The Thing You Have To Do - 2/23/09

I'm sure everyone has had this happen. The thing you want to do becomes the thing you have to do and suddenly, the thing is not as fun anymore. Can anyone relate? Well, today that was true of this project. The truth is I don't have to make every recipe in the February 2009 Gourmet issue, no one is paying me a cent to do this, but I'm only 9 recipes from the end and it would be a shame to quit now. So I made 3 very good recipes that made me glad I'd cooked today. When I wrote out the schedule that allowed me to make all the recipes before the end of February, I actually planned to skip cooking today because I had two meetings this afternoon. Our trip to South Georgia, however, threw off the schedule so I worked around my meetings and made dinner.

There are six yeast roll recipes in this month's Gourmet and I still had three left so I made the Cracked-Wheat Topknots on page 87. This recipe took both bulgar and whole wheat flour so I was concerned it would be too dense. I was happily wrong. This was my most successful roll recipe yet. It rose beautifully and baked up into a light, chewy roll.
The Beer-Braised Beef and Onions on page 108 was basically a pot roast. It was good but pretty traditional. It was easy to make but I did wonder how practical it was for a working person. It didn't braise long enough to be left on during a day at work but braised too long to be started and finished after work. I was curious if this recipe would work well in a slow cooker, making it a bit more practical for people that aren't stay-at-home moms.
The best recipe of the day, though, was the Farmhouse Butternut Squash Soup on page 57, and I even forgot the bacon (I just realized that as I was writing this!). Other than chopping butternut which always scares me, (finger lose is a real fear!) the recipe simply simmered and then went into the blender. It was smooth and delicious. The different tastes of butternut, carrot, and apple worked well and there was a nice spice note that did not overpower the vegetables. Eyrleigh loved it and other than being really messy, the whole baby/soup thing, I will make this for her and us again. I am glad I cooked today!