Best of 2011: Dinners, Desserts & Side Dishes...

Hey everyone...hope you enjoyed my top travel list yesterday.  Today brings my favorite recipes countdown...although I JUST couldn't narrow down my main dishes to 10...so you get 20!  I also tacked on my top 5 favorite desserts & side dishes for good measure.  Get your shopping lists ready and try out some new dishes in the New YearJ

TOP 20 DISHES:

#20:  Pulled Chicken Chili



#19:  Sweet Potato Tamale with Peanut Butter & Roasted Garlic Shrimp

#18:  Very Veggie Pesto Pizza

#17:  Rice Ball Casserole

#16:  Spring Pappardelle

#15:  Crispy Gnocchi with Pesto & Goat Cheese

#14:  Red Pepper "Chicken Parm"

#13:  Stuffed Waffles (Pumpkin, Pina Colada & Blueberry)

#12:  Spinach Gnudi

#11:  Sliders

#10:  Tortellini with Roasted Butternut Squash & Pear Sauce

#9:  Smoked Cheese Pizza

#8:  Pad Thai Noodles

#7:  Pasta with Cheese & Black Pepper

#6:  Grilled Veggie & Polenta

#5:  Gnocchi with Squash & Kale

#4:  Enchilada Casserole

#3:  Grilled Onion & Fontina Grilled Cheese

#2:  Bucatini with Bacon Sauce

#1:  Caprese Salad Bake

TOP 5 DESSERTS:

#5:  Pumpkin Donut Muffins

#4:  Bacon Peanut Butter Pie

#3:  Roasted Garlic Ice Cream

#2:  White Chocolate & Coconut Stuffed Pretzels

#1:  Salted "Kick Ass" Carrot Cake

And finally:  TOP 5 SIDE DISHES:

#5:  Low Cal Flavored Rice

#4:  Sweet Potato Panko Fries

#3:  Crispy Roasted Garlic Potatoes

#2:  Smashed Potatoes

#1:  Guilt Free Spinach & Artichoke Dip

OK...so hope you enjoyed & tomorrow I'll be back to our 'regularly scheduled program.'  And as a tribute to both a "healthy start to New Years" AND the fact that the mercury dropped about 10 degrees in NJ lately, the theme of the next few days is going to be LOW CAL COMFORT FOOD.  It should be tasty...stay tuned!

Best of 2011: Travel Edition

Hey everyone!  Long time, no chat...again.  Sorry about that.  After surveying our 11 day break together this week, Scott & I quickly realized it would probably be our last 'stretch of days' with just the 2 of us for...awhileJ  So we spent them doing all the things we know we won't be doing in the near future:  leisurely days, long 'mini road trip' lunches, NAPSJ hahahhahhahahahhaa  We have one more day together, but I wanted to get this post up for you today before it was mid-January...hahahahhahahahahaJ  The lover of lists in me has 2 days worth of "Tops" for you (like last year) and up first is the one that helps me conjure up some of my favorite memories of the year: Top 10's: Traveling/Eating Out EditionJ

TOP 10 DISHES OF 2011:

#10- Cheesesteak Grilled Cheese: Pop Shop, Collingswood

#9-  Scott's first "In & Out" burgerJ:  In & Out, west coast locations
(you MUST get the Double Double with fried onions!)

#8- Spaghetti & Tuna Fish:  Buenos Aires, Sant' Agata, Italy

#7- Stuffed Peppers:  Lo Stuzzichino, Sant' Agata, Italy

#6- Sundried tomatoes & buffalo mozzarella: Inn Bufalito, Sorrento, Italy

#5-  "Jim Rome":  Ike's, San Francisco

#4-  Roasted Garlic Guacamole: El Vez, Philadelphia

#3-  Seafood Risotto:  Ristorante Delfino, Sorrento, Italy

#2-  Dungeness Crab Roll:  Fish, Saulsolito, California

#1 Dish of 2011:  Pasta e Patate con Provolone: Lo Stuzzichino, Sant' Agata, Italy

Here's the 'don't mess around' category! 

Top 10 Desserts

#10-  Nutella Calzone: Dar Poeta, Rome

#9- Coconut Cream Donut: Donut Plant, NYC

#8-  Ricotta Pear Cake: Ristorante Delfino, Sorrento, Italy

#7- Orange Ricotta Cheesecake: Der Pallaro, Rome

#6- Red Velvet Cupcake: Sweet Eats Bakery, Voorhees, NJ

#5-  Gelato...ANY of it in Italy!!!: particularly San Crispino, Rome

#4:  Chocolate cream & hazelnut milkshake: Max Brenner's, NYC & Philadelphia

#3- Nutella Gelato: Giolitti, Rome

#2- Morning Buns: Tartine Bakery, San Francisco

#1- Triple Coconut Cream Pie: Ritz Seafood, Voorhees, NJ

And I have two more categories I had to sneak in!

Top 5 "Best Atmosphere"
My favorite unique dining experiences while out & aboutJ

#5:  The lovely lounge deck: Treno, Westmont, NJ


#4:  Cookies in an alley??:  Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory, Chinatown, San Francisco


#3:  One of the most gorgeous bars I ever set foot in:  Cafe Lacatedral, Madrid, Spain


#2:  "Cart" Dim Sum: Yank Sing, San Francisco


#1:  "No menus, you'll have what we give you":  Der Pallaro, Rome


And here's just 3 things that needed their own category:

The best 'they just don't make it the same over here' of Italy:  The Olive Oil!


Best Coffee EVER:  Blue Bottle Coffee Company, San Francisco


And finally:
"I've been to Italy & back and can STILL say THIS IS THE BEST"
My beloved Delorenzo's Tomato Pies
(which is sadly closing on January 15th...sigh)

Hope you guys have a VERY Happy & Safe New Years!!! I'll be back tomorrow with my Top dinner & dessert recipes.  Hope you like lists as much as I do!J