10 New Year's Cooking Goals (and 20 Recipes to Get You Started) (2024)

Weeknight Cooking

by: Sarah Jampel

January2,2015

8Comments

8Comments

Some resolutions -- flossing every day, regaining the ability to touch your toes, spending less money on fancy salts --fall in the category of more necessary than fun.But the rightcooking resolutions can be both attainable and pleasurable.

So setouttoactually usethe appliance you got for Christmas three years back andto make friends with your butcher. Soon, you'll be enjoying delicious food while celebrating your accomplishments.

1. Break inthe slow cooker.

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Whole Slow Cooker-Poached Chickenand Southern Slow Cooker ChoucroutebyNicholas Day

10 New Year's Cooking Goals (and 20 Recipes to Get You Started) (1)10 New Year's Cooking Goals (and 20 Recipes to Get You Started) (2)

2. Get over thatfear of lard.

Leaf Lard BiscuitsbyCara Nicolettiand Welsh CakesbyDonna

10 New Year's Cooking Goals (and 20 Recipes to Get You Started) (3)10 New Year's Cooking Goals (and 20 Recipes to Get You Started) (4)

3. Think beyond all-purpose flour.

Buckwheat Thumbprint Cookies with Cherry PreservesbyAlice Medrichand Crisp and Tender Almond Flour Pancakesbycreamtea

10 New Year's Cooking Goals (and 20 Recipes to Get You Started) (5)10 New Year's Cooking Goals (and 20 Recipes to Get You Started) (6)

4. Make soup ahead. Make soup ahead. Make soup ahead. Make soup ahead.

Anna Thomas' Green Soupby Genius Recipesand Red Pepper and Cauliflower ChowderbyKendra Vaculin

10 New Year's Cooking Goals (and 20 Recipes to Get You Started) (7)10 New Year's Cooking Goals (and 20 Recipes to Get You Started) (8)

5. Eat some greens that don't start with "k" and end with "ale." (Yep, we heard you.)

Pink Greens by Marissa Graceand Red Chard with Festive SpicesbyEmily

10 New Year's Cooking Goals (and 20 Recipes to Get You Started) (9)10 New Year's Cooking Goals (and 20 Recipes to Get You Started) (10)

6. Order (a little) less take-out.

Multi-Layered Scallion Pancakesby Mandy @ Lady and pupsand Joanne Chang's Hot and Sour SoupbyGenius Recipes

10 New Year's Cooking Goals (and 20 Recipes to Get You Started) (11)10 New Year's Cooking Goals (and 20 Recipes to Get You Started) (12)

7. Bakebread at home.

Maple Oat Breakfast Breadby fiveandspiceand Homemade NaanbyCarey Nershi

10 New Year's Cooking Goals (and 20 Recipes to Get You Started) (13)10 New Year's Cooking Goals (and 20 Recipes to Get You Started) (14)

8. Reduce kitchen waste.

Vegetable Stockby Marian Bulland Chicken StockbyJestei

10 New Year's Cooking Goals (and 20 Recipes to Get You Started) (15)10 New Year's Cooking Goals (and 20 Recipes to Get You Started) (16)

9. Step up your salad game and makedinner-worthy creations.

Roasted Pear and Rainbow Chard Saladby Elizabeth Starkand Quinoa and Mango Salad with Lemony-Ginger Dressingbyjenniebgood

10 New Year's Cooking Goals (and 20 Recipes to Get You Started) (17)10 New Year's Cooking Goals (and 20 Recipes to Get You Started) (18)

10. Get familiar with unfamiliar cuts and types of meat.

Roasted and Whipped Bone Marrowand Crepinettes with Kale and ShallotsbyCara Nicoletti

10 New Year's Cooking Goals (and 20 Recipes to Get You Started) (19)10 New Year's Cooking Goals (and 20 Recipes to Get You Started) (20)

What are your 2015 cooking aspirations? Share with us in the comments below!

A New Way to Dinner, co-authored by Food52's founders Amanda Hesser and Merrill Stubbs, is an indispensable playbook for stress-free meal-planning (hint: cook foundational dishes on the weekend and mix and match ‘em through the week).

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Written by: Sarah Jampel

I used to work at Food52. I'm probably the person who picked all of the cookie dough out of the cookie dough ice cream.

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8 Comments

Transcendancing December 30, 2015

Loved this article - some of these are among my goals, others just look good and some of them I've even tried (like the bone marrow butter which is truly truly awesome, do make that!)

Engr M. January 31, 2015

Patricia C. Ross
This recipe will be helpful for working women and bachelors.Do try this method and let me know your feedback.If u like without garam masala, try this recipe else follow this way. Nowadays i use my rice cooker for making pongal,pulao & biryani.The best thing i love in rice cooker is the aroma of the food it renders while boiling.
http://ricecooker-hq.com/ [emailprotected]

Jo January 11, 2015

I love love love lard but for some reason have had trouble sourcing it lately! Thanks for the reminder to keep looking.
We probably eat other greens as often as we have kale. Another interesting green to cook? Try iceberg lettuce! It softens quickly and becomes tender and translucent - while still retaining an intriguing crunch. Great in stir fries.
Also thanks for reminding me to make stock - I have in my freezer...a batch of prawn shells, and also a leg of lamb bone!
My salads are invariably dull! Thanks for reminder that there's life after lettuce/cuke/toms...
Unfamiliar cuts of meat - definitely worth exploring. We went through a period of scraping through life on one income and had to explore cheaper (and unfamiliar) cuts of meat - best discovery? Beef cheeks. I've seen it become trendy and can now pay twice the price that I used to, only a few years ago. I get a tonne of great feedback every time I cook it.
So - thanks for giving much to think about and more importantly, DO!
I also want to cook stuff from the cookbooks I own...I think, one recipe per cook book, each week.
Great post, thank you!

