A Look Back: The Best Recipes of 2011

Okay, confession time. I have been seriously slacking off on this blog for the last week. We had a wonderful holiday with a visit from some family, and my motivation took a serious tumble. Besides which, my husband always takes the week off after Christmas, and our focus has been on some much needed household projects. Our dining room is now a lovely, calming shade of moss green instead of the overly dark and formal red it was when we moved in (three years ago now!). And as always, I feel "cooked out" after Christmas, so we've been coasting on leftovers and easy meals. I do have a few recipes I've been working on, and hope to have them up soon. But in the meantime, I am going to fall back on what I see a lot of food bloggers do this time of year...a retrospective. A look back at my best recipes from 2011, both those that were most popular and those that I think are the best.

10 Most Popular Recipes of 2011

10. Pumpkin Praline Parfaits



9. Grilled Zucchini and Corn Salad



8. Chilled Guacamole Soup



7. Chocolate Chocolate Chip Kahlua Ice Cream



6. Blackberry Lemon Ricotta Parfaits



5. Feta and Spinach Garlic Rolls



4. Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Truffles



3. Almond Flour Bread and French Toast



2. Homemade Gummy Fruit Snacks



1. Parmesan Garlic Bubble Buns



The popularity of these recipes is determined solely by the total number of pageviews each received. And as we know, this can be skewed by a lot of factors and it doesn't always speak to the excellence of the recipe. Although I do vouch for all of the above recipes as very good ones, I also have some personal favourites that I would like to share. Although I am not going to rate mine, these are some of the recipes of which I am most proud. In no particular order...


1. Ginger Cashew Granola Bars



2. Peanut Butter Caramel Shortbread Bars



3. Sticky Toffee Pudding



4. Boston Cream Pie



5. Garam Masala Eggplant Chips

Almond Flour Bread and French Toast (Low Carb and Gluten-Free)

If I am not mistaken, one of the first dishes I ever learned to cook for myself was French Toast. It's always been one of my favourite breakfast items, and for a kid just learning the ways of the kitchen, it's a relatively straightforward dish. Crack some eggs, whisk with cream, dip the bread and fry it up. Slather in butter and maple syrup, and you have yourself a delicious breakfast. I'd make it every chance I got, which is to say almost every weekend. I mostly just used the whole wheat sandwich bread we always had on hand, although sometimes I used my mother's amazing, dense, healthy homemade bread. That's the wonderful thing about french toast...as long as you can get that bread to soak up the eggy batter, you can use whatever bread you like best.

Obviously, conventional french toast made with wheat flour bread is no longer an option for me. But I've really been craving some of late. We've done a few breakfasts out with the kids, and I covet their thick, fluffy slices of french toast with the maple syrup dripping over the sides. I think I miss the comfort in what used to be one of my favourite breakfasts. So I decided I had to take matters into my own hands. For a while now, I've been thinking of making a plain almond flour quick bread, one that could be used for sandwiches and toast. I miss my toast slathered in peanut butter almost as much as I miss french toast, and I needed a plain-tasting bread to serve as the vessel to get my beloved PB to my mouth. The possibility of making it into french toast as well was all the motivation I needed.



One ingredient I had to purchase before I could make the bread was some unflavoured whey protein powder. Whey protein is so useful in low carb, gluten free baked goods, as it serves in part as a replacement for gluten, giving the bread or muffins some structure and helping them rise properly. But most whey protein has some added flavouring, usually vanilla or chocolate, in the assumption that it will be used in protein shakes and smoothies. I've noticed that the vanilla flavouring can be very strong, even in small doses, and can even overpower other flavours s. It's also quite sweet and I wanted the quick bread to be very plain and not sweet, so that it could pair well with savoury foods like meat and cheese. I also decided to try out some oat fiber, a low carb ingredient I've just recently purchased, in this recipe. Do note, this is not the same thing as oat flour, as it is made purely from the fibrous portion of the oats. In essence, it has zero net carbs as it is pure fiber.



