This is going to be one of those nostalgic posts. You might cry at the end of it. You might smile. You might even do both.
When I started this blog a year ago, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I did it on a whim, you see. In all likelihood because I was sitting in my parents’ house. Bored. On New Year’s Day. I was probably hungry at the time. Perusing food blogs. When all of a sudden, I thought, “Hey, I can do this.”
If I had been someplace fantastic and tropical, like Fiji or the Bahamas, or if I was stuffed from having just eaten a three-course meal at one of New York’s many fine dining establishments, none of this may have happened.
It’s amazing the things that are left up to chance.
And I could go through all of the various permutations and combinations that would have lead me here (or not). But it would be an exercise in futility. Because in the end, it all comes down to one.
As such, this blog has been a whirlwind adventure. It has introduced me to so many amazing people – my fellow bloggers – who have supported and encouraged me at every step of the way. I am so lucky to have encountered all of you. Thanks for everything.
It has also spurred me to get creative in the kitchen. From dabbling in yeast to making my own gnocchi to deciding to make 12 different winter squash recipes in 12 weeks, I have taken on projects that I would have never dreamed possible before the blog. Cooking has really become my muse. I want to taste the world. To eat everything. So thank you for joining me as I continue to do so.
2009 was a great year for me. I graduated from college, started at an MD/PhD program, ran my first (hopefully of many) marathons, qualified for the Boston Marathon, moved back to NYC, went on a fabulous cruise to the Bahamas with my best friend (love you Tiffany), made so many new friends, made a lot of fantastic memories with my family, and ate a lot of great food.
Here’s to another year full of health and happiness. I look forward to sharing it with all of you!
But in order to fully appreciate the future, we can’t forget our past. So here is a round-up of some of my favorite recipes of 2009.
First up, we have my adventures with yeast. I never thought bread baking would be part of my repertoire. But there is something really soothing about sticking your hands into a mound of dough. And then slapping it against the table as you knead it into oblivion.
My favorites of the year: Whole Grain Challah with Cranberries and Orange Zest, Light Brioche Burger Buns, Swedish Tea Ring, and Cinnamon Raisin Bagels.
Pasta recipes by far outnumber any other type of recipe on my blog. I am a pasta fanatic. I should really enroll in some kind of 12-step program. Because my obsession is bordering on unhealthy.
Instead, I will just present you with my favorite recipes of the year. And thus, further enable my addiction.
Aromatic Noodles with Lime Peanut Sauce, Caramelized Sweet Potato Garlic and Rosemary Mac and Cheese, Pumpkin and Pine Nut Linguine, Homemade Gnocchi, Classic Italian Lasagna, Caprese Pasta Salad, Butternut Baked Ziti, Shredded Piquant Pork and Red Bean Pasta
And lest you think all I EAT is pasta, here are my favorite non-pasta main dishes of the year.
Buttercup Chili, Crockpot Pulled Pork, Eggplant Caponata Over Creamy Polenta, Chicken Marsala, Cilantro-Jalapeno Hummus, and Sultan’s Delight.
Finally, in addition to 2009 being the year that I discovered yeast. It was also the year that I discovered dessert. What’s the point of running if you can’t eat a piece of cake afterwards, right?
Old-Fashioned Blueberry Cake, Carrot Cupcakes With Maple Cream Cheese Frosting, Chocolate Candy Cane Cookies, Chocolate Mousse Pie.
So, again, Happy New Year to all of you.
Happy birthday to my blog.
And because no birthday is complete without a slice of cake, I am going to leave you with this Frozen Maple Mousse Pie with Chocolate-Maple Sauce that I made for Christmas. It was heaven on a plate, actually.
You should make this. Now.
Although it does require a candy thermometer and bringing maple sugar to 237 degrees. So you may want to wait until you are NOT hungover before trying to make this. Just a suggestion. From a future medical professional. Think about it.
Frozen Maple Mousse Pie with Chocolate-Maple Sauce
Serves 12, adapted from the NY Times
1 1/2 cups oreo crumbs
1 cup maple sugar
Pinch of salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
3 large egg whites, at room temperature
1 cup pure maple syrup, preferably Grade B
2 cups heavy cream
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract.
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix crumbs with 1/4 cup maple sugar, the salt and the butter. Press into bottom and sides of a 10-inch pie plate. Refrigerate 15 minutes. Bake chilled crust 10 minutes, cool to room temperature, then place in freezer.
2. Beat egg whites until frothy. Place all but a tablespoon of remaining maple sugar in a saucepan, add 1/4 cup water, bring to a boil and cook until mixture is 237 degrees on a candy thermometer. Continue beating egg whites until softly peaked. Then, beating all the while, drizzle in all the maple sugar mixture and beat until egg whites are firm and glossy. Beat in 4 tablespoons maple syrup. Refrigerate.
3. Whip cream until stiff. Fold into egg white mixture. Refrigerate separately until cookie crust is cold. Spoon mousse in prepared cookie crust, smooth top and freeze 4 hours. When frozen, cover with plastic wrap until ready to serve.