Kelleil January 4, 2015

It was with great sadness that I learned upon moving to Germany that they don't have slow cookers.

Molly January 4, 2015

Yes, they do have slow cookers in Germany- look on amazon.de--- I live in Europe and have inherited one from a friend from there. It is not fancy, but it works! Or order from another EU country (like the UK) and use a plug adapter.

Jamie D. January 3, 2015

I have a goal to cook at least two new dishes from all of my cookbooks! And also working on baking more bread.

Kat January 2, 2015

I feel the lard love! I refuse to believe anything will result in a more tender and flakey biscuit. Refuse.

lastnightsdinner January 2, 2015

That slow cooker poached chicken is fantastic. We made it a week or so ago, and my whole family loved it. The only change I made was that I dashed a little rice vinegar into the broth for brightness when I served it. Really good stuff, and such a great do-ahead for the week.

10 New Year's Cooking Goals (and 20 Recipes to Get You Started) (2024)

FAQs

What are good goals for cooking? ›

Here are some examples of the types of goals I've had for myself over the years:
  • Cook meals that are “mostly plants” (majority fruits and vegetables)
  • Make most of our meals from scratch.
  • Only eat sweets if I've made them myself.
  • Learn to cook without recipes.
  • Spend less on takeout and restaurants.
Jan 5, 2024

What food to cook on New Year's Day? ›

Greens, Black-Eyed Peas, Cornbread, and Ham | Photo by Meredith. Even folks who aren't from the South go all in on eating black-eyed peas for good luck on New Year's Day. Cook up an irresistibly soft, hearty dish that will also bring you good fortune.

What should I cook for cooking competition? ›

Competitive Cook Offs

BBQ, grilling, and chili are the most popular culinary competition ideas. Other cook off contest ideas that may work for your event are desserts, movie night, Mom's best recipes, southern style, local favorites, and soul food.

What is a smart goal example for cooking? ›

Some sample SMART goals around nutrition and food preferences might be: I will try two new recipes per month that include green vegetables. Each meal I eat out this month, I will try at least one bite of a new food to see which ones I may like to add to a future meal plan.

What is a goal of a recipe? ›

A recipe is simply defined as a set of instructions with a list of ingredients used to prepare a particular food, dish or drink. People use recipes to replicate foods they enjoy that they otherwise do not know how to make. Chefs use recipes to make sure a dish tastes the same each time it is ordered.

What are the 7 lucky new year's food traditions? ›

7 Lucky New Year's Traditions
  • Grapes // Spain. Better hope all those grapes taste sweet! ...
  • Black-Eyed Peas // Southern United States. ...
  • Soba Noodles // Japan. ...
  • Pomegranate // Eastern Europe. ...
  • Lentils // Europe & South America. ...
  • Marzipan Pigs // Germany & Scandinavia. ...
  • Pickled Herring // Poland, Scandinavia.

What not to cook on New Year's Eve? ›

Lobster, cows, and chicken are all considered unlucky animals to eat on New Year's because of how they move. Read on for more foods superstitious people try to avoid on the holiday.

What is the best food for the new year? ›

  • Greens. A ubiquitous New Year's Day good luck food in Europe and the United States, leafy greens from kale to collards are eaten to represent money and wealth. ...
  • Cabbage. ...
  • Black-Eyed Peas. ...
  • Cornbread. ...
  • Grapes. ...
  • Pomegranate. ...
  • Oranges. ...
  • Fish.
Feb 15, 2024

How can I make my cooking more interesting? ›

9 Ways to Make Cooking Fun
  1. First, get organized. Without preparation, your cooking session won't be relaxing. ...
  2. Invite others into your kitchen. ...
  3. Get comfortable. ...
  4. Hydrate. ...
  5. Learn something new. ...
  6. Travel to another country. ...
  7. Cook with intention. ...
  8. Entertain yourself.

What is the best dish without fire? ›

COOKING WITHOUT FIRE
  • Strawberry Crackers. Ingredients needed: Strawberry's, plain biscuits, fresh cream. ...
  • Shrikhand. Ingredients needed: hung curd, cardamom, sugar. ...
  • Milk Shakes. Ingredients needed: Milk, sugar, a fruit of your choice, yoghurt. ...
  • Lassi or Desi Milk Shakes. ...
  • Biscuit Cake. ...
  • Sandwiches. ...
  • Fruit Chaat. ...
  • Mango Pudding.

How to win a cooking competition? ›

They key to winning is to create and shape your dish according to the competition parameters, instead of picking a recipe first and hoping you can pull it off on competition day. The second thing to keep in mind is balance of flavor. At most cookoffs, people are only getting one small bite of your dish.

What is the goal of cooking? ›

Aims and objectives of cooking

Cooking makes it easier to digest the meat and vegetables' coarse fibers. Cooking adds variety to the menu by allowing one food item to be prepared in many different ways and with different textures. Cooking preserves food longer. High temperatures kill bacteria and limit spoilage.

What are the goals of a cooking class? ›

Cooking Goals focuses on developing functional life skills through teaching the principles of meal preparation, organisational skills, time management and development of social skills.

What are the goals of culinary? ›

One of the most important goals for any culinary professional is to learn new skills and techniques that can enhance your repertoire, improve your quality, and increase your efficiency.

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