Yup.  That’s a lot of noodles.

But were they any good?  Many were mostly forgettable, but a few stood out as truly amazing or completely horrendous.  Here are the winners and losers.

The Clean Plate Club  (aka go make these.  Right now.)

Pad Thai with Marinated Tofu

Baked Ziti with Gorgonzola and Spinach

Butternut Squash Ravioli with Brown Butter and Sage

Farfalle with Roasted Beets, Asparagus and Goat Cheese

New Year Noodle Soup

Brussel Sprouts Pasta

Beet Ravioli Stuffed with Goat Cheese, Ricotta and Mint

Eggplant Parmesan

Spicy Sesame Noodles with Peanuts and Thai Basil

Butternut Squash Carbonara

The Inedibles (aka never make these.  Ever.)

Fettuccine Alfredo

Spinach Pasta with White Wine Mushroom Sauce

Vietnamese Pho

Fettuccine with Leeks and White Beans

Sneaky Mac and Cheese

Penne with Ricotta, Lemon and Herbs

Not a bad year, in the end.  Did you make any of these 52 dishes?  Which was your favorite?

To see the review of 2010 The Year of the Soup, click here.

It’s New Year’s Day – let’s get nostalgic!

Below are the top ten most popular posts from 2011 (based on page views, not my preferences!) just in case you missed them. Yum Yum…

#1 Roasted Chickpeas

#2 Spicy Sesame Noodles with Peanuts and Thai Basil

#3 Quinoa Salad

#4 Acorn Squash Lasagna

#5 Chocolate Chip Scones

#6 Butternut Squash Carbonara

#7 Macaroni Salad

#8 Agave Sweetened White Cake with Vanilla Buttercream

#9 Sweet Potato and Sage Butter Casserole

#10 Grilled Zucchini, Roasted Red Pepper and Smoked Mozzarella Pasta Salad

I hope you’re having a healthy (and hangover free) New Year’s Day – Happy 2012!

What was your favorite post of 2011?

I am making a New Year’s Eve feast.  There is so much deliciousness happening that the cooking starts today.

While I’d love to share the menu and promise to show off recipes in January, I’m not sure I want to be that person who holds up dinner to photograph each dish.  That’s just bad hosting.

So you’ll get what you get if I get a chance to photograph it.  But trust that a lot of cooking is be going on around here.

What you do get, as promised, is a recipe for healthy crackers.  They’re excellent alongside soup or with light dips.  Lots of seeds, whole wheat, and flax give them tons of healthy flavor, without all the salt and butter.

Be sure to roll them nice and thin so that they crisp nicely.  The first time I made these I tried to break mine into artful pieces, per the original recipe, but that didn’t work too well.  The second time I cut them into squares before baking, which made much more uniform and nice looking crackers.

Enjoy the last few moments of 2011, and have a fantastic New Year!

Ingredients

2/3 cup whole-wheat flour
2/3 cup all-purpose flour, plus additional for rolling
1/3 cup flax seed
1/3 cup sesame seeds
1 1/2 teaspoons table salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 cup water

Directions

In a medium bowl whisk together both flours, flax seed, sesame seeds, salt, and baking powder. Add the oil and stir until combined. Add the water and stir to combine and create a dough. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead 4 to 5 times. Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces, cover with a tea towel and allow to rest for 15 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.  On a lightly floured surface, roll out 1 piece of dough to 1/16-inch and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 5-6 minutes then flip and bake for an additional 2 to 3 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack. When cool, break into desired size pieces. Repeat procedure with remaining dough. Note: Baking times will vary depending on exact thickness of dough and oven temperature, so watch them closely. Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Source:  Slightly adapted from Alton Brown

I want so badly to tell you the drama of our clothes dryer.

About how my dear, sweet husband broke it because he forgot to change a setting.  How he nearly shocked himself trying to fix it, and lost a screwdriver in an inaccessible place.  How the repair man came and with 15 minutes (and $128), brought our nonfunctioning dryer back to life.

I want to tell you the whole hilarious story.  But it wouldn’t be right.  It would make John look like a macho guy from a sitcom who idiotically breaks things around the house, and me look like the nagging TV wife that has to put up with his shenanigans.

Nope.  Not going to do it.  Because the reality is that I do ridiculous things, too.

Like overworking the food processor until it smokes, or coaxing the blender into exploding hot soup all over the kitchen (just to name a few.)

I’m not nearly perfect enough to publicly poke fun at John’s little slip up.

Instead, I’m going to tell you about scones.  Scones that are delightful with your morning cuppa.  A little spicy, a little sweet, and chock full of whole wheat and flax seeds.

Scones that are perfect to snack on while you catch up on the loads of laundry that were waiting for you while the dryer was on holiday.  Some of which may be towels that you used to clean up the latest culinary explosion (ahem, marinara sauce.)

If you’ve also recently broken or spilled something, have a scone.  Or offer them to the repair man.  They’re tasty.

Ingredients

2 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 T baking powder
2 T ground flax seed
1/4 t salt
3 chai tea bags
1/3 cup canola
1 cup almond milk

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Stir together dry ingredients, including the contents of the tea bags. Add in oil and milk.  Knead gently until well combined.

Divide dough into two rounds.  Flatten each round and cut into 6 wedges.  Sprinkle with sugar if desired.  Bake 10-14 minutes, or until sides no longer look doughy.

Source: SavvyEat

Year of the Noodle:  Week 52

This is it.  The finale.  The last noodle dish of the year.

Last year I ended with a dessert recipe, so I thought that this year I’d end by making that weird spaghetti and maple syrup pasta Will Ferrell eats in the movie Elf.

Ew.  Not really.

Instead I decided to end with a nod to my St. Louis friends – toasted ravioli.

Though no one outside of Missouri has heard of toasted ravioli, you can find this little fried appetizer on any menu in St. Louis.  I first had it in my college dorms back at Mizzou.  We ate it as a meal in the dorms (the other food was horrible), but it’s best as an appetizer or snack.

Make it for your New Year’s Eve party.  I’m making all kinds of other non-pasta dishes for ours, but maybe a few of these will sneak in, too.  Who knows.  They are quite tasty.

Stay tuned for a review of the best and worst of the Year of the Noodle!

Ingredients

3/4 to 1 pound small fresh cheese ravioli
3 large eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups milk
2 cups breadcrumbs3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemaryKosher salt and freshly ground pepper
Vegetable oil, for frying
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheeseMarinara sauce, for dipping

Directions

Spread the ravioli on a baking sheet and freeze until hard, 20 to 30 minutes.

Whisk the eggs and milk in a shallow dish or pie plate. Mix the breadcrumbs, parsley, rosemary and 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper in another shallow dish.

Dip the ravioli in the egg mixture, letting the excess drip off, then coat with the breadcrumb mixture. Return to the baking sheet and freeze until hard, about 15 minutes.

Heat about 1 inch vegetable oil in a deep skillet until a deep-fry thermometer registers 350 degrees F. Fry the ravioli in 2 or 3 batches, turning as needed, until golden brown, 4 to 6 minutes per batch. Transfer to a paper towel-lined baking sheet to drain and immediately sprinkle with the parmesan. Serve with the marinara sauce.

Source: Food Network