Sick children and new plans

I haven't posted in a while because our menus have gotten all messed up lately.  Between sick children, sick mommies, and again more sick children, my meals have been very strange lately.  We've just been using up what was in the fridge and freezer as best we can.

I've decided to try something new.  My husband and I are really into watching Diners Drive-ins and Dives with Guy Fieri.  I'm not sure if its because Guy is a dead-ringer for my brother-in-law (when my brother-in-law used to dye his hair) or if its just checking out cool ideas for menus and foods.  I have to say I was quite disappointed in one recent episode that included a New England diner, but that's beside the point. The items they chose to show from that diner really were nothing special (though the baked beans looked pretty good).  I mention this because while watching an episode last night, they showed someone in New York making soft pretzels and I decided I really wanted to try making some.

I've decided I need a bucket list of foods to master.  Recently I've been baking lots of bread.  I have a bread machine, and I like that for mixing and rising the dough, but not so much for the baking.  I have one recipe that I love to make a large sized loaf of and then bake it more like an Italian bread in the oven.  Its been great for sandwiches.  I also recently tried an artisan bread recipe that I found online that you just lightly mix and then let rise in the fridge.  It was great, but now I want to try out some variations on that recipe... maybe rosemary and olive oil, or Parmesan, or asiago cheese bread.

I also have an ice cream maker, and I love to try new twists on making ice cream as well.  I've made some great recipes and my family loves coming up with new concoctions.

Now, I'm feeling the desire to come up with a "bucket list" of foods I want to master preparing!  I love soft pretzels and bagels, so those are next.  I've never made a souffle (well, that's not entirely true, I made one souffle in a cooking class with my mom).  I've never made a great meringue PIE.  I've made meringue cookies, which are all well and good, but the one meringue pie I tried to make I burned the top and the bottom was just soupy.

I'd love to hear from my friends on the types of foods you'd like to see yourself mastering.  What are you afraid to try?  Please, nothing with mayonnaise in it!  :)

Bon Appetit!