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!

Peanut Butter Rice Crispy Bars

Slowly, I'm coming back from the dead.  The cold virus that knocked me down like a freight train has been galliantly fought off by my immune system and I'm on the mend.  It has been rough, being sick at this time of the year, because this is the most fun time of year to cook!  This is the time of year that you can make everything red, green and blue, cover everything in sprinkles and frosting and feed your coworkers endless supplies of sugar.  They don't complain because it's festive.

I had big plans to make you lots of cookies the week leading up to Christmas, these bars are as far as I got.  While they were certainly delicious, I can't say that they are terribly festive.  Now that we've made it past December 25th and the presents have been put away, I suppose that you need some treats to celebrate the New Year.

Now that I'm living withing throwing distance to New York City, I've been getting lots of questions about what I'm doing for the big night.  Sadly, since I've been sick, we haven't made any plans at all!  A few years ago, before we were living here, boyfriend and I came to New York for the ball drop.  We figured, "You have to do it once!" 

Unfortunately, that year it was freezing cold.  I'm talking single digit temperatures as we approached midnight.  We had layered pants upon pants and sweaters under our jackets, yet still, we were cold.  There was no way we were going to sit still in Time's square for eight hours.  We would have been peoplesicles.  Instead we wandered the city from four in the afternoon until the ball finally came down to ring in the new year. 

We actually had a good view of the descending ball from our final position at the southeast corner of Bryant park.  The winds were even blowing in our direction and we got a nice shower of confetti and balloons.  However, moments after midnight, the crowds quickly dispersed and we hoofed it back to our hotel room as fast as our frozen bodies could take us.

This year looks to be a lot warmer here in the Big apple.  Does that mean that you'll see me in with the throngs of people in Time's Square?  Not a chance!  HAPPY NEW YEAR!  I hope you spend it with people you love, whether you decide to ring in the new year at eight o'clock or midnight.