Happy New Year!

Welcome to 2006! That's it--another year has gone by. As always, there have been highs and lows, good times and bad. As most people do at the beginning of a New Year, I'm looking back at some of the highlights and plotting some of the things I'm looking forward to next year. I'll list the food-related ones here.

Highlights of 2005

January
The Boy and I found an adorable apartment in Paris, which became our first home together. I accustomed myself to cooking dinner most nights a week and making sure we ate our vegetables! We welcomed the New Year in high style at Le Bistrot d'Henri.

February
In spite of a twisted ankle, the Boy and I were able to celebrate Valentine's Day, spending it together for the first time in our 2 + year relationship. We also discovered what became our favorite restaurant, Les dessous de la robe.

March
The Boy went off to China for a month and, inspired primarily by Chocolate & Zucchini, I began a food blog! Among the culinary highlights, I think my favorite was my very first post--Filet de boeuf with livarot sauce, something that will unfortunately be difficult to recreate back in the States.

April
What a busy month April was! It started out with Free Couscous, then the Boy came home from China and I made him a Lamb and Saffron Stew. We held a much-belated Housewarming Party and I observed all the dietary laws of Passover, but still managed to cook Delicious Dinners.

May
My brother visited me in May and, with his help, I participated in my first WBW, Think Pink! I also conquered two food-related fears: Whole Fish and Gelatin. The latter was for my first entry in an IMBB, the theme of which was Gelatin.

June
June was a bittersweet month. At the beginning of the month, we moved out of our beautiful apartment in Paris and began a fantastic six-week-long trip around France. Unfortunately, blogging came almost to a halt, but we were having so much fun we hardly noticed.

July
I finally left Europe towards the end of July and came back to New York. For the short time I was there, I went to the theatre, ate out and tried my hand at cooking Chinese food.

August
Before leaving New York, I made one final meal and figured out exactly what was happening to the blog in the future. Then I drove cross-country to San Francisco and started cooking out there.

September
Although I was terribly late for one IMBB, the Lovely Ladies I live with gave me the impetus to participate in another one and helped me brainstorm my EoMEoTE entry.

October
I tried my hand at song-parodying, changing the words for the "Boy's and my song," Hotel California by The Eagles. I also found an excuse to buy a muffin pan and baked some Strawberry Muffins for my girls and me.

November
November is always a happy month for me because it's my Birthday Month! The Ladies totally outdid themselves, decorating our hallway and buying me food-related goodies. Yum! I also did quite a lot more baking, finally getting more comfortable with it.

December
How deliciously eventful December was! First of all, I came back to New York and finally got to relax and just spend some time with the Boy. He finished his first semester of law school and I made him a celebratory, savory Torte. I also wrote two posts in French and the Boy and I discovered a new French restaurant nearby.

And now for my New Year's Resolutions (or at least the food-related ones) . Let's see how many I end up keeping!

1. To make my own stock. I try to place a real emphasis on homemade food, never eating at fast-food chain restaurants, but there are certain homemade base foods I never take the time to make, like stock!

2. Make homemade pasta. One of our very favorite foods is a big bowl of pasta with almost any kind of sauce. The Boy has been trying to convince me to try my hand at making my own pasta and, having only made gnocchi, I'd love to give it a whirl.

3. Have some simple, but still delicious weeknight standys. Whenever I want to make a good dinner, it ends up taking hours, both to plan and to prepare, so we end up eating at midnight. I really need some easy dishes that are still nutritious and delicious.

4. Bake bread. I've started conquering my baking fears and I think I'm ready to start playing with yeast again. Or, at least I hope I will be by next December.

5. Poach eggs. Several days ago, I mastered the art of soft-boiled eggs. Now I'd like to learn how to poach them. They don't have to be beautiful--just not fall apart.

6. Creme brulee. I have yet to break in my blow torch, so, once back in California, that's an absolute goal.

7. Blog work. I would love to take the time to update this blog much more often and to take more time with each post.

8. Beautifying the blog. I haven't updated the design of my blog in over six months and I think it's time to re-think how it looks.

9. Recipe index. I'd like to figure out how to put together a good recipe index that would be easy to search. This may require switching to another blog host, which is another thing I will have to look into.

That's all for now. I may add new goals to this list as the year goes on, but for now I think this is quite enough.

Happy holidays! And a very happy New Year! All the best to you and all of yours.

Food and Drink and New Year's