The Results: I am really, really pleased with this quick bread. It is quite dense, in part I think from the oat fiber, but it holds together beautifully when sliced. And although I wanted it to be quite plain, so I could top it with my favourite things, it had a very nice flavour on it's own. It had a touch of sweetness, because almonds themselves can be a bit sweet, but it went nicely with cheese too. I really liked it just toasted with a bit of butter on it.

As for the french toast, it's lovely that way too. The trick to making this work is to really dry out the slices of bread prior to dipping them into the batter. Since the bread itself is dense and fairly moist, it won't soak up the batter as a wheat bread would, unless it is dried out first. Simply slice the bread and let the slices dry out in a warm oven ahead of time. Although it doesn't taste identical to conventional french toast, I really enjoyed it and was impressed with how the batter browned and crisped on the outside. It certainly satisfied my hankering for one of my all-time favourite breakfast foods!



Almond Flour Bread

2 1/2 cups almond flour
1/2 cup oat fiber
1/4 cup unflavoured whey protein powder
1 tbsp granulated erythritol
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp xanthan gum
1/2 tsp salt
6 oz Greek yogurt
6 tbsp butter, softened
4 large eggs
6 tbsp almond milk

Preheat oven to 325F and grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond flour, oat fiber, whey protein, erythritol, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum and salt.

In a large bowl, beat together yogurt and butter until smooth. Beat in eggs, one at a time and scraping down bowl and beaters as needed. Add almond flour and beat until well combined. Beat in almond milk until thoroughly combined.

Spread batter in prepared loaf pan, smoothing the top. Bake 45 to 50 minutes, or until top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in pan 15 minutes, then flip out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Almond Flour French Toast

8 slices almond flour bread, about 1/2 inch thick
2 large eggs
1 tbsp heavy cream
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp butter or coconut oil

Preheat oven to 200F.

Arrange slices of bread on a wire rack set over a baking sheet and place in oven. Let dry out for about 1 hr.

In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, cream and cinnamon until well combined. Pour batter into a large shallow dish Place two slices of bread into and let sit 30 seconds to 1 minute to soak in mixture. Flip over and let sit another 30 to 1 minute seconds.

Meanwhile, heat a large, non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add butter and cook until butter just begins to brown, swirling to coat the bottom of the pan. Remove bread from batter and shake lightly to remove excess batter. Place in skillet and cook until golden brown on both sides, 2 to 3 minutes per side.

Transfer to wire rack and keep warm in oven while repeating with remaining bread.

Top with butter and sugar free syrup.

BREAD: Serves 15. Each slice has a total of 8.4 g of carbs and 5.5 g of fiber. Total NET CARBS = 2.9 g.

FRENCH TOAST: Serves 4 (2 slices). Each serving has 5.8 g NET CARBS.

Cranberry Rosemary Shortbread (Low Carb and Gluten-Free)

T'was the day before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring except the parents, trying frantically to finish some wrapping and cooking and all the last minute things they put off until now. Wow. Can you believe tomorrow is Christmas? Despite a marathon wrapping session the other day, I still have quite a few presents to wrap. And I have food to cook. And guests to entertain. And kids to try to wrangle and keep from getting too wild in their excitement. All of which is to say that this last post today is going to have to be a short one. No lengthy story from me. Just a few quick words and the recipe!

I saw a conventional flour and sugar version of these on The Black Peppercorn , and I loved the idea of these flavours so much, I decided I had to recreate them in something I could eat. So I set about making an almond flour version. And they are wonderful. I will say, the shortbread itself is a touch on the soft side and fairly fragile on the first day. But it does firm up nicely after a day sitting out in the open air. And as a vessel to get that cranberry/rosemary/orange flavour to my mouth, it works perfectly. That, after all, was the point! They are quite quick and easy to throw together, in case you are in need of one last treat for your holiday table.



So, my friends, followers and readers...I wish everyone a happy, safe and fun holiday. It is a busy time for me and I have family here from out of town. But I hope to see you all on the flip side.

Joyeux Noel!



