Cookbook Challenge: January

The problem with New Year's resolutions is that they start to look jaded around the same time giving up rich food and alcohol starts to sound like not such a good idea after all. This year, it took me until lunchtime on New Year's Day to decide to head to the pub in search of beer and chips. So the prospects for my resolution were never great. Somewhat surprisingly, therefore, I managed to cook from eight of my many cookbooks in January, including three which had only ever previously been used as browsing fodder. What I have struggled with, unsurprisingly, is finding the time to chronicle my recipe-driven experiences. A change of tack is required: enter the monthly round up.

The first three challenge books to be ticked off this month have, through novelty-inspired keenness, received their own posts; and, therefore, need less time here. A Persian dinner courtesy of a book inherited from my grandmother and two French meals, one rustic and one relatively smart, marked the start of the challenge.  Next up: simple Italian courtesy of River Cafe Two Easy by Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers.

As you would expect from the brains behind one of London's best loved Italian restaurants, the book is beautiful and elegant; relying on the reader to source excellent ingredients to bring simple recipes to life. The perfect choice for a weekend dinner party based largely around a fantastic leg of lamb (thanks Mark). Garlic, lemon and rosemary, a classic preparation, gave a wonderful aroma to the meat, and a visually-impressive chocolate mousse cake turned out perfectly, even in the hands of a woman not meant to bake. Both modern and traditional, this already well-used book will continue to act as a reliable source of inspiration for my cooking.

In a vague gesture at January healthiness, Mr F and I decided to test whether Tender - Volume II by Nigel Slater could help us in our annual quest to cast aside the last of the mince pies and eat more fruit. It did more than that, and exposed us to the delights of quince after we happened up a pile of the golden, fragrant orbs in our local Turkish supermarket. First up, we baked quinces until they swam in fruity juices enriched with spice and maple syrup. So much for the health kick. Emboldened by the success of this first attempt, we turned our hand to preserving, and managed to produce a jar of sweet and astringent pickled fruit, wonderfully perfumed with the scent of quince.

Another old favourite to feature in January's challenge was Fuchsia Dunlop's Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook. More playing about with kilner jars, this time containing homemade chopped salted chillies, resulted in a satisfying and straightforward supper of steamed chicken with chopped salted chillies. A wonderful combination of flavours, the warmth of the brilliant red chillies and flecks of ginger worked beautifully with the subtler flavours of chicken and some plain steamed greens.

The highlights of the month, though, were two books that fulfilled my very occasional desire to be a nice wife. All Mr F's patience with my cooking weird things and dragging him to pretentious restaurants finally paid off with the best packed lunch ever courtesy of Bento Boxes: Japanese Meals on the Go by Naomi Kijima. Having always written off bento lunches as something normal working people don't have time for, it was a welcome surprise to find that the quality of the finished product managed to outweigh the inital horror of getting up fifteen minutes early. I just wish I had a nicer lunch box.

The first month of the challenge has been fun: a few new recipes tried and some old favourites dusted off to remind me why they once featured regularly in my culinary repertoire. Although all attempts were successful in their own right (leaving aside the disastrous spillage that limited our quince pickle output), there was a clear winner: the Bubby's Brunch Cookbook. A collection of recipes from a famous brunch spot in New York, I defy any mortal to improve on their sour cream pancake recipe. I have such confidence in its awesomeness, I would challenge anyone, even an American grandmother who has been flipping out fluffy wonders for years, to a pancake off. Just say the word...