Home Chef Goals

It's a new year and with it come new goals for everything in life. Home chefs should take these to heart . Have something to look foward to doing and then stick to doing it. It can be anything from trying a new cuisine to mastering some culinary craft.

Tis is what I have planned for myself. Caribbean cooking and baking has always intrigued me and this will be the year (and hopefully soon) to try cooking callaloo and possibly attempting a tofu jerk.This is turning a traditionally meat dish into something vegan. Another Caribbean must try is Trinidadian sweet bread. I was curious about it when I first heard about this fruitcake like bread.It has frozen coconut along with currents  evaporated milk, raisins and candied cherries in it. I have had luck with sweet breads in the past so it shouldn't be that hard to make and bake.Another home chef or rather home baker goal for me is upping my cookie game. I've had two major Christmas cookie disasters recently, probably becaused I used vegan sub in for eggs and butter. I want to create a cookie that crisp and light while packing flavor. I don't ever want to deal with a crumbly , unmanagable dough  again. A smaller goal is possibly buying cute cookie cutters in different shape and sizes and working with colored chocolate for decorating.

All home chefs should set some kind fo goal. It doens;t have to be met right away. It could involve smokingbrisket  n the grill during the Spring and summer months. You can spend these colder months reading up; on recipes and which one to try. Many look through those new cookbooks they received for Christmas and Hannukah and pick out recipes they want to try, Keep in mind that it doesn't have to be a new cookbook. There may be a cookbook you haven't looked through in years. Check the recipes out. Try the ones you haven;t attempted for something different. Another fun goal is taking culinary classes.Enroll in a course  if you're fascinated by Middle Eastern cuisine or want to learn the intricacies of French pastry making. Again check on line for classes and if they're in your area.  Some bakeries offer classes for cake and cupcake decorating while many night schools offer affordable classes on various cuisines.Sign up now before all the spots are taken. There are also one on one classes however these can be pricy depending upon the instructor's availabilty. Research first before you sign up.

It's always fun and improtant to set goals for yourelf. Carry that into the kitchen. Try a new cuisine or promise yourself to experiment with a different technique. You'll be pleased with the results.