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Happy New Year!
Yes, I’m back and ready to share some great food, stories and more…
In case your wondering where I have been, rest assured I was not abducted by the mother ship, nor have I been busy investigating crop circles out west.
Actually, since late October, I may or may not have been seen spending most of my time with this really cute baker ….
(but let’s just keep this our little secret – wouldn’t want my man getting all jealous and what not!)
In all honesty, I have been non stop busy with my second passion, BISCOTINA homemade cookies. Production of my homemade cookies starts late November and goes through early January. This year my little bags of chocolate chip biscotti were a huge hit and sent me into a little bit of an unexpected tail spin. Almost 3,000 cookies later – I’ve survived unscathed and very appreciative to all of my BISCOTINA supporters.
SIDE NOTE: I’m working on making the Biscotti available for sale in the coming year. And as many of you have requested, Yes, I will be shipping!!
This past year was a great year for me!
2013 was actually “the” year I decided to really put my love for cooking and sharing food out there with this website. I know there is still so very much I need to learn but with mistakes and all I did one thing most people usually don’t:
I took a chance and followed a dream!
The learning curve on writing a blog and maintaining a website is way bigger than I ever could have imagined. The biggest challenge I was faced with this past year was trying to quantify and deconstruct those old family recipes. Especially, since I learned to cook from old fashioned Italians who measured in eyeballs and handfuls.
I am looking forward to 2014 and will keep striving for better, best and beyond! Wishing you all health, happiness and a dreams come true kind of year!
Now are you ready for the Top 10 most popular recipes for 2013?
Some of them may surprise you … some definitely surprised me!
- Broccoli Slaw with Greek Yogurt – this one surprised me the most! Just goes to show you that eating good healthy food never goes out of style.
- Crockpot Baked Potatoes – this one I just knew would be a hit. Perfect recipe for long days at work or summertime when you just don’t want to heat the oven.
- Ricotta Zeppole – The quintecential Italian fried dough treat – I mean how can you go wrong with ricotta and fried dough?!
- Honey Glazed Pork Chops – Surprisingly, this has been the most pinned recipe to date. I guess we are all just looking for one more yummy pork chop recipe.
- Tiramisu Cookie Bites – I think this one is popular because its a fun twist on the traditional tiramisu. Using all the ingredients from my tiramisu recipe I created this bite sized version of this favorite Italian desert.
- Chocolate Chip Cookie Cups – Chocolate Chip Cookie Cups … need I say more? Fill them however you like – I used chocolate mousse in this post. They really are so cute and easy!
- Nutella Krispy Crunch – Anything with Nutella is a winner! Nutella twist on the classic peanut butter crunch.
- Lemon Ricotta Cake – my very own creation for a quick cheat on an Italian Cheesecake called Pizza Dolce. Don’t tell on me though … they’ll never know!
- Mini Apple Cider Doughnuts – these were so cute! How could they not have been loved? And made with cake batter in a muffin pan – say what?!
10. Tied — Not my Mama’s Rice Balls – a healthier version of my Mother’s famous Arancini (rice balls). They are baked not fried in a mini muffin pan.
Eggplant Parmatini – It’s my version of a bite size eggplant parmesan ball. My personal favorite!
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Pillsbury Doughboy Photo Courtesy of Wikipedia