Cooking Goals for 2004

[jsolomon]

I forgot the most important thing: convince my S.O. that I will not allow a smooth glass-topped range in my kitchen, no matter how "pretty" it looks. I've burned myself too many G.D. times at my brother's house. Also, I grew up cooking with gas and have no intention of changing from it.

[fifi]

jsolomon... Get that gas range if you have to smuggle it in under cover of darkness. An associate of mine, who is a fine Cajun cook BTW, got talked into one of those things when he moved into his house a few years ago. He was ready to "throw it into the yard" when they had to move anyway and he got his long missed gas range. Those glass topped things are apparently not designed for anyone that really wants to cook.

[Anna N]

jsolomon... Get that gas range if you have to smuggle it in under cover of darkness. An associate of mine, who is a fine Cajun cook BTW, got talked into one of those things when he moved into his house a few years ago. He was ready to "throw it into the yard" when they had to move anyway and he got his long missed gas range. Those glass topped things are apparently not designed for anyone that really wants to cook.

Daughter who has one of these glass-topped jobs tried to talk me into it when I recently had to buy a new stove (for new house!) No way. I have used hers on a daily basis for almost two years and I hate it. And if you do happen to have a boil-over there is nothing easy about trying to remove the guck! Couldn't spring for a gas range but at least I didn't have to stoop to get the glass one!

[torakris]

for 2004 I want to try to wean myself from my reliance on recipes and just get more creative in the kitchen.

[Line Cook]

use more than my Cast Iron Skillet and Pressure Cooker.

Shucks, why would you want to do that?

I rely heavily on both of those for most of my cooking at home. A nice wok is a pretty righteous cookware item too. If you don't have a wok, get one and a rice steamer and go to town.

[gus_tatory]

I'd also like to put some time and effort into making all of my food more heathful without sacrificing flavor or texture. I mean, it's easy to throw in six sticks of butter to thicken my sauce, but maybe I don't need to.

prediction: you'll get really good at thickening sauces in other ways, and then discover that 6 sticks of butter *still* makes a better sauce...

[AzRaeL]

for 2004 I want to try to wean myself from my reliance on recipes and just get more creative in the kitchen.

i have the opposite problem.

i gotta learn to stick to the recipe instead of inventing my own food.

[AzRaeL]

use more than my Cast Iron Skillet and Pressure Cooker.

Shucks, why would you want to do that?

I rely heavily on both of those for most of my cooking at home. A nice wok is a pretty righteous cookware item too. If you don't have a wok, get one and a rice steamer and go to town.

i have a spun steel wok (not stainless) which is nicely seasoned.

cooked a couple of times in it

i have a ricecooker ( a gift) sits unused.

i live alone, instant rice is easier.

[JAZ]

I'm not a vegetarian, but I would very much like to unlock more of the mysteries of vegetables.

I recommend Vegetables from Amaranth to Zucchini by Elizabeth Schneider.

[maggiethecat]

I've never felt 100% comfortable with molten sugar, and I don't make candy often enough to practice. I'd like to get enough experience to feel confident next time I need to bring sugar to the soft ball stage.

Hey, sugar's cheap.

[SethG]

So many of the above ideas are also goals of mine.

But more than anything I'd like to feel that I've really arrived at a sort of repertoire. Not to say that I want to make the same dishes on the same days every week. Rather, I'd like to be in a place where I plan ahead the week's menus knowing that there are several meals that will make it into the rotation, along with a few new ideas and projects. There's comfort in falling back on things you love, rather than experimenting every day.

Or maybe I should be realistic. I resolve to plan ahead for at least one week's menus this year.

[JAZ]

I'm going to try to get back into using my cookbooks more for actual recipes. Even if I don't follow them exactly, I want to benefit from all that knowledge. Last night I picked out a recipe for garlic soup from A New Way to Cook, and followed most of it. I was quite proud of myself.

Also I want to get back into baking breads. And work on pizza.

[Marmish]

My next frontier will be attempting to make yogurt, then butter, then cheese using fresh raw milk from a local farm.

I also want to make yogurt - the thick, Greek style. I have so far been partially successful in that I made yogurt, but not the kind of yogurt I want. I have a Greek friend's mother's recipe. I hope to take a field trip soon to watch Mama in action. Buying imported yogurt is getting expensive.

[hillvalley]

Now that I have mastered the art of chicken stock I want to learn how to make soups. I just have to find a place to start. The fact that it is 69 degrees outside doesn't exactly make me want to get started though.

[Naomi]

My resolutions (not so much 'cooking' as general 'food' resolutions):-

To extend my "kitchen garden" beyond a few bedraggled herbs.

To convince my father that every dinner does not have to involve meat, potatoes and two veg.. (have been trying for years, but this year I will crack him!)

