I first heard about Tuesdays with Dorie several years ago. This is a group of bloggers who are baking their way through Dorie Greenspan’s beautiful book, Baking: From my Home to Yours.  I actually own the book, having received it as a Christmas present many years ago, and at the time I even considered joining this merry group of online bakers. But two things held me back: first, just thinking about having all those baked goods in my house week after week made my pants feel tight, and second, while I have enjoyed many of the recipes from Dorie’s Baking book, I just could not see myself wanting to try every single one. It is after all, a rather hefty tome.

When Dorie’s latest book Around my French Table came out and Tuesdays with Dorie turned into French Fridays with Dorie, the first of my hesitations was no longer valid because Around my French Table offers recipes for every meal, from light luncheon salads to hearty winter mains, and of course, more tasty desserts. But I still wasn’t sure I wanted to cook every recipe in the book. The book is filled with mouth watering recipes, but at the same time, and with no disrespect intended to Dorie, there are simply a few which I would not have picked to cook on my own. What I didn’t understand was… this is in fact the single best reason to embark on the mission of cooking your way through an entire cook book!

What I have discovered is that being forced to step outside my comfort zone and make a recipe which, for whatever reason, I would not normally try is a very rewarding experience. I’m not going to lie and say that I have loved every recipe, a few so far have fallen into the not-bad-but-we-don’t-need-to-make-it-again category. A few have simply been more trouble than they were worth. But quite a number have pleasantly surprised me. In fact, some of my favorite recipes so far have been ones which I never would have picked on my own.

With this in mind, I am looking forward to sticking it out and finishing the book. Bring on the next recipe!