What I had on hand were tangerines. Other than eating them out of hand, I didn’t have many thoughts on what to do with them. Aha! Dressing. And I found a recipe in my collection that I’d never made, although I’d had it at a cooking class some years ago.

Some years ago my friend Cherrie and our respective husbands attended a wine tasting event at our local Bristol Farms market (a very upscale grocery store here in So. California). At the time (and perhaps still) a gentleman named Bruce Jacobs was the Executive Chef there, and he and his staff served a dinner paired with the wine. An early course was a lovely salad with a warm round of lightly sautéed goat cheese (lightly breaded with Panko, I think) and the greens were drizzled with this dressing. It was absolutely perfect for that salad.

With the tangerines I had, which came from a tree we have at our desert house, this seemed the right thing to do with them. What I will tell you is that when you mix a lot of fruit juice in a salad dressing, and you dress your salad – it will more quickly wilt the fancy lettuces (like leaf lettuce or soft spring greens). My recollection is that he served this with a curly endive salad, which is a sturdy green that can hold up against a citrus juice dressing. I used Romaine. Spinach should work too. The dressing was made in the food processor, but it may not matter because the dressing doesn’t emulsify very much (there isn’t any egg or mustard, or sour cream to bind it). Although as I type this I made the dressing yesterday, and it is still holding together just as in the photograph above. So maybe it does emulsify more than I think it does.

My only advice: serve this with some kind of fruit in it – like the mandarin oranges I used, or some dried cranberries. Sliced almonds would be nice too. You could also make the salad with some cabbage added, or spinach (certainly very sturdy greens). If you don’t like rosemary, certainly any other fresh herb would work (tarragon, thyme for instance).

What’s good: the tangy tangerine flavor – and it’s a very light dressing. I did use extra virgin olive oil (it calls for “olive oil,” so the extra virgin really isn’t necessary, but I didn’t have anything else). You don’t want the oil to overpower the delicateness of the tangerine juice, that’s all. Adjust the sweetness to your own tastes – and it may depend on how tart the tangerines are too!

What’s not: don’t keep it too long – I’d suggest using it up within about 4-5 days if you can.

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Do you have a pressure cooker? I don’t use mine enough, but when I do, I’m so delighted with the results. Usually parsnips take a good long time to cook. Not this way!

It was last Sunday afternoon. I went to a concert at our church – to hear the Male Chorale from Cal Baptist (a college in Riverside, 40 miles or so east of where we live). What a performance it was, and I loved every minute of it. But when I got home it was later than I’d planned and I’d not done much preparation for dinner! My DH helped me some – he prepped the Brussels Sprouts with Maple Syrup. I had made a new salad dressing (I’ll post it soon). I’d marinated some steaks and just needed to make the sauce to go on them, chop the salad and pan roast the Brussels sprouts. I’d also wanted to use the parsnips too, that were growing feathery roots in my vegetable bin. I did a quick search on the internet and found something immediately that sounded good. I had oranges from our trees and I had the pressure cooker all ready!

First I peeled the parsnips, which took about a minute. I sliced them into smaller pieces, threw them in the pot, added a little bit of butter, zested the orange (and set that aside for later), then squeezed the juice. The recipe indicated some sugar, salt and that was it. They were pressure cooked for 5 minutes and I did a quick cool-down under the faucet and into a serving bowl they went with a sprinkle of Italian parsley and the orange zest. Delicious. It’s not really a “sauce,” like I think of sauce – to me sauce means something thickened – not a jus. This was just orange juice that permeated the parsnips like magic. It was very low calorie – 104 calories and 2 grams of fat per serving.

What’s good: how easy and quick it was to make. I may try this same recipe with carrots. You could make it with no butter (the original didn’t have any added fat), but I did use a little bit. Altogether delicious. My DH could hardly get enough of them.

What’s not: nothing! Just be careful and don’t over cook them.

