30 by 30 List

Yesterday I turned 29. Surprisingly it wasn’t as traumatic as I expected – 28 was a lot harder for me. Last year I woke up feeling older. (If your twenties were quite a while ago, please forgive me this line of thinking.) This year, however, I woke up feeling pretty happy to be celebrating 29 years. I have a wonderful husband, an exciting new job, great friends, healthy family, and a nice place to live. I’ve got nothing to complain about, and I’m committed to spending the last year of my twenties enjoying life and having fun.

And that includes having fun in the kitchen. One way I’m hoping to do that is with my 30 by 30 List. I got the idea for this list from elly says opa!, another food blog I quite enjoy. Following Elly’s example, I have created a list of 30 sweet or savory recipes I want to make and blog about before I turn 30 next year. You’ll notice from my list below that my chosen recipes run the gamut in complexity and flavor. Some are elaborate desserts or time-consuming yeast breads. Others are simple. Really simple. Like “cook dry beans” simple. (Can you believe I’ve never done that??)

As I check these recipes off my 30 by 30 list over the next year, I look forward to sharing my results with you. If you have any favorite recipes for any of the items on my list, please send them my way! I’d love to check them out.

One Year Ago: Caramelized Black Pepper Chicken

30 by 30 List:
1. Lemon Bars
2. Texas Sheet Cake
3. Salted Caramel Sauce
4. Lemon Curd
5. Meringues
6. Pie Crust
7. Cream Puffs or Éclairs
8. Très Leches Cake
9. Key Lime Pie
10. Tiramisu
11. Swiss Meringue Buttercream
12. New York-Style Cheesecake
13. Macarons
14. French-Style Fruit Tart
15. Cinnamon Rolls
16. Pita Bread
17. Flour Tortillas
18. Challah
19. Indian Bread – Roti, Naan, etc.
20. Soft Pretzels
21. Dinner Rolls
22. Bulgogi (Korean Barbecue Beef)
23. Borscht
24. Authentic Gumbo
25. Roast Chicken
26. Pulled Pork
27. Dried Beans
28. Classic Baked Macaroni and Cheese
29. Homemade Pasta
30. Homemade Gnocchi