Cranberry Rosemary Shortbread

Shortbread:
2 cups almond flour
1/4 cup granulated erythritol
1/2 cup butter
1 tsp xanthan gum
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 cup unsweetened dried cranberries, minced
1 tbsp fresh rosemary, minced

Glaze:
1/4 cup powdered erythritol
1/2 tsp orange zest
1 1/2 tbsp orange juice

Preheat the oven to 350F.

In a food processor, combine almond flour, butter, erythritol, xanthan gum, stevia an. Pulse until mixture resembles fine crumbs and just begins to clump together. Press mixture evenly and firmly into a 10-inch diameter glass or ceramic tart pan. With a sharp knife, score into 16 even wedges.

Bake 18 minutes, until light golden brown, and then turn off oven. Prop oven door open with a wooden spoon and let sit until oven is cool, about 1 hour. Carefully re-cut the shortbread along the score marks.

For the glaze, whisk together the powdered erythritol, orange zest and orange juice in a small bowl until smooth. Drizzle over cooled shortbread in pan.

Serves 16. Each shortbread has 3.8g of carbs and 1.7g of fiber. Total NET CARBS = 2.1g.

White Chocolate Molasses Spice Cookies

Okay, so these cookies are neither low carb, nor gluten free. I apologize to those of you who were hoping that they were. It's the holidays, and as with every Christmas, I do a mix of low carb, gluten free goodies, and conventional treats. For the most part, the conventional treats get given away to friends and neighbours, but I do keep some around for everyone to nibble on Christmas Eve. This year, I really slacked off on the holiday baking, and this is one of the only conventional recipes I baked up to give away. I've spent the better part of December in complete and utter denial that the holidays were on their way. I might not have even gotten around to these, if Katrina hadn't asked me to be part of her I'll Bring The Cookies series.



You may have heard me mention Katrina and her blog, In Katrina's Kitchen, before. She is one of my favourite fellow bloggers, a wonderfully sweet person and a fantastic baker. And Katrina likes nothing more than to bake up cookies for any function or holiday. This year, she asked a whole slew of bloggers to contribute cookie recipes for her blog in advance of Christmas. It was just the motivation I needed to actually make something for giving away.

Click here to see all the amazing cookies in the series.

So check out the recipe for these cookies. They are REALLY good! Yeah, I tasted one...and then I went for a run.

White Chocolate Dipped Molasses Spice Cookies on In Katrina's Kitchen

Endive with Boursin and Smoked Salmon (Low Carb and Gluten-Free)

I have a confession to make, but I am afraid it might mean that my foodie status will be revoked. Still, I feel the need to unload my burden and share with you. Come closer so I can whisper, I don't want the foodie police to hear me. Up until about a week ago, I had never eaten endives. Yes, it's true. I write a food blog and yet until recently, I'd never tasted this delicious, healthy and increasingly popular vegetable. Oh, the shame of it! Fortunately, I can now proudly state that I HAVE eaten endive. And not only that, but I have prepared it at home in several different ways. Because I, lucky girl that I am, received a large shipment of California endive to play with. I am officially an OnDiva.



What the heck is an OnDiva, you ask? Well, along with several other amazing food bloggers, I was asked to be part of a Discover Endive campaign to spread the word about this versatile vegetable. This one was a no-brainer, my friends. Vegetables are a large part of my low carb diet and getting the chance to discover a new one and develop some recipes in which to feature it is always an exciting challenge. And endive is a perfect addition to my repertoire, as it's low in carbohydrates and contains a great deal of fiber and nutrients. In fact, it was recently featured on the Dr. Oz Show as the number one vegetable that can help reduce the risk of ovarian cancer.

For my first endive recipe, I wanted to make a simple but delicious appetizer. I love appetizers and often prefer to make a meal out of small bite-sized things than a big sit-down dinner. And endive leaves, with their curled edges and firm stems, make perfect appetizer-delivery systems. One of my absolute favourite appetizers is my husband's homemade boursin cheese. It's a recipe I've been thinking of sharing the recipe with my readers for a long time, because it is so amazing. Among our friends and family, it is a highly sought-after treat and we've even given it away as Christmas gifts. Typically, it's eaten on crackers or bread, but endive leaves make the perfect low carb alternative. Smoked salmon is another of my favourite appetizers and I've paired it with boursin in the past. Putting the two together on endive leaves just seemed like a natural evolution.



