I’m an avid food-blog reader. I also own an expanding cookbook collection. Like many others, I love reading cookbooks before going to sleep at night- definitely the best comfort reading- so I don’t just use them to cook from. As can be expected, I also love cooking and – what a surprise- eating. So here is my second list, involving 101 food-related tasks for 1001 days.
A couple of things to note. When it comes to cooking / trying new dishes, here’s what I’ll be doing. I will first research possible recipes to follow for a particular dish (from food blogs, cookbooks, the internet etc)- so the link I’ve provided with each recipe is indicative, not necessarily the one- or the ones- I’ll be using in the end. Then, I will choose one recipe & proceed. If I don’t like it, I’ll try a few more, until I manage to create the dish the best way possible, according to my taste. What’s important is to keep track of this process, so I’ll keep a record- hopefully on this blog- of my efforts to create each recipe.
The other thing is that the numbers in this list start from 102 & end in 202, just so there’s no confusion with my initial, non-food-related, list.
So… here goes!
102. Make red velvet cake
103. Make a classic American apple pie
104. Cook & perfect 5 good main Indian courses (one of them chicken tikka masala, the other a biryani)
105. Make sacher torte
106. Make Irish soda bread
107. Learn how to make a good lemon meringue pie
108. Learn how to make a Victoria Sponge Cake
109. Find a good recipe for a white chocolate cheesecake
110. Learn 3 good recipes of cupcakes
111. Learn how to make a good frosted carrot cake, one which is a sandwich cake.
112. Learn how to make baba au rhum & make it for dad
113. Make cornbread
114. Make pierogis
115. Make galaktoboureko
116. Perfect the technique of making a stir-fry. Use Pam Anderson’s recipe as a blueprint
117. Learn how to make savoury tarts. Make one with meat (or chicken / fish) and one vegetarian
118. Experiment with using rhubarb. Make at least 2 good recipes with rhubarb (ones that I like)
119. Learn how to make a good tyropita
120. Cook & perfect 5 good Scandinavian dishes (main courses). One of them should be swedish meatballs with white sauce & berry compote
121. Cook & perfect 5 good east-european dishes (main courses)
122. Learn how to make a good pizza dough
123. Make blinis
124. Perfect a recipe of tarte tatin
125. Learn how to make profiteroles
126. Perfect a clafouti recipe
127. Find a fantastic pavlova recipe & perfect it
128. Learn how to make a good mont-blanc
129. Make something with Seville oranges (January or February)
130. Make a good egg salad
131. Learn how to make a chicken pot pie
132. Make something using dulce de leche
133. Learn how to make a good macaroni & cheese
134. Make Mississippi mud cake
135. Find the ingredients to make taramosalata in London, and make it
136. Make macaroons
137. Make good meringues
138. Make loukoumades
139. Learn how to make Chinese dumplings & chinese buns (the ones eaten at dim sum restaurants)
140. Learn how to make Indian samosas
141. Cook 6 Greek meals (perhaps mezedes meals) for friends; this is about once every 6 months (0/6)
142. Learn how to make focaccia
143. Learn how to make a good meatloaf. Use Pam Anderson’s recipe as a blueprint
144. Make a good hunkar begendi
145. Make a good fruit cobbler. Use Pam Anderson’s recipe as a blueprint
146. Learn how to make blintzes
147. Learn how to make latkes
148. Learn how to make a good pad thai
149. Make a thai yellow curry
150. Make a tagine
151. Make every recipe (6/410) (except ones I would definitely hate!) from Nigella’s ‘how to eat’
152. Try the Dorie Greenspan recipes in my blog recipes list (make at least 10 recipes) (0/10)
153. Cook 145 new recipes from cookbooks I own (any kind of recipe); this comes to about once every week (8/145)
154. Make 145 recipes from food blogs (main course or starter); about once every week (3/145)
155. Make 70 dessert recipes from food blogs; this comes to about once every 2 weeks (1/70)
156. Make all of 101 simple meals by Mark Bittman (I’ve saved this post)- of course not the ones that don’t appeal (0/101)
