Recipes and recipes for success have something in common.

Saturday, January 30

What a busy day!

I have a full day of work ahead of me, and we are going to have friends over for dinner, so it’s off to an early start.

First off – time to gas up the car.  I stay in the borough and go to the Sunoco station at Whites Road and South Valley Forge Road.  You know – the one that’s one third in the borough.

Regular gas is $1.88.  Wow!  Always nice to save money.

Lansdale Shopping Score:  1

After that, it’s off to Corropolese Bakery on South Broad.  I wish I had enough time to make a dessert for tonight’s dinner.  But I don’t.  And the one from Corropolese will be much better, anyway!

A really good selection of desserts – I choose the Tiramisu Cake.  Will let you know what everyone thought of it later.

Lansdale Shopping Score:  2

It’s now lunch time,  and I’m on my way home.  A quick stop at the Subway on South Broad for a Chicken Teriyaki sub.   Fast, friendly service.  Yes, I know it’s a chain.  But a chain that franchises its stores.  Meaning the owner is most probably someone local-ish.  And the workers, too.   Did you know that Subway is the largest franchise chain in the world – with more stores than even McDonalds.

Lansdale Shopping Score:  3

So now it’s time to make dinner.  I’m trying something new.  And a bit irrational.

If you’re on Facebook, I’m sure you see all those quick and easy recipe videos that always pop up.  Tasty!  You know the ones.  They are filmed in a high speed, condensed version.  All of the ingredients are pre-prepared.  You see the entire recipe from start to finish in one minute.

You know.  Like in real life.

Well, this one caught my eye:

So it’s Beef Wellington for dinner!

I quickly find out how real life differs from the video.  First off, they don’t show the prep work.  The onions and mushrooms flying all over the kitchen as they are being chopped.  The video doesn’t let you now that the smoking hot oil that is used to sear the meat will splatter all over your arms.  Tiny, little molten hot balls of oil searing not only the meat, but little red circles into your forearms.

The video did not tell you that there are other steps involved (thankfully, I also downloaded the printed recipe).  Like refrigerating the filling after cooking.  And slightly freezing the seared meat before assembly.

The video does not tell you that the puff pastry is persnickety.  It comes with its own sets of rules and regulations on how to handle so it doesn’t break apart, or become too sticky to use.  The video doesn’t tell you that you have to roll the puff pastry to make it big enough to fit the filets.

The video doesn’t tell you a lot.

But, I do have to say.  They turned out pretty good.  They looked like the video.  Everyone seemed to like them.  I will make them again (and it will be easier, because I already know the pitfalls).

This recipe taught me a lot about the Recipe For Success in revitalizing Lansdale’s business district.

The plans you see will always look good.  They will be condensed.  They will make it seem like things can happen in a short amount of time.

But in reality, that revitalization is going to be a lot like my Beef Wellington experience.  You will find that things are not always as easy as they seem.  That things take longer than you anticipate.  A lot longer.  That the finished product is going to end up slightly less than picture perfect.

But perseverance is key.  If you diligently slog through the mess, you’re going to end up with something nice at the end.

Oh, and the Tiramisu Cake from Corropolese Bakery was amazing!

So, today’s score:

THREE opportunities to shop/eat in Lansdale met.

Let’s see what today brings!