The nice thing about this is that it can be put together as much as 12 hours in advance. As long as it's kept in the fridge, the endive leaves stay crisp and firm with the boursin and salmon. Alternatively, you could simply lay out the endive leaves along with a bowl of boursin and a platter of smoked salmon, and let your guests doctor their own. One small tip is simply to get the boursin out well ahead of time, so it is soft enough to scoop up easily with the endive. I will say, we like to really do up the garlic in our boursin, so much so that you have to stand several feet away from everyone else lest you kill them with your breath. But I understand that not everyone wants to be overpowered by that pungent vegetable, so you can adjust the garlic to your liking.

And if you are not a smoked salmon fan, I can also highly recommend this with thinly sliced roast beef.




Endive with Boursin and Smoked Salmon

Boursin:
8 oz cream cheese, softened
4 tbsp butter, softened
2 tbsp olive oil
3 to 5 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
2 tbsp dried parsley
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
dash hot sauce

4 to 5 heads California endive

8 oz thinly sliced smoked salmon, cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces

In a medium bowl, stir together cream cheese, butter and olive oil. Add garlic, dried parsley, salt, pepper and hot sauce and stir until thoroughly combined. (As long as your cream cheese and butter are soft enough, you can simply do this with a fork).

Trim the base of the endive and remove outer leaves (there is no need to wash the endive, as it is grown and harvested in sanitary conditions). Pull inner leaves apart. Spread the base of each leaf with one or two teaspoons of boursin and top with smoked salmon.

Arrange endive leaves on a platter, garnish with fresh parsley or dill, and serve.

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Discover Endive. All opinions expressed are mine.

Award Winning Recipes and Other News

Back in September, I received a message on my answering machine from Simple and Delicious Magazine, one of the Taste of Home Magazine series. Apparently, I had won second prize in a recipe contest for easy but elegant meals to serve to company. It was the oddest thing, because I barely even remembered entering the contest and I certainly had no recollection of what recipe I had submitted. I had to call them back and ask them to clarify. Turns out, way back in January of 2011, I had submitted my Sesame Roasted Salmon with Wasabi Mayo for their consideration. It's a recipe that I had posted on this blog, long before I had much of a following, so it's one that's not received a lot of attention from readers. And I was so thrilled it made the cut with Simple and Delicious, because this is hands down one of my favourite recipes ever. I don't always remake recipes from this blog, since part of my job is to come up with new recipes all the time. But this is one we make again and again and again. Any time I see wild-caught salmon on sale, we make this. It is THAT good and it is remarkably simple to make.

I have, out of respect for the magazine, removed the recipe from this blog. Perhaps once the magazine has been out for a while, I will repost it. However, should you happen upon a copy of the December 2011/January 2012 issue of Simple and Delicious, flip it open to page 37. There you will see my lovely salmon dish as 2nd Place in the Company's Coming Recipe Contest. Yay me! And yes, I did receive a nice little cheque for my efforts, which has speedily been dispatched towards Christmas presents!

I also wanted to take this opportunity to tell you about the Nourished Food Blogger Conference. There are a lot of food blogger conferences out there, with seemingly more springing up every day. But this one is a little different. This conference is specifically geared towards those of us who have and write about special diets. It will primarily address gluten-free and other allergies and food intolerances, but other special dietary needs will be considered.

And I am thrilled to say that yours truly will be speaking as part of a panel called Beyond Gluten Free. We will be addressing how to engage a larger audience. For my part, I will touch on how to market yourself to the low carb world, a dietary preference which is rapidly growing in popularity. Let's face it, we can all use more readers and if we can tap into another segment of the food-blog reading world, more power to us. Certainly low carb and gluten free diets share some commonality, but there are some large differences as well. I plan to provide attendees with some concrete ideas and advice on how to make their recipes and writing appeal to the low carb community.

So if you are a gluten free or special diet food blogger, I encourage you to attend Nourished on Friday, April 13th in Chicago. You can check out all about the conference at the Nourished website.

