2022's better than all the rest

It's that time again, the time when, though we look forward to the year to come, we naturally look back at the highlights of the year just passed. You won't have to look hard to find compilations of last year's top movies, songs, news stories, Instagram posts, YouTube videos, searched-for recipes, and even Uber Eats' funny delivery requests (among them, "Can you draw a T.Rex with sunglasses on the inside of the box?"). So once again I cannot resist contributing to the custom. Herewith is my compilation of some of the recipes I made last year that were, with apologies to Tina Turner, better than all the rest.

RatatouilleSubmitted by Tom Harte

RatatouilleSubmitted by Tom Harte

Ratatouille

Until I wrote a column about it recalling the delightful Disney cartoon starring a talented chef who is also a rat and while I was at it correcting the record that the dish seen in that movie is technically a misnomer, I'd forgotten how delicious this concoction of stewed vegetables from Provence can be. This recipe from that column is one of the simplest, yet most satisfying versions I have found.

www.semissourian.com/story/2954791.html

Chocolate chip peanut butter banana bread

Chocolate chip peanut butter banana bread

Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Banana Bread

Who hasn't made a loaf of banana bread merely because a bunch of the fruit has been sitting on the counter too long? Happily I ran across a great recipe on Maria Lichty's wonderful website (it features an impressive array of cookie recipes) that is worth making even if your bananas aren't that overripe yet. The secret ingredient is peanut butter. I like to add some chocolate chips just to dress it up a little.

www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/peanut-butter-banana-bread/

Roasted White Chocolate Cream

You'd think adding white chocolate to whipped cream would be gilding the lily enough, but Kelly Fields, author of the Great Book of Southern Baking, goes one step further by roasting the white chocolate first. Roasting or toasting white chocolate caramelizes it and renders its flavor more complex, not unlike what happens with browned butter. This recipe was originally developed as a topping for pumpkin pie, but obviously has many other applications — such as eating it out of the bowl all by itself with a spoon.

www.tastecooking.com/recipes/pumpkin-pie-with-roasted-white-chocolate-cream

Borscht

Borscht

Borscht

Ukrainians will no doubt be eating lots of their national dish, Borscht, this winter as they continue their heroic struggle against the monstrous invasion of Russian troops and weapons. Right now they'll opt for the nourishing hot version of the soup, but when, hopefully, victory and warm weather arrive in the spring, they'll be ready for the cold variety. This recipe, an adaptation of one from Ina Garten, is our favorite soup from last summer.

www.semissourian.com/story/2961165.html

Almost Mixed Grill

This dish, devised by my favorite cookbook author, Donna Hay, Australia's answer to Martha Stewart, reminds me a little of the fabulous mixed grill I had many years ago on my first trip to Bruges, Belgium, which, because I was unskilled in calculating the currency exchange, nearly broke our travel budget for the whole trip. You can elevate this preparation to the Bruges standard by adding more cuts of expensive meat, but this down to earth version is quite gratifying by itself.

www.donnahay.com.au/recipes/dinner/chicken-chorizo-and-potato-tray-bake

Homemade Marshmallows

The gap between homemade and store-bought is seldom greater than it is with marshmallows, which, if you make them, will be something of a revelation. Yet the process is not really very difficult and watching the sugary mixture froth up to a cloud-like consistency is one of the most magical transformations you can produce in the kitchen.

www.semissourian.com/story/2951388.html

Dried Cherry and Almond Cookies

Every year around this time my friend and former university colleague Adelaide Parsons fetes me with a big box of dried cherries. But not just ordinary dried cherries, rather, perhaps the best ones on the planet — big, plump, juicy, and intensely flavorsome dried cherries from the nation's cherry capital, Michigan. So with the receipt of this year's largesse I was inspired to look for a new recipe worthy of the fruit. Giada De Laurentiis came to the rescue.

www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/dried-cherry-and-almond-cookies-with-vanilla-icing-recipe-2009306