Testing Turkish Recipes for FoodFirst's cookbook

RECIPE TESTER CALL-OUT -- IF YOU'RE INTERESTED PLEASE READ THIS, AND RESPOND TO EMAIL BELOW. (And please share this if you know folks who might be interested.)

We've just wrapped up on-location research in eastern Turkey and Istanbul for "Istanbul and Beyond", our cookbook due out (in the USA, at least) from Rux Martin Books/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

For the last 9 months I've been working with a small group of recipe testers. We've made much progress, but now it's time to kick things into high gear so that I can assure that every one of the 150 recipes in my book work, and work well.

Some of these recipes may be familiar to some of you, especially if you've visited Istanbul and other parts of Turkey. Others will be completely new. (What? This is Turkish food?)
If you'd like to be a tester, here's how it will work:
-I will send you a recipe. I ask that you test that recipe, following instructions EXACTLY as they are written, and return a completed Tester Feedback Form to me within 10 days of receipt of the recipe.
-IF you wish to continue testing let me know when you return the Feedback Form and I'll send you another. Same conditions apply, except that from Recipe Test 2 onwards I will need your completed form back within 1 WEEK.

-I MAY be able to accommodate food alltergies/ dietary restrictions when it comes to choosing recipes for testers, as well as some food preferences (do you love fish? do you crave legumes? etc etc.), and I will do so if at all possible. It really depends on how many potential testers request accommodation. Preference will be given to interested testers who require the least accommodation. This is purely to save myself time, which is in short supply right now.

-You should know that *some* recipes include ingredients that you might have to search for (mahlep, pomegranate molasses, pekmez/grape molasses, dried mint). A very small number. Do you have a Middle Eastern or Armenian market near you? Many can be found there. (I found every ingredient I needed at an Armenian grocery in Watertown, MA and also at a Middle Eastern grocery in Albuquerque, of all places).EVERY ingredient can be found online, often from Amazon.
*Some recipes contain no unusual ingredients at all.*

-This book is for publication in the USA, so oven temps are in Farenheit and measures are in pounds/ounces and cups. (I know, I know. Metric is better but it's not happening in this book, unfortunately.) I use volume AND weight measures for breads. If you are cooking outside the USA you are responsible for converting temps and measurements.

-What do you receive in return for testing? A sneak peek at our cookbook. A recipe that I hope you will like so much that it becomes a regular part of your rotation. The knowledge that you helped create what will hopefully be a wonderful book. A shout-out by name in my Acknowledgements section (if you wish).
Unfortunately I cannot afford to supply every single tester with a complimentary copy of our book. But when the book becomes available I will select, randomly, 2 names and send a book to each of those testers.
I will begin sending out recipes by June 11. I would need to hear from anyone interested in testing by June 7.

PLEASE do not send me an email if you cannot guarantee that you will be able to test the first recipe I send. Please do not email along the lines of "I might be able to test if (time contraints, scheduling etc) ...." Managing recipe testing is so time-consuming, and and time is very tight for me right now. PLEASE email only if you are ready to test, even if this requires hunting for an ingredient.

NOTE: If you send an email you agree not to share my recipe(s) in any way shape or form, with friends or family or acquaintances, with your stylist or doctor or dog walker smile emoticon, or on social media (Twitter, Facebook, your own food blog or another website). In short -- my recipes are confidential info, for your eyes only, and by volunteering to test them you agree to treat them as such.
Now -- who wants to test recipes?

Email me at istanbulandbeyondrecipes@gmail.com. In your email tell me
-who and where you are (I'm a longtime reader living in the UK, I'm a college student in Nebraska)
-whether you consider yourself an 'advanced' or beginning cook or something in between
-if there's anything you cannot/do not eat
-if you like to make fish and/or bread (most recipes are long-rise ie over 2 hours)
-if you eat liver and / or if you like to grill

Thanks!