My Top Five Favorites of 2011

Let me start out by saying 2011 was an incredible year for me.

My blog traffic has more than tripled. The photo of my S'more Chocolate Chip Cookies was selected to be featured in Feast Your Eyes on by NBC's Today.com. BonAppetit.com featured my goat meat adaptation of their Lamb Tagine with Chickpeas and Apricots recipe in their What People Are Cooking column. My recipe for Linguine with Chorizo, Clams, Shrimp and Calamari was featured as Winner of Editor's Pick on Food52.com. And, as I mentioned in yesterday's post, those simple little Caprese Skewers were featured all over the web.

I would have never thought when I started to blog about food the summer of 2007, I would have touched so many hungry eyes and stomachs.

I was touched, too, by so many of my fellow bloggers. Two of my top five come from the blogs I read religiously.

I love to try new recipes and new foods from different cultures, in addition to creating new copycat recipes from foods I've tasted at restaurants. With that in mind, my top five favorites of 2011 are as follows:

Number 5: Spaetzle

Believe it or not, I had never made spaetzle until this year. I saw Elly's recipe back in September, quickly saved it to my recipe file and ordered this spaetzle maker. I haven't looked back. It is the perfect accompaniment to stews or soups and it's faster to make than boiling noodles.

Number 4: Chicken Scaloppini ala Macaroni Grill



I've been making this dish for several years, but just posted it last March. I have modified it significantly from the "original" recipe you can find online, cutting down on the fat just a little bit. It remains one of our favorite pasta dishes.

Number 3: Goat Tagine with Chickpeas and Apricots



This is the dish featured on BonAppetit.com and "Tagine" is the traditional Moroccan stoneware cooker used to prepare stews and other traditional dishes, but I made this dish in my electric roaster. We loved this Moroccan stew and I will make it again and again, with either lamb or goat.

Number 4: Pork Banh Mi Burgers with Vietnamese Slaw



When I can find daikon radish, I always buy quite a large one and make the Vietnamese slaw, even if we're not having the Banh Mi Burgers. Tom is addicted to the slaw. He will eat it for lunch with his sandwich or as a snack. We've even had it as a side with Bang Bang Shrimp or even barbecued ribs. But those burgers topped with a nice big spoonful of the slaw and a side of sweet potato fries....irresistible.

Number 1: Bang Bang Shrimp



Yes. What was number 5 on my readers' list, was number one on ours. I made the dish for the first time last October and I'd guess I've made it no less than another half a dozen times since then, including over the Christmas holiday at our son's house.

The method of preparing the shrimp with milk, cornstarch and panko bread crumbs renders the crunchiest, perfectly cooked fried shrimp I've eaten anywhere.

So, what's in store for this year? Stick around for the adventure.

Pork Banh Mi Burgers with Vietnamese Slaw

I love to cook. But I suppose that's pretty obvious because I wouldn't be a food blogger if I didn't.

Unlike most couples, Tom and I don't eat out much. We'd rather cook at home and eat dinner, wearing our shorts and a t-shirt or sweats, in the comfort of our backyard patio when the weather permits.

But I have a hard time finding ingredients, particularly fresh ingredients like the daikon radish required for the Vietnamese Slaw for this dish. The first time I made this slaw, there wasn't a daikon radish to be found between Conway and Little Rock, not even at Fresh Market. {pouting face} Since a daikon radish is more mild than the common red radish, Tom stopped at the store and bought a jicama, which has a similar color and texture, though sweeter than a daikon. When Tom got home, I started the slaw preparation, but when I cut the jicama in half, it was brown all the way through. Tom headed back to Kroger, rotten jicama in hand.

I opted to make the slaw with red radishes and tediously grated about a dozen of those little suckers, which yielded just about a cup, so I cut the recipe in half. I also didn't use a fresh jalapeno. I used candied jalapenos, which I make myself (a recipe I will share next time).

The night before I had prepared chicken fried pork steaks for dinner, and as we almost always do, we had leftovers - two pork steaks. I hate seeing food go to waste, so I decided to make the Banh Mi sandwiches using the leftover fried pork steaks. I can't even describe how delicious they were. The slaw is crunchy because the carrots and radish are julienned instead of grated, and slightly sweet from the pickling step, with a little heat from the jalapenos and sriracha. What a wonderful combination.

A week or so later, when I decided to make the Pork Banh Mi Sandwich, I happened to be in Kroger and lo and behold, they had three large daikon radishes! Yippee! I grabbed one daikon and a bag of julienned carrots, paid for my groceries and headed for home to make the slaw.

This time I did not grate the radish. I wanted the daikon to be the same texture as the carrots. I have a mandoline (this one) my son gave me over six years ago. I swear I use it almost every single day. Anyway, the daikon is much larger and easier to use on my mandoline, which has a julienne blade. I cut up two cups in no time.

This...

Became this...


We've used the Vietnamese Slaw on the chicken fried pork burgers and as a side with Bang Bang Shrimp. But on top of those juicy, flavorful, herby, slightly spicy pork burgers....oh my! I served the burgers with oven baked sweet potato fries, which was the perfect compliment to the spiciness of the burger.


Pork Banh Mi Burgers with Vietnamese Slaw
Adapted from Chaos in the Kitchen

For the Burgers:

• 1 pound ground pork
• 1/4 cup fresh basil, minced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 green onions, minced
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce (if you don't have fish sauce, substitute soy sauce)
• 1 tablespoon sriracha
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 4 ciabatta rolls or other crusty rolls, sliced in half

In a medium sized bowl, combine the pork, basil, garlic, onion, fish sauce (or soy sauce), sriracha, sugar, cornstarch, salt and pepper until evenly combined. Divide the mixture into four equal parts and pat into four patties.

Heat a grill pan or large skillet over medium heat. Brush the pan with sesame oil. Cook burgers about 7 minutes minutes on one side until lightly browned, then turn the patties over and cook another 5 - 7 minutes or until the patties are cooked through. The internal temperature should be 145˚.

Remove the burgers from the pan and keep warm.

Place rolls in the same pan used to cook the patties, cut side down, over the heat until toasted.

Serve burgers on rolls topped generously with slaw. Top with additional fresh cilantro sprigs and sliced fresh jalapenos if desired.

For the Vietnamese Slaw:

• 2 cups carrots, julienned
• 2 cups daikon radish, julienned
• 1 jalapeno, chopped (I used candied jalapeno)
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup mayonnaise
• 2 green onions, white and green parts, sliced thin
• 1 tablespoon sriracha
• 1/2 cup packed fresh cilantro, minced

In a medium sized bowl, combine the carrots, daikon and jalapeno. Pour the vinegar into a measuring cup, add the sugar and stir until sugar is mostly dissolved. Pour the mixture over the carrot/daikon mixture. Stir well to combine. Set aside for about an hour, stirring occasionally so that all of the vegetable mixture is submerged in the vinegar mixture from some time.

After an hour, drain the liquid from the carrot mixture and discard the marinade.

Add the green onions and cilantro to the carrot mixture and mix to combine. In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise and sriracha and stir until combined. Add to carrot mixture and mix well. Taste and correct seasoning if necessary.

Chill until ready to serve.