I’m giving 2014 one of those long, drawn-out goodbyes.  You know the kind I mean.  It is the goodbye where you hug at the door, then talk about how much the person means to you, then hug again.  You walk them to their car, not caring about the fact that the ground is covered in freshly-fallen snow and you are only wearing socks, and you wave until their vehicle is long out of sight.  

Those are the farewells that are painful, yet heartening.  As that great philosopher Winnie the Pooh once said, “How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.”

The past year was filled with lots and lots of baking and I utterly refuse to count the number of pounds of butter that were creamed, melted, and browned in my kitchen over the past twelve months.  

I wanted to look back through some of my favorite recipes from 2014.  I had forgotten so many of them and I hope this will be a delightfully delicious memory jog for all of us. 

Remember these Cocoa Dusted Vanilla Rose Meringues?  Oh. My. Goodness.  Turns out I like eating roses just as much as I enjoy admiring them.  These little puffs of crispy sweetness are perfumed with rose water and vanilla and are finished with a dusting of cocoa.  I feel like these are what fairies eat.  I don’t know...

Breakfast and I became close friends this past year.  These Blueberry Ricotta Pancakes were light and fluffy and filled with tiny pockets of soft, creamy ricotta.  Lemon French Toast was a refreshing take on a favorite of mine.  I need lots of powdered sugar on my French Toast, seriously, just give me the whole pound. Raspberry Cream Cheese Croissants.  I can’t even.  The cream cheese turns cheesecake-like when baked and the raspberry jam provides the perfect amount of tang and sweetness.

I utterly adore a good plate of pasta and meatballs.  Please keep it simple and please give me extra parmesan.  These Classic Meatballs are my favorite meatballs. 

Garden Bruschetta and Grilled Romaine Salads were my jam last summer.  Vegetables + cheese - I dig.

As I looked back over my archives from 2014 I noticed a shocking lack of cookies.  This will be changing in 2015.  However, there was one cookie which could proudly stand alone and keep my cookie cravings content all year long.  These Salted Pistachio Cookies with Cherries and Dark Chocolate are, quite frankly, ridiculous.  So good, so good...

I am fairly certain that I ate my weight in brie last year.  No guilt.  Just hand me another baguette. This Baked Brie with Caramelized Apples is my go-to snack, appetizer, or lazy weeknight dinner for two.

I shared with you my favorite cups of Coffee and Chocolate this year.  I hope you loved them as much as I do.

Thank you for all of your support, I appreciate you.  I am going to preheat my oven now and get ready to share more recipes with you in 2015. 

Sincerely, 

  Pedantic Foodie