17 Celebrity Chefs on What They Can't Wait to Cook Up This Year

Gail Simmons
Host of Bravo's Top Chef: Just Desserts and judge and critic on Top Chef

I have two New Year's resolutions for 2011: 1. I resolve to open a good bottle of Champagne at least once a month in celebration (specific reason not required!). 2. And, as always, I resolve to eat more of the good stuff—chocolate.

Ming Tsai
Host and executive producer of Simply Ming and chef-owner of Blue Ginger in Wellesley, Massachusetts

I want to try to eat seven little meals a day rather than three big ones—it's supposed to make digestion easier. And I'll try to do a juice cleanse; when I did one before, I was on cloud nine.

Anthony Bourdain
Chef, author, and host of No Reservations

I would love to learn how to make pasta from scratch. My wife's family is Italian, and this would be a way of embracing her heritage. She's a brutal critic, so it'll have to taste good!

Alice Waters
Proprietor of Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California

I'm putting a pretty compost bucket on my counter so I remember to use it all the time. I compost vegetables and fruit and put it right in my garden. But compost can also be given to a farmer at the market, and some cities even have programs to collect it.

Bobby Flay
Chef, restaurateur, cookbook author, and Food Network star

I'm trying to eat in moderation, so I'm going to have only three-quarters of the food put in front of me in a restaurant. As a chef, I want to try everything, but this way I can enjoy and save calories.

Paula Deen
Southern chef and cookbook author

I'm becoming convinced that taking all sorts of vitamins isn't necessarily good for me. I have these gummy bear vitamins—oh my God, they're so good—but if I pop them all day, that's 100 grams of sugar! So I'm just going to take the vitamins my doctor tells me to and save the sugary ones for dessert.

Ellie Krieger
Host of Food Network's Healthy Appetite and best-selling author, whose latest cookbook is So Easy

I want to make sure to include a fruit or vegetable at every meal and snack. So I'll ask myself: "Where's the color?" If I'm making a scrambled egg, I'll add chopped tomato, or I'll toss in spinach when I sauté shrimp.
Get Ellie Krieger's recipe for Shrimp with Tomatoes and Spinach

Alton Brown
Commentator on Iron Chef America and host of Food Network's Good Eats

I make one resolution a year, and I take it pretty seriously. Last year it was to lose a few pounds—did that. This year I'm going to raise chickens. I really like eggs, and I don't want to have to worry about the chicken's welfare, or what's in the egg.

Joanne Chang
Chef and owner of Myers + Chang in Boston and author of the cookbook Flour

I need to get more calcium in my diet, but I want to do it without supplements. I like to get my nutrients from real foods, so I'll make dairy a priority—milk for breakfast and lunch, and ice cream at night!

Martha Rose Shulman
Cookbook author and writer of the New York Times series "Recipes for Health"

Quinoa is one healthy grain, full of both fiber and protein. I plan on using it in place of white rice in salads, soups, and stir-fries, like my quinoa salad with snap peas, tofu, and ginger vinaigrette.
Get Martha Rose Shulman's recipe for Quinoa Salad with Snap Peas and Tofu

Gina Neely
Cohost of Food Network's Down Home with the Neelys and co-owner of Neely's Bar-B-Que in Memphis and Nashville

I want to cook my vegetables just enough—not overcook all the nutrients out of them. Instead of boiling them forever, I'll roast, blanch, or steam. For example, I'll roast a combination of sweet potatoes, parsnips, and potatoes, or broccoli and cherry tomatoes.

Cristina Ferrare
Host of Cristina's Big Bowl of Love, premiering this month on OWN

I'm very volatile, a stereotypical Italian, and sometimes I act without thinking—that's definitely true with food. This year I want to stop and rethink basic actions, like inhaling a pizza just because I'm hungry. Instead, I'll have a big Caesar salad first to fill me up. Then I'll have my slice of pizza and be able to stop at that.
Get Cristina Ferrare's recipe for Caesar Salad

Guy Fieri
Host of Food Network's Ultimate Recipe Showdown, Guy's Big Bite, and Diners, Drive-ins and Dives

In years past, I've tried revisiting a food I think I don't I like—recently it was Brussels sprouts, and before that, asparagus. Now I'm going to give tripe another shot. I want to keep my mind open because I have kids, and I want them to try everything.

Michael Pollan
Sustainable-food advocate and author of The Omnivore's Dilemma

So often we get in recipe ruts, making the same thing over and over. I have all these new cookbooks lying around that I rarely, if ever, use. This year I want to make a new dish every week. Just go to the shelf, open a book, and make one thing I've never had before. One book I'm excited about exploring is Heart of the Artichoke, by David Tanis—I'll make his pork scaloppine with zucchini fritters.
Get recipes for the Pork Scaloppine and Zucchini Fritters Michael Pollan's so excited about.