January, being Peak Hibernation Season and all, is one of my favorite times to dust off the ol’ stand-mixer and really get into some cooking and baking “projects.” Especially after the wilderness that is the holiday season, I’ve found it’s the best time to spend the better part of a day hands deep in flour, trying to tackle new-to-me recipes (or perfect old reliables). Chances are, you’ve also been meaning to brush up on your French omelet-making skills or want to actually make your own fresh pasta on the regular. Well, I’m here to tell you you don’t even need to have a culinary degree (far from it) to master any of these recipes, all you need to do is clear your schedule (or bust these out on your next snow day)!

No risk, no reward is certainly the motto of many of these recipes, but for a good reason! The reward is delicious. A bubbling pot of oil might seem intimidating when making our crispy fried chicken or fried chicken wings, but you’ll quickly find the whole process is so worth it. The same is true for taking your time to get things just right, as is the case for our French macarons, beef bourguignon, opera cake, and homemade butter. Looking to get the whole family involved? Try your hand(s) at making your own fresh pasta dough (especially gnocchi) or soup dumplings. And if you are trying to improve your kitchen chops to impress your sweetie, why not surprise them with your newfound picanha steak-making skills at dinner and your croissant-baking skills at breakfast. Whatever you do, don’t be surprised when you’re put on cooking duty well after January 31!

delish!