Happy New Year!

I just wanted to take a quick moment to wish everyone a happy, prosperous and safe new year! Last year was a good year for me, my cooking and my blog.  I posted a record number of blog posts, which were read by visitors from more than one hundred countries.

Most importantly, I had some amazing cooking experiences.  I was a guest chef for a night.  My personal culinary challenge, Around the World in 80 Dishes, has taken me (culinarily speaking) to Cuba, Libya, Paraguay, the Philippines, Mozambique and Uruguay.  Working with my beautiful wife, Clare, we hosted the second Savage Boleks BBQ and a dinner for our Wine Club friends.   

As we enter 2012, I have a lot of plans for my culinary hobby and this blog.  I have improved the format of the blog posts, particularly the directions.  These improvements will hopefully make the directions a little easier to follow.  I plan to go back and make these changes to old posts, so that all of the posts have the same, user-friendly format.

Another change will improve the pairing of dishes with beers and wines (as well as pairing beers and wines with dishes).  Each recipe posted on the site will include pairings with at least one beer/wine.  I am adding this feature to improve my own personal ability to pair dishes based upon the ingredients of the dish and the particular flavors of the beverage.

I think these changes will help to improve the blog, both for myself and those who visit, even though it may mean that there are fewer (but hopefully better) posts.  There will be additional changes and improvements to this blog as the new year unfolds.   And, all the while, I will continue to pursue new goals with my cooking and my culinary challenges.

The New Year is exciting for me.  I hope you will continue to visit and share in my culinary adventures.  Until next time ...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!