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A highlight on the favorite recipes of 2016! The best of the best!
Hope all of you had a lovely holiday celebration. Scott and I spent a delightful few days with the kids and grandkids. We laughed a lot, talked a lot, took long walks, played games and of course, ate lots of delicious food. We also were invited to and hosted several dinner parties with dear friends and enjoyed every minute of celebrating the season.
I love to take a few minutes each year, before the calendar flips to January, to reflect on highlights from the past 12 months on the blog. It was fun looking over all of the recipes of 2016 and seeing which ones made it into the top 10. If you're a Café follower, you probably recognize many of them.
Haven't had a chance to try them? Now's the time, as they're the creme de la creme, cream of the crop, pick of the lot! If you're all cooked out after all the festivities, no problem. Just pin these delicious recipes to your favorite boards for hungry days ahead!
Want to start mornings on a healthy note? This Double Almond Paleo Granola is beyond delicious and perfect with fresh fruit, yogurt or on it's own with a splash of milk. It's loaded with great, nutritious ingredients and boasts lots of protein to keep you satisfied for hours!
I made thee Rosemary Pecan Goat Cheese Truffles for a shower last spring and they flew off the plate! Since I shared them, I've got a bunch of emails and responses on social media reiterating how delicious they are. I love that you can make them ahead and that the always wow the socks off of everyone!
If this Roasted Tomato and Fresh Mozzarella Pasta Salad could talk it would be shouting "summer"! But with beautifully-hued grape tomatoes readily available all year round, this delicious pasta salad can be at hit any in any season!
Have I gotten the letters and emails about these Ridiculously Easy Buttermilk Biscuits! I've had lots of people say they're the most delicious biscuits they've ever made. The best compliments came from a few southern readers (they're the "expert" biscuit makers) who claimed these to be better than their mama's and maw maws (that's southern for grandmother)! They're  incredibly easy (as in, less than 5 minutes, ridiculously easy) too and yield tall flaky, crazy delicious biscuits!
Microwave (Real Deal) Caramel Sauce - decadently delicious, an old-fashioned caramel sauce made with an easy, new-fangled method! Makes a super easy dessert that everyone loves with some good vanilla ice cream.
Apple Cranberry Spinach Salad - an insanely delicious, super healthy salad -Â men, women, children - everyone loves this pretty salad!
With a layer of sweet raspberry jam nestled between the crisp, melt in your mouth shortbread crust and buttery crumble topping, this Raspberry Jam Shortbread Tart might be one of the most delicious desserts you'll ever have the pleasure of meeting! My husband says it's his favorite dessert EVER!
Easy, One Bowl Gingerbread Cake - with just one bowl and no mixer, this might just be the easiest, moistest, most delicious cake you've ever made!
Slow Roasted Italian Pork -This was definitely a favorite here at The Café! It's crazy delicious, make-ahead, super tender, succulent pork in a thick, rich Italian tomato sauce. Who doesn't love Italian?
So that's a wrap for the favorite recipes of 2016. At least thus far. We do have a few new recipes coming out before the year ends so keep an eye on your inbox. After all, there's still some celebrating to do, right?
P.S. It was super hard to narrow down this list to the top 10. In fact, if you're astute, you will have noticed I didn't! I only shared 9 because you may have one or two others that should have made the cut. So please feel free to share and make my list a complete top 10. Just leave a comment with your favorite(s) below!
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I am in love with the goat cheese truffles and have made them several times -- most recently for a family dinner during the holidays. They are delicious and beautiful and never fail to be a big hit! I'm so glad we met and I learned about your wonderful recipes. Happy New Year to you and Scott.
Oh, so nice to hear from you Abbey! We love those goat cheese truffles too! Let's be sure to make a plan to meet again in 2017. Happy New Year!
You can see why they are the best of the best…tasty as well as pretty. Happy New Year.
