Reflections on the Challenge

When I decided to start the recipe book challenge I didn't think much of it. In fact, more than being intimidated by it, I wanted to change the fact that of the sixty-five recipes in one of my favorite cookbooks I had only cooked thirteen.

You can imagine the number of recipes I have made in cookbooks I only sort of like.

Things weren't as easy as my over-confident side first perceived. I knew I could accomplish it, and that was the force that kept me going. Even so, there were moments I said to myself, "I'm never doing this again."

At least, not in such a short time frame.

So here it is. The run down of my thoughts on the challenge broken into a few simple categories:

Recipes I Predetermined Would Fail
Do you ever flip through the pages of a new cookbook and as you are mentally marking the recipes you want to try, simultaneously begin marking the recipes you know you will never try?

If I had not done this challenge, I know I would never have tried the following recipes. Granted, of them I would probably only make one or two again, with a few changes, but that at least shows that about 20% of things you think you won't like--you will.

Here they are: 
Olive Bread--would make again with less olives
Linguine with Clam Sauce--would make again, perhaps without clams
Jalapeno Poppers--too hot and too much of a hassle for me to make again
Burgundy Mushrooms--sisters loved them, would make them again for them!
Cheese Grits--never, I would never make these again.

Favorite Recipes
There are a few recipes in here that are of the original 13 that I had made before.* They include Katie's Roasted Corn Salad, PW's Meatloaf, Chocolate Sheet Cake, and PW's Perfect Pot Roast. However, here I mostly want to highlight some of my new favorites that I will, if I haven't already, make again.

*Note: I still made all these thirteen recipes again during the challenge.

Red Velvet Cake--the cream cheese icing alone is reason to make this cake
Buttermilk Biscuits--insanely simple and everything a biscuit should be
Oatmeal Crispies--the perfect melt in your mouth cookie when it's warm and crunchingly sweet cookie when not, please please please use chocolate chips in these!
Comfort Meatballs--like meatloaf in meatball form, and I defy you to recognize that there are rolled oats in there!
Guacamole--simple, delicious, make a bowl and it's gone guac

Recipes that Aren't For Me aka I'll Never Make Them Again
Some of these recipes fall into the category of "they just take too much time for what they're worth" while others were fails in flavor or quality.

Fried Chicken--far too much time and effort for what it was worth, especially when KFC does it just fine
Huevos Hyacinth--this one might be a personal preference but a slice of deli ham with some cheese and eggs isn't breakfast for me
Sherried Tomato Soup--too watery and sherry flavored 
Cornbread and Beans--lacked flavor

Recipes that Surprised Me
Some recipes I made with low expectations and in the end they surprised me.

Marmalade Muffins--I originally feared that they would be overpoweringly orange, thankfully they weren't
Chicken Pot Pie--this was so much easier to make and so much more delicious than I thought it would be
Marlboro Man's Sandwich--quick, easy, and delicious!
Egg-In-The-Hole--a detailed explanation of a classic
Cowboy Calzones--another easier than expected recipe, only addition I would make is to have some dipping sauce

Overall Thoughts

As I'm sure you've gathered, I have quite a few cookbooks. It would take me years to cook through them all. But this challenge has shown me, that although I stretch a little further in my cooking than the average housewife--there is so much further that I can go.

I wouldn't recommend cooking through a cookbook to just anyone. To do so, you must have a genuine desire to try new things, to attempt the difficult, and to set your own creativity on hold.*

*At least where the cooking is concerned. For presentation you can be as wildly artsy as you dare.

Also, you need to have the pocketbook for a challenge of this kind. While PW does frequently use many of the same ingredients in regards to her breakfast options and side dishes, when it came to main courses and desserts there was a plethora of variety--and in most cases, it was a costly variety.

Though I don't feel a oneness with PW as I believe that Julie Powell felt with Julia Child after cooking through her monstrous French cooking volume, I do feel as though when cooking her recipes I can gauge where she is going or what she might do.

It wouldn't be right if I didn't confess that at times the things I love about PW's cookbooks drove me crazy during this challenge. Whenever I get a new cookbook I read it cover to cover. For some cookbooks this isn't quite as entertaining as a PW cookbook, but I still do it regardless.

Yet the funny quips, detailed descriptions, and occasional sarcasm that are dropped in some of the steps of PW's cookbooks, after some time, would begin to aggravate me. This was usually my own fault. It mostly occurred during times when I was in a rush, hadn't prepped properly, or hadn't taken time to read the recipe through beforehand,

Though especially towards the end I wanted to be finished with the challenge, ultimately I look back on it with a sense of accomplishment. I feel as though I had truly owned the book The Pioneer Woman Cooks. If anything, it is always nice to have some sort of goal to work towards in life, whether it be big or small.