My 5 Favorite Recipes of 2011

It was so much harder than I expected to narrow this list down to just 5 recipes! Another issue is the fact that I work as a recipe developer for magazines. I have made so many recipes in 2011 that have not appeared on this blog because they belong to the publications that paid me to create them! It gets confusing. I should cook some of my published recipes and post about it. It's hard to remember them all, even the ones I love and swear I'll cook again. Is that something you guys would like to see?

But back to this list. In the end, it came down to one key deciding factor: whether or not I made the recipe more than once. So here's the list. Tell me what you think of it! Do any of the choices surprise you?

My 5 Favorite Recipes of 2011

In no particular order...

1) Beer bread. I've made it multiple times, and will make it many more. It's just so easy. And how can it be this delicious and healthy? I don't know! And it makes the ultimate grilled cheese...ridiculous!

2) Pumpkin penne. I threw this together one night in November, and I've made it like 4 times since then. With chestnuts, caramelized onions, chicken and spinach, it's just incredibly tasty and hearty.

3) Socca pizza. I make this over and over with whatever toppings I feel like. Just try it. The chickpea crust has such a dense, satisfying texture. And it's different enough that it doesn't need to replace traditional pizza (in case  you were worried).

4) Brisket. We made it for the first time this year, and it was sort of a revelation. Easy, easy. The meat is quite lean, and the leftovers make a fantastic sandwich.

5) The best chocolate chip blondies. No frills here! Just a lot of quality chocolate chips. If you don't "get" blondies (believe me, I also adore brownies), I respect that. But I love them, and these moist, chewy ones are perfect.

Honorable Mentions:
1) Peanut butter and jelly truffles. Totally worth the effort.
2) Pumpkin scones with cranberries and walnuts. I had to put a scone recipe on the list!

Beer Bread Grilled Cheese with Avocado and Caramelized Onions

Remember beer bread? I wrote about it here. Well, it makes THE BEST grilled cheese. And if you can load it with caramelized onions, thinly sliced avocado and some spinach leaves, even better.

If you haven't tried beer bread, you must! It's the easiest quick bread I make, and the payoff is huge. You can eat it with butter as a nice accompaniment to a stew and then use it to make grilled cheese sandwiches. The last loaf I did was with Sam Adams Cherry Wheat. It's fun to add different twists with new beers. The only ones I like to stay away from are the bitter types like IPAs. Otherwise you can't go wrong.

For the grilled cheese, it's just as easy. Although you could, I don't even butter the outsides of the bread. It just doesn't seem necessary to me. I mist them with cooking spray and put the sandwich in a hot cast iron skillet, covering it part of the time to help the cheese melt. The bread gets nice and toasty on the outside, but is still tender and chewy toward the middle. That's it! No recipe. Done.

Pumpkin Scones with Cranberries and Walnuts

I've had this pumpkin scone recipe bookmarked for over a year. It's from King Arthur, and I'm so glad I finally tried it. I look at a bunch of pumpkin scone recipes, and this one was the most straightforward and simple. Of course, it turned out GREAT. These are some of the best scones I've made, maybe ever. Perfect tender texture, great rise, perfect size, great flavor, and on and on.

Two cool things about the recipe: First, it does not call for a dairy ingredient such as milk, buttermilk or cream. Two eggs and the moisture of the pumpkin take care of that (but you do need to brush the scones with milk in order to help the sugar adhere--perhaps egg wash would work?). If there's ever a scone ingredient I don't have on hand, it's the dairy. Second, the KA bakers came up with a weird technique I've never seen before. They swear that freezing the unbaked scones for 30 minutes (and no more; you don't want them frozen rock solid) creates a higher rise and better texture (it's explained more here). I did it, but who knows if it really made a tremendous difference. If I was utterly pressed for time, I think they would be good without the chill time. But I'm unlikely to mess with a good thing.

Pumpkin Scones with Cranberries and Walnuts
Adapted from King Arthur
KA used cinnamon chips and crystallized ginger as mix-ins...yum. You can use whatever appeals to you (up to 2 cups of mix-ins according to KA, which I personally think is a lot). I used KA white whole wheat flour, which I absolutely love for scones. You can use AP, and whole wheat pastry should work well, although I haven't tried it. I made these in my stand mixer for a change, but you can do all of it by hand, using fingers or a pastry blender to incorporate the butter.


Makes 12 medium scones

2 3/4 cups white whole wheat flour (or all-purpose) (326 grams)
1/3 cup sugar (74 g)
1 Tbs baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch chunks (113 g)
1/2 cup chopped, toasted walnuts (2 oz)
1/2 cup dried cranberries
2 large eggs
2/3 cup canned pumpkin (164 g)
1 tsp vanilla extract
Milk for brushing tops
Coarse sugar (such as turbinado) for topping

Just so you know, you'll preheat the oven later, while scones chill. In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together the first 8 ingredients (through allspice). Add butter and mix on medium-low speed with the paddle attachment until mixture is unevenly crumbly with some chunks of butter remaining (I broke up some of the large chunks of butter with my fingers at this point). Mix in walnuts and cranberries on low just until combined.

