds in solo café mode

The contest runs through February 12. Each player can have up to 5 chances to win (one per day) so play every day to maximize your chances.

Feb 1st to Feb 5th – Win more than 12 live games per day
Feb 8th to Feb 12th – Beat 35 seconds in solo café mode

There are four different places to play. Enter the contest by playing on any of them:
Facebook
Myspace
Bebo
iPhone app

Do you have questions about the game? Visit the game FAQ for answers: http://www.largeanimal.com/faq/bananagrams

Play the addictive online version of the board game Bananagrams on Facebook, MySpace, Bebo, or as an iPhone app and you could win a copy of Bananagrams! The Official Book. Just get past the challenge of the week to be entered into a drawing for your own copy of the book.

This week’s challenge, running from January 18-22, is:
Win more than 10 live games per day

The contest runs through February 12. Each player can have up to 5 chances to win (one per day) so play every day to maximize your chances.

Jan 25th to Jan 29th – Beat 40 seconds in solo café mode
Feb 1st to Feb 5th – Win more than 12 live games per day
Feb 8th to Feb 12th – Beat 35 seconds in solo café mode

There are four different places to play. Enter the contest by playing on any of them:
Facebook
Myspace
Bebo
iPhone app

Do you have questions about the game? Visit the game FAQ for answers: http://www.largeanimal.com/faq/bananagrams

All creatures great and small…we want jokes for them all! Your joke could win you a copy of the NEW 2011 Animal Crack-Ups Page-A-Day Calendar!

Animal Crack-ups is good, clean fun for the whole family, and we need YOU to fill it with your best animal jokes! Each page of the calendar will feature an animal joke, along with an irresistible photo of that animal cracking up.

From elephants and tigers to bears and penguins, no creature is too obscure and no joke too corny. The only requirement is that the humor be family-friendly—and the more original the joke, the better! For inspiration check out these standard-bearers of silliness:

Kangaroo: I hate April!
Wallabee: Why?
Kangaroo: It rains so much, the kids have to play inside!

What happens when 50 rabbits hop backwards at the same time?
You get a receding hare line.

Post a comment below with your joke and email address for a chance to win! We’re looking for jokes that emcompass the entire animal kingdom, from monkeys and dogs to hippopotamuses and lizards—even the occasional llamas and hyenas—and everything in between. All we need are jokes to go with them! All submissions must be made by December 31, 2009. If we use your joke, you’ll get a free copy of the 2011 Animal Crack-Ups Page-A-Day calendar!

Read the official contest rules here