2009 Wrap-Up

So my Google Reader alerted me to the fact that it's about that time again: time for a year-end wrap up. This has been a year of a lot of cooking and not a lot of posting, so instead of doing a month-to-moth I'm just going to link some of my favorite recipes for the year. 2010 will mark some changes, I think. I'm resolving to post more, and especially to comment more on the foodblogs I enjoy. I've also had some stomach difficulties recently, which means my diet may shift a little bit away from the cheese and sugar end of things. Other than TWD, I'll be avoiding desserts. Finally, I got a breadmaker for Christmas, so there may be some bread recipes every now and again when I decide to shift away from plain whole wheat sandwich bread. Happy New Decade, everyone!

Best 2009 Recipes

Dim & the Dark Cookies
Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
Savory Scones
See the Top Ten or So Here
Pecan Pie

Cookbook Review: Cornbread Gospels

This review is a long time coming, and I'm a little embarrassed because this is actually the best review copy I've received so far as a foodblogger. Way back in October 2008, I posted about an unfortunate cornbread experience. Soon after, cookbook author Crescent Dragonwagon contacted me about her book, Cornbread Gospels, and offered to send me a copy. I was really excited when I flipped through, because it's chock full of recipes for one of my favorite foods, and I really like the way it's organized by region so you both have an idea of what you're getting and can take a little tour of the cornbread world. Which brings me to my cornbread experience. So, a year later, after law school, I finally got around to actually making cornbread again. I thought I'd use some leftover buttermilk in a recipe, but ended up committing cornbread sacrilege. See, I'm from North Carolina, and I picked a recipe in the Yankee section of the book (technically "Northern Cornbreads," chapter two). The problem is, I've always loved sweet cornbreads, and none of the Southern recipes had quite enough sugar to be satisfying. So I ditched the buttermilk, got some half and half, and tried Durgin Park cornbread. Yes, not only Yankee, but Boston, even. And it was very good. Dense, sweet, maybe not the best cornbread I've ever had, but definitely satisfying. No recipe, because you can get the darned book for $10 on Amazon, and it's worth it. I noticed that Crescent has a book called Passionate Vegetarian, too, so I may have to take a look at that.

Cookbook Review: Vegetarian Revenge

Recently, the publisher Purslane Press sent my a review copy of a book called Vegetarian Revenge. The book is geared towards low-fat vegetarian cooking, which isn't necessarily my personal focus (I care more about all-around nutrients than fat content). It does have a good selection of recipes, though, if you're looking to eat healthy, and nice full-color photos. I tried a balsamic roast onion recipe, which was easy and pretty tasty. I think next time I would've boosted the proportion of sugar to vinegar in the recipe, or maybe just used better vinegar. The onions were pleasantly soft, though, with a good flavor, and easy to eat. Thanks to Purslane Press for the book!

TWD: My Favorite Pecan Pie

I have to agree with Dorie on this one, folks. This is definitely my favorite pecan pie, too. Someone mentioned that the chocolate and espresso and cinnamon cut the sweetness of the pie, which is what makes it so good, but for me it's just chocolate. And espresso. I mean, say no more. It's beautiful just a teeny bit warmer than room temp, with the chocolate still melty. I don't have a pie tin so I made it in a 9" cake pan, and the dough turned out kind of thick around the bottom, so I made 2/3 of the filling recipe to compensate, which worked perfectly. The crust is like one big cookie. It's definitely good, though I'm not sure the effort is necessarily worth it compared to a frozen crust. This would be great for Christmas Day if anyone's still looking for recipes. You can find out how the other TWD bakers did here.

Sage Apple Crumble with Eggnog Sauce

So this is one of those recipes that I made last year and sadly can't for the life of me remember how I did it. It's a combination of a few recipes, I do remember -- one for the apple filling, one for the crumble topping with the sage, and another for the eggnog sauce. So it was really good, but perhaps not recreateable. I'm going to think about it and get back to you if anything comes to me!

Roasted Applesauce & Delicata Squash

Given how much I cooked last year around this time, and given how much my budget is reduced having been unsuccessful at job-hunting for 14 months, I'm taking this opportunity to blog some winter recipes that I made last year. This post features a recipe for roasted spiced applesauce that I found on a blog called my muffin thursdays and a recipe for maple-glazed delicata squash rings found on a blog called chick in the kitchen. I made these both to bring in to an editing session for my law journal, and they got very good reviews.

I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I think I used pancake syrup or maybe honey for the squash, because I know I didn't have maple syrup at the time. I might try the recipe again now that I have the real thing. The applesauce was really impressive. I love that dark, roasted apple flavor with the spices. I kept it quite chunky, too.

