Cider-Braised Chicken (p23 Cook's Country December/January 2010)

This was actually pretty simple and good. A great use of apples and apple cider, I should perhaps try this again in 2010 when I get apples and cider from local producers.

Baked Four-Cheese and Pasta Casserole (p20 Entertaining Holiday 2009)

Make a roux, Add cream and then use that as a base sauce for the sauce. I was shredding cheeses and went to find the Gorgonzola and remembered that I left it in my car...in the glove box... I wasn't worried about it going bad, it hadn't gotten above freezing, but I was worried that I wouldn't be able to shred the cheese. I turned out it probably shredded better then it probably would've had it been unfrozen (it is a fairly soft cheese).

I guess that marks an end of a year. I used most of my cookbooks this year, though not all, some are just kind of impractical. I have no idea where to get some of the products to make certain things. The though had come, but was quickly vetoed because of economic reasons. If It required me to buy a new pan that I couldn't see myself using for anything else or required ingredients that I knew I couldn't find (while I may be curious about beef tongue, I'm not sure I'm gonna be able to find it).

I expanded a lot of knowledge and now don't feel so wasteful about the magazines that I subscribe to (Cook's Illustrated, Cook's Country, Cook's Illustrated Entertaining, Fine Cooking, Bon Appétit). I've also let some go this year or before. I found that I like well tested recipes (which is why I tend not to use recipe only websites) but even the venerated institutions mess up their instructions from time to time.