"Cooking the Books"

[legant]

I have several friends who are intent... more often, as a means to justify a magazine subscription or a book purchase... on cooking at least one new recipe a week. Another friend has committed to three new recipes each week: two savory, one sweet. In fact, there are quite a few blogs out there that document the efforts to cook recipes from books: Momofuku, Alinea, Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

Have you ever "cooked the books?" How did you choose the book? Was it based on the reputation of the author or chef? Or, did you want to try a new cuisine? Or, focus on a specific technique? Did you start from page one and work your way to the end? Or, did you work your way through an entire section -- dairy, legumes, pork -- before starting on the next one? How often did you try a new recipe? How true were you to the original recipes? Did you make substitutes for hard to find ingredients or make special trips to track them down? Did you give yourself a deadline for completing the project? Did you document your project? How did it turn out? What, if anything, would you have done differently?