I seem to have a problem with my chrome book crashing almost every time I visit your site. I don't know what it is because I visit quite a few food bogs and never have a problem. Could it have something to do with the ads? It's frustrating since I enjoy your site and the recipes.
Hi Cheri, thanks so much for letting us know about this. We are having some problems with the new site that we're working on. It helps to know what problems people are having. Don't give up on us, we are working on it! 🙂
Lemon Yogurt Came and French Almond Cake .... Both are superb!
Thanks Joan, those are two of our favorites too!
Want to wish you and the family a great 2017!! make many of your recipes..love them all. As I photocopy them to try ....Geoff ( honourable husband ) always asks when is she putting out a cookbook!!~ Barb
Aww... that's so sweet Barb, thanks so much!
So many tasty treats came out of your kitchen this year, Chris!!! It's a pleasure to see the best of the best. Happy New Year, my friend!!! xo
I really enjoyed the turkey corn chowder recipe for Thanksgiving leftovers. That was a huge hit with everyone, including my toddlers!
Thanks Jill, we loved that one too. It's definitely a big deal when the little ones will eat it. We know all about that!
Looks like it has been a very productive year for the Café, I always enjoy reading your posts and seeing what great goodies you have come up with. Always something delicious and elegant. Love the new look of your blog, wishing you the best in 2017. Best, Cheri
It's been such a pleasure visiting 'the cafe' this past year, Chris, and I'm looking forward to what you cook up in '17! That raspberry tart was one of my personal faves from this year 🙂
Since I read you for the first time, my life changed for better. Because your recipes and pictures are so beautiful, it´s a pleasure to read them and it means some pleasant minutes in my life. They are very well written so they became easy to make with pretty good results ( sometimes not so pretty as the picture but always delicious!). You use ingredients easily found in Brasil and not very expensives ones. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and charm with us. Can I sugest another list named ¨Sauces¨ ? Happy new year!
Thank you Yeda (such a pretty name!). I really appreciate your kind words and I love that you can find the ingredients for our recipes, without difficulty) in Brazil. We've tried to limit our categories so we wouldn't have such a long, long list but sauces is a good idea. Let me think about that one 🙂
I have to 2nd the comment on the Artisan Rolls. I've made them several times. My husband suggested making 1/2 the recipe and using the dough for pizza. It was WONDERFUL. I followed another recipe I had for pizza crust and started "baking" the crust in a cast iron skillet on the stove top for 3-5 minutes and then placed the crust (without any toppings) in the oven at 500 degrees for approx. 7 minutes. I then removed the pan and added our toppings and continued baking for about another 6-9 minutes. Since I began making my own pizza this summer, we've not purchased any from the pizza shops!
What a great idea. Thanks for sharing your technique with us!
I should have also mentioned that I precook my onions, mushrooms and peppers in the microwave before adding to the pizza and I also add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the cast iron skillet.
Chicken, Zucchini, and Fresh Corn Burgers, Meatballs and Marinara Sauce, Mediterranean Roasted Vegetable and Pearl Pasta Salad. These are three of our favourite recipes ever. Thank you!
Thanks Donna, those are some all time favorites of ours too!
Wish there was a yum button to yum your recipes.
Your wish is my command! 🙂
Thanks Chris. Love your recipes and blog ????
What a wonderful collection of fabulous recipes! Sounds like you had a wonderful holiday 🙂 Happy New Year!
Beautiful compendium Chris and Scott..not only do I appreciate all your reipes and the work and research involved..but the wonderful photography also.
Thanks so much Monique!
A wonderful roundup of such a great variety of dishes! They all look amazing but that granola is speaking to me this morning 🙂 Happy New Year Chris!
Thanks Tricia! That granola is scrumptious!
I love your artisan rolls. They are so easy to make and produces a very nice crumb. Thanks for all your hard work on your wonderful blog!
Thanks so much Tracey. We love those artisan rolls too!
All of them are winners, and gorgeous! You chose well.
Thanks Ginny!