TWD: Sablés

They're far more appetizing than they look in this image, enough so that I ate 15 in two days, but I have to say that the recipe was kind of a pain. I always have this problem with shortbread, where the dough is too crumbly to work with and most of it ends up on the counter or floor. About half of my cookies were pieced together from crumbs, and I got 15 instead of fifty. Even with plastic I couldn't get an actual log shape, and it hardly held together when yolking, sugaring, and slicing, even after six hours in the fridge. The taste is mostly worth it, as I've been craving shortbread forever, but I wouldn't make it more than once a year. Check out all the other TWD bakers.

Cranberry Relish

For this giveaway, Michelle at Brown Eyed Baker is asking us to blog about our favorite holiday recipes. I have to admit, though, that I haven't actually made any of my family's holiday dishes since I started taking photographs of my food. I hope a photo-free post will thus be welcomed. Also, my #1 favorite holiday dish has a seafood, which I don't eat anymore, and my #2 favorite isn't a recipe at all (yeast rolls, which we buy at the store). Now that I think about it, I don't actually have a favorite holiday recipe, because we don't really have any holiday recipes in our family. Thus, I'm going to have to go with the only recipe I know of, which I don't even like, but hey, it's a holiday recipe! Cranberry relish, made with a meat grinder. No, I don't know why. It's tradition. That was always my job, and as the meat grinder got older, it got more and more difficult, until we finally stopped, but the basic idea is this. Take a bunch of cranberries and couple of orange peels sliced in ribbons and feed them through an old fashioned hand-crank meat grinder. Add sugar to taste. Ta da!

Shortcut to Mushrooms Recipe Index

Please note: This is a comprehensive index of all the recipes found on my website. Some are typed out in full, some are just linked. I'll try to make a note if the links are to a non-English website. Of course, full credit for all recipes goes to whoever created them originally; this is just intended to be a way to surf around the blog if you're looking for meal ideas. Original recipes are indicated by an (O) in front of the link, and my favorite recipes have a * in front of them.

Snacks

Cranberry Hazelnut Crisps
Sweet and Spicy Walnuts

Breakfast

*Breakfast Quinoa
*Chai Spiced Buttermilk Pancakes
(O) *Cheesy Grits My Way
*Crepes
Crunchy Granola I
*Crunchy Granola II
(O) Deviled Eggs
Eggnog Pancakes
Fried Matzoh
Menemen
(O) *Menemen My Way
*Rosemary and Feta Fried Potatoes
Scrambled Eggs
Spanish Tortilla

Spreads, Dips, Jams, Jellies, and Other Condiments

*Barbecued Tempeh Spread
*Caramelized Onions
*Cheddar Ale Spread
(O) Coconut Corn and Black Bean Salsa
(O) *Fig-Whisky Jam
*Pimento Cheese
(O) Spinach Dip
*Spinach and Artichoke Dip

Sauces

Cilantro Sauce
Eggplant Marinara
Hollandaise Sauce
*Mushrooms Bourgignon

Appetizers and Sides

Asparagus with Citrus Sauce and Almonds on Mashed Potatoes
Balsamic Roast Onions
Bloomin' Onion and Horseradish Sauce
Corn-Stuffed Red Peppers
*Curried Green Tomatoes Over Polenta
(O) Everything But the Kitchen Sink Devilled Eggs
Fried Brussels Sprouts
Fried Green Tomatoes
Fried Okra
Eggplant Caviar
(O) Grilled Tortilla Wedges with Fancy Mustard
(O) Judith's Super Easy Vegetables
Leeks Simmered in Wine
(O) Melon Bruschetta
Microwave Mushroom Leek Risotto
(O) *Mushroom Improv
(O) *Mushrooms Over Polenta
*Poêlée au Champignons du Miel (French)
(O) Quick Veggie Fry Up
Ricotta Stuffed Mushrooms
(O) *Roast Acorn Squash
Roast Delicata Squash
Roast Delicata Squash II
(O) *Roast Summer Squash with Goat Cheese
*Roasted Applesauce
*Spaghetti Squash
*Zucchini Patties

Soups and Salads

Bulgur Salad
Cacik
Cucumber and Avocado Soup
Cucumber Salad
Eggplant Panazella
(O) Eggplant Yoghurt Salad
(O) Fruit Salad
*Leek and Potato Soup
Lebneh
(O) Strawberry and Goat Cheese Salad
*Winter Friendship Soup

Sandwiches

Cucumber and Cream Cheese Sandwiches
*Grilled Cheese
Mom's Grilled Cheese
*Mom's Grilled Cheese II
Pa amb Tomàquet

Pasta

(O) Cheesy Pasta with Cheese (and Basil)
(O) *Cherry Tomato Mommy Pasta Variation
(O) Easy Peasy Pasta
(O) Eggplant "Leftovers Pasta" with Tomato Sauce and Goat Cheese
Linguine with Sage Burnt Butter Sauce and Sauteed Sweet Potato
*Mac 'n' Cheese I
*Mac 'n' Cheese II
*Mushroom Caviar
*Mushroom Stroganoff
Pasta Gratins with Goat Cheese, Sage, and Mushrooms
Spaghetti with Avocado and Cashew Pesto
(O) Spring Pasta

