One Serious Eater's New Year's Resolutions: What Are Yours?
I like to be creative with my new year's resolutions. I try not to repeat myself, but that can be hard to do when I don't follow through on many of them. That said, I have many new and old resolutions, and I know you won't be surprised to find out that just about all of them revolve around food.
I resolve to eat more vegetables, even if I have to cook them with bacon to do it.
I resolve not to stop at New York's Gray's Papaya for one little hot dog any more on my way home or on my way to a fancy-pants restaurant for dinner. I justify that stop by saying to myself that it's really my own form of amuse bouche. I also resolve to stop wasting my breath by ordering my hot dogs well done at Gray's. The counter guys never listen.
I resolve to eat less bad pizza. No matter what city I'm in, I know where the good pizza is, and there is no excuse for not seeking it out. Being late for a meeting is a small price to pay for an excellent slice.
I resolve to send back hamburgers that are not medium-rare. We medium-rare burger eaters must stick together and send a message to burger overcookers everywhere. We will not stand for this. It is a matter of principle.
I am going to try to limit my bacon intake to 3 times a week, once at breakfast, once at lunch, and once at dinner (see above).
I resolve to try to cease all eating activities after 9 o'clock if I'm home. I don't need to read You On a Diet to know that's a real mistake.
I resolve to go cold turkey on bad frozen french fries. There are enough good fries out there. The bad fries just aren't worth the calories or the carbs.
I resolve to wait for the pizza to cool off before taking my bite. Pizza burn is not fun, and I seem to get a case of it every time I have a slice.
I vow to skip the bad bread served at many restaurants in New York and beyond. It's just that it's so hard because that basket of bread is brought to my table almost immediately, and I'm hungry. I wish more restaurants would serve crudités or nothing instead of bad bread.
I resolve to try to finish my nose-to-tail examination of all things porcine. Long live pig!
I resolve to eat less bad food in general. Being hungry is no excuse. There's always a better bite nearby.
I resolve to complete my tour of America's great fried chicken joints in the coming years. Look out, Prince's in Nashville and Watershed in Atlanta: I'm coming, I'm coming.
I vow to leave no pie tin unturned in my quest to eat every great slice of pie in this country. That means I must visit Karen Barker in North Carolina at the Magnolia Grill this year. I have eaten Barker's transcendent pie at events but never in its native kitchen.
That's all for now. I'm sure many of the New Year's resolutions posted here as comments here will apply to me as well.
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18 Comments:
I resolved many New Years ago to never make any more resolutions especially where food was concerned. At 54 I've come to the conclusion that my system does not work properly without a certain amount of salt and grease in my diet. Not to mention sugar, half-and-half, whole mayonnaise and creamery butter. I have also vowed never to criticize Paula Deen again since basically we eat the same foods. (Except I still can't stand that phony drawl). I have also promised myself that we will visit every barbeque restaurant and revolving sushi restaurant between the Greater Baltimore and Washington, DC metro areas. Ed, have a delicious 2008!
RichardCrystal at 8:21AM on 12/21/07
Wow... great post Ed.
I'm with you on the medium-rare burgers. Here in the middle of flyover land (Indy) most servers look at you as if you're crazy if you order a burger that way. Then, after repeating it back to them the burger still comes out medium-well or well most of the time.
It seems times never change here in the heartland... Wolfgang Puck did a stint at a French joint here in Indy in the 70's. He laments that he never cooked so much well-done beef in his life!
My only resolution is to eat more of the tasty pig.
deeoh1 at 8:32AM on 12/21/07
I resolve to drink more often in '08. Really.
Drinking for me usually involves good wine, but I just don't seem to do it often enough, so that needs to change! ;-)
Curlz at 8:50AM on 12/21/07
I resolve to develop an absolutely killer espresso blend by mid-year but before that I have to meet my resolution to finally have my part time roasting business up and running by the end of January.
phaelon56 at 9:55AM on 12/21/07
Ed, you're an inspiration. My resolution is to not waste my time, money, and palate with unworthy food. In your case, it's frozen french fries and bread baskets; in mine, it's convenience foods like store-bought cookies and chips.
Another resolution is to cook more. For myself and others. I spend so much time reading food blogs and making plans to try out new recipes, when in reality, I go home to make myself scrambled eggs and toast for dinner. I'll make more time to cook, because I know it will be worth it.
LiveToEat at 9:59AM on 12/21/07
I have blown up this year. For the first time ever, I have to resolve to actually lose weight. It's pathetic and bit surreal, but facts are facts, and I'm 15 lbs over weight (!!!!!!!) and must do something about it. Just not until the holidays are over :) Too much good stuff on the horizon's menu.
