Best Cooking of the 2010s

I keep a moderately updated Pinterest board of recipes that I’ve made or want to make. Some of my memorable cooking of the decade is there, but a fair bit isn’t.

For example, I got a smoker this decade, and now smoking our Thanksgiving turkey is an annual tradition that, if I believe what they say, my whole family looks forward to. Homemade smoked salmon, slow-smoked brisket, and even the half dozen extra chicken breasts I throw on the smoker whenever I use it and then freeze for later – this is my absolute favorite way to cook meat, though I do it less than I’d like because of the time investment.

Each summer, I now also make at least one batch of homemade salsa from the jalapenos and tomatoes that seem to be the only things my garden reliably yields (supplemented with grocery store onion and cilantro). I’ve had one yummy success with jalapeno jelly as well and have almost eaten through the whole batch, so that’s probably on the to-do list for next summer again.

And, I’ve been learning to brew beer in the 2010s. So far just from kits or recipes so I can master my technique. I’m thinking that the 2020s may be the decade where I start branching out and designing my own recipes.

For day to day meal prep, there are also some go-to recipes that I have kept coming back to. A reasonable number of them are from Smitten Kitchen – definitely my favorite recipe weblog. Looking through what’s made it into my recipe box, I’d heartily recommend the following:

Sheet Pan Meatballs with Crispy Tumeric Chickpeas

Farmer’s Market Shepherd’s Pie (vegan)

Khoresh Karafs (Persian Celery Stew)

Chiarello Chicken and White Bean Chili with Veggies

Charred and Raw Corn with Chile and Cheese

Summer Squash Gratin with Salsa Verde

Blue Cheese, Apricot, and Pecan Boule

Chocolate Toffee Cookies

Elodie’s Chocolate Cake

Chai-Spiced Brown Butter Pumpkin Walnut Loaf Cake

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