Sunday, December 27, 2009

THE FOOD OF LOVE'S TOP TEN OF 2009

Taking a page from a number of my favorite bloggers, I've decided to review the recipes I've shared from The Food of Love kitchen this year and to cull from them my personal 10 favorites. I must confess that this was a more difficult deliberation than choosing my dissertation topic. I thought about choosing one appetizer, one entree, one side dish, and so forth. That left me dissatisfied. After finally narrowing down my favorites, I felt the need to put them in order of preference (no one ever accused me of taking the easy way out). Try as I might, I just couldn't decide which of my favorites I liked the very best. So, after great deliberation,  here they are, in no particular order, my top ten favorite recipes from The Food of Love kitchen for 2009:

Distract the Neighbors Grilled Chicken


Ina Garten's Macaroni and Cheese








Sour Cream Coffee Cake


Swedish Pancakes


Ina Garten's Flag Cake


Rigatoni with Vegetable Bolognese



Slow Cooker Country Style Pork Ribs with Sauerkraut and Apple


If my list seems heavy on pasta, you'll be surpised when I tell you I had to be forced to eat "macaroni" when I was growing up. As good as mom's gravy was, I just wasn't a tomato sauce fan. You'll notice that is still true today, though I permit tomatoes to have a supporting role in my favorite sauces. While my photography isn't as good as it can be, just looking at the photos accompanying my favorites makes me hungry for a bite of each of them.

What were your top ten of 2009?

14 comments:

  1. Arlene... These are ten incredible recipes that would please any food lover. And when it comes to pasta; it is always a hit.

    Happy New Year and I look forward to seeing what is cooking at THE FOOD OF LOVE kitchen in 2010!

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  2. I was excited to see two Carmine's recipes on your list. I think some of the Carmine's recipes will make my top ten too! I can see why you had a hard time deciding which ones were your favorites. I keep thinking about the same things you mentioned. That lasagna looks so delicious and I really want to try Ina's macaroni and cheese, but the distract the neighbor's grilled chicken has me intrigued. I'm looking forward to more of your recipes in 2010!!

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  3. The Swedish Pancakes look yummy! Everything does, in fact! I enjoyed this post... fun to see what your favorites were from this last year!

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  4. Lovely round-up, everything looks delicious! It is hard to pick a favorite, isn't it? I'm off to check out your vegetable bolognese recipe! :)

    I hope you and yours had a fantastic holiday!

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  5. I love how you picked out your favorites for the year. They all look yummy.

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  6. They all look delicious. I would have a hard time picking my own favorites -- it's sort of like picking your favorite child.

    Best wishes for 2010 - and happy cooking!

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  7. Everything looks delicious!! I don't know if I'd be able to pick just 10!! Here's to another year of fabulous food :)

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  8. Ola Arlene,so muc @10 yummylisciousness on one post...oh am drooling....why did i take so long to find ur lovely blog.....
    And looking foward to hop by thru all ur recipes ...
    love the idea of best of 2009 though its sure a tough job u had here....
    cheers and happy new year...

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  9. Oh Arlene ,thanx a ton for ur vote....
    I loved ur blog and was glad to stop by and am following ur blog now so i wont miss a single post...
    and did i tell u its so exciting to see ur blog coz i had exactly this template before i tweaked it to the present one and even have 2 shots of it...
    aint it so cute?
    Brightly happy new year!!!!cya soon
    bejinhos e boa semana

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  10. Ola Arlene,thanx again coz u not only voted but also left in a comment @ sweetest kitchen that u did.
    Oh it aint a double vote but so sweet that u did leave a comment too...
    Your Jewish Kasha salad sounds fantastic too,though i do love jewish cuisine i never heard of this one(not that i know muc) but mus look out for kasha though so do doubt its avalibility in my part of the world which i call and is my home....

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  11. They are all magnificent recipes! I would have such a hard time choosing any one over the other.

    My mother was not a good cook and the only macaroni we ate as children was overcooked elbow macaroni with butter. I think I learned to cook very young for self survival. Marrying an Italian opened a whole new world of cuisine to me!

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  12. What a great idea to capture your favorites all into one post. I keep having friends ask me which recipes to start with on my blog. I think I need to do one of these too. :)

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  13. Looks like pasta rules. I can understand why. They recipes look great.

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  14. The Swedish pancakes look amazing! Yum!

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