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Do you ever wish you had something to serve with or on sausages? Sausages are kind of – sort of – bland and plain if served all by themselves. Mostly I serve them with good mustard. Well, here’s an easy gravy that goes well with just about any kind of sausages (here it’s with German Bratwurst and a Nuremburger sausage).

It’s just amazing what you’ll find on the internet nowadays. I wanted something to serve with sausages, so I did a search for “what to serve with sausage” and up came a long list of links, mostly to something called sticky onion gravy. Having never heard of sticky onion anything, I took a look at nearly all the recipes. This is a British sauce that is a favorite in pubs. If you’ve ever been to Britain, you know about bangers and mash (bangers just means sausages – but they’re nothing like American breakfast sausage or raw Italian sausage, nor are they anything like German bratwurst either). Usually they are served with mash – mashed potatoes. And in some pubs they spoon on an onion sauce or gravy to go with it. I would assume it’s called sticky because this sauce is thickened with cornstarch and one hopes it will stick some to the bites of sausage.

Finally I settled on a recipe at ask.com and after making it and tasting it, I made some changes to it. Ideally you would serve this with mashed potatoes. We try to limit carbs – particularly white carbs – so I served this with braised red cabbage and apples on the side.

The onions do need to cook awhile – and you particularly don’t want to brown them. That point was stressed in most of the recipes, including Jamie Oliver’s version. So you cook them long and slow (about 30 minutes or more), then you make the sauce part (beef broth, some wine, balsamic vinegar, a little sugar, and I added some Worcestershire and sherry vinegar also). It can sit on the stove over very low heat for awhile – just add a bit more water if it gets too dry.

Mine did just that, so I didn’t have all that much sauce. If you don’t want to use wine, just add more water. The taste of the beef stock or broth will determine how flavorful it is – I used Penzey’s soup bases for the broth and with 2 cups water with it and a cup of wine.

We’d purchased some really good sausages from a deli – they were already cooked, so all I had to do was simmer them in water for 6-8 minutes and they were ready to serve. The onion sauce is spooned over them – about 1/2 cup per serving. If you have mashed potatoes, it would make one delicious morsel with a bite of sausage, an onion draped over it, then pushed into a little bit of potato. Yum.

What’s good: that it goes really well with sausages or some kind of meat. It’s not rich. It’s not some “wow” sauce you’ll want to make for special occasions – this is a simple saucy gravy to give some  extra flavor, texture and moisture to a protein you’re serving or as a sauce for mashed potatoes. I think it would be great with left over roast beef or roast pork.

What’s not: it does take some time to make – at least 45 minutes.

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Oh gosh, was this cake ever good. And lick-your-lips tasty. And easy! And, and, and. All the superlatives you want to use. Chocolatey, yes. Light in texture, yes. Can I repeat the “easy” word?

At the cooking class a few weeks ago with Phillis Carey, she did 4 soups and a dessert. She always says that people (us, the students) complain if she doesn’t make dessert. Well, I’m so glad she did make dessert, because this recipe is a real winner. I think Phillis has shared this recipe before – probably before I started writing a blog, because it seemed very familiar when she made it and served it. It’s all mixed up in a bowl, baked a short period of time, really, and while it’s baking you make the frosting which needs to be poured onto the warm (not hot) cake and allowed to cool for at least 30 minutes. The frosting begins to set up almost immediately. Oh, it was SO good!

There’s only one really big “condition” about making this – you need a 10×15 sheet pan (jelly roll pan with a 1-inch height). It’s got to be a 10×15. You could make it in a 9×13 cake pan, but it will be a thicker cake and require longer baking. I suppose that would work. I actually ordered the cake pan Phillis used – a Parrish Magic Line 10 x 15 x 1 Inch Jelly Roll/Cookie Sheet. She brought the pan from home because most cooking schools don’t have this cake pan size! Don’t get confused with the pans – the company (and amazon, at the link above) also sells a 10×15 deeper 2-inch cake pan too (which probably would work), but this recipe just plain works perfectly in the 10×15. The pan has a flat side lip on the edges – a flat edge that makes for easy grabbing right out of the oven. NOTE: when you click to the actual pan through the link above, it SAYS it’s an 11×15 pan – and if you measure it edge to edge, it is 11×15, but the interior is 10 inches. And make sure you get the one with the 1-inch depth – they also have a cookie sheet (no edges). Read the description carefully.

