With the start of a new year, numerous publications and websites are dishing about (pun intended) what the food trends of 2025 will be. I don’t have a crystal ball, nor do I have any idea how they predict these alleged trends, so I won’t even attempt that. However, I did conduct a cursory review of the dishes that I made and wrote about during 2024 and compiled a list of some of my favorites. I’ve also included the date of the publication in which the dish appeared.
My list is basically a catchall with no rhyme or reason other than the fact that I liked these dishes. It includes two salmon dishes, three chicken dishes, three salads and a soup, among other things.
While the “Smoked Salmon Tart” was actually created on Dec. 31, 2023, my article about it appeared in the Jan. 7 issue, so I think it’s fair to include it here. This thing was a showstopper – easy to make, beautiful to look at and so darn good.
And speaking of salmon, there was a recipe for “Baked Garlicky Salmon Cakes” (March 24, 2024) that was so good and so much healthier than the pan-fried ones I’d been making for years.
A headline that read “This 5-Ingredient Chicken Dinner Is So Delicious, I Ate It Straight from the Pan” is what turned me on to “Garlic Parmesan Chicken Bites” (April 14, 2024). The short ingredient list combined with the reliance on staple ingredients and a quick cooking time make this a winner. Not to mention that these bite-size nuggets need just five ingredients, yet pack in much more flavor than other recipes with a mile-long ingredient list.
“Eggroll Skillet” (April 21, 2024) is a one-pan dinner chock full of veggies and protein that is basically supposed to be like the filling of an egg roll. An extremely healthy meal, it was quick and easy to make and had lots of flavor, especially if you’re hankering for some Asian-inspired fare.
When I wrote about “Mexican Cabbage Salsa” (May 19, 2024), I commented that I’d probably call it more of a Mexican slaw. It was easy to put together, super healthy, packed with flavor and we really enjoyed it. Although the recipe suggested serving it as a dip with tortilla chips, we ate it as a side salad to some grilled chicken cutlets.
While the “Grinder Salad” (May 19, 2024) is perhaps not the healthiest of salads, it was a big hit in my household. It’s a riff on the grinder sandwich that’s made with a hoagie-type roll filled with meats, cheeses, vegetables and condiments. It was so doggone good. We all loved it. In fact, I discovered a day or two later that late one night Daughter went into the kitchen to have a bowl of it, only to disappointingly discover that her mother had already finished it off.
And speaking of salads, the “Summer Chipotle Chicken Cobb Salad” (August 4, 2024) was a big winner. It was without a doubt, one of the best things I’ve ever eaten. Hubby and Daughter loved it too, with him proclaiming, “This needs to go in the rotation.”
At first blush, “Lemon Chicken with Potatoes and Chickpeas” (Sept. 29, 2024) is a recipe that I would have considered odd, with ingredients I just couldn’t see working together. However, when the recipe creator said she’d made the dish four times in one month, that sold me. It turned out to be an excellent dish that I’ve made several times since and love each time.
When I discovered that there would only be four of us for Thanksgiving, I scaled back my menu tremendously, even opting for roasted chicken instead of turkey. We had a beautiful meal of chicken and dressing, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, cranberry sauce, deviled eggs and crescent rolls.
I’m a soup-lover from way back and “White Bean Sausage Soup” (Dec. 8, 2024) quickly became one of my new faves. The main components are turkey sausage, white kidney beans, diced tomatoes and your choice of kale or spinach. It is a fantastic base soup that can easily be tailored to your own tastes by adding a variety of different components. In other words, it can be a blank canvas to make your own or a vehicle to help clean out your fridge. And it’s definitely one of those soups that gets better and better as it ages.
