I've been having so much fun reading everyone's end-of-the-year "best of" posts...so I decided that I want to get in on the fun too! Rather than count down my ten most popular posts or my ten favorite recipes, I decided to pick my favorite post or recipe from each month and share the links with you. If you're new to my blog, you might have missed these the first time around. If you've been around for awhile, maybe some of these will jog your memory.
January: Comforting Apple Upside-Down Spice Cake. This cake give a lot of bang for the buck: easy to prepare, but lots of eye appeal. It's so pretty with the rings of caramelized apples on top when you flip it out of the pan. And the taste? Spicy, fruity, and moist.
February: PB&J Puff Pastry Doughnuts. Puff pastry rounds filled with honey-sweetened peanut butter and raspberry jelly...then baked and dusted with powdered sugar. It doesn't get much easier than that. The variations on basic recipe are endless too!
March: Mardi Gras Crispy Fish Sandwiches. These sandwiches are perfect for Fridays during Lent, but are fantastic all year long. Crispy pan-fried tilapia, a homemade spicy remoulade sauce, toasted French bread, and cheese combine for a fantastic sandwich!
April: White Chocolate-Strawberry Easter Cake. This was my first-ever attempt at decorating a cake, and I was very proud at how cute it came out. Luckily, it tasted good too! I doctored up a cake mix and filled it with strawberries, then frosted it with white chocolate-cream cheese icing. And the bunny? Godiva Chocolate sent him to me, so I wanted to feature him in a recipe worthy of his cuteness!!
May: Lickety Split Artisan Bread. Until this post, I had always been intimidated by yeast. Lucky for me, my best friend isn't. We spent a girls weekend together, and she walked me through my first loaf of homemade bread. Using this recipe, it was so easy...and it came out so delicious! Another baking fear conquered!!
June: Lemon-Thyme Roasted Chicken Breasts. One of the most popular posts in the history of my blog. This was my spin on a fantastic Ina Garten recipe that was featured for my Foodbuzz Dinner Party in June. This chicken is fantastic: moist and full of flavor. The pan juices are divine spooned over rice on the side!
July: Mesquite Chicken Tacos with Creamy Corn Salsa. I received a review copy of the wonderful 300 Best Taco Recipes cookbook this summer and discovered this recipe. It was SO yummy -- especially the unique creamy corn salsa. The basic flavor profile of this taco is familiar, but it's this salsa that makes this taco so special!
August: East-West Chicken Tacos. Another winner from 300 Best Taco Recipes. This taco reminds me of an Asian Lettuce Wrap inside of a soft flour tortilla. Chicken, water chestnuts, a sweet-spicy Asian sauce, lettuce, carrots, and honey-toasted peanuts combine for a unique twist on the usual taco.
September: Fiery Chicken Shawarma. This dish is very special to me...not only is it AMAZING, it was also my very first Foodbuzz Top 9 post! I never dreamed that this dish would capture the attention of so many readers, but it did. Spicy yogurt-marinated chicken, cooling yogurt sauce, and fetta-studded salad combine with pita triangles to make a dish that's way better than takeout!
October: Beecher's "World's Best" Mac and Cheese. It takes a lot to live up to hype like that. Luckily, this mac and cheese more than earns this title...with cheese in the sauce and sprinkled on top! Creamy, rich, and full of cheese...a little goes a long way. I paired this amazing mac and cheese with mini meat loaves and salad for one amped-up comfort food meal.
November: Sausage-White Bean Minestrone. This is one of my favorite soups, because it's hearty and delicious. Italian sausage, veggies, white beans, and pasta simmer and become a fantastic dinner. It's a hearty meal-in-a-bowl...just add some garlic bread and you're ready to eat.
However you choose to ring in 2012 this evening, I hope that it's wonderful...and safe! We're grabbing a bit of dinner, then coming back home to watch the Times Square ball drop on TV...and have a bit of bubbly and some chocolate cake my Dad brought us yesterday. It'll be a pretty low-key celebration, which sounds totally perfect to me!! Here's to a fantastic year ahead...a year full of surprises and good food!!
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