Looking back at 2009

Just over six months ago, I started this blog. Since then, I've met a lot of very lovely people and eaten a lot of great food.

I thought I'd share with you a few favorites.

My favorite recipes of 2009...

American Potato Salad Potato Salad: I made this on a whim from a combination of sources and now I've made it for a wedding and a work-related potluck. Everyone raves about it and I'm no longer allowed to bring anything but this dish to work potlucks!
Spiced Chicken with Barley Spiced Chicken with Barley: Another surprising find - the spice mixture in this recipe is unlike anything I'd made before and it's damn good. Another repeat in our menu.
Pork, Pineapple and Chile Salad with Avocado Pork, Pineapple and Chile Salad: The theme today is "surprising" -- I loved the interplay of flavors and textures. Definitely one of the "wow!"'s on my table this year.
Caribbean Rice and Beans Caribbean Rice and Beans: It took us four days to make this recipe again. It's that good, I think.
German Chocolate PieGerman Chocolate Pie: Oh man, I fell in love with this pie. I made it into mini-pies and loved every bit. It's now my go-to sinful, rich dessert delight.

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But, you, my readers had other ideas...

Top Three Most Viewed Recipes of 2009

Maizes zupa (Latvian bread soup)Maizes Zupa (Latvian Bread Soup): This is such a great dessert, but it's hard to afford (and source) the bread for it here. One of my favorite recipes from Latvia.
MujadarrahMujadarrah: Surprisingly popular, it's an excellent frugal yet tasty meal. Very good for those days you don't really feel like doing any work but want a heartily good dinner.
Speķa rauši (pīrādziņi)Speķa rauši (Latvian Bacon and Onion Rolls): One of the very first recipes I posted here and one of the two photos I have up on Photograzing. Definitely good - I love snacking on them.

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Most Searched For Recipe of 2009

Maltās gaļas mērceMaltās gaļas mērce: Surprisingly, or not since it's awfully good, this is what brings the most folks via various search engines.

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Most Popular on Flickr

Caprese Salad Caprese Salad: Talk about a runaway hit. This image got StumbledUpon and got quite a few hits in 24 hours. Damn good salad too -- and the sole reason I am planting tomatoes this spring.

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That's it for last year! I'm definitely looking forward to having a lot more great food and conversations in the year to come.

Some things you can look forward to:

  • I'm acquiring a copy of Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking by Michael Ruhlman and participating with a group of friends in a challenge to make six ratios from it over the course of the year. Periodically, I'll be posting various experiments from it. If you want to play along, let me know!
  • My mom gave us a bamboo steamer and her own set of challenges, so there will be more Chinese, Thai and Japanese meals on our table this year.
  • I really want to try to make more use of the cookbooks I've collected. For example, there are a bunch of heritage American recipes in one of my older books that I've been dying to try out, so I may do one of those per month.