My Twelve Most Popular Recipes of 2017

I like to look back over the year to see which recipes called you into the kitchen. I never know what I'll find, and there are always surprises. As you can imagine, the results are always a little skewed by the length of time they've been around. A post from last January has had more time to get around then something I might have posted last week.

Breads were the overall favorite with Easy Buttermilk Cornbread and Sweet Potato Bread with Honey taking the first two slots, and Soda Bread with Raisins and Orange Zest placing the top dozen.

Familiar comfort food with a twist also ruled with Butternut Squash Soup with Apple Cider and Crème Fraîche, Light Asparagus - Gruyere Quiche with a Hash Browns Crust, Vegan Barley Soup with Potatoes, Herby Peas and Crispy Green Rice, Mint and Lime, Idaho® Potato Nacho Stacks, and 15-Minute Chile con Queso Dip in the winners circle.

The surprises were a warm salad that's a personal favorite of mine, Cauliflower with Crispy Chickpeas, Sun-Dried Tomatoes, Olives, and a Miso Dressing; an easy Finnish baked pancake topped with smoked salmon - Pannukakku; and one of the posts from a short series that garnered me a lot of emails, both positive and negative - Dinner Menu Plans for Vegetarians and Carnivores Eating Together. I ultimately left the series because so many readers were unhappy I was including meals featuring either meat or fish - even though I was adding how to make each dish vegetarian.

Going forward into 2018, I plan to go back to a weekly menu for you all, but it will feature solely vegetarian dinners garnered from this blog as well as others I cook from and like. I'll add some notes on how to make it less vegetarian for others at the table. This will launch in January. I'm living in the mountains now full-time, and will be doing a mountain baking series along with how to bake it at various altitudes and sea-level.

So here they are, the favorites from 2017. At the bottom of the post I include the top favorites over the past 6+ years I've been writing this blog.

1. Easy Buttermilk Cornbread

Perfect anytime of year, buttermilk makes this easy cornbread tender and moist.

2. Sweet Potato Bread with Honey

Sweet potatoes add silkiness to everything from soups to this bread. This bread has just a hint of additional sweetness from honey.

3. Butternut Squash Soup with Apple Cider and Crème Fraîche

My all-time-favorite butternut squash soup, and one of the easiest. It's also great for soup shooters at your next party.

4. Cauliflower and Crispy Chickpeas with Sun-Dried Tomatoes, Olives, with Miso Dressing

This combination of some of my favorite foods came together as a warm salad one night, and I spent the next month perfecting the balance of flavors. The miso dressing pulls it all together.

5. Light Asparagus - Gruyere Quiche with Hash Browns Crust

This lightened version of the classic asparagus quiche filling is made a little decadent with a kid-friendly hash browns crust.

6. Savory Finnish Baked Pancakes (Pannukakku) with Smoked Salmon

The perfect brunch dish or breakfast for dinner, it's super easy and incorporates a little sour cream and chopped fresh dill.

7. Vegan Barley Soup with Potatoes, Mint, and Lime

This classic features a little lime to sharpen all the flavors and make the barley and potatoes sing.

8. 15-Minute Chile Con Queso Dip

Keep this one in mind for Superbowl Sunday!

9. Soda Bread with Raisins and Orange Zest

My first attempts at soda bread yielded bland loaves that needed some pizzazz. Enter raisins and orange zest. Problem solved.

10. Idaho Potato Nacho Stacks

Stacks of roasted potato slices, pickled jalapeño slices, a crumble of black beans and avocado, and topped with sour cream or crème fraîche make a great game-day appetizer.

11. Herby Peas and Crispy Green Rice (Salad Days Cookbook Review)

A pile of parsley, mint, dill, and cilantro are tossed with basmati rice, raisins, scallions, snap peas, and lime for a fresh tasting rice salad bursting with flavor.

12. Week 3: Dinner Menu Plan for Vegetarians and Carnivores Eating Together 

This was part of a series of dinner menu ideas that will be replaced in the coming year with vegetarian and vegan entrees.

Thank you all for continuing to visit my blog this year. I look forward to us meeting here many times in the coming year. Happy Holidays to you and your family.