But once that New Year rolls around and all the parties are over and we're in the middle of the winter, I'm back on the wagon. Lean protein and as close to raw as possible vegetables for me, no more beer and wine during the week, sugar only once a week, starches also severely reduced, lots of green tea, and back to the gym, until I get back down into, as my dad calls it, my "beer zone".
seyo at 10:18AM on 12/21/07
I have thought about this recently. This year I am going to eat more serving of fruits veggies per day. (Trying for 5 total) I also want to bake more bread and try to improve my repetoire/difficulty in baking.
I plan to start writing my recipes and have people test them.
New things to make this year petit fours (a whole slew of new ones), pate choux (till everyone screams stop), crochembouche (for no other reason then the same as why do people climb mountains). I want to step up my spanish/cuban/mexican cooking and serve at least one dish a week of something we have not tried before (longshot there)
For Hubby less fat and pork and more healthy things so its SURVEY SAYS more rustic italian. (aw geez not again mom) More soups and veggies, leaner meats.
I want to go out for dinner once this year and eat a huge steak. I mean huge. Usually I do not order a huge steak but now I want one.
Also want to go someplace and eat a huge piece of cake that I like.(going to be tough there) I am finiky with desserts.
JerzeeTomato at 10:50AM on 12/21/07
Ed, I too have vowed to stop eating after 9pm when I'm at school. It only applies to Sunday-Thursday, because the weekends are automatically a bust. I came up with this one because everytime I came home from the library at around midnight, you could find me eating omelettes, quesdillas, loads of cheese, cold pizza, and stale tortilla chips. I eat so much that I'm still full in the mornings and skip the all-important breakfast, which makes the rest of the day's hungry schedule to be about: 3pm, 8pm, and then midnight again! It's a vicious nocturnal eating cycle.
My second resolution is to never eat 2 Gray's, 3 Crif dogs (smothered in cheese and wrapped in bacon), and unlimited Pomme Frites with extra sauces all in one night ever again. ever.
Jenn Sit at 10:56AM on 12/21/07
Ok. Mine is 20 new recipes in 2008. Search, shop, prepare and journal. I love all my tried and true favorites, but there is such a thing as a rut.
Kerosena at 11:08AM on 12/21/07
i'm in awe of your metabolism.
unfortunately my resolution is going to have to be something along the lines of "im going to quit stopping in for two blintzes with double sour cream every time i pass by zabar's cafe, and learn to love eating an apple and a hard boiled egg for breakfast".
phooey.
cybercita at 11:20AM on 12/21/07
I'm with seyo. More veggies, more running, less booze. Everything else in moderation. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm actually looking forward to it.
Alaina Browne at 11:23AM on 12/21/07
Stopping at Gray's Papaya for a hot dog on the way to dinner.
Reminds me of Calvin Trillin's description of his friend Fats Goldberg's diet. Mr Goldberg kept his weight down by only overeating when at home in Kansas City. Descriptions of what he ate while IN KC include the sentence, "On my way to lunch I stopped for a Kresge's chili dog."
floretbroc at 12:39PM on 12/21/07
Eat better.
Exercise more.
Do more pizzeria reviews on Slice.
Watch less TV.
Drink less cola.
Drink more water.
Finally learn and apply GTD to my routine.
Go to bed earlier.
Get up earlier.
Cook at home more.
Bring lunch instead of eating out.
Call Mom and Dad more often.
Curtail my internet habit.
Keep in better touch with friends (see "curtail internet habit," above).
Complain less.
Take more road trips.
Adam Kuban at 12:46PM on 12/21/07
I'm with you, Live to Eat...my cooking's in a rut even though I drool over food blogs, restaurant reviews, menus and recipes. Since I'll be home this winter and helping my husband recoup after back surgery I intend to make wondrous meals in 2008. I might even attempt some Keller!
bessfour at 12:57PM on 12/21/07
Gee, I wish that I could stop in at Grey's Papaya -- shortage of them here in Seattle. I think that the local Frankfurter chain may be gone too, and they had good kosher dogs and others. There are the Matt's Gourmet Hot Dog places around the area now, which are fairly good.
But my resolution, which I have failed at before, is to be more responsible again about my diabetes. I must avoid the binging on chocolate covered raisins (even the dark choc) and crusty raisin pecan bread and cream cheese. Oy.
Stushi at 2:20PM on 12/21/07
Haha-I'm with you on the pizza bite. I can't help it.
I resolve to cook more healthy food in 2008.
gourmeted at 5:12PM on 12/21/07
I watched King Corn a month ago and I'm pretty much done with high-fructose corn syrup. That stuff is gross. It's sugar, honey, maple syrup or nothin' from here on out...
missginsu at 5:55PM on 12/21/07
Prince's is going to blow your mind.
adrockuw at 3:42PM on 12/25/07