my mother's red beans and rice! she taught me when i was home for christmas. now i just need to find some great ham hocks for it (harder to come by in ny than in missouri)

Meatballs. I've never made them before but I keep seeing recipes that tempt me. Most recently in the Williams Sonoma catalog then in Bon Appetit. I'm starting with the classic spag/meatball combo but then branching out.

I've been wanting to make kalua pork in my slow cooker for a while but needed to wait for a potluck.... Have one coming up this weekend so it's almost time!

I got an Ebilskiver pan for Christmas... definitely want to get down to mastering those little treats.

I'm going to try a braise (haven't decided on what, or whose recipe yet). Also a skillet cornbread (Cook's Illustrated).

@ Hiphopopotamus - Here's a video that taught me how to make aebelskivers - it's really easy! I use a cast iron pan from target and bamboo skewers to turn. Get yourself some lingonberry jam and you're in for a major treat!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uj2age3DE7Q

Oh, I should add - the tricks are making sure your skillet is HOT, and remembering to re-oil in between batches (I use my Misto).

ragu sauce, spicy broth with noodles, and more vegetarian dishes. anyone have a nice recipe for a ragu sauce? i've tried a few but have yet to find a great one.

percent, one of my favorite meatball recipes is from the everyday fast food (martha stewart cookbook). nothing fancy but always delicious!

I want to make some sourdough bread! I got a stand mixer for christmas, and have made three different recipes so far (and had three successes, after a lifetime of bread-related failures...). Catching some wild bacteria will be an exciting next step!

I am going to learn how to make veggie sushi.

I am going to learn to make pasta this year. I plan to start this weekend with linguini. Hope it is as easy as it looks on Iron Chef.

More vegetarian dishes, because I want to go partial-vego, with at least two meat/fish free days a week (at the moment I eat vego breakfast and lunch virtually every day, say 29 days a month, and meat/fish at dinner six days a week, sometimes every day), and because it gives me an excuse to finally cave in and buy Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian cookbook. I love Madhur Jaffrey, and "Indian Cookery" is one of my favourite books of all time - that's where the other recipes I want to try come from, but I want to try all of them!

Just got a stand mixer, food processor, slow cooker and cast iron skillet (don't worry, I didn't pay full price for all these-- thanks, Craigslist), so I'm going to start with some basics to get the feel of them:

Butter, whipped cream and cookies in the mixer.
Hummus in the processor.
Chicken tortilla soup in the slow cooker
and then when I get a feel for my cast iron skillet I'll start perfecting my frittata.
Can't wait!

I want to try to make braised lamb shanks with cumin and ancho recipe from Food & Wine to test out my brand new dutch oven that I got for Christmas!

I started the month with two goals - tamales and making my first loaf of bread. Tamales are done. The rest of the month will be dedicated to learning to bake. Yikes!

I am going to try and make sweet potato pie and pumpkin pie. I've always been curious as to their taste (I live in Australia, we don't eat either as a sweet food very often, although I do have some pumpkin cake in the fridge- a gift). An Australian friend living overseas says pumpkin pie is horrible, but I really want to try anyway.

I have a winter share in a CSA so I'm going to be cooking things like rutabagas, beets, celeriac for the first time.

Oh my god! I`m on vacantion and my favorite hobby is cooking. So I`ll try: braised brussel sprouts, hamburger buns, chocolate ice cream, spice biscotti, watermelon sorbet, apple cake...

I've been meaning to make a hearty black bean stew to carry me through the rest of winter.

I made the root vegetable dumplings and thought they were interesting and tasty, but I don't think I'd go to the trouble of making them again.

My husband and I recently made our first batch of home-made pickles. I would like to learn more about pickling and master NYC Lower East Side style pickles.

I also started making fresh pasta and will be making lots this winter. I will be looking for sauce ideas that are tomato-free.

for christmas, my roommate got me a book on how to conceivably bake bread daily while maintaining a job and a life, so i'd like to try that.

I got an awesome pita recipe from my father-in-law that I can't wait to try. My husband also wants me to try making bread with white whole wheat flour, and I have a jar of San Francisco sourdough starter in my fridge waiting to be used.

I also want to make some warm spicy veggie dishes.

My father-in-law also gave me a copy of the super-cool book Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, and as soon as it arrives here in the mail, I am going to start using it.

I am going to try my hand at french macarons. If things work out I may then attempt a vegan version for my niece. Igor, hand my tools!

I plan to try making potato pancakes this week.

I also want to give cast iron another chance. I tried years ago without success and (gasp!) got rid of several well-seasoned old skillets. I have a skillet as well as a cast dutch oven I was given some years back for camping--both need seasoning and we'll go from there.

The hashed sprouts that were just posted to the Kitchn site are high on the list. My kitchen is in reno right now (cooking out of a make-shift kitchen in the basement,) so anything too fancy is on the back burner-- no pun intended.

I ordered a cheese-making kit and I'm going to make my own mozzarella from local milk. I'm so excited to try it! It seems like a magical process. I'm also going to try making tofu from scratch.

