And suddenly the New Year is upon me! And I find that I managed to fulfill only one of my several New Year's Resolutions. What was the resolution you ask? To bake or cook something new (as in I hadn't made it before) each week. The only loophole was I could make something provided that I made before if I had baked/cooked with my mother as a very small child. That, to me, doesn't really count.

So here is the list with the sources of each recipe:

List of Dishes I Made in Keeping with My New Year's Eve Resolution

1. Chocolate Caramel Covered Graham Crackers ( gourmet/epicurious)

I made these for OE's birthday last year and my party this year with RAVE reviews. They are very easy to make. Just to Epicurious and type the title into the search bar. You will be the hit of ANY party if you make these simple, but decadent treats.

2 Salted Caramels Bakerina came over to help me with these originally, but I made another batch later in the year again courtesy of Epicurious. I prefer the recipe there with the suggestion of using salted butter to enhance the buttery salty quality. I made these in honor of my ex-boyfriend the Breton. Brittany is famed for it's Fleur de Sel and it's Caramel Sale (salted caramels). Don't miss the man, but I do miss the candy.

3 Braised Chicken in a Creamy Leek Sauce (Epicurious)
This is a fairly heavy creamy sauce, which was OK, but I wasn't enthralled enough to make it again.

4 Gratin Dauphinoise (Gordon Ramsay)

A personal favorite dish and Gordon Ramsay's In the Heat of the Kitchen has a simple easy way of making it so you don't spend half the day in the kitchen slicing potatoes. This is a great dish for a big homey get together about this time of year.

5 Crusty Bread/Baguette (epicurious)

Again indulging in my desire to recreate a little bit of Paris here, I had to make my own baguette. It came out very nicely.

6 Pain de Mie (Gordon Ramsay)
Another recipe from In the Heat of the Kitchen. I had no idea what the hell pain de mie WAS until I received this book. It's a crumbly bread, which I absolutely loved making and eating.

7 Chocolate Chip Cookies (epicurious)

My grandmother is famous for hers, but she's getting older so I thought it was time I began to prepare myself to take her place. I found a fabu recipe at epicurious as Nana has never, and I don't think ever will, write hers down.

8 Roasted Chicken with Herbed Butter (Gordon Ramsay)

A great easy tasty dish for the fam.

9 Cardamom Carrots (Gordon Ramsay)

10 Fresh Ginger and Chocolate Gingerbread (Serious Eats)

11 Buttermilk Pancakes (epicurious)

12 Focaccia (the new vegetarian)

13 peanut butter cookies (joy of cooking)

One day I had the yen for peanut butter cookies like I used to get at the Black Dog bakery on Martha's Vineyard. I searched around the internet, but couldn't find anything close. Finally I called Bakerina and she found me a recipe courtesy of the Joy of Cooking so I could finally satisfy my desire. It's definitely still a fave,.

14 parsnip oven "fries" with a spicy vinegar dipping sauce (epicurious)

Dear lord but do I love love love this recipe. You can use the spicy vinegar on regular fries (as I do) you can make the oven fries with baby carrots or regular carrots or parsnips. It's versatile, easy and absolutely delish.

15 cinnamon scones (gordon ramsay)

16 soft boiled eggs with red wine and shallots (parisian home cooking)

17 vanilla cupcakes (magnolia bakery)

Simple the best cupcakes. If you can't get to Magnolia, now you can make them! I bake them often for birthdays and other events.

18 whole wheat spaghetti with goat cheese and arugula (epicurious)

19 sundried tomato, garlic, and jalapeno pasta (epicurious)

This dish is another new standard of my frig. I often whip up the sauce in advance and save it for a rushed evening, like tonight, when I don't have time to cook.

20 sulguni bread (georgian cheese bread) epicurious

21 fingerling potatoes in white wine with shallots (parisian home cooking)

Another recipe that became a standard of my home.