4. Melt chocolate on low heat. Whisk in remaining maple syrup and vanilla. Place in a container, cover and refrigerate.
5. Do not thaw pie for serving. Dust top with remaining tablespoon maple sugar and serve. Spoon some chocolate sauce over each portion.
Huggy huggy (winnie d pooh style),kissy kissy wishy wishy ….oh congrats Joanne-u truly rocked for 365 days and know u will continue to….
Great!!
And i wont wish u rite now-will wish u in a bit and u’ll know why then…..
The cakes so good …i wonder if i’ll pull this one thru…
You have had a great year! Congratulations on the one year anniversary of the blog and many more to come!
My one year blogging anniversary is just around the corner, too. And it would appear from several of the blogs I follow, that a lot of us got a bug in our butt to start writing about food around the same time. Something in the water?
You are a pleasure to read and a great discovery for me this past year. Happy New Year to you – looking forward to many more enjoyable posts in 2010.
Hi hello,happy new year to ya with an award with love from me to u ,waiting for u at my blog…with a little message
hope u like it…
cheerss…
Congrats on your 1 year anniversary! It’s amazing how blogging opens up our worlds to new experiences, isn’t it? It looks like it was a fabulous year…I can’t wait to see what 2010 brings! Happy New Year to you and yours, Joanne!
P.S. I passed an award on to you, you can check it out here: http://logmyloss.com/?p=2544.
I think this pie has my name on it! Maple and mousse in a single recipe?! Oh yeah, I’m there. Everyone move out of my way.
Happy bloggie anniversary; I had thought you’d been here like for-evah. It’s so well written and photographed, and the food, ooooh, the wonderful food!
Wishing you the best of 2010.
Congrats on the blogiversary! I am a SERIOUS maple fan so this is the perfect dessert for me. It looks exactly like heaven on a plate 😀 I loved reading through your favorites and was happy to see that pasta had it’s own category! Great post!
have a great 2010: many compliments from Italy. I just love to read your culinary blog. I really wish you the best of the best!
j’O
Happy New Year Joanne,
I haven’t been reading this blog for a year but I have been delighting in it since I started.
I like this little quote of what you said:
I want to taste the world. To eat everything.
there is something special about people who look at the world through food in my opinion, if only they are similar to me and it delights me.
here’s to a year of lots more good food.
Monica
Happy New Year! And Happy Birthday blog! Your blog is definitely a favorite of mine and I look forward to reading it for another year.
You have entertained and tutored all of us, this year. You have shared your life in a way that we are all family too. Just call me Auntie.
Then you make this dessert and we love you all the more. This is fabulous and I have to make it.
Happy New Year.
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU TOO!
hahahaha i think i’ll just get insanely hungry. weirdly appetite still hasn’t returned. OH WELL.
an excellent job all around, that you should be very proud of.
Amazing what we can learn
Happy new year and happy blogaversary
Congratulations on your blogiversary.
I’ve just bookmarked the Cilantro-Jalapeno Hummus. Must try it sometime.
Happy New Year!
I did get a little teary-eyed reading this 🙂 What a great recap of your first blog year, Joanne!
Happy Blogaversary and Happy New Year to you!
Happy Bloggin anniversary!!! Your mousse pie looks amazing! wow! I will definitely have to give that a try. I love your recipe recap too. I hope you are having a fabulous New Years!!
Its been great to know you in 2009 and wishing you and your family a very happy and prosperous new year !!!
Congratulations on your blog anniversary !!! Treat looks delicious..
Happy Birthday to your blog and Happy New Year to you, Joanne!
(Great looking mousse pie too!)
Looking forward to another great year of exchanging recipes!
happy birthday to your lovely blog Joanne your awesome a lovely person and a great cook so blessed to know you
Love Rebecca
What a great year-in-review, Joanne! Even though we’ve never met, I’ve enjoyed getting to know you and watching you progress throughout the year. I can only imagine what shenanigans you have in store for 2010, but I’ll be sitting here cheering you on.
Happy New Year!
happy new year, and 1 year anniversary 🙂
love all the highlights.
Happy Birthday, little blog! Glad to have recently found your blog. I need to enter a 12-Step for Pasta, too 🙂
“adventures with yeast”
So thaaaats what the smell was in Mrs. Beirig’s class.
Happy blog anniversary! Isn’t it wonderful to have a platform to track your progress! You’ve accomplished so much in a year!
Happy One Year Anniversary! I am so happy that you decided to start this blog because if not, I would have never met you.
I think you a beautiful, smart, creative, and funny Woman and I am so glad that we bacame bloggie friends!
Congrats on the one year! I am so happy you started the blog because you give me so much inspiration in my own cooking!
Whew…what a year!! I have really, really enjoyed you and your blog and can’t wait to see what ’10 holds!! Happy blogoversary and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!
Congrats on your blogiversary! I have really enjoyed your blog this past year, and I can’t wait to see what 2010 brings!
