Our Best Recipes of 2018

By Hannah Agran
December 06, 2018
Of course, we love all our children equally -- but these recipes were our staff favorites in 2018.
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Bittersweet Chocolate Tart

This rich, creamy (and surprisingly easy!) chocolate tart is the most-requested recipe at the Savory Spoon Cooking School in Door County, Wisconsin.Bittersweet Chocolate Tart

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Winter Tabbouleh with Fennel and Cranberries

This delicious and healthy twist on a traditional Middle Eastern parsley salad features protein-rich quinoa, cranberries, sunflower seeds and crisp fennel.Winter Tabbouleh with Fennel and Cranberries

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Chicken Carnitas Tacos

These crazy-good fried chicken tacos aren't for weeknights--but they aren't hard at all. Save them for a weekend party, when you'll have time to make TV host and author Andrew Zimmern's Tomatillo-Avocado and Grilled Pineapple salsas, too.Chicken Carnitas Tacos 

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Ham and Swiss Waffles with Mustard Sour Cream

These scrumptious waffles top our list of favorite ways to use leftover Easter ham. In lieu of baking powder, the batter uses yeast for leavening. This adds a little time to the recipe, but your reward is a more interesting, slightly fermented flavor that complements the savory ham and cheese.Ham and Swiss Waffles with Mustard Sour Cream

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Peanut Butter Chiffon Pie

Peanut butter lovers, rejoice. This pie is so good, and it has a twist: Melba toast replaces graham cracker crumbs for a crisp, salty foil to the decadent filling.Peanut Butter Chiffon Pie

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Mediterranean Potato and Green Bean Salad

This beautiful, French-inspired, veggie-ful potato salad says "au revoir" to mayonnaise and instead features a light garlic vinaigrette. That means the dish can safely sit out for a while (and even tastes better at room temperature).Mediterranean Potato and Green Bean Salad

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Thai Curried Salmon and Snap Peas

A brilliantly simple and delicious way to cook salmon, this 25-minute recipe is done in the time it takes to cook a pot of rice. Don't be tempted to skip the fresh basil; its flavor seals the flavor deal on this weeknight meal.Thai Curried Salmon and Snap Peas

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Roasted Poblano and Corn Pizzas

Roasting the vegetables is an extra step, but it adds incredible depth of flavor to this Latin-inflected pizza (and you have to heat up the oven anyway!). The recipe comes from the blog A Couple Cooks.Roasted Poblano and Corn Pizzas

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Lentil and Rice Summer Salad

This is a fab potluck salad. If you make it for dinner at home, try it topped with a salmon fillet or, for a vegetarian entree, served over spinach or other salad greens. (A word of warning: Don't substitute a different rice. Arborio, the type used in risotto, definitely works best.) The recipe comes from the blog A Couple Cooks.Lentil and Rice Summer Salad

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Polka-Dot Arugula Salad

Playful red grapes and melon balls add sweetness and whimsy to this ready-in-15 summer salad. To make it a main dish, just add chicken.Polka-Dot Arugula Salad recipe

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Peach-Blueberry Brown Betty

Traditionally made with apples, a brown Betty is the low-maintenance cousin to cobblers, pies and crisps. Drizzled in butter and dusted in sugar, plain bread cubes morph into dessert croutons that deliciously soak up the peach and blueberry juices.Peach-Blueberry Brown Betty recipe

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Garlic Shrimp

You aren't misreading the recipe: This classic Spanish appetizer delivers a lusty punch of roughly one garlic clove for every three shrimp! Serve with a crusty baguette for mopping up the luscious sauce.Garlic Shrimp recipe

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Cheese Fondue

Classic cheese fondue is a splurge in every sense--but it's also guaranteed bliss. (And you don't even need a fondue pot!) CJ Bienert, owner of The Cheese Shop of Des Moines, shares his easy recipe.Cheese Fondue recipe

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Salted Oatmeal Bars with Roasted White Chocolate Frosting

Roasting white chocolate gives it a nutty flavor and caramel color; show both off in these utterly delicious salty-sweet bars.Salted Oatmeal Bars with Roasted White Chocolate Frosting recipe

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Onion, Apple and Cheese Gratin

At Iowa's Rapid Creek Cidery, chef Matt Steigerwald serves this gratin (which tastes sort of like the best French onion soup ever) with grilled artisan bread. Crisp and charred, it's a good foil to the gooey richness.Onion, Apple and Cheese Gratin recipe

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Roasted Shrimp Cocktail with Bloody Mary Cocktail Sauce and Lemon-Chive Mayo

Skip the supermarket tray. Our shrimp cocktail update is the ultimate make-ahead party app. Roasting brings out the shrimp's natural sweetness, and the two homemade sauces are ridiculously simple.Roasted Shrimp Cocktail with Bloody Mary Cocktail Sauce and Lemon-Chive Mayo recipe

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Roasted Butternut Burrito Bowls

You can have this deliciously nutritious Mexican-inspired meal on the table in under an hour--or even less if you cheat and use precooked brown rice!Roasted Butternut Burrito Bowls recipe

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Best-Ever All-Butter Pie Pastry

We are rather obsessed with this incredibly buttery, flaky pastry, from the Sister Pie cookbook, inspired by the Detroit cafe of the same name. Author and pie-baker extraordinaire Lisa Ludwinski's recipe makes pastry for 2 single- or 1 double-crusted or lattice-top pie.Best-Ever All-Butter Pie Pastry recipe

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Egg-on-Top Galettes with Potato and Cream Cheese

Quiche, we love you-but these individual egg tarts from Sister Pie in Detroit may be our new favorite way to eat piecrust for breakfast. The key is serving the galettes with mustard, which cuts the richness of the pastry, egg and cream cheese. (They're doable to make in the morning for brunch, just be sure to prep the pastry in advance.)Egg-on-Top Galettes with Potato and Cream Cheese recipe

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Big-Batch, All-Day Pasta Bolognese

This incredible pasta is the showpiece of the annual anniversary party at The Rieger restaurant in Kansas City, Missouri. Start to finish, it takes 8 hours, mostly hands-off and none of it hard. You'll make 18 cups of sauce-enough to serve  24 or to freeze for meals all winter long.Big-Batch, All-Day Pasta Bolognese recipe

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