Monthly Cookbook Challenge • January

Where Cooking Begins
Carla Lalli Music

I completed the first month of my challenge! I'll admit I picked an easy book to ease into this year's challenge but it was a good start. It gave me the confidence I needed to know that I can successfully do the challenge I assigned myself. One down, eleven to go.

Carla's cooking feels familiar to me. Her recipes are simple, flexible, and highlight ingredients that I often use myself. I have had Where Cooking Begins for a while. I can't remember when or where I picked it up but it has lived on my bookshelf on display for some time. I have loosely followed her Melon Salad and Confit Tomato recipes in the past, using them more of a guide, and of course, they were tasty.

The first half of this book explains the five basic cooking techniques and provides examples of how to use them. The second half is filled with recipes and ways to "spin" them using what you have on hand. It teaches you what you need to know and then breaks the cooking thought pr…