Egg Nog Creme Brulee (LC, GF) and a Giveaway!

Okay, time to fess up...who's afraid of homemade eggnog? Last year was my first ever attempt at making homemade eggnog and it turned out beautifully. I made it partly with almond milk, and was thrilled that it turned out as thick and delicious as regular 'nog. But I also received a number of responses from readers about the fear of bacteria from the only partially-cooked eggs. And I get that, I really do. It's hard to feel completely comfortable ingesting eggs that haven't been fully cooked, especially after the huge salmonella outbreak of a few years ago. I know all of this in my head, and yet I often take the risk anyway, because I love eggnog and pastry cream and raw cookie dough. I simply can't help myself.

This year, however, I am making my homemade eggnog worry-free, because I am making it with Safest Choice Eggs. You may have heard me mention them before, they are eggs that are pasteurized in their shell, so you can use them like any other egg. I got a chance to work with Safest Choice on another assignment back in May when I made Smoked Salmon Salad with Bearnaise Dressing, and really liked the idea of being able to make things with raw eggs and not having to worry. So I was delighted when they asked me to be a part of their 12 Days of Eggnog campaign this December. My task was simply to make some of their Classic Eggnog, and then to create a recipe using the eggnog to be highlighted on their website. Mine will be posted there tomorrow and other great bloggers have participated as well and have some wonderful recipes on there. Be sure to check them out!



Making the Safest Choice Eggnog recipe was incredibly simple; much simpler than my homemade version last year. Because the eggs are pasteurized, there's no need of even the small amount of cooking used in traditional eggnog recipes. You simply beat the eggs with the sweetener, milk, and cream, and away you go. You can bet I will be making all my eggnog this way with Safest Choice from now on, even if it's just from sheer laziness! I made mine with almond milk and erythritol, to save on carbs, and again it turned out perfectly. But because I know not all my readers are low carbers, and because my recipe will be posted on their site, I wrote up a version that used whole milk and sugar as well.

Making creme brulee out of it was easy as well. I simply followed the eggnog recipe, but skipped putting in the whipped egg whites at the end. Then I heated the mixture to just steaming and poured it into the ramekins to be baked in a water bath. Because of the added rum and nutmeg, the final product had that distinctive eggnog flavour, in the form of one of my favourite desserts ever. It's really a lovely dessert for the holidays.



This post is sponsored and paid for by Safest Choice™ Eggs. All opinions expressed are mine.

The Giveaway: Safest Choice would like to give one of my readers a giftbag filled with wonderful products, including some coupons to try Safest Choice Eggs free. The bag will also contain a copy of Giuliano Hazan’s Thirty Minute Pasta book, two spatulas, two “stress” eggs, a pen and more coupons for $0.75 off of Safest Choice. So if you want to try these wonderful pasteurized shell eggs, now's your chance!!!

To enter, simply leave a comment on this blog telling me how you like your eggnog (or whether you don't like it at all...that's okay too).

For more chances to win:
~ "like" Safest Choice on Facebook and come back to tell me you did so.
~"like" All Day I Dream About Food on Facebook and come back to tell me you did so
~ follow Safest Choice on Twitter and come back to tell me you did so
~ Retweet this giveaway and come back to tell me you did so

Open to US contestants only.

Contest will run until midnight EST Tuesday, December 20th. 1 winner will be chosen at random at that time. If you haven't left me contact information to notify you, I will choose another winner.

Eggnog Crème Brulee

8 Safest Choice™ pasteurized egg yolks

½ cup granulated erythritol OR 1 cup granulated sugar
2 cups heavy cream
2 cups unsweetened almond milk OR 2 cups whole milk
¼ cup dark rum, bourbon or brandy (optional)
1 tbsp vanilla extract (optional)
25 drops stevia extract (omit if using sugar)
1 tsp ground nutmeg
¼ cup granulated erythritol OR granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 325F.

In a large bowl, beat yolks until combined. Gradually beat in erythritol or sugar until mixture becomes pale yellow and thickened.

Stir in cream and almond milk or whole milk.

