Best Recipes of 2019

By Hannah Agran
November 22, 2019
We published dozens of recipes in 2019. Here are our food editor's top 20. Check out Cheesy Spinach and Beef Calzones, Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad, Pumpkin-Spice Icebox Cake and more.
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Cheesy Spinach and Beef Calzones

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Finely chopped mushrooms replace some of the meat in these super family-friendly calzones (made with purchased pizza dough). Kids will never notice the 'shrooms are there.

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Smoky Roasted Tomato Bisque

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Even so-so winter tomatoes work beautifully in this easy recipe from La Soupe cafe in Cincinnati: Roasting brings out their sweetness.

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Malted Strawberry Cream Puffs

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The malted whipped cream in these fruity cream puffs is a revelation—make it alone to top pies, sundaes or hot cocoa, and be sure to lick the beaters!

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4 of 20

Sweet and Smoky Skillet-Blistered Green Beans

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This genius 5-ingredient weeknight side uses jalapeno jelly as an "instant" glaze and gets major flavor and crunch from smoked almonds.

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Carrot Tart with Goat Cheese, Lemon and Mint

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Since no one wants the soggy middle piece of a square tart, we cut a sheet of puff pastry in half to make two small ones: crisp edges for everyone! Eat as a meal with a salad or slice into petite wedges for a grab-and-go party app.

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Salmon Grain Bowl with Carrot-Miso Dressing

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Sit down on a Wednesday to a bowl of hearty whole-grain farro, seared salmon, and fresh spinach, cucumber and radish. The carrot-flecked dressing riffs off one that's a standby at Japanese restaurants.

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Candied Lemon Pound Cake

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This moist, buttery pound cake has a triple threat of lemon: Chopped candied peel speckles the interior, and thin strips dance along the top, over a sheen of puckery lemon icing. The recipe comes from Nathaniel Reid Bakery in St. Louis.

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Tomato-Butter Pan Sauce with Mint

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This luscious (and easy!) sauce is good enough to eat with a spoon. If you're feeling more civilized than that, try it over pasta or seared or grilled chicken or whitefish, or as an appetizer dipping sauce with bread.

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Paloma

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Mixology doesn't get any easier than this! Whip out this easy version of a classic Mexican cocktail for Cinco de Mayo, or just your average Taco Tuesday. The recipe comes from Kansas City's Mean Mule Distilling Co.

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Buttermilk Biscuits and Mushroom Gravy

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The recipe for these flaky biscuits, a staple at Minnesota's Chef Camp, comes from Honey & Rye Bakehouse in Minneapolis. Try them with Mushroom Gravy.

11 of 20

Mexican Street Corn Macaroni Salad

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In Mexico, grilled corn comes coated in mayonnaise, lime, cheese and cilantro. We just added pasta, plus lots of green onion for bite. It's a macaroni salad that's anything but basic.

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Peach and Bacon Avocado Toast

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You say tomato, we say peach—at least, we do for this fantastic BLT-avocado toast hybrid. Eat it for breakfast, lunch or dinner!

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Raspberry Ripple with Oat Crunch Ice Cream

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We won't lie: This recipe takes some effort. But if you're willing to commit to a longish weekend cooking session, you won't be disappointed. It's absolutely delicious.

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Peanut Brittle Ice Cream

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This ice cream is dead-simple, but plan to make it a day ahead: The salty peanut butter slows down the freezing. It's soft but edible at 8 hours, fully scoopable at 24.

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Chicken Empanadas

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The secret to whipping out these deliciously cheesy chicken- and potato-filled pockets for your next game night or tailgate? Frozen, pre-cut empanada wrappers. The recipe comes from Minnesota chef and author Amalia Moreno-Damgaard.

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Pumpkin-Spice Icebox Cake

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Like the chocolate-and-vanilla retro classic, this gingery icebox cake requires some make-ahead assembly—but no baking. And it's absolutely drool-worthy.

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Honey Vinegar Pie

Credit: Blaine Moats
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It's all in a name, right? That's what Lou Ginocchio of Cincinnati's O Pie O discovered when Honey Vinegar Pie sent customers' heads spinning. "No one was expecting a pie with vinegar in its name to be this luxurious."

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Spiced Apple Shrub

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Tingling with fennel and allspice and infused with a pound of apples, chef Jonathon Sawyer's shrub (an old-timey drink mixer) evokes the taste of spiced cider in a sourful new-old way. The recipe comes from his cookbook House of Vinegar.

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Cheater’s Fudge

Credit: Blaine Moats
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This shortcut fudge—from Shauna Sever's cookbook Midwest Made: Big, Bold Baking from the Heartland — gets a 21st-centery boost with bittersweet chocolate and flaky sea salt. If you want to streamline a little, use high-quality chocolate chips, such as Ghirardelli.

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Peanut Better Blossoms

Credit: Blaine Moats
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In her book Midwest Made: Big, Bold Baking from the Heartland, Shauna Sever ramped up the nuttiness and opted for a creamy ganache filling in her take on this Midwest favorite.

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By Hannah Agran