While everyone is talking about classic hard-to-fulfill New Year’s resolutions like “lose 10 pounds!” and drinking less (wah!), why not focus on something that adds to your arsenal of culinary and wine skills instead? Below are our five picks for ways to increase your bragging rights.

Learn to Make Burrata

This is actually a dangerous skill to have, but you’ll be adored by anyone in your life for knowing how to make burrata. Urban Kitchen hosts classes at the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market at the Ferry Building on how to make burrata, along with yogurt, pickles, mead, and other classes, like butchery and backyard chickens (those last two are two separate classes, mind you). The burrata class is coming up on February 19th.

Get Smarter About Wine

There is always a lot to learn about wine, and fortunately there are a bunch of local sources you can learn more from. Take a class at the San Francisco Wine Center, and odds are you'll have a local sommelier teaching your class. Additional locations include the San Francisco Wine School or the North American Wine School. You can also stay home and take a six-week class on your iPad (or computer) created by Master Sommelier Catherine Fallis for $99.

Become a Butchery Badass

Ryan Farr of 4505 Meats is well known around town for his prowess with meat (he even has a book about butchery). You can take a variety of classes, from hog butchery to sausage making. You can also check out classes from Dave the Butcher.

Achieve Coffee Brewmeister Status

18 Reasons hosts a variety of classes every week on everything from pasta making to wine tasting. An upcoming class on January 22nd with Hanna Neuschwander (the author of Left Coast Roast) will focus on "slow coffee" you can make at home, like French press, pour over, and Aeropress. 

Polish Your Pasta-Making Skills

Homemade pasta is (almost) always a thing of beauty—well, when it’s done right. If you want to learn from a real Italian, be sure to take a class from Cooking with Rosetta, who focuses on the cuisine of Calabria. The new San Francisco Cooking School is offering a pasta class on January 29th, and Flour + Water regularly hosts pasta-making classes (a new series is starting up on January 9th).

Marcia Gagliardi is the editor of the weekly tablehopper e-column; subscribe and read more at tablehopper.com. Follow her on Twitter: @tablehopper.