Resolutions for 2011

[Peter the eater]

It's that time again . . . fill in the blanks just like last year.

In 2011,

I will eat_________________

I will make_______________

I will learn_______________

I will read________________

As always, please feel free to ignore or add blanks.

[Shelby]

In 2011,

I will eat: at a real sushi restaurant.

I will make: pie crust that doesn't suck.

I will learn: (see above)

I will read: On Food and Cooking by Harold McGee (I'm only part way through)

[Tri2Cook]

In 2011,

I will eat: as many new (to me) things as I can.

I will make: an effort to dig deeper and more seriously into the traditional cuisine of the native people of the area I live in.

I will learn: to create my own cocktails without having to send several down the sink 'til I get it right.

I will read: the Ideas In Food book and begin collecting cocktail-related books which I will also read.

[faith]

In 2011,

I will eat tongue.

I will make chestnut mousse. (And tongue.)

I will learn to make chocolate covered caramels.

I will read a book about medieval Arab cooking.

[Chris Hennes]

I will read a book about medieval Arab cooking.

You can't just casually toss that out there to tantalize us and say nothing else about it! What book? Why?

I will eat fewer Ritz Munchables Pretzel Thins (spicy chipotle cheddar flavor, please) because the damned things are going to kill me.

I will make more food to send into my wife's office.

I will learn how to make shiny molded bon-bons that stay in temper!!!!

I will read Modernist Cuisine, cover to cover.

[FrogPrincesse]

In 2011,

I will eat more seasonal, local veggies

I will make my own bacon

I will learn how to use the barbecue (from last year's list)

I will read MFK Fisher

In 2010 I learned to make bread (using the techniques from 5 minutes a day), ravioli, and ricotta.

[Darienne]

Of last year's resolutions I kept the ones about the freezers and their contents. (We did buy another 2/3 size freezer and that has helped a lot.) And the one about making bread.

I did not cook or eat okra. I did not teach my neighbor about chocolate...her responsibility, not mine...but it remains on the books. And I never grew the indoors herb garden and probably won't this year either; although I did grow ginger, which I must add, was a complete bust. Sorry Andie.

In 2011,

I will eat okra (probably not)

I will make more Mexican dishes and desserts, but not Menudo

I will learn how to work with phyllo properly

I will go to the Toronto downtown Hispanic markets although I hate downtown Toronto with a passion.

That's enough.

[nakji]

Here's my list from 2010:

I will eat truffles, too! I've never had one either. When are they in season?

I will make preserves of some sort, ideally when I'm home in Canada for the summer, so my family can remember me when I'm away.

I will find time to write more about what I'm cooking.

I will learn how to make pasta.

I will teach my friends how to cope with cooking in a foreign country.

I will read more cooking theory such as Harold McGee.

Almost done. No truffles, but truffle salt was the closest I got. Next year, I'm going to Europe. I swear.

Done. I made fig jam.

Yeeeeah...no.

And again, no.

An ongoing project. Working on basic pasta sauces with a friend.

No McGee. I've got to actually buy one of his books. That would help.

*****

In 2011,

I will eat less meat.

I will make more bread. Someone gave me a clay pot dutch oven for Christmas.

I will learn to speak better Chinese, so I can talk more with the cooks I see.

I will read McGee...this time. I swear.

[Lolagranola74]

In 2011,

I will eat more of all the things I love and any new and interesting things along the way including black garlic, fish head curry and maybe even find a way to enjoy aubergine/eggplant.

I will make lunch for work everyday, Chilli Crab, congee, more okra, more things in advance so there's always something dependable and delicious in the freezer.

I will learn not to be scared of yeast and to make really good meringues.

I will read Fuschia Dunlop's books and the Momofuku cookbook and Dan Lepard's Handmade Loaf.. and... and ...

[Genkinaonna]

I swear I did this last year, but I can't find my post in the "resolutions for 2010 thread..."

This year:

I will eat more vegetables, and come up with more interesting ways to use them. Also healthier in general, although I'm NOT giving up butter or beef like my husband (and he can't make me!).

I will make the rest of the recipes in "Baking From My Home to Yours." Started in June of last year, am about halfway through.

I will learn to make a decent loaf of bread, that's not under- or over-proofed, that has a decent crust, and that I can duplicate reliably, not just as a one-time fluke.

I will read as much as I can, per usual. But I should probably start with the cookbooks I have at home, since I think buying any more would cause marital discord

Edited January 2, 2011 by Genkinaonna (log)

[Peter the eater]

No McGee. I've got to actually buy one of his books. That would help.

My library (Clayton Park) is very good at acquiring expensive books if patrons request them. I've put several in the Reference collection and plan to do so again for Nathan's Modernist Cuisine.

[faith]

A few years ago I picked up a book on medieval French cooking at a library discard sale in Charlotte. I couldn't put it down. Because of that book, Susan Pinkard's A Revolution in Taste: The Rise of French Cuisine [amazon=978-0521139960][/amazon] caught my eye. I've finally started reading it in the last week.

When I saw the 2011 resolutions & thought about what I wanted to read, I didn't include any cookbooks because I already read them pretty often. So I got to thinking whether there's anything I wanted to read that would be a little bit out of the ordinary. That led me to recall a Gastronomica issue one of my friends gave me at least five years ago. It had a review of what sounded like a wonderful book of essays on medieval Arab food. Being me, I still haven't gotten the book. In searching for the book last night, I came across an egullet forum that listed it. When I went to look at the title on amazon, there were two other books that caught my eye. I haven't figured out which of those three is going to be my resolution book, but decided it was about time to read my Arab cooking history book. It's going to be about medieval food simply because I enjoyed the French medieval food book so much. (Savoring the Past: The French Kitchen and Table from 1300 to 1789)

Underlying all of that? My dad was from the middle east, which certainly played a part in why the Gastronomica review caught my eye.

