With so many artisan cheeses to choose from, you could try a new Wisconsin cheese every week in 2012 if you wanted to. An affordable way to do this is to "adopt a cheese orphan"- buy the leftover pieces from big wheels of cheese that are sold at fancy cheese shops and nicer grocery stores. If you don't live in Wisconsin, and therefore don't have a mind-blowing abundance of amazing cheese, you can visit Wisconsinmade.com, and pick out a cheese assortment to stasify your cheese sampling needs.
Keep a cheese journal.
Trying new cheese can be fun, but not without risk. Once I picked up a super funky goat cheese from the cheese orphan box and it took me days to get that sweaty gym sock taste out of my mouth. This is where the cheese journal comes in. My cheese journal is a pocket sized spiral notebook where I write down the names of the good cheeses as well as the "NEVER AGAIN!!" cheeses so I don't accidently buy the gym sock cheese for a dinner party.
Plan out your meals for the week.
Making last minute food decisions results in impulse eating, impulse buying and wasted time going back and forth to the store, so a little food planning can go a long way in making 2012 an awesome food year. On Sunday afternoon, sit down and make a rough outline of what you will eat for the week. Make a grocery list that includes all the food you will need for breakfast, lunch and dinner that week and get your shopping done all at once. I like to make a big pot of soup or a casserole on Sunday night that I can eat leftovers from all week. The planning and advanced cooking takes some time, but you'll be glad you did when those hectic weeknights role around.
Learn how to make a classic Wisconsin recipe.
A warm bowl of beer cheese soup is a nice way to welcome out-of-town guests visiting Wisconsin. Don't live in Wisconsin? Make some homemade fried cheese curds to impress your friends at your next Packer game party (see next resolution). You can ship curds nationwide from Wisconsinmade.com, and visit the recipe section of the blog for more Wisconsin recipes.
Make a Wisconsin food spread for your next Packer game day party.
Enjoy beer and bratwursts as your main course and check out these tasty recipes from around the blogosphere for appetizer ideas:
Football Cheese and Sausage Bites
Do you have any food related New Years Resolutions?
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