Food and Wine Challenge – The list and a fellow blogger request

OK ladies and gentlemen… the time has come. 2007 is right around the corner. If you remember, a couple of weeks ago I wrote about the Food and Wine Challenge I am undertaking in the year 2007. In the January issue of Food and Wine magazine, they listed “100 Tastes You Must Try in 2007”. Being the overly ambitious dreamer that I am, I decided to challenge myself to taste the 100 tastes that they suggest in the year 2007. Let’s be realistic though, I have three small children and am a stay at home mom with one consistent income. Traveling to Paris, Australia, etc. to try one of their suggested tastes would be so wonderful, but it’s not going to happen (wouldn’t that be fun though.. to be that spontaneous?). This is where you all come in. I’d love to find fellow bloggers who can report back to me on the things that I won’t be able to do… let me know what exactly I’m missing out on and if Food and Wine is correct with their evaluation that these things are “must try’s”.

Here’s the list of the “100 Tastes You Must Try in 2007“. I’ll write next to the ones that I know I most likely won’t be able to complete. I’ve had several things already, but feel like it’s only fair that I start fresh actually tasting these things in the year 2007. If there are any of the “tastes” out there that I’m unable to complete and you’d like to join forces, please let me know. It could be a fun way for us all to increase our culinary palate and explore things that we otherwise may have missed out on.

Without further ado, from the January issue of Food and Wine magazine, here is the much anticipated list (for complete details visit http://foodandwine.com/articles/100-tastes-to-try-in-07:

1. Langoustine
2. A Burgundy at La Paulee de New York – any takers?
3. Good fast food noodles from wagamama.com – how about this one?
4. Greek olive oil
5. Greek Wine
6. Greek Cuisine – they suggest eating at Parea restuarnt in NYC, however I can probably find a suitable substitute locally
7. Greek Spices
8. Greek Cooking School Feast – Oh, I wish!! Anyone out there so lucky?
9. Corn Bread with Scallions
10. Argentine Malbec
11. Phoenix Pale Ale
12. Dale’s Pale Ale
13. Porkslap Pale Ale
14. House-Infused Bourbon
15. Aspen Kettle Corn
16. Great Canadian Wines from the Okanagan Valley
17. Scandinavia’s Avant Garde Cuisine – I don’t think I’ll make it to Scandinavia this year
18. House Made Mixers
19. Japanese Sweets – they suggest visiting Toraya Cafe in Tokyo…any takers?
20. Truffle Teas
21. Dan Dan Noodles
22. Cocktails that don’t pack a punch (low alcohol drinks using Italian aperitifs
23. Maple flakes
24. Boutique Aussie Wines
25. Artisan Swiss Cheese
26. A meal at Les Ombres in Paris – another one that I wish I could do!
27. Peruvian food
28. Tiny Sweets
29. Chicago Power Meal – I might be able to swing this one
30. Virgin Strawberry Bellinis
31. Wine at Vino Volo (airport wine bar)
32. The whole tree – leaves, fruit and wood
33. Japanese Frites
34. Santa Caterina Maret in Barcelona – any takers
35. Fallon and Byrne market in Dublin – sounds fabulous, but don’t think I’ll be able to this year
36. Mill City Farmers’ Market in Minneapolis – I may be able to do this one, but I’m not positve
37. Chef Marc Vetri’s Pizzas in Philly – this is another one that I might be able to do, but can’t guarantee it
38. Bacon Baklava
39. Sucrine
40. Southern Italian Wine
41. Icelandic Ingredients
42. Healthy snack bars that pass the taste test
43. Amaranth
44. Kamut
45. Buckwheat
46. Rosa Mexicano’s salsas
47. Custom bred pork – hmmm…maybe?
48. Syrah from South Africa
49. Hot Hunan Shrimp
50. Fire pit foods
51. Clandestine dinners
52. Veal Muenster burger from Father’s Office (I wonder if I can find something like this arond here?)
53. African spices and teas
54. American raw milk cheeses
55. Wine from Douro Valley, Portugal, Guadalupe Valley, Mexico, Long Island NY, Slovenia, and Tasmania, Australia
56. Automat Wine
57. Bluebrass Cobbler
58. Quick Mediterranean at Leon in London – sounds good… wish I could do this one!
59. Poke to go – they suggest doing this at Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo – anyone able to do this one?
60. An Adria Innovation (tienda.com)
61. Green Bean Salad with Toasted Pecans
62. Pea and Mint Risotto
63. Deconstructed Negroni at Bourbon and Branch in San Francisco – any San Fran takers?
64. The Majestic Restaurant in Singaore – how about this one?
65. Freeze Dried Flavors
66. Catered Cocktails – is there such a thing in KC? Are we that hip?
67. Exotic Ice Cream
68. 2006 Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand
69. Roasted Cauliflower with Ajvar Dressing
70. Battered Cod with Marie Rose Sauce
71. Mangosteens – currently not legally imported in the US, but may be soon. This is a “we’ll see” one
72. Sichaun peppercorns
73. Wild Artichokes
74. Iberico Ha,
75. Pork Fried Rice
76. Fruit Chips
77. Kaiseki – can’t visit the restaurant but may be able to get my hands on the cookbook… would that count?
78. Sri Lankan hoppers from Gardiner restaurant in Toronto – anyone?
79. Marques de Riscal Rioja in Rioja – I so wish!
80. Fortnum and Mason’s restaurant in London – anyone from London able to do this? They have an ice cream parlor!
81. Melted marshmallows from the Avenues at the Peninsula Chicago Hotel – another one I’ll really try to do!
82. Fish chile peppers
83. Feta cheesecake and wine poached dates
84. Gordon Ramsay restaurant in NYC – anyone?
85. St Alban restaurant in London – another one up for grabs
86. Sensing in Paris – and yet another one
87. Rockpool Bar and Grill in Melbourne – and another?
88. Pieree Gagnaire restaurant in Hong Kong – and another?
89. Sushi at David Bouley’s cooking classes in Manhattan – and another?
90. Malt Ball Cake – I have to figure out a way to get my hands on this Brooklyn creation!
91. High Tech Caviar
92. Mark Herold Cabernet
93. Cielo at the Boca Raton Resort and Club – I don’t see anyone being able to do this one… if you can, let me know!
94. Croatian Olive Oil
95. Spanish Matiz Piparras
96. Peperoni Cruschi
97. African Honey
98. Aussie Raisins on the Vine
99. Le Demon Vert
100. Bruleed Key Lime Tarts

The Food and Wine Website has also tempted me with 15 more tastes to try… I may have to give these a shot to make up for the restaurants I can’t go to! I did mention before that I was an overly-ambitious dreamer, didn’t I? I forgot to throw in crazy.

Well my friends, that’s it. Looks like I have a year of new and wonderful tastes, and lots of wine ahead of me! Hope you can join me in this culinary adventure.