So, now, back to the cake. You melt butter, coffee, cocoa powder and oil and add it to the dry ingredients with some buttermilk and eggs. Just whisk well and pour into the greased or sprayed cake pan. It bakes for about 18-20 minutes. During the last few minutes before the cake comes out of the oven make the frosting: cook milk, butter and cocoa, add powdered sugar and vanilla. It can sit for about 10 minutes, so in that interim the cake will be cooling and then you pour the frosting over the still-warm cake, spread and sprinkle on the pecans. Allow to cool. See, I said it was easy!

What’s good: gosh, the cake was so full of chocolate flavor. The coffee or espresso you add to it isn’t discernible, but the food scientists say coffee brings out the best in chocolate. And the frosting is delicious – not too thick and not too sweet. Just right.

What’s not: really, nothing. It’s so easy. Make it!

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When I glanced at this recipe, before Phillis Carey’s cooking class started, I can’t say that I was very intrigued. Dill pickles on top of a soup? And old-fashioned mustard? Oh, was I mistaken, big time! This soup is SO good. So interesting! So different! And believe it or not, it’s also EASY.

You might have to look hard at the photo – right in the center is a little squirt of regular (hot dog) mustard. And you can see the little chunks of dill pickle, along with the shredded Cheddar. I added the little bits of chopped tomato (not in the original recipe, but I thought they sounded like a fun addition).

When I tell you this soup is easy, just read how easy: sauté the ground turkey (dark and light meat for best flavor), add veggies (onion, celery and carrot) and cook. Add flour, broth, milk and some potatoes. Bring to a boil and simmer until the potatoes are done. Off heat add the cheese, ladle into bowls and sprinkle on the condiments for your delish “soup burger.” Tops, this takes about 30 minutes to make.

What else can I possibly say about it? It’s easy to make, it’s very tasty, it’s relatively healthy. If you want to make it more healthy, use olive oil in place of butter, and use 2% milk rather than whole. Don’t skimp on the Cheddar cheese – use the grate-it-yourself type (you know, the packages of shredded cheese have some kind of covering on the shreds so the cheese doesn’t stick together in the package). Use sharp (not extra sharp as it’s too dry, Phillis said, and won’t melt well).

What’s good: just everything about it – the ease of it, and the comfort food flavor.
What’s not: nothing whatsoever!

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Black bean soup with nice crunchy chewiness from bacon and sun-dried tomatoes, with a soothing, cool sour cream (or yogurt) cilantro dollop on top. Super easy too!

You’re going to be seeing some new soup recipes here. And this one is the best of the bunch. It may not look like it’s something noteworthy, but it is. Trust me on that. A couple of weeks ago I attended a class with Phillis Carey, and it seems like every year about this time she comes up with a new repertoire of soup recipes. My friend Cherrie, who’s now on the radiation part of her journey with breast cancer, and I went to a class with Phillis. The first class we’ve been able to go to in quite some time. We’ve missed seeing Phillis, but mostly we’ve missed new Phillis recipes! She made 4 soups and a dessert (a mocha cake). I’ll be posting the recipes in the next couple of weeks.

This recipe could almost be a throw-together one on a weeknight, IF you have bacon on hand, a can of black beans, the sun-dried tomatoes, sour cream or yogurt and cilantro. Most of those are staples I keep all the time. Oh, forgot – fresh lime juice too. I don’t always have that! Limes seem to go south so soon. Not like lemons that will keep on my kitchen counter for a couple of weeks.

