Best things I cooked in 2018

This is the time when, though we look forward to the year to come, we naturally look back at the highlights of the year just passed. Thus we've already been treated to compilations of last year's top movies, songs, news stories, Youtube vidoes, presidential tweets and Instagram posts. I even saw online a list of the top lists. Herewith is my contribution to the custom, a compilation of some of the best things I cooked last year.

Cheddar Grits with Andouille and Tomatoes

This recipe, from the pages of Real Simple magazine, is an inspired take on one of the classic dishes of South Carolina Lowcountry cooking, shrimp and grits, only here the shrimp are replaced with andouille sausage, a creole staple. Grits are still the star in this dish and by using the instant version (apologies to purists) you can put it together in less than a half hour. (realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/cheddar-girts-andouille-and-tomatoes)

Oatmeal Bread

Quick breads, in my experience, while delicious in their own right can never be as good as yeast-risen loaves. However, this recipe, a serendipitous discovery made purusing the London Times while staying in Winchester, England, a while back, has made a believer out of me. Using only two major ingredients it makes what is probably the best brown bread I have ever tasted.

(Recipes from My Mother by Rachel Allen, published by Harper Collins, 2017, p. 204.)

Homemade Cracker Jack

This recipe was a revelation when I made it for the first time while writing an article about the iconic baseball snack as the World Series was about to begin. Turns out, these days a box of Cracker Jack contains on average merely 5-6 peanuts and, of course, like almost any packaged food, it can never be as fresh-tasting as what you make yourself. This recipe takes care of both problems. We munched lots of it last year and even gave it as gifts.

(semissourian.com/story/2560307.html)

Avocado Toast

Dubbed the ultimate cosmopolitan food, this simple but delectable treat has become popular across the country, especially on the West Coast (where I first discovered it) and now on the East Coast, too. These days on the streets of New York kiosks selling it vie with hot dog stands. I now frequently make it myself at home. It couldn't be easier or more susceptible to myriad variations to keep you from tiring of it.

(semissourian.com/story/2553203.html)

Chocolate Chip Cinnamon Coffee Cake

Finally, I include this recipe, one that took some digging to locate and turned out to be better than I expected it to be. A couple of months ago I ran across a photo of this cake as part of a feature done on a popular Instagrammer in Taste of Home magazine. Alas, the recipe was nowhere to be found in the issue. So, never one to leave a spatula unturned in the pursuit of a new cake recipe, I wrote the editors and asked for their help. They in turn contacted Diane Morrisey, the blogger who created the recipe, and before long I had a copy. I found the cake to be surprisingly good, surprising not because it starts with a cake mix (I've never been above doctoring a mix and passing it off as homemade) but because it calls for one of three ingredients I routinely avoid using: instant pudding. (The other two are Cool Whip and margarine.) But it works.

• 1 box yellow cake mix
• 1 box (3.4 oz.) vanilla instant pudding mix
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 4 eggs
• 1/3 cup oil
• 2 cups chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup shredded coconut
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon

Combine cake mix, pudding mix, sour cream, vanilla, eggs, and oil and mix until well blended. Toss together chocolate chips, coconut, walnuts, sugar, and cinnamon. Spread ½ of batter in greased bundt or tube pan. Sprinkle half of chocolate chip mixture over batter. Spread remaining batter over top. Sprinkle with remaining chocolate chip mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes until cake tests done. Cool 15 minutes in pan before removing.