Cook-Through Blog

When I started this blog I wanted it to have a unique angle, something to set it apart from the bagillions of food blogs out there. I thought a blog for that group of us who loves gourmet dinners AND greasy bar food. Not that it's a bad idea, but I know I can do better.I feel like there's no coherence to it, just some random recipes I try and a collection of my Yelp reviews. I want people to look at my blog and say "that's such a FUN and SIMPLE concept, why didn't I think of it??!".

That's what I said when I saw Julie and Julia. Julie cooks through Julia Child's cookbook and blogs along the way. Julie started in 2002 when I was 16. I guess I can't blame myself for not beating her to the boeuf bourguignon, but standing in front of the cookbooks in Books-a-Million today I said to myself, what book can I cook through??? I browsed the cookbooks at the store, the ones on my own shelf and here are a few I'm contemplating and the pros and cons of each:

The Dean and Deluca Cookbook

Pros:

I made a few recipes from it and they were AWESOME

I can reward myself with a trip to the Dean and Deluca store in NYC

Already own it/can steal it from my mom.

Cons:

Over 700 recipes!

Don't feel totally amped on this one for some reason (could change).

The New Best Recipe

Pros:

Cooked a few things from it and I like it.

Love America's Test Kitchen! They test all the different ways to make a recipe, Eggplant Parm, for example, and choose which one is the best to put in the cookbook.

Already own it/ can steal it from my mom.

Being done.

Cons:

OVER 1,000 recipes... wow! Julie did about 400 recipes in a year... that means this will take me at least 2.5 years.

Italian Classics

Pros:

300+ recipes is a good amount to do in 1 year.

Eating Italian Everyday!

Also by America's Test Kitchen people.

Already have it/ steal it from mom!

Cons:

Eating Italian everyday. Is that really a con?

Haven't cooked anything out of it yet.

Alton Brown's Good Eats The Early Years

Pros:

Only 140 recipes.

Love Alton Brown.

Might get it for Christmas :)

Cons:

400 page, 140 recipes.

Alton Brown and his overly complicated and tedious recipes will probably make me pull my hair out.

Haven't cooked anything out of it yet.

Ruled out for being over done: anything Julia Child, anything Jamie Oliver, Joy of Cooking, anything Gordon Ramsey

Ruled out for not being cool enough for me: Anything Sandra Lee, Rachel Ray, Ina Garten, Martha Stewart, Tyler Florence, Bobby Flay...

Please comment on which one you like or any others you might recommend!!

Check out Cooking the Books- a blog for "Cook-Through" blogs!