Our Food-Related New Year's Resolutions for 2014
When the clock strikes midnight on January 1, most people vow to become better versions of themselves in some way. Well, okay, maybe those resolutions actually start on January 2, after the killer hangover has subsided (that's why our Food Lover's cleanse starts on the 2nd, folks!).
Some people want to learn another language. Go to the gym more. Read more books. Perform better at work. Us? We want to learn to bake bread, drink more bubbly, eat more bologna sandwiches. Here are our staffers' food New Year's resolutions for 2014—check back with us in a year to see if we've kept them. Let's hope we do.
1/15Every year I say I'm going to take back the knife, but this year I mean it! My husband is an incredible cook, and last year I had a baby, so I didn't make it into the kitchen until cookie time in December. (Can we talk about that Salted Honey Chocolate Bark?!) I'm determined to find recipes that are fresh and simple, as well as big-batch favorites that we can eat all week. Luckily I get to taste everything in the test kitchen months ahead! I can't wait to make things from the February and March issues—some fantastic stews and super-modern salads. —Christine Muhlke, executive editor
2/15Eat more bologna sandwiches! With really good mortadella and lots of mayo and the occasional slice of American cheese. After the bologna sandwiches, I'd like to get home earlier during the week so I can cook more dinners for my girls. —Andrew Knowlton, restaurant and drinks editor
Romulo Yanes3/15Chicken stock. I'm always telling people to make it from scratch, yet rarely do so myself. This year that changes. I'm gonna have a pot simmering on the stove, then I'm going to transfer it to Ziploc bags, label, date, and freeze them. Then use it for everything from soup to sauces. —Adam Rapoport, editor in chief
4/15I'm going to try to get over my aversion to dill, because someone who eats food for a living can't afford any silly hangups. My distaste for offal, however, will have to wait till 2015. —Carla Lalli Music, food and features editor
Danny Kim5/15I like to make a New Year's resolution that I can actually keep (I have enough other failed promises to beat myself up over), so every year I pledge to drink more sparkling wine. —Julia Kramer, associate editor
6/15Less scarfing, more chewing. I eat SO fast, I aim to sloooow it down in 2014. —Dawn Perry, senior food editor
7/15I will actually cook in my dark, pint-sized New York kitchen. Recipes from Bon Appétit, of course. —Patrick Janelle, tablet designer
8/15Sounds cliché, but to eat breakfast at home. Our whole routine is changing because my 3-year-old starts preschool after the New Year, so I am going to use that as a catalyst to healthy-up all our breakfast routines and eat at home instead of on my commute or at my desk. Wish us luck! —Stacey Rivera, managing editor
9/15I'm going to cook more for my family when I go home, try and organize at least one Sunday supper a month for my friends, seek out more Middle Eastern restaurants in New York, and be better at packing snacks when I travel because good god do I get cranky. —Alison Roman, senior associate food editor
10/15No more shoveling crappy junk food down my maw just because it's on the "free table" at work. That means you, miniature piña colada cupcakes and wretched tin o' fake-flavored popcorn. —Ashlea Halpern, special projects editor
11/15I will continue to focus more on quality over quantity when it comes to my booze consumption. I've made progress. Much more needs to be done, however. —Scott DeSimon, deputy editor
12/15Learn to snack: Seriously, I'm bad at snacking. As a kid, I was taught to eat at regular mealtimes, and in my adult life that's meant I just don't snack. Which means I get extremely hungry between meals, and then eat too much at lunch and dinner. Snacking, I've heard, can help with such issues. But where to begin?! Also: Drink more at work. —Matt Gross, editor, BonAppetit.com
13/15I WILL force myself to like sardines in 2014. And learn how to bake bread. —Danielle Walsh, assistant Web editor
Tara Donne14/15I will never eat an entire large pizza again. —Erik Peterson, Web developer
15/15As a kid, I was mad about mushrooms. My family would always give me extra slivers of flavorful shiitake mushrooms in my mom's famous mai-fun stir-fries, and I'd never say no to Campbell's cream of mushroom soup. On a recent trip to Gotham West Market's El Comado, I had a delicious mushroom croqueta that got me thinking. I really need to cook more with mushrooms. I mean on a weekly basis. That's my food resolution for 2014. —Faye Chiu, assistant managing editor
