Culinary Goals for 2016

I'm a sucker for goals and to-do lists. I love the process of recording down hopes and goals and going back to look over those lists and seeing what was accomplished, what remains and what no longer captures my fancy.

 

I'm also a sucker for food. I love cooking. Even with a restaurant to manage on a daily basis, I look forward to nothing more than finding the perfect pockets of time to cook at home. Whether that's frequent meals at home on a Tuesday night or the ever lovely Sunday Brunch prior to work at The Burlington Place; I love plotting out new menu items, relying on old favorites, or improving on a concept that I simply enjoy.

 

As the beginning of the 2015-2016 school year began, I was able to put into place a few food routines: menu planning, Tuesday lunches, Tuesday dinner, Sunday Brunch and a weekly crock-pot meal that will feed us in between all of the pizza and beer.

 

So, having conquered a few things to make Abode 212 Kitchen feel a little more reflective of 519 Kitchen, I began plotting some Culinary Goals for 2016. These can be broken down into a few sections:

 

Things I've Never Made, but Want to...

Ever have those moments where you realize you've never made this or that, but you have no good excuse. It's not something intimidating, others have conquered the item numerous times, you yourself just haven't gotten around to it...yeah, I have that moment a lot and sometimes it's embarassing. These are the things I'm looking forward to making for, surprisingly, the first time in my culinary career:

 

• Meatballs
• Mustard
• Ketchup
• Stuffed Shells
• Prime Rib
• Leg of Lamb
• Popovers
• Skillet Cookie
• Lattice/Decorative Pie Crusts
• Bagels

 

Recurring "challenges" to Hone my Skills and Bring me Joy...

 

I like the idea of throwing in some new ingredients to my regular cooking routine, a la Chopped. There are also some items that I know can be done numerous ways and I simply want to master the basics and then go crazy playing around with flavor variations. In particular, I'm hoping to attempt:

 

• A monthly brûlée, in part, I just want to own a torch. But, I also think Creme Brûlée is 100% decadent and has so many variations that make me swoon, so I think I'm going to focus some energy in that direction
• Grocery Aisle Challenge. Every grocery trip will be much more exciting if I challenge myself to grab one new item each visit. I'll choose from a different aisle every time and let my imagination or hearts desires lead me to the next greatest meal.
• Montly Recipe/Menu Planning Check List: One recipe per month will be from the following; a magazine, a cook book, Pinterest and my recipe box

 

Embrace Being "Green" and Retro...

 

A few kitchen goals are among those things which I've wanted to do for a long time and I'm feeling like this just might be the year to do them, they all seem a bit reflective of "green" trends and the things grandparents did, so green and retro, here we go!:

 

• Compost! I really, REALLY want to beg my husband to build a composter or buy one, it's just time to get something of the sort going
• Grow/Maintain more herbs and greens for regular use in recipes; things that can be grown inside all year as well as a few good garden concepts
• Conquer some new preserves --- specifically Wine Jelly. Also, consider submitting something (such as preserves) into the county fair, because that is clearly retro!

 

Research and Development...

 

• The research (and purchase) of a grill is on the list of priorities so that as spring rolls around and summer sets in we can eat the best foods outside, perfectly cooked and easily shared. We have a dreamy backyard space and a decent stock pile of beef, two reasons we need to hone in our grilling skills.
• I very distinctly remember eating a Chocolate Cake in Daejeon, South Korea that was consistenly perfect, left me on the verge of tears and never disappointed. I need to have a comparable go-to in my repertoire, because if food is so good it brings you near tears, that's a sign of a life being well lived.
• In leiu of discovering the perfect Chcoolate Cake, I want to organize a list/recipe collection of my "go-to" items. A couple Thanksgivings ago I mastered a Rumchata Cheesecake that's delectable! It's a go-to holiday dessert, but I'd love to have a few other go-to items for those potluck situations that don't have me eager to try something new, sometimes, I just want the tried-and-true stand-by (but in my world of hyper-food-creativitiy, that's a bit tricky).

 

 

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Lombardy Risotto with Zucchini

I feel I have too much experience in the kitchen to not have tried out a Risotto until I was 27 years old...but the truth is, I had never made a Risotto until this very year.

And there's always been a lot of hype regarding Risottos.

And now I get it.
I totally get it!

Freaking. Delicious. Nuff. Said.

Confession:

Growing up, a common weeknight meal centered around pan-fried meat, a canned veggie and box of either Rice-A-Roni or Pasta-Roni.

Risotto is like Rice-A-Roni. On steroids. With pizzazz. And without preservatives.

Every bite was a heavenly reminder of what childhood family dinner was...or could have been.

(Honestly, not complaining - I had the luxury of consistent meals, AT HOME...WITH MY FAMILY, that's pretty awesome and my parents actually taught me a lot about cooking and loving food, so more power to a box of Rice-A-Roni!)

