12.31.2011

Countdown to 2012: Our Favorites from 2011

The New Year promises to be an exciting one for us as we will be celebrating our tenth wedding anniversary as well as Amy's 40th (yikes!) birthday. As far as this blog goes, 2012 will be our fifth year of food blogging, and we'll be giving A Couple in the Kitchen a good makeover (to be revealed tomorrow, so tune in!!!) to mark the occasion.





However, before we can look ahead, we wanted to look back. We reviewed all of our posts from the past year and chose our particular favorites, one from each delicious month, which we'd like to recap here today. Thank you for reading, happy eating, and have a happy and healthy New Year.


Rosemary Root Veggie Pot Pie - (January)

We love this dish for its meatless simplicity and hearty roasted vegetable goodness. It's a particularly great recipe for fall and winter.





Roast Wild Boar - (February)

We couldn't resist buying a roast that was labelled "meat from feral swine." We seasoned it and roasted it atop a bed of vegetables and it was as if we had been transported to Tuscany.


Irish Stew - (March)

We can't take credit for this one; it's a recipe from our good friend Chef Lise who got to demo it on the morning news! So exciting! And so tasty, with chunks of lamb, loads of herbs and veggies and a hint of Smithwick's Ale.


Eclairs - (April)

This post marked the first time we participated in "French Fridays with Dorie," and we learned how to make eclairs. They were so good, and so much easier than we had anticipated, that eclairs have become one of our go-to desserts.

Honey-Soy Chicken with Asian Spices - (May)

These sticky drumsticks were inspired by a trip to Boston's Chinatown. The marinade has plenty of distinct flavors from honey, soy sauce, sherry, anise, garlic and more. Yum!


Spring Onion and Ricotta Fresca Tart with Scapes and Sage -
(June)

Just looking at this post again makes us long for the newly blooming freshness of spring. We took our own spring onions and sage, some local garlic scapes, some ricotta fresca (fresh from Beltane Farm), and farm-fresh local eggs and combined them into one amazing spring tart.



Rummin' Tea - July

Because nothing says summer like a cool glass of iced tea, and nothing says summer vacation like adding rum to that cool glass of iced tea. We [heart] summer vacation.




Smoked Ribeye Steaks - August

We bought a smoker last summer, and our favorite smoker-creation was this simple meal of red-wine-marinated-smoked-ribeye-steaks. Perfect for a summer evening shared with good friends!



As we headed back to school and the old routine, we needed meals that were easy yet still spectacular. This pizza fit the bill. Sure it sounds weird, but it was
fan-TAST-ic. Really.



We were lucky enough to be able to join the Secret Recipe Club this year, and this was one of our posts for that. Cider doughnuts are synonymous with autumn around here, and we just had a little fun with them, making them square and sharing them with the neighbors.




We strive to be well-rounded food bloggers, which means while we're usually in the kitchen cooking, we also do post reviews of restaurants we frequent and reports on food-related events we attend. This post included wine, food, charity, moonshine, and celebrity chefs, just to name a few. Fun stuff!





This vodka-based liqueur was the first Christmas goodie we made this year. We took our friend Joanne's recipe and made it our own with some mandarin orange peels and a vanilla bean, creating a lusciously smooth spirit for the holidays.

6 comments:

Dreams of cakes said...

Happy New Year!!

Unknown said...

Beautiful dishes! Have a wonderful New Year, it seems like this will be be a great 2012 for you!

Stephanie @ Eat. Drink. Love. said...

You had a great year! Everything looks delicious! Here's to an even better 2012!

Eliotseats said...

You picked out some great posts. Happy New Year!

Unknown said...

Happy New Year and to more SRC! :)

Cellar Tours said...

mmmm, love your 2011 dishes! here my 2012 resolutions http://www.cellartours.com/blog/featured/new-year-resolutions-for-foodies