Weekend Cookbook Challenge #1

Wow! First off, a huge thanks to all the wonderful bloggers out there who sent us entries for this edition of Weekend Cookbook Challenge. We received 29 entries, from as close as Sara's hometown of Calgary to as far away as Belgium!

Our first challenge was to find the cookbook you have had the longest and pick a recipe to make. We also asked you to tell us something about the book. Was it a gift? Did you buy it for yourself? What special meaning (if any) does it hold for you?

We got some great responses, from people who have had these books since childhood, to those of you who had their eyes opened to cooking in high school and beyond.

All these stories are special. We hope that you enjoy reading them, and perhaps find a few new recipes or cookbooks to encourage you to try new ideas in your kitchen.

See you at the next challenge!

Alicat and Sara

Continue for the round up!
Tagged with: Weekend Cookbook Challenge

Starting with our hosts, Sara and Alicat:
Sara opened up the The Working Family's Cookbook, a very sentimental present from her late Grandmother, to make Chicken Broccoli and Garlic Pasta Casserole - with some help from her husband Scott to assist in the Parmesan grating. Nice assist Scott!

Alicat found her first cookbook given to her as a teeny bopper, the Rock & Roll Diner cookbook and made a tart and unique tasting Key Lime Pie - made with only Key lime juice, of course.

And making a guest appearance is Alicat's mom, Missy, with a recipe for Cola Cake from a cookbook she has had since her 20s. Go Missy!

Starting in order from first entry received:

Georgia from Not A Domestic Diva comes in a week and a half ahead of the deadline with two recipes from the New Basics Cookbook - Lemon Lace Cookies and Steffi Berne's Hazelnut Lace Cookies. Now that is impressive from a girl claiming to not be a domestic diva! A gold star for Georgia! You are now the class pet.

On her heels is Anna from Cookie Madness! with Oatmeal Cookie Bars With Chocolate Icing from the Betty Crocker's Cookie Book. Anna wisely uses up some leftover Halloween candy and makes some delicious looking cookie bars for her little girl, Fuzz.

Jen from Fallen Souffle originally bought her oldest cookbook for a friend, but wisely kept it for herself in the end. Apricot Glazed Chicken is what was on the menu that night for herself and husband Evan. Looks tasty guys!

The red headed vixen Laura from Cucina Testa Rossa breezed in with a gorgeous dessert - Chocolate Cake & Apricot Cognac Sauce from Jacques Pepin’s - Fast Food, My Way. Laura's cookbook, My Keyboard for a Cutting Board ~ Adventures in a French Kitchen v1.0 is ready for pre-order - make sure to order one for yourself! (I will order mine once I make it through the holidays Laura!)

My sassy girlfriend Jaay from Culinarily Obsessed contributed with the very unique recipe of Boiled Cookies from a treasured cookbook, the Cedar Hill's Treasure of Personal Recipes. I don't know about you guys, but I've never heard of such a thing as boiled cookies, until I met Jaay that is! PS - if you ever need to vent about your day, Jaay is a rock star listener. Go Jaay!

The next entry is one of my favorites, since it comes from a gal that doesn't have a food based blog, but who graced me with her participation in the WCC anyways - gorgeous Donna from donnaflowersdays, hailing all the way from Devon, England. Donna whipped up some delicious looking Chocolate Bourbon Balls for a Christmas fair. Bonus points go to Donna for the adorable packaging!

Tanvi from From The Pantry was next in line with Buttermilk Cupcakes with Brown Butter Frosting from Nigella's How to be A Domestic Goddess cookbook. Is there anything better tasting than brown butter frosting? I think not. We concurred that yes, Tanvi, you are indeed a domestic goddess.

Alanna from Veggie Venture shares her memories of her first dinner party and stirred up a healthy meal of Simple Broccoli & Chicken Stir Fry from the Chinese Cooking cookbook. Thanks Alanna for making us eat our veggies every day!

Eggy from Greedy Goose makes her Mum's amazingly gorgeous Orange Trifle. Eggy also learns the important difference of heating eggs, versus beating eggs when making trifles. Stunning photo's Eggy!

A delicious recipe of Chili-Lemon Splashed Fish comes to us from Andreea at Glorious Food and Wine. This healthy and tasty recipe came from the cookbook Meals in Minutes, given by dear friend.

