Happy 2009!

Congrats to anyone else in the restaurant industry - you have survived the first two of the "Big Three" as I refer to them. Christmas, New Year's Eve, and Valentine's Day are all high profit/ high pressure days for anyone who cooks or serves as a way to put bread, beer, or organic quinoa on their own table. If you know someone in this business, please be extra kind to them during this time of the year. Tempers may be short, time is not on our side, but you can return to your regularly scheduled cook or server on February 15th.

As January gets off to a hopeful albeit cold start, it's hard not to reflect on the past year. I've never been a fan of regrets and second guesses usually only lead to mistakes. The more I think about it, the more obvious it becomes that January is the worst time to start anything. Let's face the facts. If you're living in a place with highly defined seasons in the Northern Hemisphere, most likely, you haven't seen sunlight past 5PM and enjoy rocking the layered look. Do you seriously want to go for a walk after work to burn off that eggnog you drank a month ago? If you have a gym membership, how likely are you to drag yourself out of your cocoon of a bed early to go?

But it's the food this time of the year that really provides downfall. Braised short ribs, thick cut French toast on Christmas morning, cream-based cocktails, hearty soups, the list goes on. And yes, Christmas cookie calories do count even after the new year. There's snow on the ground; I really don't want a salad. Do you have some nice risotto with a side of larger pants, please?

Food this time of the year is hearty, comforting, and most likely traditional. The only problem is, these traditions come from a long ago era. A majority of us are not farmers who go out into their fields 7 days a week and physically need the calories a large meal provides. A majority of us sit at desks in climate controlled offices, yet the primal craving for stew lives on.

So this is where we are. Socially expected to make drastic personality changes overnight, to atone for holiday overeating sins, and to find the time to balance the checkbook, volunteer as an EMT, and write The Great American Novel. I'm not saying it can't be done. Quite the contrary. I just need to start my New Year in May.