Best of 2016, Part 2

Every year we compile a list of what we felt were the best dishes of the year, both at home and in restaurants. These are completely subjective, of course - it's what tasted most delicious to our palates. This week we feature the best of home cooking. They are in order of posting, starting, of course, with January.

January

The Chamomile Honey Tea Gelato I concocted early in the year started me off with a decent amount (ok, a ton) of ice cream experimentation. There are some other flavors further down the list.

March

I went on a weird dairy- , wheat-, and sugar-free diet in March. Mr Minx made this corn pasta and meatballs dish to satisfy his own spaghetti and meatball craving, but it was easily the tastiest thing I ate while on the diet. Gluten free pasta can be surprisingly good!

May

I put this one together with a few aging sweet potatoes that were begging to be eaten. I turned them into a harissa-spiced mash and served it with lamb meatballs and a yogurt sauce. The sweet and tart flavors plus a dose of herbs made for a well-rounded dish.

June

When it gets warm outside, I like to make chilled soups. Avocado makes a super silky puree, and works really well with sauteed shrimp and blue corn polenta croutons.

August

The purple cauliflower tacos I made last summer had a ton of fresh ingredients in them: cauli patties; Mexican street corn; pickled carrots; and a harissa yogurt. I knew they'd be tasty, but I was surprised at just how very yummy they were--and nobody missed the meat. Definitely a recipe to re-make in the future.

I had a lot of fun experimenting with maple syrup last year. The syrup came from Runamok, a company I discovered at the Fancy Food Show in NY. Their flavored syrups are quite unique, particularly the ones infused with Makrut Lime Leaf and with cardamom. I used the latter to flavor the pistachios in this ice cream made with fresh summer apricots.

September

September brought me a new ice cream cookbook with a new technique that I was dying to try. I concocted a key lime pie ice cream that was rich and luscious and maybe even better than a slice of the pie itself.

October

I'm a bit of a carrot freak, and I gotta say that these charred carrots with white bean black garlic aioli were pretty super.

Yes! More ice cream! This time cardamom carrot made with homemade carrot halwa, an Indian sweet.

November

I like messing with cassoulet, making versions that have the required components--beans, sausage, poultry--but decidedly non-traditional flavor combinations. This one had a vague Caribbean vibe, thanks to the jerk seasoning used on the chicken and beans.

This pumpkin cheesecake was a bit of an accident. I wanted to create a recipe for Muuna cottage cheese, and I only had one small cup of the plain. Mini cheesecakes was the answer. They were fluffy and moist, not too cheesy, just the way I like my cheesecake to be.

There were other delish dishes here and there through the year--Mr Minx's meatloaf, the pork loin we at on Christmas day, some terrific sugar cookies--but those posts haven't been written yet. Maybe they'll end up on next year's list. Stay tuned!



Posted on Minxeats.com.

Best of 2016, Part 1

Every year we compile a list of what we felt were the best dishes of the year, both at home and in restaurants. These are completely subjective, of course - it's what tasted most delicious to our palates. First up: the best of restaurant dishes. They are in order of posting, starting, of course, with January.

January

This rockfish dish at Waterfront Kitchen came with a plethora of carrots, and I couldn't have been more pleased.

February

A dinner at the Food Market's Private Kitchen included these succulent lamb chops, which we were happy to eat with our fingers in order to get every morsel of meat from the bones.

March

I indulged in a rather extravagant multi-course Korean meal at Gaonnuri in NY early last year. My favorite course was the kalbi, or short ribs, easily the best I've ever eaten. The bibimbap was pretty delicious, too.

Mr Minx and I had a great meal at Seasons 52. We enjoyed every course, but I think the sea bass with black rice was my favorite. Honestly, it was hard to choose.

April

Another tasty sea bass dish was had at the Rusty Scupper during an introduction to their Spring menu. Mr Minx also had blue crab ravioli that hit the spot.

May

Lamb shoulder isn't the first thing one thinks about when one considers chiles rellenos, but Chef Mike Ransom's lamb-stuffed chile in an ancho bbq sauce was among the best dishes at a B & O American Brasserie dinner where everything was pretty wonderful.

June

We went to a media preview of Gnocco in the spring, and honestly, there wasn't a bad dish in the house. The agnolotti with goat cheese, chanterelles, and hazelnuts was probably my favorite, though.

July

I'd never think I'd include a kale dish in a "best of" post, but here it is. The kale chaat from Sneha Indian Cuisine is an odd hodgepodge of crispy fried kale and a sweet tamarind yogurt sauce, and it was both unusual (not a classic "chaat" dish at all) and delicious.

September

In September, Mr Minx wrote about the best pizza we had all year - the cape sante di pancetta at Cosima. Topped with smoked baby scallops, smoked mozzarella, basil, caramelized bacon, and tiny whole onions, the pizza was fabulously unusual and unusually fabulous. The whole meal was excellent, but we gotta go back for this pizza.

October

It's hard to pick our favorite dish at Points South Latin Kitchen. Everything was marvelous, including this slab of meltingly tender short rib braised in a sauce containing bittersweet chocolate. The pork belly chicharrones and the evening's duck special were also amazing. One of the top meals of 2016.

November

Is it weird to have a salad on the best of list? This one,.the Fall Harvest Salad at the newly remodeled Milton Inn had mixed greens, maple vinaigrette, roasted butternut squash, feta cheese, and pistachio nuts and totally hit all the right spots.

B&O American Brasserie has yet another new chef, this time it's Scott Hines, who had been their executive sous chef for a while prior to his promotion. We love Scott - he's a great chef and a good guy, and always willing to help us out with recipes. He contributed several to our latest book, Maryland's Chesapeake. He's come up with some delicious dishes for the B&O's dinner menu, among them is this house-made pappardelle with veal sugo and an unexpected orange and marjoram gremolata. Another dish we need to have more of before the season ends and it comes off the menu. His oxtail marmalade and lamb dishes are notable as well.

December

We were invited to Charles Levine's new restaurant at Quarry Lake, Citron, where we had a lovely meal. There were many high points, the highest of which may have been this lobster bisque. Redolent of shellfish broth and containing two butter-poached claws, it is last-meal-worthy.

That's it for 2016. Not a good year in many respects, but not bad at all when it comes to restaurant food. Still, we can hope that 2017 is even better!



Posted on Minxeats.com.