a la mom-nom & cooking after five mr. lusher & i are hear to give you our wrap up of our favorite recipes of 2010, in case you missed them the first time around.

we had a very scientific method to choosing our favorites: we went to our neighborhood bar, ordered some pints & scrolled through our iphones.  & it ended up being a lot harder than we thought to narrow down our favorites…it was a good year in our kitchen for sure!

& on some months, we didn’t agree, so you get two recipes.  WIN.

JANUARY:white bean chicken chili.  a no brainer for both of us.  we make it over & over & over again.  it’s creamy, delicious & loved by family, friends & coworkers alike.  probably one of our most requested recipes.

FEBRUARY:
here is where the discrepancy starts.  cappuccino fudge cheesecake is my pick.  a dessert so obscenely rich & fabulous, you’ll do anything in your power to finish just. one. slice.

mr. lusher went with smoked gouda & bacon mashed potato casserole.  why?  1. because it’s gooood-a (his words, not mine).  & 2.  because bacon trumps everything.  either way, it’s smoky, cheesy goodness.

MARCH:
unable to agree on one again, we bring you the most well seasoned, moist chicken breast ever…super sexy chicken.  the title alone brings misguided google searches to our page every day.

& veggie burgers.  trust me when i say you’re gonna want to go ahead & make a triple batch, so you can freeze them to have on hand all the time.  they’re that good.

APRIL:
my pick is quinoa with zucchini, avocado dressing & chili roasted shrimp.

& mr. lusher is going with grapefruit cake.a nice light, tangy & refreshing take on dessert, although he ate it for breakfast.  for an entire week.

MAY:
we have a consensus!

salsa verde sour cream enchiladas!what cravings are made of.

salsa verde, sour cream & chiles come together in this dish to make the most incredible sauce that we can’t get enough of…i just wish we had a better picture.

JUNE:
pizza, which is full of awesome on it’s own, is brought to a whole new level with figs, prosciutto, gorgonzola, & topped off with arugula & a sweet sherry balsamic vinaigrette.holy yum.  plus, it’s topped with salad, so that makes it healthy.  right?

JULY:mr. lusher was still digging the pizza & prosciutto theme with these prosciutto & roasted broccoli calzones.

& while i really, really liked those, these triple lemon cupcakes made my summer. & i don’t typically get excited about lemony desserts.

AUGUST:
i was all about fresh figs with this quick & easy chicken paillard, while…

the mister was trying to stay cool with our new toy & a recipe for mango chile pops from a favorite local spot.

SEPTEMBER:
september brought us bobby flay’s grilled tuna niçoise sandwiches.

i’m fairly certain that bobby flay is capable of grilling just about anything & making it fantastic, but taking a salad that is already delicious on its own & putting it between two pieces of crusty, grilled french bread?   how can that be wrong?

hint: it can’t.

OCTOBER:
this fall, we finally got around to making our own infused vodka, a recipe that i had been hanging onto for at least two years.pepper vodka is insanely easy to put together & we’ve been enjoying some seriously kick ass bloody marys ever since.

i’m a little embarrassed that it took us so long to get around to this one.  don’t be like us.  make it NOW & stash it in the freezer ALWAYS.

NOVEMBER:
november was a tough choice, but the dish that we just love, love, love is…balsamic braised brussels spouts.

don’t be a hater.

DECEMBER:
it has snowed THREE TIMES this month & we had a WHITE CHRISTMAS, which is pretty much unheard of around these parts.

mr. lusher whipped up this particularly tasty thai chicken noodle soup in an attempt to thaw us out.

but i would like to curl up in a nice, warm bowl of gorgonzola & porcini mushroom risotto & hibernate until the spring.

well, we hope you enjoyed our roundup of our favorite recipes of 2010 & hope that some of them make it to your table soon!

happy 2011!

“may all your joy be true joy & may all your pain be champagne!”

::cheers, friends!::