The Cookbook Experiment

Posted on | May 3, 2009 | No Comments

Yesterday, just out of curiosity, I decided to count my cookbooks. I spent several hours going through boxes in my living room, bedroom and storage room and I never did finish counting. However, I realized by a conservative estimate, I have close to 200 cookbooks.

That bothered me.

If I used most of those 200 cookbooks on a regular basis, or even once or twice a year, I wouldn’t care. But in truth, I only use three cookbooks on a regular basis and the rest just sit around taking up space. I hate waste, and my cookbook collection is a major waste.

Here’s what I decided to do…

For the next year, my project is to cook from as many of my cookbooks as possible. From each cookbook, I’m going to prepare from 3-10 recipes. Afterwards, I will decide whether to keep the cookbook or get rid of it. By the time the year is over, I will have either a lot of great new recipes, or a very pared down cookbook collection.

Either way, I win.

Here are the books I currently use on a regular basis:

The Complete Tightwad Gazette isn’t actually a cookbook, but it does have some great recipes. What I love about this book is that the recipes are so flexible. There are basic recipes for muffins, casseroles, breads, pilafs and quiches. Each can be totally customized.

For instance, her muffin recipe allows you to choose virtually any combination of dry ingredients, any wet ingredients and any flavorings and make a delicious muffin. Using her recipe I once combined flour, cheese, tomato sauce, olives and spices to make a pizza muffin. Another time, I used flour, cornmeal and some apple butter to make another delicious treat.

Joy of Cooking: 75th Anniversary Edition – 2006 is my go-to cookbook. The recipes are sometime just so-so tasting, but they always work. I’ve used Joy of Cooking to make pancakes, french toast, nut bread, fruit bread and biscuits.

The 5 in 10 Pasta Cookbook: 5 Ingredients in 10 Minutes or Less is a book I’ve been using for years. All of the recipes I’ve made from this little book are fast, easy and surprisingly good. Two of my favorites are Fettuccine In Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Sauce With Fresh Basil and Spaghetti Alla Carrettiera.

My Own Notebook contains all the recipes I have accumulated over the years. These include recipes I’ve gotten from friends, my mother-in-law, the internet and cookbooks. These are the recipes I use most often.

What new cookbooks am I starting off with?

My initial line-up will be:

Vegan Italiano by Donna Klein

Quickies by Monda Rosenberg

Vegetarian Express Lane Cookbook by Sarah Fritschner

Saved By Soup by Judith Barrett

How To Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman

Great American Vegetarian by Nava Atlas

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