What's On Your Family's Food Bucket List?

One of our favorite foodie goals is to try a cooking technique that you've never tackled before. There are a variety of things to try that will expand your culinary world:

• Sous Vide. The French invented this slow cooking technique, which involves cooking food in a vacuum-sealed container for a long time at a very low temperature.
• Fermentation. The basis for making everything from cheese to kombucha and kimchi, fermentation blends time and beneficial bacteria for some fabulous flavors.
• Salt Baking. This technique involves encasing food in a salt crust to retain moisture and season subtly during baking.
• Confit. Cooking food slowly in its own fat is a common technique used for duck. It's a great way to preserve the food for longer while infusing it with flavor.

Is there a food that you've always wanted to make completely from scratch but feel a little intimidated by? Putting it on your bucket list is a commitment to give it a try.

Made in its original style, a beef wellington involves layers of pate, a minced mushroom mixture called duxelles, and home-made brioche pastry. It's worth the effort.

Another dish on our bucket list is baked alaska, which involves baking ice cream in the oven under a cover of meringue. Some variations demand that you flambé the dish by covering it in brandy and setting alight at the table. It's a difficult dish, but a worthwhile spectacle for the eyes and the taste buds.

Sometimes, it's nice to have the food made for you and make the destination your bucket list. Ideally, the food will match the location. For example, there's nowhere quite like the home of the espresso — Italy — to drink this famously intense pick-me-up. We envisage ourselves sitting at a cafe in St. Mark's Square in Venice, watching the world go by as we sip.

Alternatively, take a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Giza, Egypt, and eat Egyptian Hawawshi as it was supposed to be eaten — with the pyramids in view.

Similarly, where better to munch on baguettes and cheese than directly under the Eiffel Tower in Paris? Don't forget to look down and cut yourself another slice every once in a while.

If you're feeling really brave, try an international food that is more outside your comfort zone. A Swedish favorite is Surströmming, a notoriously stinky fermented herring. And China has the Century Egg, a preserved egg cured in clay, ash, and quicklime. These are the culinary equivalents of bungee jumping. Good luck!

If travel isn't an option, there are plenty of international foods that you can make yourself and deserve a place on your bucket list. Making your own sushi isn't as difficult as it looks, especially if you make a party of it with friends and family.

If Japanese ramen is a favorite of yours, then look no further than this simple guide to making it at home and reserve a spot for it on your bucket list. Spanish Paella is another international meal that you can make at home. You can also make your own fresh pasta with a simple pasta cutter, bringing a little piece of Italy to your table.

Bucket lists are for once-in-a-lifetime events, but we guarantee that these recipes will grace your kitchen repeatedly after you give them a try.

Finally, consider putting an unusual food combination on your list. We've heard of a few: Chili-Spiced Candied Bacon, watermelon with feta cheese, and even garlic and ice cream.

Whatever you put on your culinary bucket list, it doesn't have to happen today or tomorrow - but it must happen. Writing it down is a YOLO-style commitment to yourself and your taste buds. Go nuts, and remember: Your taste buds deserve a once-in-a-lifetime experience just as much as the rest of you.