The only conventional resolution I made this year was to cook more. It's healthier, it's cheaper and it's usually tastier. Since "more" is a little too amorphous for me, I decided I would cook at least once a week.

Cooking doesn't just mean microwaving a Lean Cuisine; I have to actually create a dish. In Week 1, I gave into my sister's praises and made Rachel Ray's Spanikopita Burgers. They were excellent. The spinach kept the burgers juicy, which is hard to do with a turkey burger.

Last week Jori and I had some people over for a dinner party, which meant serious cooking. Our menu was lime and honey glazed salmon on a warm bean and corn salad from Rachel Ray 365 (good recipes, annoying girl), asparagus and goat cheese quesadillas, red-skinned mashed potatoes and baked apples by Alton Brown, my favorite. The entire meal was fantastic and we managed to get everything out on time and hot. I was happy.

I haven't decided what to cook this week, but I'll certainly keep you posted and will start talking some photos.

In honor of my newfound dedication, I decided to splurge on some new cookware. I was going to just get a nice saute pan, but I found an amazing deal on Amazon for a 10-piece set of Calphalon One cookware. The entire set, with an extra 12 qt. stock pot and a 6" cleaver, was $375 with shipping. The deal has expired, but I couldn't pass it up. It's scheduled to arrive on Saturday (Fedex Ground does Saturday deliveries?) and I'm eager to get cooking.

Update (1/23/06): My pans have arrived!