Looking Back: 2010's Best Recipes

2010 is coming to an end tonight, and I must say: I am READY! Bring on 2011! But first, a look back at my 10 favorite recipes of the year. There are a few more worth checking out, but 10 in 2010 had a nice ring to it. ;)

Most of these recipes are actually quite simple, maybe 3 or 4 ingredients, tops. Others require a little more, but they're hardly complicated. And every one of them is worth trying and enjoying! You know me by now--great food can be easy and affordable!

Garlic-chive butter: ABF's signature compound butter. It will transform your breakfast, lunch, or dinner!

Holiday Eats: Salt & Pepper Sugar Cookies

TastingTable.com recently featured an intriguing recipe for sugar cookies--it added cracked black pepper to the rolling sugar!

Seeing as I'm adding more and more sweet/savory combos to my list of favorite foods, I thought I'd give this a whirl.

El Mariachi

After a long day of shopping for Christmas presents, ABF & I were looking for a spot for dinner. The streets were nearly deserted in Rockville Centre, and the few restaurants open were packed to the gills!

Tabla: One Week Left!!!

My friend Carlota and I stopped at Danny Meyer's Tabla restaurant this week. You have ONE WEEK to go here before it closes for good, and you should absolutely stop in for a fantastic meal.

Giveaway Winners!!!

Congratulations to Crazy Lady and Rosalinda--- you ladies have won the 2 Christmas cookie mixes for the very first (but not the last) Stuff I Ate giveaway! I hope your families enjoy making the cookies as much as they enjoy eating them!

Please send me your addresses ASAP via Facebook or my email and I'll ship them to you both!

Thanks to everyone for commenting--more giveaways to come in the New Year!!

Holiday Giveaway: Sugar Cookie Set!

It's time for Stuff I Ate's very first Giveaway! This is an all-in-one day of fun for kids--or kids at heart!

One of my favorite stores, Trader Joe's, has this awesome Christmas cookie set. It comes with the cookie mix, colored sugar sprinkles, icing, and three cookie cutters! All you need to add is some butter and a single egg.

This is the perfect idea for an afternoon of baking fun---and a good clean way to have fun with kids, family, friends, you name it! And there are two up for grabs, so it's a doubly delicious giveaway!

This is just one delicious way to thank all of you for your support, especially over this past year. This blog has been so much fun for me to write, and I truly love each and every bit of feedback I get, from comments on the blog to love on the Stuff I Ate Facebook page. I get such a kick when I hear from someone who tried a recipe and loved it, or from someone telling me they actually take a moment out of their busy day to stop by and visit. That's so awesome!

Now, how do you enter for a chance to win? Just leave a comment below telling me what your favorite Christmas (or winter) holiday activity is. Cookie-making? Sledding? Making snowmen? Drinking hot chocolate by the fire? Oh wait...those are all my favorites. Tell me yours!

You can get extra entries by following my blog and/or 'liking' my page on Facebook (click the badge up on the right or search for "Stuff I Ate" on Facebook). Once you do that, mention it in your commment! If you already are doing that, leave a comment to let me know that, too!

I'll pick the TWO winners by noon Eastern on Tuesday, December 21st and will then ship it to you ASAP...hopefully in time for Christmas, even!

Basta Pasta

One a chilly night a (super extremely long) while back, I met Jen and a friend of hers for dinner at Basta Pasta--where they serve Italian food with a Japanese flair. The original restaurant opened in 1985 in Tokyo, Japan, inspired by the wildly-popular "Iron Chef" competition.

I knew none of this backstory until after the meal, so it seemed a little unusual at first. Everyone spoke Japanese in the kitchen while they cooked pasta! Gotta love fusion.

Cheesesteaaaaaaaaks!!!

While going through my old photos I came upon the road trip I took with Jen a while ago. We piled into a rental car and headed out towards Philadelphia, where she'd put some stuff in storage for her temporary move to Venezuela. I suggested, since we were going to be in the area, that it might be the perfect time to stop by two legendary establishments in Philly: Pat's and Geno's cheesesteaks.

There's an App(etizer) for That!

I think I just found my next new favorite snack, and it's about as simple as can be. You just need 2 ingredients and 5 minutes!

Christmas Cookies: Mocha Toffee Truffles

I have hardly done any baking this season--Booo! Fortunately, my coworkers are picking up the slack. My friend Patty is sharing this recipe with us....enjoy!

I won! I won!

I recently won this duo of Mohawk Valley Trading Company's artisan honeys in a comment contest on Foodie Blogroll, and now I'm turning to crowd sourcing to generate ideas for what to do with them. The honeys, made in upstate New York, are made from blends of seasonal flowers. I'm definitely making a Samantha Sandwich with at least one of them, but what else would you guys suggest for honey? I need to get more creative in my honey use and need your help to expand my repertoire! What are your suggestions for recipes that will showcase this product's deliciousness?

And thanks again to both Foodie Blogroll and to Mohawk Valley Trading Company, who kindly supplied the sweet samples. I can't wait to try and review both flavors!

Bad Service at Bocca

Actually, to call it bad is almost complimenting it. ABF & I received such awful service last night at what used to be one of my favorite restaurants, Bocca on E. 19th street. Our server started out quite friendly and welcoming at first. However, after we gave them an OpenTable.com coupon (in which I paid $25 dollars and was to get $50 at the restaurant), we never saw our server again until he wordlessly, and without eye contact, handed me the bill.

I'm so livid the next day that I'm actually going into the city on a work-from-home day to tell the manager in person how disappointed I am.

Don't worry...I'll be polite and calm, but I will still make my disgust quite clear. If they offer to make it right, great. If not, well, I'll let you know THAT, too.

Another Foodie Friend!

My friend MK has launched her own food blog this week, and I'm so excited to have her join us! The photo to the right is of us from way back when--she was one of my first friends in NYC. Over the last few years she has developed allergies to shellfish and other seafood (no sushi for her boo!), but she's not giving up on having a delicious life! MK's blog will feature recipes for people with food allergies, but it's just as delicious for people who don't have allergies, too!

You may also remember her appearing a few times on this blog, including the time where she brought in homemade cupcakes and kugel last year. YUM!

Why don't you pop on over to her new blog, Epi-Curious (as in epi-pen! Do you like the name? I hope so--I came up with it--ha!!!), right now!

Molly's Tea Room

After (reluctantly) leaving Martha's Vineyard, ABF and I stopped in Falmouth, just minutes away from the ferry, and opted to walk around a bit before the long drive home to NYC. We walked along the main strip and saw Molly's Tea House, which I assumed at first was just a gift shop. It was fairly big inside and we decided to stay and grab a bite.

Ferry Good Food

On our way out of Vineyard Harbor, ABF & I decided to grab a light lunch/late breakfast. The food options on the ferry were pretty impressive. Not only can you get the usual coffee and chowdah but they even had pizza, desserts, salads, and adult beverages!