Cookbook Project, Book #1

"The Naked Chef," Jamie Oliver

This book was a Christmas present from flakra more years ago than I can remember - he had read a Consumer Reports article about the Best New Cookbooks and it apparently ranked at the top for accuracy and usability, so he got it for me. I think that was when he was living with my future husband, whom I cooked for on a fairly regular basis; somehow, during that time, he managed to give me a goodly number of cookbooks as presents. Funny, that. And entirely selfless, I'm sure. I'm kind of ashamed to admit that, other than a quick look through the book when I first got it, I never actually used it. The recipes all looked interesting, but a bit... snootier than I'm used to making. However, I'll also admit that I wanted to start this project with a cookbook that I'm not ashamed to publicly admit to owning.

So. Tonight's recipe was Creamy Eggplant, Cannellini Bean, and Ricotta Soup. And... if the rest of the recipes in this book are as good, I'm looking forward to trying a whole bunch of them, and regretting the fact that I waited this long. It was a lot easier than I had anticipated, and while it tastes a lot better than it looks (every ingredient, unfortunately, is a rather uninspiring shade of beige), it makes an amazing winter supper, and goes perfectly with garlic bread.

One book down, more than I care to count to go....