So a couple of years ago Brad and I decided to make New Year's resolutions we might actually have a chance of keeping or at least would have fun trying to keep. So we resolved that each month we would commit to buying one "expensive" bottle of wine and eating out at a "new" restaurant. The "expensive" bottle simply meant spending more than our normal $20 cut off for wines we typically buy at the grocery store which ended up meaning having to go to a wine shop and likely spending about $50 on a bottle of wine. For a once a month expense that was no big deal especially compared to what we end up spending on one of our wine tour trips. But over time the having to go to a wine shop became harder with our busy schedules so we stopped trying to follow this resolution about 1.5 years into the process. Besides we were doing more wine tour trips so still had plenty of new wine experiences.
The "new" restaurant simply meant going to a restaurant neither of us had been to before. Even after having lived in this area for 22 years there are still plenty of places we have never tried and new ones pop up all the time. Some months the new place would be an inexpensive sandwich shop or pizza joint and some months it would be a high-end steak and wine kind of place. A lot of times our decisions were based on what coupon deals we had found or what our plans were for the evening. Many shopping or errand outings also include planning for where to have dinner in that part of town. And sometimes it included plans with friends especially those that had previously tried a new place in their neighborhood and wanted us to experience it with them. We managed to follow this resolution for nearly 3 years. Sometimes that eating at a new place didn't occur until the last day of the month and sometimes we counted a new place on vacation versus a new place at home. But with the economy situation we tended to frequent more sandwich shops versus steak places and finally with Brad being laid off we also failed to continue with this resolution.
Last year my sister-in-law resolved to make a new recipe each week. At the time I thought it was neat but that it would be quite the challenge for me to also do. For her it was based in part on having acquired a new Kitchen Aid mixer and wanting to make use of it. Well, in spring of this year I also treated myself to a Kitchen Aid mixer on sale and Brad said "I expect lots of things to be made in it". So sometime in April I also started the new recipe a week plan. Being competitive I ended up doing several new recipes a week to try and reach 52 new ones even though I was starting 4 months into the year. I didn't get there but I did have weeks where I made 3 or 4 new recipes then weeks where I didn't do anything new at all.
Trying new recipes is a lot of fun. For years you collect recipes out of magazines and earmark pages in cookbooks but how often do you really try new things? Certainly during holidays you might do something new but often it is best to stick with tried and true recipes. Therefore resolving to do a new recipe a week is a great way to finally try all those that you have clipped and you aren't risking making something bad during a big party event. Not all new recipes are successes. Sometimes the dish is fine but not worth the effort. Sometimes the whole thing is a flop. And then sometimes you find a new favorite. I ended up trying 35 new recipes over the last 8 months and I plan to continue this resolution for 2011. Here is my list from 2010:
Sausage Apple Pancake Casserole - YUM
Vegetable Soup Tuscan Style - needs tweaking
Tuscan White Bean Soup - needs tweaking
Pasta with Peas, Mushrooms and Ham - YUM
Potatoes Savoyarde - No
Spinach Avocado Orange Salad with Honey Poppy Seed Dressing - YUM
Roasted Red Pepper Tomato Soup - YUM
Pimento Cheese - YUM
Southwestern Chicken Pasta - Okay, not a keeper
Broccoli Sausage Pasta - YUM
Rapid Cold Rise Bread - needs tweaking
Broccoli Cheese Rice - Okay
Spinach Sausage Breakfast Casserole - YUM
Three Cheese Mac and Cheese - YUM
Waffles from scratch - YUM
New Fresh Guacamole recipe - YUM
Creamy Poblano Pepper Strips - YUM
Amish Bread - YUM
Amish Chocolate Bread - Okay
Bucatini Alla Matriciana - YUM
Martha Stewart Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies - YUM
Spinach Goat Cheese Tartlets - YUM
Fettuccine with Endive, Mushrooms, Bacon - YUM
Deep Dish Pizza - YUM
Rigatoni Casserole - No
Pasta Arrabbiata - YUM
Florentine Potato Salad - YUM
Croque Mac and Cheese - YUM
Lasagna Soup - YUM
Drunkin Noodle - needs tweaking
Herbed Cheese from scratch - YUM
Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese - No
Christmas Soup - No
Pasta with Mushrooms and Brie - YUM
Angus Barn Crackers - YUM
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