



So here is my “best of 2008.” Looking back it was clear to me which were the best because we made them over and over again, either for ourselves or to give to other people. I definitely started cooking and baking less in the fall when I started grad school, but I’m hoping that I will find more time to try new recipes in future semesters. Thanks to all the food bloggers who kept me inspired this year, I have bookmarked so many recipes that I want to try out in the new year!
January:
pecan crusted salmon with honey mustard glaze
deep dish lasagna
mushroom rigatoni bake
roasted asparagus with balsamic brown butter
February:
roasted red pepper and goat cheese sandwiches
mustardy pot roast and vegetables
March:
chicken orzo salad with goat cheese
beer cheese dip
April:
spinach feta pasta with pine nuts
dorie’s lemon poppy seed muffins
May:
snickerdoodles
dorie’s florida pie
June:
dorie’s french chocolate brownies (with raspberries!)
July:
baked trout (my family made me a believer!)
homemade salsa
August:
cheese ravioli with toasted walnuts
September:
red pepper pesto sauce
October:
wok-fried chicken with noodles
November: umm I am ashamed to say that I only made and posted one new recipe this month, in my defense that’s when most of my papers and projects were due! The one I made was really good though!
December:
teriyaki salmon
sugared pecans



I can’t go to any kind of craft/art fair without buying these, but it never occured to me that I could make them myself until my mother in law made them last Christmas. With our Costco membership I got a great deal on 2 lb bags of really nice large pecans and I decided to whip these up as gifts for some friends and co-workers. Christmas cookies are great but take so much time, each batch of these sugared pecans took me around 30 minutes to make start to finish, and I’m all about saving time right now! Just be careful not to burn these like I did with the first batch (had the oven temp too high). And make sure you bag these up and give them away ASAP or you may eat them all yourself, they are sooooo yummy and they’ll make your house smell delicious!