Kalyn from the uber adorable blog Kalyn's Kitchen brings us Cauliflower Fried in Butter from The Frugal Gourmet On Our Immigrant Ancestors cookbook. Um, Kalyn, can I have two servings?

Ruth from Once Upon A Feast blesses us with a wonderful recipe for Italian Braciuolini from the Doubleday Cookbook. Playing scrabble while it bakes in the oven is highly recommended.

The beautiful Nupur from One Hot Stove slides in with an recipe of Green Peas Curry from the Cooking Under Ten Minutes cookbook. Nupur tests the recipe and finds it actually take 11 minutes to prepare. Way to go Nupur for testing the accuracy of the cookbooks claim!

I happily welcome Tami from Running With Tweezers, a newbie food blogger herself but definitely not a newbie to the food business! This girl gets the job done right with French Onion Soup a la Au Pied de Cochon from the Bistro Cooking cookbook. Be sure to check out her stunning new blog with equally stunning photos.

Paige from chef-girl narrowly escaped a 'friends' incident with her Ginger Sparkles, a recipe from Grand slam: More recipes from the Best of Bridge. They sound yummy Paige!

Stephanie from Dispensing Happiness checked in with a Sun Dried Tomato Omlette with Zippy Cheese Sauce from one of two submissions from the The Moosewood Cookbook (Stephanie's recipe is from the original, Laura's, which follows, is from the New Moosewood Cookbook).

Laura posted a tasty recipe in the livejoural group, dustycookbooks (how appropriate for this challenge!) of Gypsy Soup, from The New Moosewood Cookbook. I'm starting to think this must be a great cookbook!

Two lovely recipes of Spinach Soufflé and Cauliflower Casserole from the Heart of the Home cookbook are submitted by Mebeth from Hold The Raisins. Mebeth gets a gold star for going the extra mile!

Cutie patootie Kathy from Vast Amount of Spare Time shares her memories of the long loved World of the East Vegetarian Cooking, and makes Chapchae, a Korean Noodle and Vegetable Stir-fry.

Monkey from Monkey's Tree House shares her thoughts about Lasagna from her first cookbook, Betty Crocker Cookbook.

The Chocolate Lady from In Mol Araan, whose blog I can only half understand, shares her memories from a lovely cookbook, La Cuisine est un Jeu d’enfants by Michel Oliver, and makes a Mushroom Salad, called "Oronges." Both Sara and I adored that colorful and fun cookbook Chocolate Lady!

Next up is Faith from Blog Appetit making a fab Pesto Souffle from The Six-Minute Soufflé and Other Culinary Delights cookbook. Faith also fills us in on her substitutions in the recipe, as well as the authors tips for subbing ingredients. Thanks for the handy tips Faith!

The wonderful Alice from My Adventures In The Breadbox bakes up some delish looking Date Bars from The Art of Cooking and Serving. With a generous rolling in powdered sugar, these little bars look very tempting. Alice also provides a tried and true recipe from Maple Date Bars. Yum on both accounts Alice.

Zen Foodism goddess Beth comes in under the wire with Middle Eastern Rice with Lentils from the Vegetarian Times Complete Cookbook. Is it just me, or are a lot of vegetarian recipes showing Weekend Cookbook Challenge some love? Hurrah!

Breadchick from The Sour Dough just barely squeaks in (good timing Breadchick!) with a very holiday appropriate recipe for Spritz Cookies from The Victory Binding of the American Woman's Cook Book: The Wartime Edition, a very loved cookbook that belonged to her grandmother.

And finally, She Craves cooked up some delicious sounding Penne alla Vodka adapted from The Frugal Gourmet Cooks Italian. I made this dish when I was a teenager too! It was so incredibly good, although I'm pretty sure mine had a combo of about 4 different cheeses added. Either way, you can't miss out with Penne alla Vodka.

Great posts everyone! Sara and I really enjoyed reading through your memories of cookbooks long since forgotten. For a first time blogging event, I'd say we knocked this one out of the park!
The only thing left to do is to announce the next challenge: Winter Comfort Food!

Get your thinking caps on and those old, unused cookbooks out everyone! We hope to see you at the next Weekend Cookbook Challenge!

Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Alicat & Sara