Cookbook Challenge

When I moved to my new place, I transported at least nine huge boxes of books.  Most of them were cookbooks.

I have been buying and collecting cookbooks for years.  Large coffee table books.  Books by "celebrity" chefs.  Restaurant cookbooks.  Books about International, modernist, regional American, and local Minnesota cuisine.  Church cookbooks with recipes contributed by their respective congregations.  There are a few children's cookbooks I purchased from my "Weekly Reader" days in elementary school, and even some oddball promotional cookbooks from local TV stations and insurance companies.  I have a variety.  

Sources of inspiration

It recently occurred to me that I don't really use most of my cookbooks.  They serve mainly for reading purposes - to learn about new foods and places, to be inspired, and to get new ideas.  It isn't all that often that I will just grab a cookbook with the intent of preparing a specific dish as written.
 
I've decided to liven things up and issue myself a weekly "cookbook challenge."  At least once a week, I am going to pick a different cookbook from my library and cook a dish from it.  Then I will post some commentary and impressions about the book and tell you about the dish I made.  

No rules other than that.   It's really just an excuse to try different dishes, utilize my cookbooks, and to commit to blogging more often than I have been.  I am not sure of the exact total number of cookbooks I own, but I could easily do this weekly challenge for over a couple of years with no repeats.  This should be fun.

I plan to get started this coming weekend.  It could be anything from The French Laundry Cookbook to the Peanuts Lunch Bag Cookbook.  You just never know what will be in store, so stay tuned!