Be Your Most Adventurous Self This New Year

What advice can be given to home chefs and bakers on this New Year's Eve?. Be bold. Be daring in the New Year! Broaden your culinary horizons. I know I will and it's going to be a wild, fun trip into the culinary unknown.

This is the year to be bold. Experiment. The worst thing that can happen is that the dish doesn;t come out well. Then tweak it. Don't be afraid. Dare. If you want to try meringues , then do so. Yearning to make that pineapple upside down cake or Dr. Pepper ribs, then do it. If there's a cuisine that you've longed to study in a cooking class , then go for the classes. They're not only informational, they're fun and you'll meet like-minded home chefs that will be instant friends. Turn your kitchen into a lap where you can mix and match different and diverse flavors. Who knows? You make come up with the next hit fo the new year.

The same ideology applies to gadgets too. If you want a mandoline, then buy it. A fryer? Or that frying pan that can cook and bake anything. Definitely add them to your arsenal of kitchen tools. Invest in meat and candy thermometers. These are must haves in any kitchen. They'll even inspire you to try bigger roasts and different forms of candy.If you want that cotton candy machine, go for it. It's not just as a fun party treat, Use it to decorate cakes and cupcakes. Try to make a bacon flavored one  to test your limits.Get the apparatuses to cure bacon at home or create  kimchee  and  sauerkraut. Have your significant other build a smokehouse or curing room for your foray into cold cuts.

The New Year is your oyster. Crack it open. Serve it with hot sauce or baked spinach. Turn it into your signature dish!

My Year To Fly

Every home chef needs to grow. I know I do and that will be one of my many New Year's resolutions . What will I do? What will I try?

Thanks to a new oven, I will be baking a lot. I've already baked Ghiradelli's Double Chocolate Brownies.They came out a little too gooey , so hopefully with more practice I'll be baking much more firmer ones. With baking comes decorating so I am definitely going to be honing my icing - hello again buttercream - along with practicing rose and leaf skills. Savory baking is also going to be high on my list. I want to experiment with strata, and rediscover the luscious leeks on toast ( double yum) and my Swabian zweibelkugen or onion pie (again double yum) a dense quiche like confection, rich with eggs, cream and onions. Homemade pizza will also be making quite a few appearances as well.

Another must is rediscovering roasts, hams, chickens, turkeys and London broils. It's going to be wonderful, with crunchy, crisp skins and slices of tender meat.There will also be sides  that will be cooked ( and all of these will be shown as Foodie Pantry how tos).I want to relearn how to make scalloped potatoes and baked Mac with bacon.As with cuisines, since French and Filipino are going to be big this upcoming year I want to expand into that, especially in creating the perfect crepe.

Every home chef and baker should resolve to expand their culinary arsenal.I know I will.I get to grow which makes for a better cook - or so I hope!

Be The Adventurer

One of the best resolution a home chef or home baker can make for the New Year is to be more adventurous. It's time to learn new techniques or try new ingedients. It's a fun learning experience that has some tasty rewards.

One of the best experience for any home chef is signing up for any kind of cooking or baking classes. It pays to learn from experts. They can show you how to expertly hold knives or use a sous-vide.They can introduce you to such sophisticated cuisines as French and Vietnamese or how to make a pizza or expertly frost a cake.

Make 2017 the year you try new one ingredients. Experiment. Go to Asian markets to sample exotic spices. Taste a fish, poultry or any type of exotic red meat .Go for emu or bison.Or go healthy. Go vegan.It's not only healthy but also tests your creativity as a cook.

This new year be adventurous.Be brave.Be curious. All this will make you grow as a home chef and baker.

Food Trends For The New Year

We all want 2016 to end.Foodwise, it was an OK year.Cheetohs may have made a comeback , thanks to a certain presidential candidate but that's it.What trends will bloom in the new year?

The New York Times Food section wondered this too in today's issue.Kim Severson, a regular contributor, wrote about trends of past years.1997 brought us the exotic wrap, now a staple of delis and luncheon platters every where.2006 brought us the uboquituous olive bar that is a supermarket must
2002 ushered in bubble teas while we have 2008 to thank for the rebirth of kale.Macaroons and whoopie pies were the it girls of 2011.


Trends used to take two to three months to percolate back in the late Nineties.Social media now can birth a trend and grow it overnight. Every December food wonks and PR firms throw out foods and see if they stick. 2017 is promising to see an interest in such diverse cuisines as French and Filipino. Natural grains such teff and sorghum may be in every baked good from cupcakes to breads. Egg yolks ,long under fire for being bad for you, is now going to be a top ingredient.Not surprisingly, hemp is also going to be hot.

What else will be the most trendiest food this year?It could come from any foodie. It could be hemp crepes or a Filipino egg dish. Any guess is a good one.

Technical Difficulties

The pantry is having technical difficulties tonight.
Hopefully we'll be back tomorrow night!

The Best Christmas Gifts

What does a foodie and home chef  want  for Christmas? Anything that deals with food and the kitchen. Well, I don't know about any of you out there but I got my wish in the form of a madeleine pan and n eight piece glass baking set. It has definitely set the juices flowing again.

As you can see I received the much-coveted madeleine pan. I love madeleines and have been dying to bake them for a long time. Now with a tin and working oven I am definitely going to try my hand at this. These cake-like cookies are a bit labor intensive. but worth it the work, The recipe requires melted butter to be gently folded in along with freshly grated lemon zest. Baked madeleines are then dusted with granulated sugar while still warm. There are recipes for lavender infused ones and chocolate. The first is made with lavender infused honey while the chocolate ones are more like miniature baked cakes.Once I master the original recipe I'd like to move on to the espresso ones with espresso  icing. There is even a  savory madeleine recipe that involves  Parmesan cheese and rosemary or chives. These would be perfect for a brunch or an afternoon snack, along with being a bread for salad Nicoise.

My second gift is an eight piece bake set from Anchor-Hocking. This is exciting too because there's a wide range of dishes and treats I can bake. The larger casserole dish has got me thinking and researching chili bakes, those yummy yummy combos of chili and cornbread. They're kind of like a Southwestern shepherd's pie.but with the extra zing of chili powder. There is a covered  smaller sized dish for smaller bakes , such as bread puddings or strata,I am looking forward to making pies and quiches with homemade crusts too,.I've just found an easy quiche crust recipe that calls for olive oil, flour and cold water. Another recipe I 'd love to tackle is deep dish pizza, layered with mozzarella and veggies.I could also make a childhood favorite, Crazy Crust Pizza using Bisquick. The set also comes with two ramekins for custard or possibly for melting butter or margarine in the microwave. There are all sorts of possibilities with this amazing set and I;'m looking forward to trying out  scores of great recipes.

I've got my Christmas dishes and am chomping at the bit to try them out. I can't wait to tackle the complicated but oh so delcious madeleine recipes and the other baking recipes with my new Anchor Hocking set. It's going to be a fun winter ahead, as I try all sorts of new dishes in my cozy kitchen.

Merry Merry Christmas and Happy Happy Hannukah

To all my readers around the world have a Merry and food filled Christmas and Happy Happy Hannukah!!!

Enjoy these festive and ancient holidays with the best of friends and best of families

Liz

My newest feline foodie , Sunshine aka Sunny,