Big '09 Trends: Ice Cream, Cuba

Closing the wallet and opening the palate are set to be big in 2009, says Gourmet, which has served up its predictions of next year's hottest food and travel trends:

• With the economic slump, home cooking is hot, hot, hot. Learn to cook a casserole and take mom’s advice—eat more beans.
• Forget cupcakes: Ice cream is the new dessert, with gourmand-friendly options (think goat's milk) on the docket.

• Restaurants are trying to lure in customers with gourmet gimmicks, so get ready to learn the phrase pre-amuse amuse-bouche, or, as in the US, “compliments of the chef.”
• “Ecologically responsible tourism will continue to thrive.” Forget the airport and book a romantic getaway on the Orient Express.
• As trade relations thaw under our new president, expect to see a surge in travel to Cuba. Get there before globalization takes hold.
• Thanks to the Obamas, Chicago might become the hottest city in the US.
• One far-off prediction: sprinkling food with dirt.

For more, check out the entire photo-friendly list.   (More chef stories.)