25 THINGS TO EAT, DRINK AND COOK IN 2012, PART I!

   This comes from www.bonappetit.com . They are always on the cusp of all things past, present and future that has to do with food (sounds like the ghost of Christmas past, present and future)!  Good luck in the coming New Year and enjoy yourself too!

1. Seafood CSAs

    It started with kale and kohlrabi, then expanded to eggs and meat. Now the noble CSA model is supporting seafood programs like Siren SeaSA, Cape Ann Fresh Catch, and Port Clyde Fresh Catch, which bring sparkling-fresh fish to your kitchen. Crate to Plate, based in Midcoast Maine, lets subscribers lease lobster traps (you can pick and track yours online) and guarantees delivery of at least 40 lively critters during peak season. Sign up now; traps go fast. cratetoplate.com

2. Asian-Inspired Subs

   With all due respect to the BLT, the best sandwiches these days are the ones piled with pickled vegetables, cilantro, cucumbers, and spicy mayo. First it was the classic Vietnamese banh mi; now other Asian-inspired subs are springing up everywhere, making millions of office workers happy at lunch-time. Num Pang (Cambodian for "bread") is the name of our new favorite Cambodian-style sandwich shop in New York. Order the pulled Duroc-breed pork, their pig-centric specialty.

3. Destination Tasmania

Tasmania is tiny, but its terrain is gloriously varied: rolling farmland, temperate rain forests, tidy little towns, epic wilderness preserves, white sand beaches. And everywhere there's great stuff to eat, from the much-exported Tasmanian ocean trout and briny oysters found only near Bruny Island to the distinctive floral funk of its indigenous leatherwood honey. Restaurants celebrate local goat cheeses and the sparkling wines of the Tamar Valley. There's even Tasmanian whiskey made on the central highlands peat bogs.

4. Casual "Glass"ware

   Timeless, virtually indestructible, and chic to boot: We wish every glass worked as hard as France's Duralex Picardie. A longtime bistro staple, it's our new go-to for casual sipping. 5.4-oz.; $18 for six; duralexusa.com.

5. Whey

   It's time to discover whey, the thin, slightly sour liquid that's left after making yogurt and fresh cheeses. At Manresa in Los Gatos, CA, chef David Kinch uses it in a suckling goat sauce, and San Francisco's Bar Tartine pickles vegetables in it (the lactic acid aids fermentation). "Whey has some umami qualities and adds body and flavor," says Bar Tartine chef Nick Balla. "It's a great medium for sauces." Here in New York, White Cow Dairy's yogurt whey "tonics" are now part of our breakfast lineup.
whitecowdairy.com

6. Lap Cheong

   Lap cheong, the sweet, mostly-pork cured sausage that has to be cooked before eating, is quickly becoming a kitchen staple. Here are our favorite takes:
• Sliced, steamed, and served over rice for a simple lunch
• Chopped, sautéed, and folded into an omelet
• Sliced, wok-fried, then dipped into a spicy cilantro, scallion, and rice wine sauce
$15 for three 12-oz. packages; amazon.com

7. Better Coffee...Anywhere

   Good coffee is hard to find in most hotels, but hot water isn't. That's why I always travel with an AeroPress, a funny-looking coffee maker made out of rugged plastic that works like an oversize syringe.
   It's easy to use: Place filter into cap, screw cap on chamber, add coffee grounds and hot water, stir, plunge. Done. Even more important, it makes fantastic coffee. A favorite tool among coffee enthusiasts, it's so good at what it does, you just might start using it at home.—Oliver Strand
$30; aerobie.com for stores

8. The New Nonstick

   We rely on a nonstick pan for making scrambled eggs, but it's pitiful for browning meats or crisping fritters. Which is why we're obsessed (yes, obsessed) with Bialetti's Aeternum line of ceramic-coated pans. Food literally slides around on the ultra-slippery surface, which crisps chicken thighs just as well as our cast iron. Eco bonus: They're Teflon-free. Bialetti Aeternum 10.25" sauté pan; $30; bialettishop.com

9. Mackerel

   Perhaps you've heard that if things continue as they are, commercial fish stocks (i.e., what we eat) will collapse by 2048. Time to buck the trend. Say no to overfished bluefin tuna and Chilean sea bass and yes to our favorite sustainable fish, mackerel. It's beautiful, crazy-nutritious (protein! Vitamin D! Omega-3s!), and its rich flesh can be prepared just about any way under the sun (or sea).

10. The Wheat-Free Lifestyle

   I'm not eating pizza and I'm psyched. No, I don't have celiac disease. Yes, I feel 300 percent better now that I've cut gluten out of my diet: improved mood and even energy. Of course I miss the blissful high that comes with pasta and bread. But once you renounce wheat worship, wonderful things happen to your kitchen repertoire: You eat more vegetables. You cook way more Mexican, Thai, Japanese, and Peruvian—cuisines that are naturally gluten-free. You become a legume snob and a rice-pasta fanatic. Is it about dieting? Heck, no. It's about feeling as good as possible, both at and away from the table.

11. Beer Cocktails

   Can you name any beer cocktails besides a Shandy and a Michelada? No? Well, that's about to change. Try Shock Me, a take on the Old Fashioned from Virtue Feed & Grain in Alexandria, VA. Get the recipe here.

12. Basta Pasta

   Along with introducing us to the beauty of burrata cheese and fennel pollen, the new wave of regional Italian restaurants has also opened up a world of pasta shapes. It's time to branch out from linguine and try these new-comers to American grocery shelves.
   Paccheri: Fat, wide tubes found in Campania, these are ideal in hearty baked dishes.
Garganelli: Thin, ridged, rolled pasta named after a chicken's gullet. A specialty of the Emilia-Romagna region, hence its affinity for meaty ragù.
Trofie: Short, spiral pasta that's best when fresh and served with that other Ligurian classic, pesto alla genovese.

13. Sicilian Wine

   Sicily's Mount Etna is Europe's tallest active volcano—and easily the most dynamic wine region in Italy. Red wines from Etna are nervier and more energetic than the majority of their superripe Sicilian cousins. This has mostly to do with the high-altitude vineyards, which, when they're not being threatened by a river of molten lava, remain cool while the port city of Catania boils down below. These reds are deservedly getting all the love right now, but whites from local varieties such as Carricante have the mineral edge of volcanic rock. Look for them, too. —David Lynch
Three to try: Vini Biondi 2007 Etna Rosso "Outis," $28; Graci 2009 Etna Rosso, $25; Tenuta delle Terre Nere 2009 Etna Bianco, $17.