In the spirit of year-end round-ups, the Accidental Locavore offers up my top 10 list for 2011. The first half of the list are the posts you liked the best, the second half, my favorites.
- My husband Frank’s recipe for his amazing meatloaf. If you haven’t tried it yet, find a night when comfort food is a must-have and give it a try!
- Cooking on my Himalayan pink salt block. This makes me a little sad because the tomato season was cut so short this year, I never got to try tomatoes and mozzarella on the chilled salt block. However there are steaks (beef and beefsteak) in my future!
- The recipe for short ribs cooked in beer. Whether you do them in the oven or slow cooker, these are delicious and easy! If you’re one of the people who got a slow cooker for Christmas, break it in with this recipe.
- The Accidental Locavore’s virtual “throw-down” with Daniel Boulud. My first attempt at making merguez and the results?
- Pork chops with scalloped potatoes. From the “Cook-Along” series, this is a recipe best saved for February. Why? It’s a “hearty winter dish” and after a month or so, New Year’s resolutions are pretty much forgotten, right?
And the Locavore’s personal favorites?
Duck confit shepherd’s pie. This is so delicious, a little healthy (kale) and a great excuse to make another batch of duck confit. Got a problem with that?- Tomatoes as water balloons. These pet peeves from farmers at the Greenmarkets, made me realize how we all could brush-up on our farmer’s market etiquette. Pay attention all you corn shuckers out there!
- What happened in the aftermath of Hurricane Irene (this was written before the October blizzard). It’s important for all of us to understand how badly the farmers were affected and to do whatever we can to support them. Join a CSA, buy local and shop Greenmarkets or farm stands.
- On a more ironic note, Whole Foods 5-step program for chicken and other meats. While the Locavore supports sustainability and humanely-raised animals, how many toys my chicken had growing up can’t possibly affect the flavor of the end product. And if anyone out there can tell the difference between a #1 chicken and a #5, please let me know!
- And because it’s one of my favorite stories that was just waiting for the proper time to be told, the tale of the WafflePro 800.
Do you have a favorite that I might have forgotten? Here’s to a happy, healthy and prosperous 2012!
not a recipe, so not a fave, but one of the most important and helpful weeks this year was in October, when you told us about the App called Fooducate — it has flaws, but we expect it to get better, and I’m sure lots of your readers tuned in . . . we didn’t have to stay serious, though, because at the end you referred us back to your fabulous June granola recipe (and I’ve since heard that it’s now even more magical) — thanks!
Thank you, that means a lot!
Well, the most inspiring was the sous-vide one. I also loved the Yiddish food terms. All of your articles are great, I couldn’t let a day go by without the locavore!