I reviewed a couple of great new cookbooks for the Portland Book Review June-August print edition.  The issue is currently available online. Check out The Encyclopedia of Sandwiches: Recipes, History and Trivia for Everything Between Sliced Bread by Susan Russo. It’s delicious and stuffed with history and trivia. I also reviewed Keepsake Cookbook: Treasured Heirloom Recipes from Our Family to Yours by Gooseberry Patch. This tome of kitchen favorites will make a great gift.

I’ve been reading like crazy for the San Francisco Book Review.  The March issue contains reviews of:

• RunAway Wok: A Chinese New Year’s Tale
• Pictures of You
• A Compendium of Kisses
• Cooking on the Light Side

Five of my latest reviews are now posted online:

• Pictures of You by Caroline Leavitt (Modern Fiction)
• Father of Lies by Ann Turner  (Historical YA)
• Mr. Sunday’s Soups by Lorraine Wallace ( Cooking)
• A Compendium of Kisses by Lana Citron (Relationships and Sex)
• Cooking on the Light Side: Smart Recipes for Bright Skin and Vitality by Thienna Ho (Cooking)

Lots of exciting writing assignments published over the weekend, in addition to a surprise.

Learned on Sunday that I placed second in Feature Series in the Nebraska Press Association awards. The three-article series ran in the Norfolk Daily News in December and featured the dilemma dairy farmers across the U.S. and Nebraska faced during the dairy pricing crisis. What a great surprise!

I posted the latest Nebraska-isms column. This week, I discuss Nebraska’s bowling history, including the only sanctioned 900 series and the Nebraska Women’s Bowling team’s quest for a national championship. Click on the Nebraska-isms page and scroll down to the April 15 column.

Over at WOW! Women on Writing, I posted a helpful guide about submitting e-mail queries and avoiding the filter on The Muffin, the website’s daily writing blog. If you submit queries via e-mail, you’ll want to read this.

And I landed a new gig at Examiner.com as an American Food Examiner. My first article,paying homage to National Grilled Cheese Sandwich Month, is available for perusal. I added a recipe for a gourmet grilled cheese, too.  Bon appetit!

Great! I posted all the 2010 Nebraska-isms. And, I finished this little project four days ahead of schedule!   Now, I’ll be able to add the new column on a weekly basis.

Not sure what a Nebraska-ism is? It’s a unique look at the Cornhusker state and what sets the landscape and people apart. Column topics include:

• The Lure of Friday Night Lights – High School Football
• Autumn in Nebraska
• Husker Football Fans
• The Kitchen-Family Connection
• Farm Safety
• Clotheslines
• Nebraska Literary Scene
• Popcorn
• FFA Emblem: Drawn in Nebraska
• WWI, Draft Cards, and Grandpa
• Hunting Widows
• Drama of One-Act
• Fruitcake
• Poinsettias
• Christmas Traditions
• Ice Fishing
• Symbolism of a State’s Culture
• I’m a 30.
• The Late Night TV Dilemma:  What Would Johnny Think?
• Press Trips – Marketing Nebraska
• Unique Libraries
• Valentine’s Traditions from Nebraska
• Going for Olympic Gold:  Nebraska Olympians
• Sandhill Cranes
• Happy Birthday, Nebraska!
• 4N6: What I Learned Competing in High School Speech and Coaching HS Forensics
• Nebraska’s Irish Roots
• Nebraska Tall Tales & Legends
• Husker Women’s Basketball

Interested in reading one of these weekly columns? All columns are included as PDF files on the Nebraska-isms page .