Even though I have dug a path through the snow to my grills, I am already planning my agenda for spring. So many new foods to try! So many new techniques to test! If you're like me and love cooking outdoors because everything tastes better when cooked over open flame, here is a list of New Year's Resolutions for you. What are your culinary plans for 2011?
Then I resolve to stop poking meat, my hand, or my nose to decide when dinner is done so I will never again have to apologize for serving overcooked food or risk the lives of my guests by serving undercooked food. I will start by reading this Buying Guide to Thermometers.
3) I resolve to master 2-zone setup. I will learn how to set up my grill so there is a hot direct-heat zone and a warm indirect-heat zone. This is probably the single most important technique an outdoor cook can learn. I will start by reading this article on 2-zone cooking.
5) I resolve to master the backyard cook's canon: Ribs, steak, grilled chicken, salmon, burgers, and hot dogs. This means I will learn to place these dishes on the table dishes properly dark brown on the exterior (which means no carbonization), and properly done on the interior (which means tender and juicy).
6) I resolve to overcome my fear of flour and master four simple dough recipes: Pizza dough, a simple crusty rustic bread loaf, an all purpose pie dough for desserts and pot pies, and a cookie dough. I will begin by mastering pizza on the grill knowing full well that once I have, I will never be able to go out for pizza again, and certainly will never be satisfied by carryout or delivery pizza.
7) I resolve to keep my knives sharp. I will never again smush a tomato again by trying to slice it. I will keep an inexpensive knife sharpener and a honing steel around the house, but I will do as professional chefs do, and twice a year at least, I resolve to take my most important kitchen tools to a sharpener for a good true edge. Better still, I'm gonna splurge on a good electric sharpener. If I'm going to whack a finger off, I want it to come off cleanly.
9) I resolve to grow things I can eat. I will start with fresh herbs on my window sill, even if I live in a condo, and if I have room on my balcony, back yard, or even front yard, I will grow veggies. I will start by reading this article on herbs and spices.
10) I resolve to grill veggies and fruits like carrots and pineapple because everything is better from the grill. I will start with this marinara sauce on the grill recipe.
11) I will love my veggies so much that I will go one day a week without meat. I know that too much of anything is bad, and that goes for veggies, but it just might be healthy and economic for me to cut back a bit on the saturated fats, it might save me a few bucks, and it might force me to learn to cook veggies. I will check out the website of Meatless Monday. This is not a site run by vegan zealots. It is run by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and it makes sense, even to a Meathead.
12) Before I go meatless on Monday, I resolve to make Sustainable Sunday a ritual. Every week I will gather friends or family around me for a Sunday feast that I will cook from scratch. For this meal I will seek out fresh, local, sustainable foods, at the farmer's market on Saturday. Here's a database of practically every farmer's market in the US.
All text and photos are Copyright (c) 2011 By Meathead, and all rights are reserved
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
Already contributed? Log in to hide these messages.