As 2012 comes to a close, I had to look back at the past year of sharing food and life with my friends and family.  During 2012 we discovered many new great recipes, failed at others, but learned a lot; Josh and I traveled to France, and Italy, I quit my job to work on our food biz full-time, theSLCfoodie website launched, we fell more in love with Henry our pup, we had a blast hosting countless SLCmixers and introducing local food to the Salt Lake community (which if you haven’t been to an SLCmixer, this year you must, here’s our spring line up), we learned you can go a whole month without eating processed foods, and we hosted my whole family for the holidays!!
Now I’m looking forward to 2013… a new chapter of our life as we become parents, slowing down a bit, finding some quick and satisfying meals to throw together while trying to be a new mom, and maybe even trying my hand at some homemade baby food. We’ll see.  For now, I’ll leave you with our favorites from this past year.

Homemade Peanut Butter Cups – Josh’s favorite creation from this year! (pictured above)

Breakfasts:

Gingerbread Waffles – my favorite breakfast creation of 2012 (plus the recipe is gluten free)

Homemade Vanilla Bean Yogurt – we tried lots of ‘from-scratch’ recipes this year which was really satisfying, this being my very favorite

Baked Nutmeg Donuts with Berry Icing – I’ve been experimenting a lot with using kefir, this is one recipe we all loved and even the local news picked it up!

Main Dishes:

Moroccan Tagine with Dried Apricots and Chickpeas – a taste reminiscent of a trip I took to Spain many years ago

Roasted Vegetable Enchiladas – a hearty mid-winter favorite

Sea Scallops with Fresh Cherries – my top dinner recipe from the year

Lamb Gyros with Homemade Pita Bread – a favorite of ours during October Unprocessed

Desserts and Treats:

Meyer Lemon Pudding Cake – she’s not a looker but this cake is one of my favorite bites of the year hands down!

Dairy and Gluten Free Chocolate Ice Cream Torte – having friends with dietary restrictions makes for a great dessert challenge!

Homemade Cannoli – my friend Haley and I experimented a lot in the kitchen with much success but this recipe was my top choice

Raw Cookie Dough Bites – my new favorite guilt-free treat

Homemade Eggnog Recipe using Kefir – a healthy yet very satisfying take on holiday eggnog

Cocktails and Liquor:

Homemade Limoncello – making this was a several month long process but enjoyable due to the fact that I made it with a close friend

Whiskey Sours – Josh’s special creation for the best whiskey sour I’ve ever tasted

What were some of your best bites of the year?!!