Saturday, January 1, 2011

A New Year

Bon Appetit's food predictions for 2011 and my friend's ambitious blog, Foods I Like, got me thinking. I doubt I'll be cooking rabbit, or trying 365 (or 367) new recipes in 2011, but I do have some food goals for this year. In addition, I turn 30 this year, in August. In the spirit of other "30 before 30" lists in the bloggy world out there, I have a list of 30 food related things I would like to accomplish before I turn 30. 8 months and 8 days should be enough time, right? I've tried to make the goals mostly quantifiable, but a few vague ones slipped in. There is also some overlap, with some recipes able to fit into multiple items on the list, for example,  but that makes it more fun.

Did I forget anything? Do you have any ambitious (or not so ambitious) food goals for 2011?

The List:
1.     Expand my breadmaking abilities (oven and bread machine, it doesn't matter)
2.     Do a 30 posts in 30 days blog feature
3.     Find (another) (equally tasty) halibut recipe
4.     Master ravioli
5.     Explore new dessert recipes and techniques (one a month, say?)
6.     Organize my recipe binder
7.     Lose 20 pounds (doc says 30, but I'll start with 20) (the Husband says this one isn't food related, but I disagree)
8.     Learn how to jar something – strawberry jam, Husband’s mom?
9.     Host a dinner party
10.   Use our restaurant gift certificates
11.   Make sushi
12.   Find a beer I like
13.   Eat at top 5 Mexican restaurants in Texas
14.   Try a new recipe every week before the big day (and blog each one) 
15.   Eat at 10 restaurants I haven’t been to yet
16.   Visit the Texas olive oil producer
17.   Cook shellfish
18.   Learn how to make chicken shawarma
19.   Make tuna tartare
20.   Make one recipe out of every one of my cookbooks
21.   Submit a recipe to Food 52
22.   Finish reading “In Defense of Food”
23.   Use our fondue set. It’s been in the garage since we moved (about 3 years now). Even better, I actually bought fondue cheese back in Baltimore, and it got tossed when we moved out of the apartment.
24.   Try one new vegetable a month, cooked 3 different ways (8 total)
25.   Make dog treats
26.   Master my ice cream maker for at least one signature recipe
27.   Go through my kitchen cabinets and get rid of redundant equipment and things we don't use
28.   Eat a main course salad for dinner once a week
29.   Grow 4 kinds of tomatoes (and keep track of which plants are which!)
30.   Cook the perfect brisket. And remember how to spell brisket
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1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I think your goals sound fantastic! I think they sound manageable, if you set your mind to it (and are willing to fall a little behind in blogging, like I did this December - it's hard to write if you cook too much!). I bet you can do them! I still have to decide exactly what I want to this year, but when I figure it out, I hope I can articulate it as well as you have here.

If you don't have a bread book, I suggest The Bread Baker's Apprentice. I've made a few things out of it and they're fantastic, and I've really enjoyed the method section, too.

Dog treats are fun! I have some dog-bone shaped cookie cutters, and I'm looking forward to making peanut butter ones.

January 2, 2011 at 12:19 AM

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