Iceberg Wedge & Blue Cheese Dressing

Welcome to the new year everyone!  I hope the first two days have treated you well.  If my first two days of the year reflect how everyone else spent their first two days, I hope you all enjoyed shopping at Walmart and Target, buying storage containers and hangers! 

Yesterday, boyfriend and I spent the day cleaning and organizing the apartment in preparation for our move to a slightly smaller apartment.  We filled up three huge garbage bags with clothes than no longer fit into our wardrobe and dropped them off at the donation bin.  The huge pile of metal hangers made their way to the recycling bin.  The pile of shoes in the bottom of the coat closet got organized and whittled down. 

Along our cleaning journey, we realized that we had accumulated lots of new clothes for christmas and were in need of hangers.  A series of thoughts brought us to getting in the car and driving to the closest Walmart, only to discover that everyone else in the county decided to go there too.  Were you at the big box store this weekend, because I think just about everyone in the world was in my checkout line.  (Warning - if you take a cart FULL of items into the "Speedy Checkout Line" you're going to get quite a few snide comments)

At the end of the day, our closet was slightly cleaner and our bodies were tired.  There was very little energy remaining to prepare anything for dinner.  Chopping a head of lettuce into four pieces was just about the amount of prep I could handle. 

Iceberg wedge & Blue cheese dressing

Adapted from Williams Sonoma - New York

One Year Ago: Chocolate Sandwich Cookies

I've had a couple of wedge salads in my time and I've always wanted to make it at home.  The dressing always had the same notes, but I didn't have a good base recipe.  This recipe from Williams Sonoma really hit the spot.  Although, to be completely honest with you...  After I photographed the pretty wedges of lettuce, I chopped it up and tossed it into a big bowl.  So much easier to eat, just less pretty to look at!

1 head iceberg lettuce, cut into 4-6 wedges

1/2 cup mayonaisse
1/2 cup light sour cream
juice from 1 lemon
dash of Tabasco
1 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
4 oz crumbled blue cheese
1 tbsp fresh chive, finely chopped

1/2 cup candied walnuts
1/2 cup dried cranberries

Plate one wedge of lettuce per plate.

In a large bowl, whisk together all ingredients for the salad dressing (mayo through chives).  Spoon a few tablespoons of dressing over each wedge.  Spinkle with cranberries and walnuts.

Wilde Favorites - 2011

The stats of 2011 tell a very sugary tale in the Wilde kitchen.  Four of the five fan favorites from this year were a part of candy challenge 2011, but were they my favorites?  I actually have a whole different set of favorite recipes from this year.  These are things that I have made again and again this year, proving that they are a keeper in this kitchen.  They also prove that I did in fact eat more than just sugar this year...

5. Rosemary Foccacia - This foccacia was made early in the year as a part of my attempt to make it through the Bread Bakers Apprentice challenge.  I didn't finish the cookbook this year, but luckily I made it to the 'F' recipes.  This foccacia, while time consuming, was a lot of fun to make and totally amazing to eat.  Even though this recipe made an entire baking sheet full of focaccia, I ate the entire slab.  The majority of it was made into sharp cheddar paninis and greedily eaten without a napkin.

4. Indian Pizza - I made a bunch of different pizzas this year and this was by far my favorite.  The chicken curry beneath the mild mozzarella made the perfect pairing that made me not want to share any of this.  I tend to make this dish during the summer, otherwise the apartment smells like curry for a week!  Next year I plan to make more strange and delicious pizza flavor combinations.

3. Thanksgiving Potato Pies - This meal was a total winner with everyone that ate it.  Boyfriend and I didn't have a traditional Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday, instead I made these bad boys for us earlier in the week.  They were declared "The best thing you've made, ever."  I want to make them again and again, changing up my potato pie mix-ins.

2. Coconut Joys - Okay, of course one of my top 5 had to be from the candy challenge.  While there were very few challenge recipes that didn't win praise, these were my all-year favorite.  Compared to a Bounty or Mounds bar, they were spot on for the store-bought candies.  I ate the vast majority of these before they even made it to work.

1. Buffalo Mac 'n' Cheese - Something that I first had at S'Mac in New York City, I decided that I wanted to have it all of the time.  The combination of Buffalo sauce and blue cheese makes this dinner absolutely fantastic.  I've made this recipe again and again because I love it and so does boyfriend!  If you're in the mood for something a little Upstate NY, throw this together and enjoy.

There we have it!  My top 5 recipes for 2011, don't they look delicious!  Now you can see that I did indeed eat more than candy this year, although it was a sweet year in many, many ways.  Here's to a great 2012, I look forward to seeing you all there!

Fan Favorites - 2011

As we approach the end of 2011, I though we should look back on some of our favorite recipes of the year.  From the stats, it's pretty easy to see which recipes were your favorites, but maybe you are curious about which ones I liked the best.  Or, maybe you're not.  Either way, the completion of the year is a good time to look back and reflect on our past.  Let's sift through the entries and reminisce on some of our go to recipes of 2011.

Starting with the fan favorites!!!  These are the top five recipes with the most blog hits all year.  Since this year was the year of the Candy Challenge!!! we saw lots of candy recipes, and they seemed to strike a chord with all of you. 

5. Ganduja & Caramel Candy Bars - These dense, rich and chewy bars came about as a part of the Daring Bakers August challenge.  A peanut and pretzel-filled layer of sweet caramel, topped with a peanut butter and chocolate slab, these bars were rich.  They needed to be cut into 1-inch squares in order to be considered "one serving."

4. Three Musketeers Bars - Another candy favorite!  I was totally sceptical when I started making this recipe.  There was no way that I could duplicate the classic candy bar.  And I was right, it wasn't exactly the same, it was better.  This bar is a slightly denser and way more chocolatey version of the classic.  These didn't last long on the snack table at work.

3. English Muffins - A departure from your love of all things chocolate, the English muffin recipe comes in third for your all-time favorite this year.  In the early days of 2011, I tried to take on the Bakers Apprentice Challenge.  After a few months I realized that trying to complete two challenges in one year was a bit crazy.  Thankfully I made these guys before I abandoned my yeast for a while.

2. Pumpkin Pie Mallomars - In my year of the Candy Challenge!!! I produced a ridiculous amount of marshmallow.  From raspberry to chocolate, key lime to pomegranate, there was no flavor that I wouldn't dare to make.  Around October I decided that I was time to give the Mallomar another try.  It was totally worth it, these were super delicious.

1. Buffalo Sponge Candy - By far, your favorite recipe this year has been my sponge candy recipe.  It has received twice the number of hits at our number two finisher and continues to popular every week.  Sponge candy is a hometown favorite, but people from around the world have their own brand of the candy.  With names like fairy food, honeycomb, violet crumble, crunchy and sea foam, it permeates the candy world without being obvious.  With the popularity of this recipe, I've decided to film a how-to video next year.  Look forward to seeing me in the kitchen, whipping up a batch of my favorite treat!

So there we have it, your top five recipes for this year!  It would seem that you all have a bit of a sweet tooth!  With Candy Challenge 2011 coming to a close, you'll see fewer candy recipes in 2012.  Don't worry though, I just got a new candy cookbook for Christmas and I've got to try it out!

Stay tuned tomorrow for MY top five recipes of the year!  You'll remember that I did a little more than eat candy all year, there were a few vegetables in there too!