I’ve only made one change to Phillis’ recipe – she pureed the soup in the blender (you could use an immersion blender too) – but the bacon (thick-sliced) left lots and lots of little hard nuggets in the soup – so I’ve altered the recipe to cooking it fully from the beginning, then reserving it to add the bacon crumbles later. The bacon grease will flavor the soup and the bacon will be in little crumbles with a different (better) texture than doing it the other way. I also added some more chicken broth to the soup at the end (because I barely had 4 servings – it seemed fine with that addition).

Phillis explained that this soup has been one of her favorites for years and years. She wasn’t sure, but thought she might have shared it a decade or two ago in a cooking class. She serves this to guests too, even though it’s a casual kind of heart-warming one dish meal; she makes it in really large quantities and says it will keep for a couple of months in the freezer. I made it as is, and will just barely have enough for 4 servings. Next time I will definitely need to double the recipe!

The only advice Phillis gave us was to make sure when we buy the sun-dried tomatoes we get the ones that are soft and pliable, not dry and brittle or flaked. Hers came from Trader Joe’s. She also recommended we make this ahead – at least one day – because it tastes so much better. She made it in about 30 minutes or less at the class, and I thought it was fabulous. So don’t hesitate to do it at the last minute if that’s all the time you have.

What’s good: just the overall taste and texture. Loved it altogether. It’s not vegetarian, but almost – except for the bacon, of course. I don’t suppose it would be anywhere near as good without the bacon, but you could try it.
What’s not: not a single thing.

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Oh my. Oh my. Yes, this was SO wonderful. Can’t wait to eat the left overs, which will be gone by this evening. This is a quick dinner, as long as you have all the ingredients (shrimp, heavy cream, chives, parsley, FRESH lemon juice, angel hair and zucchini). If you love pasta, and shrimp – well, this dish is IT.

If you’re a regular reader of my blog, you’ll already know that I don’t make pasta very often. Even though I love it, it’s not good for my DH (Type 1 diabetic) and probably not all that great for me, either. But sometimes, for a splurge, we have it. And oh, am I ever glad. This dish was downright sensational. And EASY. Our granddaughter Taylor was here, and although she professes to not like fish or shellfish, she ate all but one shrimp on her plate. Her Dad, Todd, loves shrimp, so he had no trouble downing all of his own plus any of Taylor’s discards.

The inspiration for this recipe came from Simply Recipes, a blog I read regularly. As long as I’ve been reading food blogs, Elise’s has been one of my favorites. I love her easy-going writing style and her stories about her family’s recipes. I also love her recipe index. That might not sound so important to you – if you don’t write a blog, but recipe indexes aren’t automatically produced – nobody (that I know of) has written code to create recipe index entries when you post something new. I did use one for awhile, but it’s not meant for recipes and it was dreadfully hard to read. So when I go to Elise’s website I can easily find what I’m looking for. My recipe index here on my blog I created myself using the minimal amount of WordPress coding I know how to do, and I have to update it regularly. I do it about every 2 weeks or so. It’s tedious.

Anyway, back to shrimp and angel hair. The huge shrimp were defrosted first. Then I cut them up into manageable (and different) sizes. Some I chopped. Some I sliced in half lengthwise and then I left one whole for each serving.

These shrimp were huge, and probably not the ideal size for this dish as the whole (or even the half) shrimp required a knife and fork. But the whole and halves looked so pretty on the dish.

Even though there is heavy cream in this, I was almost surprised when I looked at the nutrition analysis to see that to serve 5, each serving has 20 grams of fat. Not too bad considering . . . We had a green salad to go with this, which added a few grams of fat also, but not much. So this dish wasn’t as wicked as you might think. Just so you know . . .

