Hello, 2009!

Last year, I made several food-related resolutions. Here is a review and whether I have accomplished them:

1. Make espresso-based drinks as good as the coffee houses - I was fine until the frother on my espresso maker broke. It's clogged and I cannot unclog it no matter how many times I've tried cleaning it.

2. Make Baked Alaska - I still haven't gotten around to this!

3. Eat something new - I've had fresh beets, collard greens, and catfish.

4. Bake a pie from scratch - I have several times.

5. Bake biscotti - It was one of the Tuesdays With Dorie challenges.

Four out of five isn't bad at all. This year's resolutions will be:

1. Make Baked Alaska - I'm still determined to make this.

2. Decorate cookies and/or cakes and be proud - This involves me actually buying a decorator's kit. Any suggestions? Maybe I'll ask for it as a birthday gift in May.

3. Share my goodies more often - I'm always hesitant in sharing outside of my family and close friends because I'm afraid they won't be good enough.

4. Eat more locally - I didn't start doing this until my trip to Savannah, GA. Now I'm more open to eating at places that aren't a national chain. I'll have the opportunity again when I go back to Washington, DC in March and Nashville, TN in May. If you have been to those places and have suggestions as to where I should eat, let me know.

5. Be better at food photography - Tastespotting and Foodgawker are photo snobs, and as much as they piss me off, I'm still trying to get my photos on their sites because they bring in major blog traffic. I know my pictures aren't the best, but I've seen pictures just as good or even worse than mine.