Best Recipes of 2012

This pork-hominy dish from Jerry McDonald of Overland Park, Kansas, draws its smoky, roasted flavor from two of its four kinds of chile peppers. Our heat rating: !! (Touch o' Heat).

Go Whole Hog Chili

Arrabbiata (the Italian word for angry) is a Roman sauce of garlic, tomatoes and red chili cooked in olive oil. This recipe, inspired by RAGBRAI vendor Pastafari, offers several variations. Serve cooked penne with either a spicy red sauce or with a classic green pesto sauce. Optional toppings include rosemary-crusted grilled salmon or grilled summer squash.

Penne with Arrabiata Sauce

The Inn at Irish Hollow in Galena, Illinois, serves this creamy, curried soup throughout the fall and winter. You can make your own crème fraîche for the garnish, or use purchased crème fraiche or sour cream.

Spiced Pumpkin Bisque

The trick to the filling in this Iowa State Fair prizewinning recipe? Stirring and stirring while it cooks. The recipe comes from Louise Piper of Garner.

True Butterscotch Pie

Buttery-sweet individual tarts get topped with dried tart red cherries, figs or dates at Salty Tart bakery in Minneapolis.

Brown Butter Tarts with Sour Cherries

This crowd-pleasing party recipe comes from the Midwest Living® Culinary and Craft School at Silver Dollar City in Branson, Missouri. They are sweet, salty and highly addictive! Plus, you can assemble the sandwiches a day early for easy party prep.

Ham Sliders

Asparagus fritters are a spring customer favorite at Bread and Cup in Lincoln, Nebraska. "I refer to the humble fritter as a blank canvas on which we paint the colors of the season," says chef-owner Kevin Shinn. "With the basic batter recipe, you can simply change the vegetable. We start out with asparagus and move to sweet peas, to green onions, to sweet corn and so on.

"They are very simple to make at home. In the restaurant, we serve them with a bit of local honey or our lemon garlic aioli."

Asparagus Fritters

These spicy waffles will fill your house with the nostalgic perfume of Christmas cookies and holiday baking. The recipe comes from the Southmoreland on the Plaza in Kansas City, Missouri, where the innkeepers serve the waffles with a salty meat like breakfast sausage or ham.

Gingerbread Waffles with Hot Lemon Curd Sauce

Crunchy on the outside, chewy on the inside: This spice cookie has it all. It's a state fair prizewinning recipe from Catherine Blackwood of Columbus, Ohio.

Molasses Cookies

This dazzler from Big Cedar Lodge in Ridgedale, Missouri, tastes as good as it looks. The dark chocolate cookie crust and ruby red berries add dramatic flair to the orange-flavor filling. Because the cake keeps well for two days, this is a great make-ahead dessert.

Cranberry-Orange Cheesecake

Mildly nutty meringue cradles fresh berries in this classic dessert named for a ballerina. Use your favorite nut to flavor the meringue. Our Test Kitchen recommends pistachios, almonds or pecans. Any fruit works: blueberries, kiwi, bananas.

Pistachio Pavlova with Fresh Berries