I am still in disbelief that I finished a 30 day challenge – what a way to finish out 2021! It feels so unreal that even writing this post feels surreal. In case you were wondering, here are a few highlights from completing this challenge:
- The best-tasting dish was hands-down the beef wellington. It took over 4 hours to make, but it was well worth it with the deliciously tender beef paired with the savory, beautiful flavors from the duxelles and prosciutto, and the buttery flakiness from the puff pastry. If I were to make this again, I would definitely want to look into ways to cut down on the amount of time and work that would be required – it’s definitely not a casual weeknight dinner!
- It is hard to pick just one dish that was the most difficult to make. The lemon and lime tart comes to mind because of all the components, but I also remember that I had to re-do the hollandaise for my eggs benedict, and I had to re-do the batter for my earl grey macarons. The cake from the Great British Bake-Off was also tricky because I had never made a three-tiered cake before, but as my fiance noted, I at least seemed to be having fun making it, especially when it came to assembling and I could channel my inner artist.
- The easiest dishes to make were definitely the garlic confit, watermelon soju, holiday cocktails (spiked eggnog and Moscow mule) and the tteokbokki. So if you’re looking to try some of the more simpler dishes, I’d recommend starting with these.
- Some of the dishes that I would like to make again, or even remix, are the spiced red sangria, slow cooker hot chocolate, eggs benedict, and moussaka. This challenge was my first time ever making them, they all came out great, and they weren’t too high on the difficulty scale. For the eggs benedict and moussaka specifically, I would like to get even better at making them!
- The dish that I wish I had done differently would definitely be the fried rice. I think because it was day 1, I was just trying to get it over with and post it ASAP, but 1) I wish I included some sort of protein since I typically do when I make fried rice, not that there is anything wrong with veggie fried rice and 2) I wish I had done some sort of unique twist on it to make it more than just a fried rice.
Hope you enjoyed following along! I realize that I never actually posted a full calendar of my 30 days, so here it is with the linked posts:
–Week 1–
Day 1 My favorite go-to meal: fried rice
Day 2 My favorite fish: salmon
Day 3 My favorite cake: chocolate cake
Day 4 My favorite chef: Gordon Ramsay (featuring beef wellington)
Day 5 Something fancy: seafood risotto
Day 6 Something boozy: spiced red sangria
Day 7 My favorite pasta: spaghetti carbonara
–Week 2–
Day 8 My favorite vegetable: garlic (confit)
Day 9 Christmas party vibes: sugar cookies
Day 10 TikTok recipe: slow cooker hot chocolate
Day 11 My favorite brunch: eggs benedict
Day 12 Something spicy: mapo tofu
Day 13 My favorite cookie: chocolate chip cookies
Day 14 My go-to coffee order: matcha latte
–Week 3 (Korean cuisine)–
Day 15 My favorite food to gather with: Korean BBQ
Day 16 Featuring kimchi: kimchi jeon (kimchi pancake)
Day 17 Reminds me of home: kimbap
Day 18 My favorite fruit: watermelon soju cocktail
Day 19 My favorite Korean stew: doenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew)
Day 20 My favorite Korean noodle dish: jjajangmyeon (black bean noodles)
Day 21 My favorite spicy Korean dish: tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes)
–Week 4 and the final countdown–
Day 22 Cheers to winter break: spiked eggnog and cranberry Moscow mule
Day 23 My favorite food TV show: MasterChef (Christine Ha’s sticky chicken wings)
Day 24 Featuring the Great British Bake-Off: Rav’s Frozen Fantasy Cake
Day 25 Kyle’s favorite fruit: poached pears
Day 26 Something tart: lemon and lime tart
Day 27 Something Greek: moussaka
Day 28 Featuring my Instant Pot: beef stew
Day 29 Something Moroccan: chicken tagine
Day 30 Trying a new flavor: earl grey macarons