22 parsnip chips with curry salt (gordon ramsay)

23 poached egg

24 huevos rancheros

25 arugula salad with a warm shallot vinaigrette (parisian home cooking)

26 grilled buffalo chicken tenders (variation on epicurious recipe)

27 sugar cookies (beedrunken blog)

28 greens with a spicy citrus vinaigrette (grilled)

29 fougasse with olives and rosemary (gordon ramsay)

30 chicken sauteed with olives (parisian home cooking)

31 hazelnut chocolate crinkles (epicurious)

A great simply cookie. Perfect for a holiday tray.

32 herbed gnocchi with tomato salsa (gordon ramsay)

I made pasta! And it was tasty, although a bit of a pain. Seriously worth it. A great summer dish.

33 pasta pomodoro (black dog)

34 salsa fresca (vegetarian cookbook)

If you've never made fresh salsa, you are missing something. This recipe is easy and brings to together fresh ingredients perfectly.

35 spicy pickled carrots (Fresh Approach Cooking)

I LOVE carrots. A few years ago I bought a jar of spicy pickled carrots and fell in love only to discover they vanished! I searached for them to no avail. Finally I decided to make some. This recipe is awesome. I eat the carrots alone, on tacos, nachos, even turkey sandwiches. They are a new staple of frig.

36 jalapeno cheddar bread

37 leeks in cream with mint (how to roast chicken)

38 soft pretzels (allrecipes)

39 spiced madeleines (epicurious)

40 white chicken chili

41 peanut brittle (alton brown-DO NOT USE)

Alton's recipe is perhaps the ONLY recipe on the internet WITHOUT temperatures for each stage. When making peanut brittle, this is pretty freakin key. While I like his ingredients, I had to find ANOTHER recipe with specific temperatures to make it properly. Shame on you, Alton!

I've made a variant of this, which I had in NM and that is jalapeno peanut brittle. It's not really hot, just a bit of spice. I gave my mother a piece and she declared it "Perfect" and an adventurous gourmand she isn't. So you might give it a shot otherwise I recommend BakerJen's Peanut Brittle, which is the recipe I ended up settling upon.

42 caramel corn clusters (gourmet)

If you loved Cracker Jack as a kid like I did, this recipe will be your utter doom-easy and delightful, but VERY VERY heavy on the calories.

43 apple beignets with a butter rum sauce (gourmet)

I made these as directed, but I want to play with the recipe. I was expecting something more apple-y and think instead of Golden Delicious this recipe needs the bite of a Granny Smith. I shall let you know about future experiments.

44 pumpkin walnut bread (bon appetit)

45 chocolate hazelnut cut out cookies (Gourmet) NEVER AGAIN

These cookies are another nightmare that had me writing letters to the recipe testers at Gourmet that started "Dear MotherFucker." Perhaps it's me but I would not attempt to make these cookies. The hazelnut chocolate crinkles at epicurious are tasty and freakin easy to make. Stick to THEM.

46 turkey chili (gourmet)

47 orange cardamom cookies (epicurious) NEVER AGAIN

These cookies are delicious but absolutely the biggest PAIN IN THE ASS TO MAKE you can't believe it. Cthulhu only wishes he could inspire the type of madness these cookies aroused in me. However, I will be experimenting reproducing a similar type of cookie without the insanity in the new year. I shall alert you about the results.

48 devil's food cake (gordon ramsay)

49 curried party mix (epicurious)

50 gingerbread snowflakes (epicurious)

51 Chorizo and Lima Bean Soup (Gordon Ramsay)

52 Oatmeal Molasses Crisps (Best of Home Cooking)

Well I must run and have my nails done and change before the wacky hijinx this evening. Here's hoping that you all had a very happy and healthy year and this up coming year will bring more joy!

Here are my resolutions:

Yet again I shall make a new thing once a week, every week until the end of the year.

I will finish a formal draft of the Paris Diaries

I will apply to Grad School

I will lose AT LEAST 10 pounds.

HAPPY NEW YEAR BLOGOSPHERE!

Labels: baking, cooking, new year's resolutions