Better Late than Never

About six long months ago, I decided to take on the task of completing 125 recipes out of Giada De Laurentiis' cookbook, Everyday Italian. Why? There are many reasons to answer that, but let me start with how this idea came about. It started with the graduation project that all students must complete before...graduating (duhh) in my high school. This project requires some type of "new learning" to occur, over a period of 60 hours. It should preferably be related to something that I'm interested in, or one of my hobbies. I was at a complete blank on an idea for my graduation project. Then one day while talking this project over with a friend, the idea of cooking came up. I had expressed to her my love of baking, but my lack of skills in the cooking department. One thing led to another, and my friend brilliantly thought of having the Julie and Julia Project (a true story, also a major motion picture)be the foundation for my graduation project. I thought it was an awesome idea - it would broaden my cooking abilities, allow me to get my grad project done, and benefit me in the long run. My next step was to pick a cookbook.

Giada De Laurentiis was the first thing that popped in my head. I could picture watching "Everyday Italian" on Food Network every Saturday morning with my Mom, and being intrigued by how effortlessly Giada could put a simple dish together, that had amazing results. I wanted those same abilities. Having loved Italian food and culture, and knowing Giada's cookbook was full of reasonable, simple dishes, I thought it was best to pick her Everyday Italian Cookbook as thee cookbook for my project. I knew it would be hard... and I was right! Completing 125 recipes is no simple task, but I was ready for the challenge. 

After my project proposal was approved, I decided to start this project in the Summer. My plan was to try and get at least five or six recipes done a week, especially since I had a lot of free time during Summer. This meant I'd literally be eating Italian almost ...everyday. I officially started about one month ago, originally planning to just make a word document to log how each recipe went and take pictures of each recipe completed. Despite multiple people telling me how cool it would be to make a blog like Julie did, I shot down the idea right away, thinking there was no need to put it out there. It's taken a month, but I've finally realized that putting my thoughts down in a blog will not only keep me accountable, but allow me to go into more detail and really put my best effort into this project, making it much more interesting.

Recipes that have been completed:

• Frittata with Tomato, Asparagas, and Fontina
• White Bean Dip with Pita Chips
• Arugula Pesto
• Marinara Sauce
• Eggplant Rollatini
• Italian Egg Sandwich
• Panino de Proscuitto e Fontina
• Chicken Parmesean
• Spaghetti with Olive Oil, Garlic, and Red Pepper Flakes
• Roasted Asparagus wrapped in Proscuitto
• Grilled Peaches with Mascarpone
• Grilled Pineapple with Nutella
• Basic Polenta
• Fried Polenta
• Farfalle with Turkey Sausage, Peas, and Mushrooms
• Smashed Parmesean Potatoes
• Chicken Saltimboca
• White Bean and Tuna Salad
• Sun-dried Tomato Pesto
• Basil Pesto
• Grilled Tuna Steaks

As you can see, I'm well into this project already. Some of these recipes were very successful, and some... not so much. I've learned much more than I thought I would in the first month. Some lessons that have stuck with me:

1) Following a recipe word for word doesn't mean it will taste good. My preconceived notion of recipes before starting this project was that if you followed them exactly as written, the result would always be successful. What a false notion that was! As amazing as Giada is, I know I may not have the same set of taste buds as her. Also, growing up consuming Indian food has made me prefer dishes with a little more spice or pizzazz. So, because the recipe is written a certain way, doesn't mean that's the only way to prepare it. With Giada's array of simple, clean Italian dishes, I don't want to add too much spice or extra ingredients to mess with that great simplicity, but enough so the dishes are more palatable to me (AND my family who are forced to eat these dishes as well).

2) Confidence is key. Over this past month, I have learned that confidence is the key ingredient to every recipe.... (that was a cheesy line, but everything's better with cheese right?) Confidence is something I lacked, and still do, in the kitchen. I am consistently worried about whether or not I'm properly preparing a dish, I wonder if the recipe is too bland, I never know how much salt and pepper something needs, I have trouble keeping the ingredients OFF of my clothing, and the list goes on and on. These flaws have shown me the need for confidence when cooking, and I know that confidence will come as I continue to get more comfortable in the kitchen.

3) A good marinara sauce is a necessity. Lots of recipes in Everyday Italian call for marinara sauce. I made marinara according to Giada's recipe, but it didn't come out too great, so the dishes where marinara needed to be used didn't come out too great either... kind of like a chain reaction. Perfecting that marinara sauce is definitely on my to-do list!

Now to conclude my first blog post EVER, my game plan is that I hope to blog about the recipes I make, thoughts that I feel should be expressed, and  the things I learn along the way.