In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs to break them up, then whisk in the pumpkin and vanilla until combined. Add to flour mixture and mix on medium speed, just until flour is moistened, scraping down bowl as needed (I did this partially by hand; do not over mix).

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, briefly knead into cohesive mass, and divide in half. Pat each half into a thick disk, then roll each one into a 3/4-inch thick circle, about 7-inches in diameter. Cut each circle into 6 wedges. Transfer wedges to 2 parchment-lined plates (or anything that will fit in your freezer), about 1-inch apart. Brush with milk or cream and sprinkle with coarse sugar. Freeze 30 minutes while oven preheats to 425 F.

Transfer scones ON THE PARCHMENT to a large baking sheet, rearranging the scones slightly if need to keep them roughly 1 inch apart. Bake in center of oven, turning baking sheet once until bottoms are deep golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean, 12 to 14 minutes. Cool on baking sheet 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temp. These freeze beautifully; thaw at room temp.

Whole wheat penne with pumpkin, chestnuts, chicken and spinach

I put this pasta together on the fly when I was home alone. I made one serving, and now I want to make it again as soon as possible. Thanks to baaaaad recessed lighting in high ceilings (and hasting shooting), the picture doesn't do it justice.

The "sauce" is canned pumpkin gently sauteed with some garlic and sage to take off the raw edge. I tossed it with penne, chopped leftover chicken breast, caramelized onions, chopped chestnuts (from a jar) and sauteed spinach. Then I used some of the pasta cooking water to loosen it up a bit.

I just loved this. I multiplied the recipe to serve 2 or 3, depending on your appetite. It is so filling and hearty. If you aren't the type to hoard jars of chestnuts around the holidays (therefore having them on hand on a random weeknight), you could skip it, or replace them with sauteed mushrooms. As a matter a fact, you could add a lot of different veggies or meat. It's the tasty pumpkin sauce that's kind of special here. And always remember: caramelized onions make anything wonderful.

Whole wheat penne with pumpkin, chestnuts, chicken and spinach

You can use rotisserie chicken if you’re not one to have leftovers on hand. You can also use chicken sausage or go veg and use cannellini beans. When I first made this, I used caramelized onions that I had on hand, but you can certainly cook up a fresh batch. To do it, thinly slice an onion and slowly cook it in 1 Tbs oil on medium-low to low for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring once in a while.

Serves 2 to 3

1 Tbs unsalted butter

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 1/4 cup pumpkin puree

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

4 to 6 sage leaves, finely chopped, or pinch of dried thyme

1/4 cup caramelized onions

3 huge handfuls spinach leaves

6 oz whole wheat penne or rigatoni

6 oz cooked chicken breast, chopped

12 cooked (from jar or vacuum pack)chestnuts, broken up or chopped

Parmigiano-Reggiano

Heat the butter in a nonstick skillet on medium low. Add garlic and cook 1 minute. Add pumpkin, season with salt and pepper and cook, tossing and turning, 3 minutes. Add sage or thyme and cook 1 minute more. Transfer to a large bowl. Add onions.

Mist the same skillet with cooking spray and add spinach. Season and cook until wilted and tender. Remove from heat and set aside.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta in well-salted water to al dente. Before draining, reserve about 3/4 cup of the cooking water. Add pasta to bowl with pumpkin and combine. Microwave the chicken to warm it up, then stir it in along with the chestnuts. Stir in spinach. As you combine the pumpkin and pasta with the other ingredients, add reserved pasta water in small amounts to loosen up the consistency as desired. Divide among 2 or 3 bowls and top with grated Parmigiano. 

Restorative Kale and White Bean Soup with Egg Yolks

Soup is quite restorative in general, but for me, this one absolutely exemplifies the renewing, nourishing qualities that a healthy soup can have. It is the perfect thing to make if you've just returned from a vacation that involved lots of eating; if you're getting over a cold; or if you just want to give your body a fresh start.

First of all, it's packed with kale, a truly restorative vegetable if there ever was one. Just eating it makes me feel healthy. There's no meat, but plenty of satisfying beans. Finally, because I firmly believe that you can't just simmer some veggies in broth and expect it to taste good, I used a slightly surprising ingredient to add richness and a little backbone. Egg yolks, stirred in at the very end when the soup is at a bare simmer, create a creamy texture. In other recipes, yogurt, sour cream, a sprinkling of cheese or a chopped nuts would serve a similar "richness-making" function.

Have you ever added egg yolks to soup? If not, would you try it?