Edited January 4, 2004 by Naomi (log)

[kopi-susu]

A couple of seemigly boring, but actually liberating resolutions:

1) a kitchen inventory/ shopping list

Why? because I live in a pokey, no-sidewalk, Wal-Mart-loving, one-horse town, and to do much interesting cooking, especially Thai, Indian etc. dishes, I need to drive between 1 and 3 hours for ingredients. It's a real bitch to get home and find there's only a half an inch of sesame oil left in the bottle. Also, a once a week walk-through of the cupboards, fridge and freezer reminds me of what I need to use up, what I could do with what I already have on hand, etc. It really does make me a better cook.

2) getting rid of my mish-mash of thrift store napkins and buying a LARGE number the same napkins. Don't talk to me about paper napkins or (heaven forbid!) paper towels. Grew up with cloth napkins - my mom still irons hers, but I do my best with a quick shake out of the dryer, except if we're having company. Lately though I can't seem to have three matching napkins on table, so it's time to grow up and buy about two dozen new ones. All that trouble cooking, my food is going to be eaten in a pleasant setting!!

3) rip out the small lawn on the side of the house and plant raised beds. Strawberries, tomatoes, sugar snap peas, herbs. Need I say more? We got all the sprinklers out and turned over a small area before the weather turned nasty.

4) replace the hulking stationary island island in our kitchen with a much smaller butcher block topped work table. Two people cannot pass each other in my kitchen, one person needs back up almost to the door to let the other one go by. Arrrrgh, what stupid dope remodeled a perfectly good '30's era kitchen into something so dysfunctional?

If I can get all these done it will be a pretty good year...

[mamster]

Homemade baby food.

[hjshorter]

Homemade baby food.

Good luck. I swore that all of my kid's food would be homemade, but gave up when I found that they spit out the homemade stuff because it wasn't smooth enough. Maybe little Iris will be less finicky. If not, Whole Foods carries a decent selection of organic.

In addition to pickling and canning (Guajolote is my role model ), I would love to maintain a real garden. Our new house is not across from a forest (ie DEER) preserve, so perhaps our tomatoes and lettuce will feed us instead of the wildlife.

And make my own stock more often.

[markf424]

Why? because I live in a pokey, no-sidewalk, Wal-Mart-loving, one-horse town, and to do much interesting cooking, especially Thai, Indian etc. dishes, I need to drive between 1 and 3 hours for ingredients. It's a real bitch to get home and find there's only a half an inch of sesame oil left in the bottle.

I feel for you on this one. I spend most of my time in St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands but do spend a good amount of time in Austin, Texas as well. When I'm in Austin, I have access to so much. Going to even the most basic grocery store is a wonderful thing, let alone hitting a gourmet store like Whole Foods or Central Market. However, when I'm in St. Thomas, it can be very difficult to find good ingredients, let alone maintain them in the house. The only decent market is about an hour roundtrip, and it's not a fun drive.

I'm willing to bet you are probably more creative than most of us due to this fact alone, though. That which doesn't kill you...

[cherrypi]

I can always use more money for cookbooks, good booze and organic produce...so I’ve quit smoking (after nearly 25 years).

I will not walk past the unfamiliar-looking veggies in Chinatown.

I will keep my knives razor-sharp.

[sparrowgrass]

Good on ya, Cherrypi!!

[bankchef]

This might sound concieted but I'd like to get the restaurant into a food magazine.

Gotta give up the smokes too Cherrypi.

And just to continue growing in this wonderful culinary world of ours. Learn more classic recipes and develop more of my own. Overall, I'm very content to keep at it in the same manner as last year and the year before.

[marie-louise]

By the way, I forgot to mention this previously: I promise to find this thread & bring it to the top every few months so you can post your progress. Consider me the Dr. Phil of eGullet.

[Toliver]

Thanks, "Dr. Phil"!

I resolve to finally wade through and use (or toss) the freakin' cupboard full of sauces, condiments, dried herbs and spices I've accumulated. It is literally overflowing onto my precious countertop space and I want that real estate back.

"Poultry Seasoning"!? I know I never bought that little can. Did it come with the apartment or was it a present from my mom when I moved in 17 years ago?

Out you go, little can!

Out with the Old....and let me ask myself "Will I really use it?" before I try to bring in the New.

[iain]

Like GGMora, my resolution involves cheesemaking. For the past few years I've been talking about leaving the big city and becoming an artisan cheesemaker. This year I want to get closer to realityand farther away from pipe-dream. To that end, I've set up a tentative full-time, month-long apprenticeship at Bobolink (on the NJ/NY border).

My goal for the year is to fully understand what's involved in setting up such a business and to decide whether or not it's something I really want to do. I need to do a lot of research and, I assume, amass a lot of money. It's the money that really freaks me out.

I've been keeping a blog (albeit one that is updated spottily) on this for a little while, in case anyone want to read along at home. It can be found at: http://www.cheesebiz.org.