Just last week, I shared my cooking goals for 2025, but those were more about the numbers I want to hit by the end of the year. However, there are other personal goals that I’m just as excited about!

One thing I’m focusing on this year is keeping track of my “firsts” in the kitchen. Last year, I tackled a lot of first-time recipes, but I still played it safe—cooking lots of pasta dishes and tons of sweets. My sweet-to-savory ratio leaned heavily toward the sweet side.

This year, I want to shift the balance and focus more on savory dishes. So far, I’ve been making more salty meals than sweets, and I’m loving it! It's exciting to have more meal options to make for family and friends. I’m even thinking about developing hosting menus for future gatherings. H has also been pretty happy with this change since he’s not the biggest fan of sweets. 😉

Another goal I’m setting is to add even more firsts to my list. This week, I tackled two: naan and ciabatta from scratch! 🙌 I’d love to challenge myself to try something completely new every week. I’m really enjoying the process of stepping out of my comfort zone and making dishes I’ve never attempted before—especially when they turn out to be a success!

Recipes Made So Far This Year:

Goal: To try seven new recipes each week 🗓️, aiming for 365 this year!

Number of Recipes Made this Week: 9 ✅ 

Number of New Recipes Tested as of 1/12: 18

Weeks Achieving Seven or More New Recipes: 2 out of 2

This Week’s Recipe Test Summary

Impress Someone🌟

Homemade Naan from America's Test Kitchen by Andrew Janjigian | YouTube Video 🍞✨
I’m a huge fan of Indian food, and I’ve struggled to find Indian food here as good as what I had in Milwaukee and Illinois. But hey—I just made some really good naan for the first time! Now I just need to make an Indian entrée to go with it. H and I both really enjoyed these. I’m already planning to make them again tomorrow to pair with a butter chicken recipe.

Homemade Ciabatta Bread by Sally's Baking Addiction🍞
This was part of Sally’s Monthly Baking Challenge. You wouldn’t have caught me making ciabatta a year ago because I found it too intimidating. But H and I loved this homemade bread! I usually think store-bought bread is easier, but for this ciabatta? I’ll absolutely make it again—it was delicious. Both of these recipes will surprise anyone, like, “You made this?!”

Would Make Again 👍

Honey Sesame Ginger Beef from Delicious Tonight [Cookbook] by Nagi Maehash (RecipeTin Eats)🍯
H thanked me for making him such delicious food after this one. It’s so simple with ingredients I already had at home—“sweet” beef served with white rice, ready in minutes. Definitely adding this to my “I don’t have time” cooking list.

Incredibly Good Homemade Pizza from bon appétit by Jesse Szewczyk & Shilpa Uskokovic🍕🍳
This was part of Bon Appétit’s Baking Challenge. The pizza crust was cooked on my cast iron on the stove, which intimidated me a bit, but it turned out delicious! Next time, I’ll substitute the sauce and cheese for something nicer.

Would Not Make Again 👎

These recipes didn’t live up to expectations or weren’t to my taste

Steak Fried Rice from America's Test Kitchen by Mark Huxsoll🥩🍚
Someone asked, “How can you mess up fried rice?” Well, this one did. I didn’t enjoy it at all.

Chili Crisp Butter Garlic Pasta from Modern Asian Kitchen [Cookbook] by Kat Lieu🍝🧄
Just too simple to make again.

Basic Pesto from NY Times Cooking by Florence Fabricant🌿🧄
Grossy Pelosi’s pesto is still the winner by far.

Blackberry-Honey Frozen Yogurt Pops from Gluten-Free Girl Every Day [Cookbook] by Shauna James Ahern🍯
I made these with blackberries and yogurt that were about to go bad to save them from being wasted. They worked, but I wouldn’t make them again.

Black Sesame Rice Krispies from NY Times Cooking by Eric Kim🍚⚫
I love sesame oil, but it was way too strong in these rice krispies for my taste.

I’d love to hear your thoughts, suggestions, or any recipe requests you might have. Just respond directly to this email.

See you next week. Keep cooking! 👋 

Vale from ValeCooks