I promised my Cooking the Book posts would continue, so here we are with installment #4: The One Year Mark.
My very first recipe on this cook through of Marcella Hazan’s Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking was her Bolognese sauce recipe, back on July 4th of 2014. So, this weekend marks my official “One Year” mark.
Originally, back in the summer of 2014, a few friends and I decided that we wanted to try and at least 90% of the recipes of Essentials book over the next year. Obviously, I did not reach that goal. No one did. ::cue the sad trombone music:: We failed across the board. While it was a lot of fun sharing our experiences with the food and posting delicious pictures as we went along, a few people lost steam early on. Not everyone became as enamored with this cookbook as I did. A few of us kept chugging along throughout the year though; turning out Marcella recipes weekly. But–even then–none of us reached that coveted 90% mark.
And to that I say… Oh well!
I have no intention of stopping until I reach my goal. I love this cookbook. I’ve even enjoyed this cook through so much I started a Project Life-style scrapbook dedicated to it, lovingly dubbed “Essentials Experiences,” which housing my pictures and thoughts of the recipes! (And yes; I even keep said book right next to the cookbook on the shelf for quick reference. Also yes; I will totally do a post on that Project Life project if you care to see it. I’m ridiculously proud of it.)
I know I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again: damn near every single recipe I have tried in this book has been simple yet outstandingly good. There has only been one flop in the lot for me. (Sorry Anchovy Sauce!) Essentials has earned the nickname of “The Book” around our house (and in our family). I can say I’m making something, and my mother or husband will instantly ask, “Is that from The Book?” Marcella is the patron saint of Cole Kitchen and I look forward to another year of cooking through this fantastic cookbook.
Onto Part IV!
Continue reading “Cooking the Book IV: Marcella Hazan’s Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking”
Robin L. Cole 