Elise’s recipe didn’t call for zucchini. I added it just cuz I wanted some veggies in it (although to tell you the truth – and you can see from the photo – you can’t even SEE the zucchini). I chopped/sliced up the zucchini in tiny little pieces. I also added some additional seasonings (thyme, oregano). I used fish stock (or you could use clam juice too) because I have some of Penzey’s soup bases in my frig, but Elise suggests chicken stock, which would be fine too. I also added a couple of cloves of minced garlic to the cream as it simmered with the zucchini.  When you simmer garlic in a sauce (not sautéed in oil, for instance) it mellows out. I grated just a bit more Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese than the original. And lastly, because I was using Meyer lemons (which are sweeter than regular lemons), I added just a bit more lemon juice. Oh yes, I also used more lemon zest too – half of it I put into the cream as it simmered, and the remainder I added just at the end.

What’s good: oh, everything! I just loved this dish. The lemon, you might think, could overwhelm the dish, or be acidic. It was neither. Even our son-in-law, who says he doesn’t love lemon particularly, thought it was very nicely balanced. I agree. Definitely a make-again dish. Nice for guests too.
What’s not: absolutely nothing at all.

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If you’ve read my blog for long, you know that I’m not a public health militant by any means. But I do like to be aware, maybe more than the average home cook, about what’s in the meat and produce we eat. I don’t like produce that comes from genetically engineered seed (GMO), but here in California the state recently voted down a bill that would have required fresh produce(rs) to tell us the origin of the seed and whether it was GMO. Sad.

In the last several years I’ve made more of an effort to buy organic beef (particularly beef, but not pork or lamb) because of the possible problems with mad cow disease. I still eat beef some, but when I buy it myself I try to seek out organically grown meat. So, when I read this little blurb the other day in Consumer Reports (February 2013 issue), little red flags went off. It’s scary. Here’s what it says:

Some 80% of all antibiotics sold in the U.S. are used on food animals, mostly to make them grow faster or prevent disease in crowded, unsanitary conditions. That overuse promotes the spread of drug-resistant superbugs and makes antibiotics less effective for humans.

Kim Howland [pictured in the article] from Enid, Oklahoma, knows how devastating that can be. She believes she carried home a MRSA infection from the hog-farming facility where she worked. The antibiotic-resistant superbug sickened several members of her family, including her husband, Cole, who needed emergency surgery to remove the flesh-eating MRSA infection.

Kim Howand has teamed up with Consumers Union‘s Meat Without Drugs campaign. “Grocery stores can make a real difference to public health by stopping the sale of meat raised on antibiotics,” she says. For more information, go to Consumers Union’s website notinMyFood.org

We all make choices about food, and the trade unions and marketeers know only too well how easy it is to befuddle us with information or write legislation that makes it look like we’re voting for something, when you’re really voting against. The bottom line, buy ORGANIC when possible!

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It’s so rare that I make a recipe that is as easy as this one. If you have some of that new long-term fresh canned crab on hand, you could make all of this from cans. I prefer larger shrimp (probably frozen type) to the canned ones, but even with that, it’s still very, very easy to make.

It’s been umpteen years ago that I had this soup the first time. My friend Cherrie and I took a trip to England together. We’ve done that twice, so I’m not sure which trip it was, but we went to visit dear friends near Reading (in England they pronounce that redding), and Rita had made this lovely soup for us to have, as we arrived quite late at night. All we had to do was heat it up and serve it. Cherrie wrote down the recipe and has made it several times over the ensuing years. Rita also shared another recipe that’s here on my blog, a lemon sponge pudding  that’s just “the best.”

I’d forgotten all about this delicious soup, but we decided to make it recently for our New Year’s Eve dinner for the 4 of us. It was easy and quick and we didn’t have anything else except some fresh rosemary olive oil bread on the side. No salad. Nothing else, and it was very satisfying.

We did use some bigger fresh shrimp (well, they say all shrimp has been frozen whether it says so or not), and because the only fresh crab I could find (also likely previously frozen) was King crab at $39.95 a pound with shells, I decided to buy some lump lobster meat instead. Which actually got totally lost in the soup. It’s a shame to buy half a pound of lobster meat and not really taste it.