Casseroles

(O) Broccoli Casserole
Corn Pudding
Corn Pudding II
*Eggplant Rounds with Cheese and Red Wine Tomato Sauce
Herbed Summer Squash and Potato Torte
Scalloped Potatoes
Squash Casserole
Sweet Corn Puddin'
Tater Tot Casserole
*Vegetable Gratins

Curries, Stir Fries, and Sautes

*Bohemienne (French)
*Cheesy Baked Leeks
Coconut Curried Tofu with Green Jasmine Rice
*Eggplant Korma
*Roasted Eggplant Medley
Thai Butternut Squash Over Quinoa
Tofu Scramble
Vegetable Tian

Other Mains

(O) Beans and Rice Medley
(O) Blue Cheese and Caramelized Onion Tortilla
*Cheesy Tortilla Pie
*Cottage Cheese Walnut Nutloaf
(O) Easy Tacos
Orange-Glazed Tofu
Quinoa Cakes with Zucchini Ragu

Quickbreads

Banana Bread
Banana Bread with Cinnamon Chips
Cake au Miel, Romarin, et Gorgonzola
Cocoanana Bread
*Durgin Park Cornbread
Fresh Corn Cornbread
Pain d'Epices
*Vegan Banana Bread

Biscuits, Rolls, and Savory Pastry

Caramelized Vegetable Tart
Dill Sour Cream Rolls
*Green Tomato Tarte Tatin
Parmesan and Rosemary Shortbreads
Mini Pizzas
Port Salut Tart
(O) Quick Mushroom Pastry Pockets
*Savory Scones
Sweet Potato Biscuits

Muffins

Allspice Crumb Muffins
(O) Good Life Muffins

Cakes

(O) Cheater Black Forest Cherry Cake
*Chocolate Espresso Mousse Cake
Cocoa Buttermilk Birthday Cake
*Coconut Angel Food Cake
Coconut Cupcakes
*Coconut Tea Cake
*Ginger-Ginger Cake
*Grapefruit Yoghurt Cake
Holiday Bundt Cake
Mocha Coffee Cake
*No-Bake Cheesecake with Cherry Sauce
*Red Plum and Kiwi Cheesecake
*Red Velvet Cake
Sachertorte
*Spice Cake
*Swedish Visiting Cake
Wacky Cake

Pies

Chocolate Chess Pie
*Mooless Chocolate Pie
*My Favorite Pecan Pie
Pecan Pie
*Ridiculously Amazing Pumpkin Pie Thing

Brownies and Bars

*Chocolate Cream Cheese Ricotta Brownies
Espresso Cheesecake Brownies
*Rick Katz's Brownies for Julia

Cookies

*Almond Crunch Cookies
Candy Cane Kiss Cookies
*Chocolate Chip Cookies
Chocolate Chip Cookies II
*Chocolate Chip Toffee Cookies
*Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
Chocolate Mint Cookies
Cranberry Oat Cookies
*Dim and the Dark Cookies
*Feqqas
Everything Oat Cookies
Hilary's Super-Easy Peanut Butter Cookies
*Mini Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cinnamon Chip Cookies
Sablés
Thumbprints for Us Big Guys
Vegan Oatmeal Cookies
*World Peace Cookies

Pastry

Flaky Apple Turnovers
Holiday Fig Scones
*Kala Jamun

Fruit-Based Desserts

Apricot Compote
*Apricot Crumble
Brandied Plums
*Cran-Apple Crisps
Figs in Muscat
Pumpkin Challah Bread Pudding
* Sage Apple Crumble with Eggnog Sauce
(O) Sweet Rice Pancakes

Frozen Desserts

*Cool Coffee Granita
Red Wine Granita
Vanilla Frozen Yogurt

Confections

*Black and White Truffles
*Whisky Peanut Fudge
White Chocolate Gnocchi with Strawberry Sauce

Puddings, Mousses, Etc.

*Butterscotch Pudding
*Chocolate Orange Custard Cups
Coconut Creams with Poached Rhubarb
Coconut Panna Cotta
Pumpkin Flan
Sabayon with Blackberries
Tangelo Creme Brulee

Drinks

(O) *Cherry Garcia Cocktail
(O) *Chocolate Cherrytini
Egg Cream
(O) Frozen Berry Smoothie
(O) Judith's Calcium-Fortified Debate Cocktail
Mulled Wine
(O) *Peanut Butter Smoothie
Root Beer Float
(O) *Sweet Tea
(O) White Peach and Banana Smoothie