Food Goals for 2012

With a whole new year before us waiting for more delicious adventures, I thought it would be fun to make some food goals for myself. Rather than make generic resolutions like "eat more local" or "eat less meat," I decided to come up with a bucket list of things I want to make in my own kitchen this year.

To make it more manageable and hopefully more realistic 12 food goals, one for each month.

Macarons
This has been on my list of things to make for the longest time, considering I'm a big fan of them (when made right). My friends Mardi and Tonya always tell me how easy they are. So 2012 will mark the year I finally get around to making these, hopefully sooner rather than later to take advantage of the drier air in the winter months.

Pickling and Ketchup
I've done a lot of canning and jamming in the past few years, but not enough pickling, which is a shame considering it's such a great way to preserve the best of what summer has to offer for the rest of the year. I'd love to do more pickling this year, from pickled beans and ramps, to my own ketchup, to preserved lemons.

Tonkotsu Ramen
I find it so hard to find a good bowl of Japanese ramen here in Toronto. So I'd love to find out what the results would be like if I make my own ramen broth at home, particularly tonkotsu ramen, made from pork bones that results in a milky, cloudy white broth that has a creamy texture to it.

Tea-Smoking
I own a wok, so I could easily do this at home. I just often don't feel like filling up my apartment with smoke. But with my windows wide open, I'm hoping to smoke some meat or fish this year.

Cured Fish
How great would it be to make some salt-cured fish (like gravlax) or vodka-cure salmon and serve it up for a light summer dinner? It seems easy enough, so I hope to give it a try myself.

Steamed Pork Belly Buns
David Chang made famous the steamed pork belly buns. I'm sure many of you have had many different interpretations of the pork belly bun. I'd love to make my own interpretation of this dish.

Panettone
I always look forward to panettone every Christmas, the tall, round, sweet Italian bread filled with plump raisins and candied citrus peel. It's been on my bucket list of things to make for a long time as well, and I hope to finally get around to it in 2012.

Souffle
Light, airy and a mile high. Will my first ever attempt at making this classic French dish be a success or a complete sunken failure?

Croissant
Sure, I probably wouldn't want to go through the trouble of folding butter into dough in order to get flaky croissants every Sunday morning, but it would be fun to try it at least once.

Fig Newton
Here's a little blast from my childhood past. My mom used to occasionally pick up a package of these soft, chewy cookies to make in our lunch bags. I love foods that bring back memories of the past, so I'm turning to the fig newton in 2012.

As for dining out, I hope to make a bigger dent in my local restaurant bucket list!

What are your food goals for 2012?