I’ve been wanting to do a cookbook project for years and finally this idea came to me of fitting 52 weeks of cookbooks into the year 2025. My hope is that I’ll discover new recipes to add to my repertoire and in doing so, inspire readers to show their cookbooks some attention. Without further ado, let’s get to it!
Week 1
Book: King Arthur Baking Company Big Book of Bread, 2024
Recipe: The Most Chocolatey Babka, page 355
I am a devoted King Arthur fan so it came as no surprise that choosing one recipe for the cookbook challenge was well, challenging. I decided to start with babka because it’s been a thorn in my side for years. I’ve tried to make it on numerous occasions and was just never satisfied with the results, until now.
My overall impression of the book is that it is truly a bread bible. It’s hard to find recipes more well-tested than King Arthur recipes. Any kind of bread you could want to make is in this book. At the top of each recipe they give you a breakdown not only of how long each recipe will take to make, but how long each step will take. This was so helpful to me because I was able to do the first 3 steps in the morning and then pick up the last 3 steps in the afternoon. While the total time for the recipe is 4 hours, there is only about 40 minutes of hands-on time. The rest goes to rising and baking. I am definitely a visual learner so while reading the braiding directions, I had trouble conceptualizing how it would look. At the bottom of the recipe I found a QR code that took me to a babka shaping video and it made the process go so easily. The results, absolute perfection. So perfect that I plan to make another one in the next day or so because it didn’t even last 2 days. The only change I made was that I used semisweet chocolate chips instead of finely chopped chocolate. I couldn’t have been happier with how my babka turned out and when I next visit this cookbook, I’m planning to make English muffins (page 307), Baguettes (page 262) and Mushroom and Cabbage Pan-Fried Buns (page 337).
Week 2
Book: The Weekday Vegetarians by Jenny Rosenstrach, 2021
Recipes: Zucchini Pizza (page 38), Green Enchiladas with Tomatillo Sauce (page 105), Cabbage-Kale-Tofu Salad with Citrusy Ginger Dressing
This book sat untouched on my shelves for years and thanks to the cookbook challenge, I made 3 recipes from it in 1 week! I’ll be going back for more soon. My favorite was the Zucchini Pizza. What I loved about it: 1) shredding the zucchini rather than dicing it gives it nice texture 2) instead of a sauce, you top the dough with fresh mozzarella cheese and the zucchini mixture is your topping 3) I loved the flavor profile of the fresh herbs with fresh mozzarella and fresh ricotta. This recipe will be perfect in the summer when my garden is overflowing with zucchini.
The other two recipes I made were also delish. The tomatillo sauce is pure magic. I substituted a poblano for the jalapeño and filling the enchiladas with a white bean spinach mixture was a nice change from typical vegetarian enchilada recipes. The kale salad was so crisp and fresh. The bonus was using some oranges from the school citrus sale. The timing of this salad was perfect right after the new year when I needed a cookie detox.
This book is a vegetarian gem. The recipes are simple but not ordinary and the way Jenny writes makes you feel like she could be a friend. She just came out with a new cookbook that I’m looking forward to getting my hands on!
Week 3
Book: 100 Cookies: The Baking Book for Every Kitchen by Sarah Kieffer, 2020
Recipe: Lavender Cookies with White Chocolate-Creme Fraiche Glaze, page 154
