A Wicked Crazy Idea

So, last night I saw the movie Julie & Julia, which I can only describe as delightful. Truthfully, it was one of the best movies I've seen in a long time. Beyond enjoying the movie itself, I recognized a bit of myself in Julie Powell, and I felt a connection to her writing side. I have lots of creative ideas, but like Julie, I rarely follow through my creative ideas to completion - afraid of failure and mediocrity. I, too, am a wannabe writer (one of my lifetime dreams is to write a novel), and although she actually did write a novel before she even started blogging (which I haven't), I felt for her and her quest to define her voice in this world. People want to make their way in this world, carve out their own little niches where they feel in control and in charge of their own destinies, where their voices can be heard, or read. Simply said - everyone, whether they admit it or not, wants to accomplish something, be known for something, and try to make their own special, place in this big, crazy world.

After watching Julie & Julia and updating my facebook status when I got home last night, the idea of "Melissa & Martha" came to me. Julie had Julia Child as her cooking idol, and I have Martha Stewart as mine. Plus, the names Melissa and Martha go well together. With Julie Powell as my inspiration, I am going on an adventure of my own with the goal of making all 1,100 + recipes in The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook: The Original Classics (the 2007 revised and updated edition) in ONE YEAR's time. If you do the math, that comes out to about 3 recipes a day.

Since I'm a stay-at-home mom to two children (ages 7 and 5) and two Beagles (ages 12 and 8), a wife, run a house, go to graduate school full-time and currently have a part-time job on weekends working banquet events at a country club, I have my work cut out for me. However, the driving force behind "Project Melissa & Martha: 1 year and 1,100 recipes," is to practice writing. What better way to find my writing-voice then to blog daily about making 1,100 plus recipes?

I AM NOT a culinary genius, but I don't have to be. To successfully complete this project, I just have to make each dish to the best of my ability. Some recipes may be delicious, others will be disastrous. However they may turn out, I'll write about them, including the good, the bad and the really, really ugly details.

The start date of this project will be September 1, 2009, and from that date, I'll have exactly 365 days to make all 1,100 + recipes. May the cooking angels smile down upon me because I'm going to need all of the help I can get.

MELISSA