With the two of us working in the kitchen together it took about 20 minutes to make, beginning to end. We had been playing many rounds of Mexican Train as we sipped some champagne, then we took a break to fix this light dinner. Easy for sure. And very tasty.

This soup is mostly milk, not cream, although it does have a cup of half and half in it. It’s quite low in fat too. This is a light kind of soup – it’s not thick at all – and it’s not overly rich, either. You can easily have a big bowl of it and not feel stuffed. Don’t expect this soup to be one of those over-the-top kinds that radiates butter or cream – no heavy cream in it – and no butter. If you’d like to richen it up a little, add a tablespoon or two of butter at the end (or add it in earlier when you cook the potatoes), and also add about 1/3 cup of heavy cream. But it didn’t need it – it was lovely as it was. It’s also not overly fishy, either – there isn’t any fish in it, just the shellfish. If you like canned clams, canned shrimp and canned crab, you can keep those on hand to make this on the fly.

The corn – it calls for a pound can of creamed corn, and I paid attention to that because once served you really can’t even tell there was any corn in it. So that’s why I’ve added just the one line about optional fresh corn cut off the cob. If you happen to have some, add that too, although truly it’s not a necessity.

What’s good: just how easy it was to make, and mostly from cans, although we didn’t do that exactly. It’s a light soup – not rich or heavy or thick. It would make a great family night dinner with some bread. If you want to fancy it up, add some cream and butter.
What’s not: really nothing – it was a very satisfying soup – I liked it very much.

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Once a year I do a round-up of the best recipes I’ve posted during the previous year. It’s fun doing this post. Not only do I enjoy looking back over the myriad of recipes I’ve tried (everything from soup to nuts, as they say), but I’m reminded how much I loved these dishes and wish that I’ve made them more times since. Also, I like looking at the photos I took – analyzing them from a distance now – wondering if I could have taken a better angle or color combination. I continue to hope that my photography has improved. In the photo above you can see my post list. When I create a post I actually hand write the title on these sheets, so I can keep track. Eventually I transfer them to an Excel file that I created some years ago. Next to some of the entries is an asterisk – those are the “best of,” the ones that are on the list below. 

APPETIZER: Corn, Green Chile and Cheese Dip. This one I have made several times this year. It’s an awesome dip to take to a gathering – it makes a lot. It’s a hot dip (containing corn, green chiles, a ton of cheese, and mayo to hold it together) and you use scoop-type tortilla chips to eat it.

APPETIZER (or a CONDIMENT): Tomato Jam. Oh, gosh, is this stuff good. As I’m writing this, I still have a small container from when I made this 6 months ago, and it’s just fine. It’s wonderful on meats – like steak or grilled chicken. It’s also good on top of cream cheese as a dip thing. Make this in the summer when you have good-tasting heirloom tomatoes. Would also make great gifts.

SALAD: Roasted Carrot, Feta and Arugula Salad – This salad was so different with the roasted carrots as the star attraction. The arugula and carrot combo was just delish. If you can find the multi-color carrots, all the better.

SALAD (SIDE DISH): This one I made oodles of times over the summer when corn was in season. Corn, Tomato and Scallion Salad. It’s truly a simple salad but a five-star one in my book. Great for a summer barbecue.

SALAD: I created this salad using my old Panzanella Salad recipe as the base, but made several changes to it – like adding cucumber and fresh mozzarella to it, and some arugula too. It was just fantastic with a summer barbecue. So I renamed it Summer Grilled Panzanella Salad.

SOUP: I just made this again a couple of weeks ago and loved it just as much as I did the first time. Crockpot Chicken Enchilada Soup. Exceedingly easy to make and just requires chopping up some garnishes (cheese, cilantro, tortilla chips) to round out the dish.

SOUP: Traditionally Soupe au Pistou is an all-veggie and bean soup. I added some chicken to mine just to get a little more protein. This soup is such a winner. Hearty and soul-warming. Not that hard to make, really. Worth the effort. Left overs can be frozen.