Ingredients/Directions: 
From  Cuisine of the Alps

Remove stems from 3 small Zucchini and slice thinly. In a large skillet melt 2 Tbsp. Butter over medium high heat. Add the zucchini slices, saute 2-3 minutes until golden. Remove from skillet and set aside. Add 2 more Tbsp. Butter and saute 1/2 cup minced Onions and 1-2 cloves of crushed Garlic for 5 minutes. Add 1 cup short-grain Rice, saute until grains become golden. Pour in 2 cups of Broth. Cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, 10 minutes. Add 1 more cup of Broth, the zuchini, and 1 cup finely chopped Parsley. Season with salt and pepper. Continue cooking until all the liquid is absorbed. Add remaining 1 cup of Broth. Continue cooking a little longer, until the rice is just tender. Stir in the remaining 1 Tbsp. Butter and 1/4 cup grated Parmesan Cheese. Serve while still moist and creamy.

Avocado Salad with Bacon Dressing

So, something I wanted to do with all of our foods this year was include foods with aphrodisiac qualities - I apologize if you didn't really want to know that about me or us, but it's the truth of how I went about planning this meal. So I conducted some research and discovered loads of great recipes, including this recipe for Avocado Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing.

Interestingly enough, we had filled up on all the other dishes of the night and didn't have room for this one one top of stuffed peppers, slices of bread topped with apples and brie, stuffed figs and wrapped asparagus. So, it became the following days lunch. And it was oh-so-delicious.

Ingredients/Directions: 

The Avocado salad is easy, just thickly slice an Avocado.

For the dressing, you'll need to cook 1/3 lb. Bacon in a large skillet and let cool/drain on paper towels. This isn't the time for soft, chewy bacon, you definitely want it to be a bit crisp. Now, you'll need to save at least 2 Tbsp. of Bacon Fat for the dressing, although, if you just pour it all into a glass jar or tin can, you could save it up and make delicious things like Tortillas...or even cookies, but that's up to you.

Heat the bacon grease in a small sauce pan and add 1-3 cloves of minced Garlic (three is REALLY strong, but that's what the original recipe calls for - so adjust as desired), 1/4 cup Water, 2 Tbsp. Lemon Juice (or Homemade Vinegar...or not homemade) and 1 Tbsp. Sugar, simmer until sugar is dissolved.

Season with Salt and Pepper and stir in 2 Tbsp. of chopped Parsley.

Drizzle over Avocados and ENJOY!

Pancetta and Puff Pastry Wrapped Asparagus

And then we made these.

And they were DELICIOUS.

Step 1: Steam the Asparagus
Step 2: Roll our Puff Pastry, sprinkle with salt, pepper and Parmesan. Slice. (enough strips per stalk of Asparagus.

Step 3: Wrap Asparagus in Pancetta.
Step 4: Wrap Pancetta wrapped Asparagus in Puff Pastry.
Step 5: Brush with Egg Wash and sprinkle with Parmesan.

Step 6: Bake at 325 (or whatever is recommended by the puff pastry package) until golden.
Step 7: Enjoy...there's no other choice.

Feta Stuffed Figs Wrapped in Bacon

So...if you haven't caught on yet, out annual Valentine's Meal was a showcase of appetizers which we ate in various courses starting with the Apple Brie Bread and Feta Stuffed Peppers.

Next, we started on some meaty, bacon-wrapped dishes such as these delicious morsels.

Figs, stuffed with Feta, wrapped in Bacon - easy as it sounds.

Bake at 425 until the bacon is fully cooked.

Feta Stuffed Cherry Peppers

For one of our first "Valentine Dinner Extravaganza's" we made these spicy, flavorful little morsels and were not, at all, bummed to make them a second time.

They're vinegary, pickly, not-to-spicy, refreshing and creamy.

They are easy.

The original recipe suggests Peppadews, but our lack of grocer options have lead to our using Cherry Peppers.

Once you have your pickled peppers there are just a few steps:

Step 1: Remove seeds from peppers.
Step 2: Remove seeds from one cucumber and dice.
Step 3: Place 2-3 cucumber cubes in the shell of each pepper.
Step 4: Stuff remaining space of the pepper with Feta cheese.
Step 5: Place in mouth, bite down and enjoy!

Apple and Brie Toasts

One of our all time favorite food combinations is Apples + Brie.

Occassionally, we'll buy a round of brie, dice up some apples, sprinkle the apples with cinnamon and nutmeg, surround the brie by the seasoned apples - bake and dig in with a baguette.

Want something that required an ounce less chopping but held the same flavors - we put this together for annual "Valentine's Dinner Cooking Extravaganza".

Sliced bread.
Topped with sliced apples.
Sprinkled with Cinnamon.
Topped with sliced brie.
Baked for 10-ish minutes until cheese is melty.

Easy Peasy and Absolutely delicious!