In a fog about starting a blog? Web sites can set you up

You have a computer. You like to cook or dine out, or both. And like a lot of food enthusiasts, the only thing you enjoy more than eating is talking about eating.

All you need is someone to listen.

Setting up a food Web log is just a click away, say those who have done it. The cost can be nominal or nil.

First, you need a provider, which can be free (Blogger, www.blogger.com) or paid (TypePad, www.typepad.com). Another provider, Movable Type (www.movabletype.org), provides both free and paid options.

Rebecca Blood, the author of "The Weblog Handbook," recommends that first-time bloggers start with a free site.

"You don't want your Web log to be an expensive hobby that you don't really take up," she says. "Do it a little while (with a free provider) and decide whether you still want to keep doing it. Some stick with a free site, some move to a paid site."

To encourage people to return often to your site, frequently add new commentaries, recipes, links and the like, suggest bloggers. This is called posting. "To build an audience, post at least once a day. People come back to see if you've updated. If you don't, they might forget about you," Blood says.

The key to expanding your audience, she adds, is to become actively involved online. Visit other blogs and contribute remarks to their commenting threads. It's bad manners, however, simply to say you've also started a Web log and would welcome visitors.

"Add something intelligent to the conversation. That may drive some traffic to your site," Blood says.

Also add links on your site to other Web logs. "The way you promote others will help you," says Elise Bauer, proprietor of the blog www.elise.com.

Most important, agree bloggers, is that you be passionate about the niche you carve out for yourself, whether it be restaurants, cooking, wine or some more-specific gastronomic subculture.

"Have a passion, and go with it," suggests Pete Snyder, founder and chief executive officer of New Media Strategies in Arlington, Va., which advises businesses about online trends. "If you like Filipino cuisine, write about it, and be honest; the blogosphere can smell a phony a mile away."

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Spareribs and sauerkraut

Prep time: 5 minutes * Cook time: 2 hours * Serves 4

Elise Bauer's introduction: This must be a German dish. My grandmother made spareribs this way and my father makes them this way. It's wonderfully easy to make and perfect for a cold winter day.

Ingredients

2 pounds of bone-in pork spareribs (about 1/2 pound per person)
1 28-ounce can of sauerkraut
1 large yellow onion, peeled and chopped
1 cup white wine
Water
Salt and pepper
Juniper berries and/or caraway seed, optional

Instructions

Sprinkle salt and pepper on the ribs.

Put ribs, sauerkraut, onion and wine into a large saucepan. Add just enough water to cover the ribs. (Optional: Add 10 juniper berries and a sprinkle of caraway seed to taste.)

Bring to boil and reduce heat to simmer. Simmer until the meat falls off the bones, anywhere from 1 to 2 hours. Remove bones and juniper berries. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with boiled potatoes. Delicious with ketchup, which creates a sweet contrast to the sour sauerkraut.

Per serving: 495 cal.; 26 g pro.; 12 g carb.; 32 g fat (13 sat., 15 monounsat., 4 polyunsat.); 110 mg chol.; 1,713 mg sod.; 5 g fiber; 4 g sugar; 61 percent calories from fat.

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Oxtail stew

Prep time: 15 minutes * Cook time: 4 hours, 30 minutes * Serves 4

Elise Bauer's introduction: Yes, oxtails really are from the tail of an ox. They have a deliciously rich and distinctive flavor. Like most stews, oxtail stew is best slow-cooked for several hours, left overnight for the flavors to mix, and eaten the next day. My father remembers growing up during the Depression, when oxtails were considered food for people without much money (of which he was one). You could get them for pennies a pound. Now they are considered choice - hard to come by and expensive. He figures that the "gourmands" finally caught on and have driven the prices up, much to his regret.

Note: The prep time does not include the overnight cool time for the stew.

Ingredients

3 pounds oxtails with separated joints
Salt and pepper
1 large yellow onion, chopped
2 cups stock
1 cup water
2 cups of red wine
2 to 3 cups chopped vegetables - carrots, celery, parsnips, turnips
1/2 cup raisins
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 garlic clove, minced
Thyme (pinch of dried or few sprigs of fresh)
1 bay leaf

Instructions

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Season oxtails with salt and pepper. Sear in a tightly covered casserole dish on all sides until golden brown. Add 1/4 cup onion and cook until translucent. In a separate pan, heat stock, water and wine together. Add stock mixture to meat in casserole pan. Add a teaspoon of salt and pepper. Bring to simmer. Place in oven and cook for 3 hours. Remove from oven, add the rest of the onion, vegetables, raisins, tomato paste, garlic, thyme and bay leaf. Return to the oven and cook for another hour. Remove from oven, let cool overnight. The next day, skim the fat off the top. Reheat to a simmer, remove bay leaf, serve.

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White bean and ham soup

Prep time: 2 hours, 15 minutes * Cook time: 2 hours * Serves 8

Elise Bauer's introduction: We've had some wonderfully cold, rainy, winter storms this month in Northern California. This soup is the perfect hardy accompaniment to a cold winter day. Note, this soup is the kind that is much better the next day, as the flavors from the beans, ham and vegetables have had time to blend.

Ingredients

1 pound of white beans - canellini or great northern
2 quarts of water
2 to 3 pounds of ham shanks (preferred to ham hocks because the shanks have more meat), each shank cut into 2 or 3 sections
1 cup of diced onions
1 cup chopped celery
2/3 cup chopped carrots
2 cloves garlic, diced
Tabasco sauce
Salt and pepper
Herbes de Provence
Fresh parsley

Instructions

Soak the beans in at least 2 quarts of cold water for about two hours. Drain the water.

Put the ham shank pieces in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a simmer and simmer for about an hour. Add the chopped vegetables and beans. Cook for another hour, until the vegetables are soft and the ham meat easily pulls away from the bone.

Add several drops of Tabasco to taste. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add a pinch of herbes de Provence. Serve with a pinch of chopped fresh parsley.

Per serving: 582 cal.; 45 g pro.; 39 g carb.; 25 g fat (10 sat., 12 monounsat., 3 polyunsat.); 124 mg chol.; 131 mg sod.; 12 g fiber; 5 g sugar; 42 percent calories from fat.