On a related note, I almost included in my resolutions that I was going to make my mom's baklawa as well as chestnut mousse, but that seemed like a little too much navel-gazing, so I left it off. (I thought of making the shortcut baklawa per another egullet forum, but I think my first batch in a very long while is going to be the version I know....) Anyway, I've now deemed baklawa on my 2011 list...

Edited to add that I meant to make this a reply to Chris Hennes' post from last night, but I did it wrong....

Edited January 3, 2011 by faith (log)

[toolprincess]

In 2011,

I will eat___ramps and uni (perhaps not at the same time)______________

I will make____spaghetti carbonara, homemade tortillas, more things from all those cookbooks!___________

I will learn______to make my own tortillas_________

I will read________Beard on Bread_______

Edited January 3, 2011 by toolprincess (log)

[kayb]

In 2011,

I will eat okra (probably not)

Oh, Darienne. In all your travels, you must come to Arkansas, and I will fry okra for you. It will change your life. I swear.

[kayb]

In 2011,

I will eat_foie gras.

I will make__bread on a much more regular basis than I do now.

I will learn_like toolprincess, to make my own tortillas.

I will read_ Everything I can get my hands on with a recipe in it.

[ChrisTaylor]

In 2011,

I will eat at 10 well-regarded restaurants in Sydney in the space of a couple of weeks. At the moment the list includes:

• Aria
  
• Becasse
  
• Flying Fish
  
• Four in Hand
  
• Guillaume at Bennelong
  
• Marque
  
• Pier
  
• Quay
  
• Sake
  
• Tetsuya's
  

I will make many, many, many Larousse Gastronomique recipes. Aiming to reach #900 by year's end.

I will learn, hopefully, many things from the above.

I will read Larousse Gastronomique. >_>

[C. sapidus]

I will eat salads at lunch. The cafeteria at work had a good salad bar, and I used to make delightful salads with mixed greens, surimi, jalapenos, red onions, feta cheese, etc. When the cafeteria closed down, my lunching habits became much less healthy.

I will make simple, flavorful weeknight meals

I will learn to cook cornbread, just so I can make it with roasted Poblano chiles (thanks, Shelby!)

I will read novels rather than cookbooks. Mens sano in corpore sana.

[Darienne]

In 2011,

I will eat okra (probably not)

Oh, Darienne. In all your travels, you must come to Arkansas, and I will fry okra for you. It will change your life. I swear.

I'm not sure I can stand to have my life changed again, but if we ever get near Arkansas again, I'll take you up on this. Thanks.

Ditto for the homemade tortillas.

[Peter B Wolf]

Now here is a site which should be suggested for everybody to read.

......and not only by 'eGulletiers'. Please suggest it to your friends by email and/or all other means.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/02/weekinreview/02bittman.html?src=dayp&pagewanted=print

Second paragraph as quoted here:

" The problem is, real food is cooked by real people — you! — and real people are cooking less than ever before.We know why people don’t cook, or at least we think we do: they’re busy; they find “convenience” and restaurant foods more accessible than foods they cook themselves; they (incorrectly) believe that ready-to-eat foods are less expensive than those they cook themselves; they live in so-called food deserts and lack access to real food; and they were never taught to cook by their parents, making the trend self-perpetuating. "

[heidih]

In 2011,

I will eat more of all the things I love and any new and interesting things along the way including black garlic, fish head curry and maybe even find a way to enjoy aubergine/eggplant.

I will make lunch for work everyday, Chilli Crab, congee, more okra, more things in advance so there's always something dependable and delicious in the freezer.

I will learn not to be scared of yeast and to make really good meringues.

I will read Fuschia Dunlop's books and the Momofuku cookbook and Dan Lepard's Handmade Loaf.. and... and ...

- you must check out this eggplant topic. I came late to the eggplant game and now my mind swims with possibilities when I see purple lovelies.

As to yeast- think of it like a weed in your garden- if you try too hard with it, it fails, but if you try to control it, it gets the best of you. In other words, do not be afraid.

Good luck!

[heidih]

I looked back at my 2010 list and it was fairly well addressed.

In 2011:

I will explore the world of sustainable fatty fishes

I will explore the nooks and crannies of sustainable shellfish

I will explore the vast variety of grains such as quinoa and amaranth

[onrushpam]

I will eat more vegetables and less meat

I will make bread more often and attempt to conquer edible whole-grain bread

I will learn to make homemade tortillas (seems to be a theme on this one!)

I will read whatever strikes my fancy (my reading is actually listening to 2-3 books each week whilst driving)

Off-topic addition: I will help at least 400 greyhounds find homes

[Peter the eater]

I will eat________________ healthy foods from sustainable sources

I will make_______________ as much as I can from scratch

I will learn______________ to manipulate hot sugar

I will read_______________ all the good books and mags that come my way

[Genkinaonna]

ChrisTaylor-

I will follow your blog and enjoy said recipes vicariously!

Edited January 4, 2011 by Genkinaonna (log)

[corax]

wow! do you have the specific book in mind already? i'd like to know more about this ...