Restorative Kale and White Bean Soup with Egg Yolks
This would be delicious with chicken, but it some seems more restorative if your body doesn't need to digest any meat. Grated parmesan would also be a nice addition. If you want to really eggy, feel free to use a bit less broth and an extra yolk. And don't skip the lemon!

Serves 4 to 6

1 Tbs olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 to 2 carrots, peeled and chopped (about 1 cup)
Salt and pepper
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Red chile flakes to taste
1/4 tsp EACH dried thyme and dried rosemary
4 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
2 cups water
1 lb kale, thick stems removed, and chopped
1 can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
3 egg yolks
Lemon wedges
Optional for serving: sriracha or hot sauce

Heat the oil in a large pot on medium high. Add onion and carrot, season with salt and pepper, and cook until slightly softened and lightly browned, about 12 minutes. Add garlic, chile flakes and dried herbs and cook 2 minutes, stirring often. Add broth and water and  bring to a boil. Add kale, cover and simmer until vegetables are tender, 10 to 20 minutes. If pot is very crowded, add an additional cup of water.

Add beans and adjust heat to maintain a low simmer. Place yolks in a medium bowl and whisk in about 1/2 cup of the soup broth. Slowly pour yolk mixture into soup, stirring as you go. Check and adjust seasoning. Remove from heat. Ladle into bowls and serve with plenty of lemon wedges and hot sauce if you like.

Gambas al Ajillo

This is our version of the classic Spanish tapa, gambas al ajillo, or shrimp with garlic. This is so easy to make, especially considering the deliciousness of the payoff. There is one key ingredient you can't skip: dry Sherry. 

Fresh, sweet shrimp, lots of fresh garlic, some butter and fresh parsley are all important if you want a great result, but the Sherry provides the signature flavor. We went to Spain for two weeks last May, and had our share of pintxos, tapas and all-around amazing food. Making this is a nice way to revisit the trip. 

We didn't take many pictures of food, but here I am at the world's oldest restaurant, where we went for their famous suckling pig!

Gambas al Ajillo

Serves 2 to 4 as a tapa; doubles easily

1 to 2 tsp olive oil

8 oz medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

Salt and pepper to taste

3 to 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

Pinch chile flakes

1/3 cup dry Sherry

1/2 Tbs unsalted butter

Chopped fresh parsley or thyme leaves

Heat a thin film of oil in a medium skillet on medium high. Add shrimp, season with salt and pepper and cook until lightly browned, but not cooked all the way through, turning once or twice, 2 to 3 minutes. Add garlic and chile flakes, and cook, stirring frequently, 1 minute. Add Sherry and simmer until liquid is reduced by about half and shrimp are cooked through. Just as dish is about finished, add butter and swirl into the sauce. Transfer to serving bowl and sprinkle with herbs.

Classic Chicago Hot Dogs

This is my farewell to summer. I've been holding on to this great photo of our homemade Chicago dogs for months. I meant to post it around the 4th of July, but was off galavanting around the east coast for a wedding. Then I meant to post it for Labor Day, but got all busy throwing a big cookout. So, now that temps are dipping and there's an unmistakable cool, crisp quality to the air, I'm finally posting it. 

I'm certainly not writing out a traditional recipe, but the pic is too great not to post. I will however give you the classic formula for Chicago-style hot dogs that won't put you in hot water with any regional food scholars or proud Chicagoans.

It's easy. You just need to buy the correct ingredients. The only challenge is fitting all of them onto those standard-size poppy seed buns. If you want to make true Chicago dogs, these are the requirements. Not a lot of wiggle room here...

1) Poppy seed buns; common brand: Mary Ann

2) All-beef hot dog; may be kosher; common brand: Vienna Beef

3) Pickle spear; this one is basic and easy

4) BRIGHT green sweet relish; see it right above the pickle? common brand: Rolf's, Vienna, Puckered Pickle Co. 

5) Fresh chopped or minced white onion

6) Yellow mustard; easy, like French's

7) Sport peppers; little pickled green peppers, about 1 1/2 inches long and medium-hot to hot; can be hard to find outside Chicago; common brand: Vienna 

8) Fresh tomato wedges

9) Celery seeds

And absolutely NO KETCHUP. I personal cannot eat a hot dog without ketchup. My favorite style is a charcoal-grilled hot dog (blackened a bit) with Heinz ketchup and nothing else. My husband is the one who put together the specimens you see above. I ate some of the toppings, but had to use ketchup too. 

On a different note, this is my first post in a month! The simple reason is that I haven't been cooking a lot of new and/or interesting things (unless I'm cooking for a work project). It's summer, right?! So it's been lots of grilling. Fantastic marinated grilled chicken. Vacation. But I think now it's back to regular programming.

Have you ever had a real Chicago dog? Are you resisting Summer's end, or are you already in full-on Fall mode?