Cook's Illustrated, page 232

that's right: made that, yo!

I'm so not doing a whole Julie and Julia thing with the new autographed Cook's Illustrated cookbook my parents gave me for Christmas -- that is, I am not planning to cook every recipe and blog about the results, on my tidy little way to a book deal and movie starring Meryl Streep. It's unlikely that that route to fame and fortune will ever work for anyone again, since just about everything under the sun has its 365-days-a-year blog by now already, including -- and yes, it's funny that I know this -- crockpot cooking. It's been done.

But after I got home from my job today -- my second consecutive day of working on what are supposed to be paid holidays off from aforementioned job -- nothing said "Yay, I get to be home, finally!" more than cooking something delicious.

Finally, not only was I home, but it was time to cook the butternut squashes that have been sitting either on the stoop or on the kitchen counter since I harvested them in September 2010. That 2010 is no typo. Literally, those squashes waited a year and a half to express their full sweetness. They waited until today.

Which brings me to page 232 in Cook's Illustrated, Butternut Squash Risotto.

Not surprisingly, the squash was a little dry when I cut into it, but it still worked fine. And honestly, what exactly -- when combined with butter, white wine and chicken broth -- is not heavenly?

I am still trying to think of some way to tackle cooking consistently from this cookbook, as part of my 2012 wish to cook more at home and to overcome my cooking inferiority complex. In the meantime, I am just going to start opening it at random and choosing recipes to try.  Plus, I am really liking this idea of cooking Sunday night dinners all year, making that the focus of my culinary practice.  Yahoo!

And really, if the butternut squash risotto is any indication of what's to come, DAMN, this is one really fantastic resolution.


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