Favorites of 2011: Recipes

2011 has been the year of cooking for me. I swear I have spent more time pouring over cookbooks, and finding recipes on the internet than reading novels. I love to think about, plan and make food more than I actually enjoy eating it (okay, that may be a bit of a stretch, but that's how I've felt lately).

The internet has revolutionized the way that I cook and go about finding recipes. While I love flipping through the pages of cookbooks, the accessibility of the web for recipes and food blogs (my new favorite) is incredible.

 Photo from Food 52 by Sarah Shatz

One of my favorite internet finds is this recipe for Smoky Minestrone with Tortellini and Basil Pesto from Food 52. This soup is amazing, filled with vegetable goodness. I subbed turkey bacon for the pork and the soup still obtained a nice, smoky flavor. Yum! It's easy to make, just a lot of chopping and some simmer time.

I purchased the Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook this year after owning and loving the regular Test Kitchen cookbook. Everything that I have made from this book has been great, and it's nice that there are so many vegetarian recipes complete with nutritional info for each one. They makeover many popular foods so they are more healthful, and one of our favorites is the Buffalo Chicken Salad. I love making the blue cheese dressing from scratch, and the sauce for the chicken is spicy and perfect. Seriously, if you like to cook, check out any of the Test Kitchen books, they are filled to the brim with great recipes and interesting information.

Another good cookbook that I encountered in 2011 was Nigella Kitchen. I honestly didn't know too much about Nigella Lawson when I checked out her book from the library, but I was very impressed with what I found, so much so that I bought my own copy. My only complaint with this book is that sometimes the ingredients are hard to find here in the states since she lives and cooks in London.

Image from Nigella.com

The recipe that really stood out is her Flourless Chocolate Lime Cake with Margarita Cream. This cake is amazing, trust me. Go make this right now. The dense chocolate cake is perfection paired with the tart margarita whipped cream. I'm not a huge baker or dessert person but this cake is just fabulous.

May 2012 be filled with many more recipes and delicious eats!

Up next: Favorite Books