Year-end lists are somewhat daunting to put together. Who remembers in December what happened in January? But they are an opportunity to look back, to remember the days, months and meals of our recent past. Below, our collaborators reflect on their most memorable flavors of 2022: some surprising savory recipes, some sweet standbys – all so good they had to be shared.
I probably make a batch of these Jacques Torres chocolate chip cookies every month. It’s THE BEST recipe for chocolate chip cookies – crunchy outside, gooey inside – and having a batch of homemade cookies on hand makes up for the fact (in my mind, anyway) that I regularly feed my family frozen chicken tenders and crinkle fries . I use half milk chocolate and half bittersweet chocolate chips, and I like to add ¼ cup cocoa nibs for crunch. MARGAUX LASKEY
The recipe I’ve made over and over again this year is Becky Hughes’ Vegan Caesar Salad. I got my sisters addicted to it and all year long we text each other our empty bowls after we ate the full portion. It’s the perfect mix of crunchy, savory and creamy and I push it on everyone I know. If there’s one thing you need to make, it’s this salad. NATASHA JANARDAN
Recipe: Vegan Caesar Salad With Crispy Chickpeas
I can’t even count how many times I’ve made Ali Slagle’s Arugula Salad with Parmesan Cheese for lunch or as a side dish for dinner. I’m looking forward to it as I write this. I have shaved or shredded Parmesan on hand to speed up the process, and sometimes I like to add colorful cherry tomatoes, fresh cracked pepper, and extra lemon juice to elevate it to a meal. My partner has also made Ali’s chicken piccata for dinner several times this year. It’s a warm, comforting, flavorful dish that’s ready in just 25 minutes, using many of the ingredients I already have in my fridge. The sauce on this chicken is so great it always keeps the skillet clean. And we fight to make sure we both get an equal amount. It’s that good. CHRISTINA MORALES
Recipes: Arugula Salad With Parmesan Cheese | Chicken Piccata
As a new mom returning to work with an absolutely sweet baby who absolutely refused to sleep, in 2022 I had as little free time as rest. But Yewande Komolafe’s glazed tofu with chilli and star anise brought me so much joy! The recipe is easy for all cooks, and it produces restaurant-quality results faster than I can think of a takeout order. I halve the amount of tofu and keep the amount of sauce the same when cooking for two, because its complexity is a revelation every time. ALEXA WEIBEL
My most cooked recipe of 2022 was actually a cocktail. Rebekah Peppler’s classic sherry cobbler to be exact. It’s everything I want in a late fall drink: citrusy, not too boozy, not too sweet! Unfortunately, most of the bars I visit in New York City don’t have amontillado sherry on hand – does that make me the goofball? — so I’ll just have to settle for making this my go-to drink. I highly recommend trying it for yourself! NIKITA RICHARDSON
Recipe: Classic Sherry Cobbler
Impromptu or last-minute lunches, no matter the weather, had me turning to Mark Bittman’s simple carrot soup as a template. I always have carrots in the fridge, and a pound of them quickly turns into lunch for two or three. In the summer I might serve it chilled, in the winter warm and vary the seasonings and different garnishes, often with other vegetables, grains, maybe leftover mussels or yogurt. FLORENCE FABRIC
Recipe: Curry Carrot And Coconut Soup
Melissa Clark’s banana snack cake was definitely the headliner of my year. I can’t tell you how many times this perfect, quietly magical five-star recipe has come in to save me and the browning bananas on my kitchen counter. The cake is soft and just sweet enough, with a frosting infused with the taste of brown sugary molasses. I don’t even like cake, but I love this one. Eric Kim
Recipe: Banana Snacking Cake With Salted Caramel Frosting
I use a lot of celery, but rarely enough to use up everything I’ve bought. At least that was the case before I discovered Alexa Weibel’s recipe for celery leek soup with potato and parsley, my new favorite thing to make for casual dinner parties. This was also the year I upped my farinata game. Tejal Rao’s recipe, with roasted mushrooms and radicchio, got me going. I recently borrowed techniques from a recipe in Lukas Volger’s “Snacks for Dinner,” which calls for charring the radicchio on top of the farinata while baking. BRETT ANDERSON
Recipes: Celery Leek Soup With Potato And Parsley | Crispy chickpea pancakes with roasted mushroom salad
This year I fell in love with some pastas. First, there was Genevieve Ko’s crunchy fettuccine Alfredo, which is so simple and so satisfying, filling but never heavy. Genevieve writes that it’s something you make quickly, when you’re too tired to cook and too frugal to have it delivered (which is where I always am, if I’m being honest). But when I was feeling a little — a little — fancier, there was Alexa Weibel’s mushroom ragù pasta, which made every night I cooked it a special one. Lex misses nothing, especially when it comes to her mushroom dishes, which are eagerly awaited and received with joy in my small household. KRYSTEN CHAMBROT
Recipes: Chili Crispy Fettuccine Alfredo With Spinach | Mushroom Ragù Pasta
This tuna melt from Lidey Heuck is the perfect marriage between a grilled cheese sandwich and tuna salad – ultimate dinner food! I’m one of the few people in the world who doesn’t like pickles or dill, so I omit those. It has become a favorite that my husband and I make often. I have also made Ali Slagle’s shrimp scampi with orzo so many times in the past year. It comes together in one pot in less than 30 minutes, so it works for a quick weeknight dinner, but it’s impressive enough for weekend meals with friends or family. I love the garlic butter sauce with lemon bursts and usually serve it with a simple salad or some roasted broccoli. Kim GOGENHEIM
Recipes: Tuna melts | Shrimp Scampi With Orzo
This year I craved one thing more than anything else: gum. That resulted in cooking lots of noodle dishes, consuming copious amounts of bread, and keeping a sack of mochiko flour ready so I could make Genevieve Ko’s butter mochi whenever the craving hit. In addition to its texture, it’s a showstopper of a dessert, making it a hit at parties. (Watch Genevieve make the recipe on YouTube.) GABRIELLA LEWIS
Recipe: Butter Mochi
I always try to cook different recipes from our database, and I’m extremely bad at sticking to routines, so it’s very rare that I actually repeat a dish. But Melissa Clark’s crispy Parmesan eggs managed to break through. I made them constantly this year, sometimes on their own, but more often as part of a simple, pleasantly bitter salad with lots of lemon. (When I had some spare time, I made them as part of Melissa’s radicchio and snow peas salad.) They’re everything I want in my hyperfix meals: fast, salty, savory, cheesy, and impossible to get enough of. TANYA SICHYNSKY
Recipes: Crispy Parmesan Eggs | Crispy Parmesan Eggs With Radicchio And Pea Salad
This was the year I really learned to love raw silken tofu. With just a handful of ingredients — and minutes, Hetty McKinnon’s recipe turns a humble bowl of tofu into a meal that’s crisp yet satisfying. The dressing couldn’t be easier to put together, and it complements the soft and pillowy texture of the tofu so beautifully. Whenever I found myself craving it (which often was), I’d make some rice or soba noodles, chop some scallions, and marvel at how easy it all was. If only the rest of life were that easy, am I right? KASIA PILAT
Recipe: Silken Tofu With Spicy Soy Dressing
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