157. Visit a good Japanese restaurant in London & a good sushi restaurant (with A.)
158. Have a traditional English tea at a posh hotel, e.g. at the Wolseley (19.5)
159. Go to Manze’s on Tower Bridge Road for pie & mash one lunchtime
160. Go for coffee or dessert to Hummingbird Bakery, in South Kensington
161. Go to Moro restaurant with A. & other friends for dinner
162. Go to petersham nurseries for lunch, perhaps with A. & D.
163. Go to a good fish & chips place for lunch
164. Go for coffee & dessert to Kipferl at Barbican
165. Go to Konstam at the Prince Albert again for a celebration dinner with A.
166. Go to Frizzante cafe at Hackney city farm for breakfast / brunch with the baby
167. Have dinner at Lindsay house at Soho for good british cooking
168. Go to Yauatcha for tea & dessert with A.
169. Go to the Ledbury for French food
170. Go for coffee & dessert to the Nordic Bakery (Soho)
171. Go to Crumpet for breakfast / brunch with the baby
172. Choose a good Vietnamese restaurant & try it for dinner, best Vietnamese are in Hackney
173. Go to Sofra for Turkish lunch
174. Visit the Rosendale gastropub at East Dulwich for Sunday lunch
175. Visit Retsina greek restaurant at Belsize Park for a weekend lunch
176. Go to Kolapata Bangladeshi restaurant in Whitechapel for dinner
177. Go for brunch at Ottolenghi
178. Have a risotto lunch at Ooze (Goodge street)
179. Go to Hummus Bros for lunch
180. Go for brunch or lunch to Daylesford café in Maida Vale
181. Visit the river café restaurant for dinner
182. Visit Fifteen for lunch or dinner
183. Go to Mother Mash for lunch
184. Go to Novellino for lunch or dinner & make sure to leave room for dessert too!
185. Go to Wild Honey for dinner
186. Go to the Table at Southwark street for lunch
187. Go to the Tea Palace for afternoon tea
188. Choose a North African restaurant & go for dinner
189. Keep a record of food eaten & cooked. The goal is to follow, as much as possible, a food weekly schedule which is relatively balanced (avoiding too much meat!). Day 1) Pasta or risotto Day 2) meat dishes Day 3) fish Day 4) veggie dishes Day 5) chicken or other poultry Day 6) pulses or other soups Day 7) free day (or restaurant meal). Include salads/vegetables with meals as much as possible
190. Make home-made muffins 70 times, which comes to about once every 2 weeks & pop them in the freezer. Preferably try lighter versions, good for breakfast. Keep a record of which muffins are made (4/70)
191. Start baking home-made bread on average once a week- so all in all 143 times. Start at some point & keep on with it. Try various recipes while doing this & perfect different bread-making techniques. Use Rose Levy Beranbaum’s book as a main source of ideas & keep a record of what I’ve made (4/143)
192. Try to eat no more than 1 dessert per week, and 1 muffin per week. I’ll start recording this after the baby is born!
193. Grow a few herbs at home, in pots: At least 2, for example rosemary, oregano, dill, tarragon, lavender, thyme, basil, parsley, coriander
194. Buy a fondu set & have a fondu party
195. Buy a dutch oven (french oven) or crockpot
196. Buy a KitchenAid mixer (was a gift)
197. Buy a nice cake stand
198. Buy a good food processor which will work also for pureeing baby’s food
199. Buy at least 2 more le creuset pots/pans
200. Buy a meat thermometer
201. Buy the delia smith cookbooks (the basic ones)
202. Do 8 cooking courses (comes to about 3 courses in a year) (0/8): including an Indian cooking course & a cake-decorating course
ohmygosh… 202? You trying to make us 101ners look bad?
*lol*
Nice list… thanks for sharing and good luck!
Thanks! Well I suppose I’m a bit…greedy. I’m not so hopeful that I’ll manage to accomplish the goal, but let’s see! Today is day zero in any case. Good luck to you too.
Oh wow – this is so ambitious!
I will really enjoy following your blog – you have excellent goals! It’s really inspiring!!
Thanks Anne! They’re excellent goals, you’re right… but actually following them: that’s another story altogether!!
)
perhaps if/when you come to London again, we can visit a restaurant on the list & cross off one of the restaurant-goals!
Take care.
you must be an avid foodie of you want to buy delia’s basics – i bought my copy of delia’s basics (published as one edition) about 20 years ago: here’s the post i wrote about it – http://organicallycooked.blogspot.com/2008/01/gingernuts_20.html