I'm also trying to learn to cook meat (amazing local farms around here) and fish with more skill. I was a vegetarian when I learned to cook, so I totally have a handle on the elusive vegan main course, but all I can do with fish is put it on a baking sheet in the oven and serve it with mustard dill sauce. Hoping to find something a little more amazing than baked fish with sauce.

Struan bread in the bread machine (made a loaf today - needs perfecting). My bread machine was unearthed (10 years old and still kicking) during the kitchen cure, and I have stopped buying store-bought bread, due to the ease of use, and the fantastic taste. I live where Bob's Red Mill store is close enough to make it worth our while to go. I can't say enough good things about their products.

Thai stewed beef curry. Not the quick cooked restaurant style, but the slow cooked, 'braise' style.

More beans! And not the Monty Python kind, either! Rancho Gordo all the way. . .

I want to make this broccoli crunch recipe: http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/broccoli-crunch-recipe.html this month. Hopefully tomorrow!

I want to try meatballs as well. Funny that I've never made them.

I want to start making bread on the weekends, now that I have some weekends back. I received a slow cooker for the holidays and my resolution is to use it at least once a week. I'm making a chili in it tomorrow. I've already made some char sui that was amazing. I picked up a copy of Asian Dumplings and I want to make some more recipes from that. My main goal for the year is to use every cookbook I own (about 100 of them) at least once this year. I'm trying new things left and right and I love it. It's so much fun.

I want to do Chicken Cacciatore. I grew up in a very Italian Northeast town and CC was several mom's go to dishes for school potlucks. It was always delicious. I have seen several recipes on the web, but none of them say 'with love from your Italian grandma' to me, so it may be a challenge to find a good and authentic recipe to satify my craving.

I got the cookbook "Asian Dumplings" for Christmas, so I'm on board that train. Along the same lines, I want to make proper, authentic samosas. I've made baked samosas recently, but I'm talking about the real deal. As for scallion pancakes, I've always liked Nina Simonds' recipe in "A Spoonful of Ginger."

roast pork with onion gravy, potato pancakes, pulled brisket in the slow cooker, navy bean and vegetable soup, popovers, apple cake, chocolate mousse crepes and pilau with lamb and dried cherries.

just about any cool looking ice cream recipe.

I got an ice cream machine for Christmas, and I really want to try it out.

Pies...THIS is the year I will figure out how to make a decent pie crust.

Panini-I got a press for Christmas.

This month, I would love to make baked chicken meatballs and jalapeno cheddar scones, both from Smitten Kitchen.

And Chocolate Gingerbread Bars from Martha Stewart.

I already completed one of my goals for the month...kale chips! I'm addicted now and have already made them twice this month. I'd also like to make spinach and apple chips (not together, though).

I got Tessa Kiros' gorgeous Venezia book that I'd like to make a few recipes from. I'm also planning to get back into bread baking with some crusty whole grain loaves and homemade bagels. I made my first batch of marmalade this month and will also be canning some more--I want to make something with blood oranges and marmalade. I can't wait!

Chicken Tikka Masala - someone posted Jamie Oliver's recipe in another post and I am ALL OVER IT!!!

My roommate and I made scallion pancakes using that recipe for our big Chinese New Year party last year and they were a huge hit, just like in the restaurants here in NYC Chinatown.

You can prepare the dough ahead of time and layer them between saran wrap. Pretty sure we did that the day before and they still turned out fine

I want to try making veggie burgers. I've had some exceptional ones at restaurants, so I wonder if I can create something great at home. I think I'll start by trying one of Mark Bittman's recipes for nut burgers or bean burgers at http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D04E4D6123EF936A25751C0A9609C8B63. Anybody have other veggie burger ideas?

I'd really like to try making bao. It's one of my comfort foods, and where I live now, I can't find anyone making it the way I like: pork PLUS lots of veggies and half a hard-boiled egg. It's as big as a newborn's head, and it makes a great lunch.

This is the year of middle eastern inspired food for me with a non-strict vegetarian slant. I'm starting with Lebanese (and may not move on). So far I've made a tahini dip, a rice and lentil concoction, eggplant and peppers cooked in a tomato sauce and I've gone zaatar and sumac crazy. And when i went into my newly discovered Oasis Lebanese grocery store (in Melbourne, Australia) I came out with $63 worth of bread and spices!!!

I got Vegan Soul Kitchen and Cradle of Flavour for Christmas, and I plan to cook from both of them as much as possible. I want to try some dishes with tempeh, because although I've loved it when I've had it in restaurants, my attempts to incorporate into my own cooking have been less than tasty. I'm looking forward to trying my hand at some of the dishes we get at a favourite Malaysian restaurant: nasi goreng, water spinach, and a green bean and coconut milk curry.

I also want to improve my cake-baking and decorating skills - though that will be spread out over the year, not the month :P (Although there are a lot of birthdays in January, it seems!). I baked my own birthday cake last week, and I'm planning to do a lemon-blueberry layer cake for my partner's mom's upcoming birthday. With luck, this time I'll manage to successfully use, if not master, the piping bag!

I had onion and thyme soup with a toasted baguette slice, and a poached egg on top of the baguette at a restaurant this weekend. Want to try some version of that at home!

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