I discovered a sweet cornbread recipe I really like; so much so that I've been making it once a week. (I also like the savory version, so this isn't meant to prompt debate!) I'm certain there have been others, although I need to give it some thought. Another thing I found which I've been using a lot is some fold-up bakeware called FoldTuk. (I'm amazed at how well it browns, unlike silicone bakeware which I kind of despise.) I especially like that it doesn't take up much space to store.

So...What were your hits?

Best Buttermilk Cornbread
From All Recipes

1/2 cup butter, melted
2/3 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 t. baking soda
1 cup corn flour (Bob's Red Mill)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 t. salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease an 8 inch square pan or a 4x6 inch loaf pan.

Melt the butter; stir into the sugar. Add eggs and mix together until well blended. Combine buttermilk with baking soda in a batter bowl; add the butter and egg mixture. Stir in the corn flour, flour, and salt until well blended and few lumps remain. Pour batter into the prepared pan.

Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Milk & Honey Bread from The Tasty Kitchen (Pioneer Woman)

Moroccan Chicken found on food.com

Asian Cabbage Salad with Chicken, re-discovered

Amish Friendship Bread starter and bread recipes on the FriendshipBreadKitchen.com

and last, but not least, coming up with a "standard" recipe for chili that I can repeat again and again and now it is written in one of my recipe collections.

Teresa

Thank you, Sue!

Pasta Puttanesca. I'm pretty sure it's Sharon's recipe.

* 3 cups sugar
* 1-1/2 cups butter, softened
* 6 eggs
* 3 cups all-purpose flour
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
* 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
* 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
* 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
* 1 cup apple cider
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* ICING:
* 1/2 cup sugar
* 1/4 cup butter, cubed
* 1/4 cup buttermilk
* 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1/4 teaspoon baking sodaDirections
* In a large bowl, cream sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add eggs,
one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir together all dry
ingredients; set aside. Combine cider and vanilla. Add dry ingredients
alternately with cider mixture to batter. Mix until well blended. Spoon into a
greased 10-in. angel food cake pan or fluted tube pan.

* Bake at 325 degrees F for 1 hour 10 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the
center comes out clean.

* Meanwhile, combine icing ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a boil; reduce
heat and simmer for 10 minutes. While cake is warm, drizzle half of icing over
cake. Serve remaining icing over individual cake servings if desired.

Started learning some Indian dishes, various yoghurt-braised meats with interesting spices.

Developed some rudimentary facility with bread. I can make a basic French and ciabatta. That's about as much bread skill as my waistline wants me to have. I'd like to learn a sourdough, but keeping the starter going may be more trouble than I can hack.

Figured out the secret to roast unagi! (Buy it pre-roasted.)

Thanks to CF, my son gets his spicy salsa fresca and Daddy's a hero.

Made a taco meal with pan-fried corn tortillas, family insists that this get into the regular lineup now.

Goals for 2012: get better at making interesting vegetable dishes, learn more fish (maybe I need to actually read my Peterson cookbook), become a bona fide bento apprentice, learn really authentic Mexican food (not rice stuffed monster greasy American-style burritos, but rather the fresh, spicy, seafood-heavy stuff I used to eat in remote fishing villages deep in Baja).