Cookbook Challenge

I've noticed a bad habit forming since I started my blog, and my whole cooking world has begun to revolve around the internet. I discover (and recreate) beautiful recipes I find on other blogs, and googling ingredients has become my strategy for finding new recipes. For instance, when I wanted to make something with balsamic vinegar, I went to epicurious.com and searched for balsamic chicken. The resulting recipe was a hit, but there is a problem with this new reliance on the internet. My poor collection of cookbooks has become sorely neglected.

Does anyone else have this problem? They are full of good recipes, but I don't always know what recipe is in which book, and I don't always want to take the time to look. Lazy, I know! So I decided my blog would be a perfect place to challenge myself to use the cookbooks more. I'll still find recipes online, I'm sure, but this plan will push me to try new recipes from my cookbook collection. So here you have it: starting this month, I will pick one of my cookbooks to focus on every month. My goal will be at least a recipe per week, but hopefully I will go above and beyond that. I have a feeling I'll end up finding more recipes than I even have time to cook! And an extra bonus-- once I actually start using the cookbooks I have, I'll be able to justify buying a couple new ones :)

April's Cookbook Choice: Barefoot in Paris, by Ina Garten

This is a beautiful cookbook that my mom gave me. I love Paris, and Barefoot Contessa cookbooks are wonderful resources. This one is full of advice, stories about Paris, and drool-inducing recipes. I've been really happy with recipes I've made from this book in the past, and there are some great looking options that I'll be trying this month. Stay tuned for updates!