Tuesday, January 09, 2007

This year I dare ... or my foodie resolutions for 2007



Ilva has done it. Again. Zarah Maria has done it. Anne has done it. So has Dagmar. And Sam.

Now it's my turn.

I'm not big on making new year's promises & resolutions, as I pretty much always fail to stick to them. I must have promised for the last 15 years to join a gym and go on a diet as soon as Christmas is over, but (irregular and occasional) weekly or fortnightly badminton session and some pilates classes are the most I can muster..

However, we're talking about my favourite pastime here - food. It must be so much easier to keep those promises, overcome those challenges and stick to the resolutions.

Here we go then..

1. I will try my hand at panna cotta. I've seen so many beautiful posts about this Italian pudding (see Ilva's panna cotta al caffe, Nicky's blueberry & buttermilk, Clotilde's strawberry ones for example) and I've been thinking of few interesting versions to make myself.

2. I will make a terrine/pâté or two, at least one using rabbit. (I know, cruel!) .

3. I will make gnocchi. I always ordered gnocchi at Italian restaurants in Edinburgh, as I loved them, was too lazy to make them myself, and the supermarket ones didn't really fit the bill. Time to make them myself!

4. I will make a rullepølse or the Danish cooked rolled pork belly. I've had a rullepolse press since 1993 - I got it as a gift from my host-brother Allan when leaving Denmark (he had made it at the crafts class at school). It had been lost in the depths of my parents' larder for way too many years. I rediscovered that Danish charcuterie item during my recent trip there, and then rummaged through my parents house until I found the wooden press. (Done in April 2007, but haven't yet blogged about it)

5. I will make osso bucco. I've seen some suitable cuts at my local supermarket, costing almost nothing. K. seems keen on the idea, too. (Done in June 2007)

6. I will make boeuf bourgoingnon. (Done in January 2007)

7. I will cook at least one new recipe from K's grandmother's and great-grandmother's handwritten cookbooks (written in 1934 and 1890, respectively) every fortnight.

8. I will eat more fish. And fruit & vegetables. And less, a lot less chocolate & pastries & cakes. (Cakes & pastries made of apples count, obviously, as fruit, as I do need my regular fix of various apple cakes).

9. The usual/typical foodblogger resolution for this year - I will try not to buy (too many) new cookbooks, as I've already got loads. Hey, K. had to buy a whole new bookshelf to accommodate my culinary-literary treasures (you can see it hidden behind the Christmas tree on the photo above)!

10. I will take steps to considerably improve my photography skills, focusing obviously on taking good food pictures. This will involve learning from the masters (you know who you are), acquiring a lightbox and possibly upgrading my camera..

That should do, don't you think?

15 comments:

Ilva said...

Pille-it sounds great! I'm particularly looking forward to point 4! What does it look like btw?

Anonymous said...

I'm glad #9 is not one of my resolutions...

Take care!

x said...

when you make gnocci, invite me please!
don't buy any cookbooks, instead write one :)

Cerebrum said...

GREAT resolutions Pille (and great inspiration for my 2008 list, heh)! I was thinking about the paté/terrine, too - and I love the rullepølse-idea! Can't wait to see that one - maybe I should get me a rullepølse press? Heck, one of my resolutions ought to have been "not buy anymore stuff for the kitchen" - ah well!:-)

Anonymous said...

How many cookbooks do you have, Pille?
After cataloging my cookbook collection I resolved to not buy any more & then I bought one about Russian food, & another about Swedish cakes & cookies when I visited Stockholm in the summer. I'd love to browse thru your library.
And is that a 'päkapikk' ornament?

Anonymous said...

What a great list, Pille! The handwritten cookbook sounds wonderful, I'm looking forward to hear about them and your cooking.

Anonymous said...

I meant cookbooks :-)

neil said...

Now your talking, food resolutions....gotta love that. Sounds so achievable (and tasty) that I might compile a list of my own.

Anonymous said...

I applaud your efforts at self-improvement, especially when it involves braises, panna cotta, pate, and gnocchi. Actually, I urge you to combine a braise with the gnocchi -- that is heaven.

Anonymous said...

Oi kui toredad lubadused :)
3. ja 10. kuuluks kindlasti ka minu omade hulka, kui mul sellised oleks. Ja 7. on lihtsalt nii armas ja kodune. Jääme siin vesitades tulemusi ootama :P

Gnocchi on ka minu suureks vaimustuseks, nii mälu järgi ja jõuludest saati Giorgio Locatelli "Made In Italy: Food & Stories" ainult süvendas seda. Olgugi, et ainult 10 lehekülge, aga väga isutavat teksti ja retsepte (PS! selle raamatu tahaks üldse "ära süüa", kui ainult rohkem vaba aega oleks, ei jõua piisavalt kiita).

Anonymous said...

Just, just. Viimane aeg avada ka pille toidufotoblog.

Anonymous said...

How exciting! I don't know if i'm disciplined enough to actually post my resolutions, but safe to say there are some new things I want to try this year :) Your list is an inspiration! I can't wait to hear all about the rullepølse in particular! Sounds yummy :)

Anonymous said...

Pille - How great of you make a list of so many resolutions. I, of course, have not made any. I will watch with keen interest what you select to cook and write about from your grandmother's and great-grandmother's recipe books.

Anonymous said...

Wow - this is quite a list! I'm sure you'll have a lot of fun churning out the new dishes. Have a great year.

Pille said...

Ilva - well, it's a big rolled piece of meat that you slice very thinly and put on your rye bread:) You'll have to come back and see it!

K & S - I wish it wasn't one of mine either, but there's only so many books I can fit into my purpose-bought bookshelf!

Chloe - with so many brilliant native-speaking food blogger-writers out there, I wouldn't even dream about writing a book in English. An Estonian-language cookbook is another matter though;) With a Greek translation maybe??

Zarah Maria - can't you ask your beau to make a rullepolse press for you? Then you wouldn't have to buy it:)

Pene - quite a few, I must admit. I won't know the exact number until later this month, when yet another friend comes from Edinburgh together with some of my books:) And yes, it's a päkapikk there. Sadly, our Xmas tree fell over on January 6th, and those glass päkapikud (there were 2 of them, one red, one blue) broke into pieces:(

Dagmar - I love those handwritten books!

Neil - looking forward to seeing your list!

Rob - thanks for the tip!

Thredahlia - raamatud on tõesti armsad. Tore on see, kuidas neid "tõlkima" peab. Nt on retsept sellest, kuidas "karusi praadida", mis muuseas ka mainib, et samal moel võib teha ka kingsepakala:) Nüüdseks on meil küll nii salapäraste karude kui ka kingsepakala identiteet tuvastatud:)

Johannes - päris toidufotoblogi ei tule, mul pole nii head kaamerat, kui Sul kahjuks:(

Scott - I can handle the resolutions part easily. It's the keeping them bit that is difficult..

Joey - still waiting for your list of resolutions!! And rullepolse will be making an appearance soon, I hope..

Shaun - those old cookbooks are from my dear bf, K. My grandmother is actually from the same parish, but she was from a much poorer family, so didn't attend any of the cooking classes:)

Mallika - thank you! I'm actually looking forward to trying all those dishes!