Cookbook Challenge: Cook Through A Year + Free Printable Journal!

Get tips and ideas for cooking through a cookbook in a year – it’s a fun way to gain confidence, try new things, and really use that book! Plus, you can download a free multi-page journal to plan, record, and review the recipes. Gather a group of friends and go through a book together!

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For years I’ve heard about people cooking through an entire cookbook in a year. It sounded interesting, but I’ve never really found a cookbook I liked enough to cook through the entire thing.

Until I received Ina Garten’s Modern Comfort Food for Christmas a few years ago and was surprised to see that I wanted to make at least 95% of the recipes. That was a first for me!

So I thought it would be fun to challenge myself to cook through the whole book – hopefully in a year (spoiler: it took longer, but who cares? Ha!).

I did a bit of research about cooking through a cookbook and came up with a few ideas and tips to make it work – AND then I created a journal to be able to keep a record of what I thought about the recipes and if I’d like to make any again.

Why Cook Through A Cookbook?

There are a number of reason why it’s a fun idea to cook through a cookbook, beyond the fact of simply using a cookbook you’ve bought or been given (which is in itself a good thing!).

When you cook through a cookbook you’ll:

• Experiment with new ingredients and techniques.
• Practice the techniques in various recipes.
• Save money by cooking more at home.
• Find favorite recipes you’ll want to make again.
• Become more confident with cooking.
• Share new recipes with family and friends.
• Get a boost in adventure and creativity.
• Gain ownership of the cookbook – it will become a collection of recipes you’ve tried.
• Have a sense of accomplishment!

Cookbook Challenge In A Year Tips

How do you start cooking through a cookbook?

There are a number of ways you can go about cooking though an entire cookbook.

1. You can start at the beginning and cook through as written.
2. You can pick and choose recipes as you want, keeping track of what you’ve made and need to make.
3. You can plan the recipes to cook seasonally (ice cream in the summer and stews in the winter, etc.) with a calendar.

I’ve provided a calendar in the journal if you’d like to make the recipes in the season they seem to fit best, but there are no right or wrong ways to go about it.

Are there any rules for a cookbook challenge?

In doing my research I came across a number of people who had “rules” for their cookbook adventure. Things like having to try every recipe, making the recipes exactly as written, completing it in a year, and so on.

But I want this to be fun, so I’m not setting any rules for myself or you, other than trying to finish in a year. I already know there are a couple recipes I will not make (that 5%) and I’m way past the age when making something with an ingredient I know I don’t like sounds fun.

We’ll let everyone decide for themselves, okay?

How do you keep track?

So this is the fun part – keeping track of your journey and making notes for each recipe you make, including if you’d want to make it again.

You can simply make a list using a notepad of the recipes you make and any notes. If spreadsheets area your thing, this would be a good place to use them.

Or you can print out the Cookbook Challenge Journal I’ve created!

What’s Included In the Cookbook Challenge Journal?

Once downloaded, your file will contain:

• Calendars for every month of the year – undated so they can be used for any year.
• A recipe planner page where you can list the recipes to make that week/month, the ingredients you already have and those you need to buy.
• Recipe Log pages to keep track of the recipes and notes you have for each as you make them.
• An alternative Recipes at a Glance page if you’d just like to go minimal and have a simple list of the recipes you make.

You can use all of the pages, printing out as many as needed – or none of them!

Do what works for you if you’d like to take on the challenge to cook through a whole cookbook.

Remember to download your journal and then let me know how you used it!

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