Pour mixture into a medium saucepan and heat over medium-low until steam begins to rise and mixture is slightly thickened. Do not let it simmer. Offheat, stir in alcohol, vanilla and ground nutmeg.

Divide mixture between 8 small ramekins. Set ramekins into a larger glass or ceramic baking dish and pour hot water to within 1 inch from top of ramekins.

Bake until custard is just set but still wobbles when ramekin is shaken gently, about 40 to 50 minutes. Remove ramekins from pan and let cool, then wrap each tightly in plastic and chill for at least 2 hours.

Just before serving, divide remaining erythritol or sugar between ramekins, sprinkling evenly across the top of each. Heat with a kitchen torch until it bubbles and browns. Let sit for a few minutes to allow topping to harden. (You can also brown the topping under your broiler, watching carefully and turning the cups to ensure even browning).

Serves 8. For the low carb version with almond milk and erythritol, each serving has a total of 3g of carbs.

Low Carb, Gluten Free Holiday Cookie Round-Up

What do you think of when you hear the words "low carb diet"? Do you picture someone gorging themselves on bacon, eggs and steak, and little else? Because I have to confess, that was certainly my impression of a low carb diet when I first heard of such a thing. And I don't think I was alone in this misapprehension, as I believe this is a fairly commonplace view of the low carb world. I remember being so very glad that my little one, the child with whom I developed gestational diabetes, would be born well before the Christmas season. I simply could not imagine having to restrict my carbs during a time of almost obligatory excess and over-indulgence. And what would become of my holiday baking extravaganza, if I couldn't use copious amounts of flour and sugar?

Chocolate-Glazed Mocha Shortbread, Chocolate Peppermint Cookies and Cranberry Pecan Crescents

My, my, how times have changed! Here I am entering my second holiday season as a low carber with no fear of how I will survive without flour and sugar. Indeed, I have too many ideas of goodies to make and not enough time to make them. I think it's fair to say that this blog is devoted to proving that low carb, gluten free diets are more than meat, eggs and cheese. But just in case you still have your doubts, or you feel you are facing a holiday season of deprivation, I have called upon some of my low carbing friends to help me prove you wrong. I am certainly not the only one who likes to use low carb, gluten free ingredients in new, creative and delicious ways. If you don't already know these wonderful bloggers, I hope they will be on your radar now!

Cranberry Pecan Biscotti, Peanut Butter Caramel Shortbread Bars and Gingerbread Cheesecake Bites

And if you don't mind, I'd like to use this platform for a quick, shameless plug about our cookbook. Some of the people included in this round-up are my co-authors, and several others contributed one or two recipes to the book, and I can attest to the wonderful, varied talents that they all have in low carb cooking and baking. If you or any loved ones are on a low carb diet or have been thinking of starting a low carb diet, believe me when I say that this cookbook has so much to offer. Check it out HERE.



And now, on to the recipes. If this collection of cookies doesn't convince you that there is no need of deprivation on a low carb, gluten free diet, nothing will!


Gingerbread House from Maria's Nutritious and Delicious Journal
















Chocolate Chip Cranberry Cookies form Splendid Low-Carbing By Jennifer Eloff

















Chocolate Mint Ribbon Cookies from 24/7 Low Carb Diner















Chocolate Cherry Macadamia Cookies from Until the Thin Lady Sings


















Vanilla Cream Sandwiches with Chocolate Filling from Ginny's Low Carb Kitchen















Peanut Butter Cookies from Carb Wars (Judy Barnes Baker)
















Homemade Marzipan from Birgit's Daily Bytes





















Italian Chocolate Spice Cookies from Healthy Living How To
















Coconut Cookies Your Way from Splendid Low-Carbing with Jennifer Eloff















Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies from Ginny's Low Carb Kitchen















Cinnamon Star Cookies from Birgit's Daily Bytes

















Chocolate Raspberry French Macaroons from Maria's Nutritious and Delicious Journal
















Mini Chocolate Chip Cookies from Until the Thin Lady Sings

















Frosted Ricotta Almond Cookies by Sugar-Free Low Carb Recipes
















Frosted Pumpkin Cookies from Splendid Low-Carbing by Jennifer Eloff