2019 Cooking Bucket List

I will admit, yet again, most of my 2018 Cooking Bucket List  items were done in December (maybe even one or two during the first week of January). I love coming up with a list of cooking goals each year, as it forces me outside my comfort zone and helps make some great food memories.

I struck two items off my list on Mother’s Day in 2018. I made Poutine for lunch with a Pavlova for dessert. They were both delicious and I will definitely make them again!

The poutine I made with frozen french fries and topped with gravy (I like Simply Organic’s gluten-free brown gravy) and cheese curds.

The pavlova, not as successful, because I forgot the whipped cream, but the meringue itself was delicious!

Some items on my list were there for nostalgia. I made GF Ouma biscuit (also known as rusks), ginger beer and biltong (a South African delicacy, similar to beef jerky). They all came out ok, not great, but I will keep testing. The rusks, which are meant to be hard and dipped into a cup of coffee or tea to soften and eat, were very tasty but were only good for a day.

The ginger beer was much too sweet and not carbonated enough, so I will have to tweak the recipe.

The biltong…well, at least I know the process now. The texture was great, but definitely way too salty. The second attempt was too sweet. Hopefully the third time will be the charm. Every mistake made while cooking is a valuable lesson!

The first time I attempted to make mayonnaise, I learned that I need to follow my gut, which I didn’t do. My arms hurt for days after because hand whipping mayonnaise is hard work! I added too much oil and the mayonnaise broke. Next time, I decided to make a blender version, which came out much, much better and cannot even be compared to jarred mayo.

Next, I made a delicious GF Lobster Roll. I was originally going to use the mayo I made for it, but you know what happened to the first batch. I used a roll I made from King Arthur’s Gluten-Free bread mix and tossed fresh lobster meat with some melted herb compound butter, like this one. This was definitely a lunch highlight of 2018.

I have tried to make Crème Brulee a couple of times before and none turned out as successful as this last batch! Maybe it had something to do with the fact that I made it while there were no kids at home.

When my first daughter was born, my brother and sister-in-law sent us a big order of Greek food for dinner one night. That was over 10 years ago and I still dream of that Avgolemono soup. It is a creamy, lemony soup. Perfect for entertaining. I tried to recreate it years ago and that went horribly wrong, but this time…absolute perfection. I wish I had made more! Some recipes have chicken and rice, but mainly it is broth, lemon and eggs. I will be making this again!

Lastly, I made GF Chocolate Lava Cake. This was my husband’s request. He always gets to pick one or two of my bucket list items and they are usually dessert. One out of four had a center that oozed when I cut into it. They were delicious though!

Some of these will make it into my rotation, like the Avgolemono Soup and the biltong (once I get it right!). Others, will not. There are too many other recipes to try!

I can’t wait to get started on some new amazing meals for 2019! Here is my new list, all gluten free:

1. Ramen
2. Flan
3. Key Lime Pie
4. Fried Chicken
5. Tamales
6. Khachapuri (a Georgian cheese bread)
7. Steamed buns
8. Arepas
9. Tortillas
10. Marshmallows

Anything you want to learn how to cook this year? Anyone have any great recipes for my bucket list items? Please pass them on!