"At Our Table" in the new year

Happy New Year! Being a list-maker, a planner and a lover of all things organized, I thought I'd start off the new year with a quick review of what "At Our Table" is all about and a look forward to what's coming up in 2005.

What is the focus of "At Our Table?"
"At Our Table" follows the culinary adventures, large and small, of a family in Chicago. This blog features recipes, restaurant reviews, cooking and baking tips, travel stories, cookbook and foodie book reviews, kitchen gadget recommendations, and anything else that strikes my fancy.

And just who are the members of this Chicago family?
Linda, Win and the Lima Bean. I'm Linda and I write this blog and do most of the cooking and baking in our house. As you can tell from my entries, sometimes I make really special, interesting meals and other times I keep it simple. I love cooking and am building my cooking repertoire one meal at a time. I also love to go out in Chicago and eat out around the country. I make no claims to be an expert chef, but I'm getting better with practice and experience and having fun along the way.

My husband, Win, also enjoys cooking and is especially talented with grilling, frying, and all things meat. He makes a great scalloped potato dish too (which, oddly enough, I don't think we've shared here yet...that will come soon!)

The Lima Bean is our 20-month-old daughter. Despite her young age, she's already in to cooking too and spends a lot of her time pretending to cook with play food. She's my trusty sidekick for all grocery shopping runs, trips to the Farmer's Market, kitchen disasters, and most of the cooking I do. She's a great eater with a penchant for sauteed mushrooms, rice from Dona Torta, and applesauce. At least those are her favorites this week. You'll see stories about her peppered throughout "At Our Table."

What's ahead for "At Our Table?"
Looking forward for 2005, I have a few blog resolutions. First, I'd like to experiment even more in the kitchen and am going to try and pull out new recipes from my cookbooks and magazines every week. I love my old faithfuls, but I'm going to try new recipes more vigorously this year and of course share them with you. Second, I'd love to bake more in 2005. Since we have a small family, desserts take a while to eat in our house. I often forgo baking because I don't want the temptation of a whole cake or tart sitting in front of me all day. In 2005, I'm going to bake more and worry about that less. I've found too many good dessert recipes lately that need to be tasted. Finally, I'd like to spend some more time checking out what my fellow bloggers are cooking and trying their recipes myself. They are always fun to read about; in 2005, I'd like to put even more of them into practice.

If you are new to "At Our Table," welcome and I hope you enjoy this blog. If you would like to be notified of new posts to the site, see the sidebar to the left and sign up to be updated when new entries are posted. For seasoned readers, thanks for following along on my journeys with food and I'll look forward to having you along in 2005.

Next time: Veal and Roasted Potatoes from the French countryside

Photo Credit: The photo above is from the Webshots Photo Gallery and belongs to them.