I am so glad that I found your blog. Congrats on you blogiversary! I truly love all the recipe you create and try. I cannot wait to meet you 🙂
Congrats on a fabulous year of blogging.My best wishes for 2010 😀
Congrats, Joanne! I love your blog SO much and your words never fail to delight and inspire me – not to mention make me laugh out loud. 🙂 I’m so glad you decided to blog on that fateful day, and may you continue to share your bliss with us for many years to come. 🙂 Happy New Year! 🙂
Happy Blogiversary – that is one tasty pieand the perfect way to celebrate!! I always enjoy your posts and can’t wait to see what 2010 brings! Happy New Year!
Happy Blogoversary and Happy New Year to you. I have so enjoyed getting to know you and reading your blog. You have had a fabulous year and I look forward to reading and seeing what you do in 2010! 😉
Happy Blog Anniversary! Your posts always make me laugh :).
That is a great mousse you have here. By the way, I will try your pizza dough recipe tonight and probably make it three times (who knows with me what can happen when I use dough 🙂 ). I definitively need to get rid of me fears or dough and yeast.
Happy New Year, and Happy Bloggiversary!
Happy anniversary!
A great year for you.
And what a great pie! Any left for me? 🙂
Joanne, I can relate what you saying, Big Time! I started about a year ago also. Just meeting people around the world, plus lots more! I love it!!
I am looking forward to seeing more of your great recipes! Keep Running!! Thank You and happy to have found you:)
I hope the new year is just as wonderful and eventful.
Can’t wait to try some of these recipes!
happy new year.
Joanne, I loved reading through all of your favorites through out the last year. I’m coming back to use some for this new 2010 year. I’m completely surprised that you, a New Yorker hasn’t been to SaraBeth’s! Sneak over there sometime- you’ll love it. Congratulations on your 1st year!
This post is so amazing. I can’t want to read through it all! DE-LISH! Happy New Year!
Congrats..and happy blog anniversary.Lovely round up of the year..The mousse looks wonderful and have a great year ahead !!!
Hello! I’m giving you the Kreativ Blogger Award, hop over to my blog and see who else has been nominated!
And Happy New Year also to you 🙂
I love your collection of favourite recipes and the pie is just perfect!
not sure if this posted –
that maple mousse pie looks out of this world good 😀
I will have to look through all your pasta dishes because pasta is one of my favorite foods 😀
Great post! I’ve enjoyed following your blog over the past year and I’m looking forward to more great posts in 2010!
Oh Joanne,i read evry single sweet message for u here and couldn agree more-i have an eagerness in me to hop by immidiatly when u have a new post as much as wen u leave me a sweet little note,my heart loves u for that and all the delightfull things u write here…
i think i should be writing all this with ur award rite….
have u seen this months chalenge at have the cake?im pretty excited about this one though i have never had or seen or even knew this jewish cookie,her recipe looks great with a pie crust but here we have to make our own but whtever recipes i wen thru had a cookie kinda dough ,not flaky pie crust dough and they are a little different-be of great help if u tell me ur take on it-i need all the hints i can collect.
cya around sooooooooooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn
WTP huggy for ya…
Love you too Jo! You make me so proud! Hope you had a fantastic New Years and a nice break. I will call you soon (once the insanity of moving has somewhat waned)!
yay, i’m so glad you got the book and you’re going to blog with me!
I am raising my virtual glass to you -Cheers! I have really enjoyed your blog. Your blog has made smile and laugh. I am looking forward to your posts in the new year. I am always amazed how we arrive at the things we do. Like you, I would have never thought that I would be blogging. I barely related to the term. Now, a whole new world has opened up and I am loving it!
Stay warm. You live in a wonderful place to be a blogger 🙂
I just love your blog Joanne! Congrats on a great accomplishment! I thoroughly enjoyed the round up of all your goodies. The food blog world is lucky to have you.
That pie sounds and looks outrageously delicious!
Happy New Year, glad I got to meet ya and join in on your adventures! you ROCK!!
thank you so much for your comment! i can’t wait to cheer you on in boston 🙂 and i’m very excited to see everything 2010 has in store over here 😉 loved the convo with your brother. i have had similar issues with the two starches thing! lol
Happy Blogiversary Joanne! You have done a fantastic job here and I can’t even begin to tell you how much I have enjoyed getting to know you recently. I also looks so forward to your posts and I can’t wait to see what you’ll bring us in 2010!
I better run for now I’m suddenly having unbelievable cravings for breads, pasta, squash and dessert! 😉
Happy New Year!
Congrats on your anniversary! I think I’ve followed you for most of the way!
I’m so glad you decided to start your blog one year ago! Your recipes always looks so fresh and delicious. Here’s to another great year!!
Your pie looks most excellent. Love the maple! 😛
Congrats on your 1st blog anniversary!! Hip Hip Hoeray!!!
I was lucky to find your great blog & I toast with a glass of Champagne to another year of your fine recipes!
Enjoy!! This dessert looks marvellous & ooh so feasty too, Joanne!