SAUCE, DRESSING or CONDIMENT: You could use this for just about anything at all – Sweet and Spicy Horseradish Dressing. It can go on a salad, on veggies, as a condiment for beef or pork. It’s mellow, so don’t be put off by the horseradish, thinking it resembles the stuff restaurants serve on prime rib. This is sophisticated stuff – easy to make too.

SAUCE (or SALSA) or CONDIMENT: Such an odd name – Little Girlie’s Green Sauce. You’ll have to go read my post about it. It was a wonderful sauce (or almost salsa) to serve alongside grilled meat. It makes a lot (next time I’d make half). Mostly it’s avocado.

VEGGIES/SIDES: After years of trying other kinds of cooked red cabbage, this is now my go-to recipe for Braised Red Cabbage and Apples. Although not difficult at all, it does require a couple of hours of slow simmering to reach its peak of perfection. Wonderful with grilled sausages or a pork roast.

VEGGIES/SIDES: I’m a real sucker for Brussels sprouts in almost any way, shape or form. This one was so different (shaved into a slaw and cooked), but won the hearts of all the eaters at our table. Brussels Sprouts Slaw with Mustard Butter.

VEGGIES/SIDES: I made this up based on something we’ve had at a local restaurant. Grilled corn is dipped into a chipotle seasoned mayo, then rolled in crumbled cotija cheese. Off the charts delicious. Particularly wonderful when corn is in season! Mexican Street Corn.

VEGGIES/SIDES: Such an interesting and different way to make green beans. Well worth the effort, although it does have a myriad of ingredients in it, topped off with some slivered almonds. But it’s the sauce (which includes some crème fraiche in it) that makes it. Also there’s some heat in these Feisty Green Beans.

MUFFINS: Gosh were these delicious. I still have 4 of them in the freezer. Chocolate Orange Muffins, loaded with orange flavor (zest) and some chopped bittersweet chocolate. They’re best right out of the oven.

CHICKEN: Definitely I need to make this again. The very best roast chicken I’ve ever made – Thomas Keller’s Roast Chicken and Vegetables. The most moist and tasty ever. Good for a Sunday dinner. The veggies are so good having soaked up some of the drippings!

CHICKEN: By far the best chicken curry I’ve ever made – Murgh Korma (Creamy Chicken Curry). Not hard to make, either.

FISH: Salmon with Leeks, Maple and Orange Sauce. Leeks are such a great flavor enhancer. I should use them more often. This would be a great company dinner entrée, and it’s not all that hard, either.

CHICKEN: I’m always on the lookout for different ways to make chicken breasts, and this one was a real winner – good enough for guests too. Spicy Chipotle Baked Chicken Breasts with Panko Crust.

SHRIMP: Risotto is not something I make very regularly because of all the stirring required. I think I made this for a company meal, and it was hard keeping up the stirring routine. But oh was it ever delicious. A Phillis Carey dish, and worth every calorie and stir. Risotto with Avocado Tomato Salsa and Shrimp.

CAKE: This one was fun – making a yellow cake from scratch that has the same tenderness as a boxed mix. It succeeds. Classic Yellow Cake with Fudge Frosting.

CAKE: Rhubarb is also a favorite of mine. Wish I grew some. Fern’s Rhubarb Cake is so moist and tender – it’s worth finding rhubarb just to make this. Not too sweet, not too tart, either.

DESSERT/CAKE (Sponge Pudding Cake): If you’re a chocolate fan, well, I hope you tried this recipe. It ticks all my buttons for chocolate – rich, warm, silky, bursting with flavor. It’s a pudding cake – one of those cakes that kind of makes its own sauce as it bakes. Sticky Chocolate Sponge Pudding.

ICE CREAM: And last but not least, if you don’t have a source for wattleseed (a spice indigenous to Australia) you may have to pass this one by. I adore this stuff and reserve it for a very special treat. Wattleseed is not available here in the U.S. but you can order it from Australia. Wattleseed Ice Cream.

That’s it for 2012.

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