"50 Recipes for 2011" Project - I better get cooking!

I collect recipes.  It's an addiction.  I have more recipes than I could possibly prepare in my lifetime, yet I continue to collect them - from new cookbooks, from friends, cooking magazines, cooking blogs, make up my own - you name it.  I read cookbooks like most people read novels.  But despite this huge collection of recipes, I still tend to cook the same ol' stuff over and over and over and over.  Sound familiar?  Or am I the only one who gets stuck in this cooking rut??

So, I decided to create a list of 50 new-to-me recipes I want to make by the end of the year.  That's about one per week - definitely doable, I think.  Most of these come from the family cookbook I published this year.  I figure I should work on cooking my way through "my own" cookbook as a first goal!  Out of the 534 recipes in it, I've cooked 282 of them myself - leaving me 252 still to do.  That's a lot.  Should keep me going for a while!

Our Family Cookbook

  Well ... here are my "50 Recipes for 2011."  I would have loved for all 50 of them to be wonderfully ooey-gooey chocolatey desserts, but I don't think my waistline can take that!  I've tried to show just a teeeeeeeny-tiiiiiny bit of restraint by making them a good mix of stuff.  I'll post some of the good ones so you can try them, too, if you're interested.  Happy cooking!

As I try these, I'll post updates in red.

1. Blueberry Salsa    (I'm intrigued by this --- could be great ... could be terrible!)  SUCCESS! (click here to view post)
2. Redneck Caviar    (a.k.a. Texas Caviar ... but I think the name Redneck Caviar is way funnier!)  SUCCESS!  (click here to view post)
3. Spinach Cheese Swirls
4. Sweet Potato Chips  FAILURE  (click here to view post)
5. Apricot-Almond Coffee Cake
6. Chocolate Chip "Puffins"    (Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins - get where the "Puffins" comes from??)
7. Maple-Cardamom Sweet Potato Biscuits  Needs to be waaayy re-worked... so I'll say FAILURE
8. Pumpkin Bread
9. Sourdough Bread    (This one scares me!  But I'm up for the challenge.)
10. Chocolate Fudge   (Can you believe I've never made fudge?  Homemade marshmallows, yes - fudge, no.  Crazy.)  SUCCESS!  (click here to view post)
11. Honey Rum Marshmallows  (I've mastered regular, so time to move on to flavors!)
12. Oreo Truffles    SUCCESS!   (click here to view post)
13. Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownies   SUCCESS!    (click here to view post)
14. Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Pops     (Like cake pops, but with cookie dough ... gotta do it, just gotta do it.)   SUCCESS!   (click here to view post)
15. Fig Nut Bars
16. S'more Nut Bars
17. S'more Whoopie Pies     (I'm a bit obssessed with S'mores.)
18. Whoopie Pies       (A family classic, but I've never made them myself.)
19. Neopolitan Cupcakes
20. Persimmon Cupcakes & Persimmon Frosting
21. Pomegranate Chocolate Cupcakes  FAILURE
22. Blueberry Crisp    SUCCESS!  (click here to view post)
23. Blueberry Gingerbread    SUCCESS! (click here to view post)
24. Blueberry Pie
25. Butter Pecan Pound Cake    SUCCESS!    (click here to view post)
26. Chocolate Loaf Cake     SUCCESS!
27. Coconut Pie
28. Fig and Almond Cheesecake
29. Fig Tart
30. German Chocolate Cake
31. Honey Whole Wheat Pound Cake
32. Pie Crust          (Nope, never made my own pie crust - always cheated with pre-made.  Please don't be disappointed with me.)  I did it ... but it wasn't great.  I need to try again.
33. Shoo Fly Pie     (Southern classic!)
34. Welta's Pound Cake    (Another southern classic.  Welta is my mother-in-law.  Not sure I can live up to hers!)    SUCCESS!  (click here to view post)
35. Chipotle Mac & Cheese       (Mmmmmmm ... chipotle.)  FAILURE   (click here to view post)
36. Crab, Shrimp, & Wild Rice Casserole
37. Easy Hamburger Stroganoff
38. Easy Scalloped Salmon
39. Roasted Grapes & Pasta    SUCCESS!    (click here to view post)
40. Broccoli Salad    SUCCESS!   (click here to view post)
41. Blue Cheese Dressing      (Have eaten it a lot, but never made my own!)    SUCCESS!  (click here to view post)
42. Pea Salad   SUCCESS! (click here to view post)
43. Brussels Sprout Soup   SUCCESS!  (click here to view post)
44. Chesapeake House Fish Stew    Not as good as I remember my mom making ... have to say FAILURE
45. Mushroom Gouda Chowder
46. Baked Squash
47. Dill Pickles (canned)        (I've never canned!  This one scares me a bit, too.)
48. Mashed Squash Casserole
49. Sauteed Cabbage
50. Sherried Fruit Bake     (How can you go wrong with sherry?)