Thursday, December 30, 2010

Best of 2010

Is it just me or did this year go by at lightening speed? I feel like it was just January!! Though the year started out a bit rough, but it ended on a high and so many great things happened in the last twelve months.  Here are some of the highlights:

I attended more food themed events in the last year. The first and one of the best was Good Food Live featuring cooking demonstrations with a variety of Australian chefs and Evan Kleiman. Despite the rain, we had a great time and got to meet Curtis Stone.

LA Food Bloggers with Curtis Stone at Good Food Live

Desserts are always the most popular posts on my blog. It's not hard to see why Crack Pie and Sticky Meyer Lemon Rolls were two of the most popular posts this year. In fact, the lemon rolls were so good, I didn't share which is unusual for me when it comes to baked goods.

Momofuku's Crack Pie Bars

Sticky Meyer Lemon Rolls

I celebrated two years of food blogging with delicious cookies and an even more delicious giveaway sponsored by me, myself, and I.

Nutella Sandwich Cookies

I explored different areas of Los Angeles and found one of my favorite shops in Koreatown. I used many of the goodies I picked up to make a variety of Korean dishes like this spring-themed rice bowl.

Korean Rice Bowl with Steak, Asparagus, and Fried Egg

One of the main events in 2010 was my 30th birthday. I had a low key celebration with a fabulous cake and fried chicken and beer.

Yellow Cake with Chocolate Buttercream

I explored LA's food scene a lot more this year and had quite a few epic meals out (and some not so epic, but still delicious).  Restaurants like Animal and Bistro LQ tested my pickyness and I found I can be an adventurous eater when I want to be.

Cod with lentils, blood sausage, and octopus wrapped in pimenton

A couple of years ago a made a goal to meet at least three food bloggers in person. Well since then I have far exceeded that goal and met even more people this year.  As expected, everyone is great and it was nice to congregate at events like Blogger Prom to discuss our mutual interests (and nerdiness).

Esi at Blogger Prom

To end 2010 and hopefully start 2011, I'm finally diving into some catering which has been a long time dream of mine. I recently got started with a four course dinner for the cast of the new show "Better With You" and it was an incredible evening. This soup was one of the best courses. I hope the new year will provide many more opportunities for such events.

Roasted Pumpkin Soup with Shrimp, Farro, and Leeks

Overall this has been one of the best years in recent memory and it has me really excited for the coming year. I'm looking forward to sharing many more recipes and restaurants and perhaps delving into other categories like lifestyle, photography, and design.  I hope you all have a wonderful, fun, and most importantly safe New Year's Eve. Cheers and Happy New Year!

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22 comments:

Erica said...

Such a fabulous year :) I'm still jealous of your attendance of the Good Food Live taping! Hope you have a fantastic New Years

Olga said...

what a great year! hope 2011 is even better. keep on cooking, smiling, and being a super fun person :)

vanillasugarblog said...

awww what a nice post. (i still want that dress!)

Joanne said...

You definitely had an awesome year, in food and in life! here's to another great one!

Gaby said...

you rock lady!! we must get together soon!

lisa is cooking said...

It looks like you had a great year, and here's to a fabulous 2011!

The Food Librarian said...

Cheers to you! What a great post and such a fun year! Happy New Year Esi! - mary

Amanda said...

You are so gorgeous! My goodness you have the perfect smile. :)

Sounds like it was a great year... hope 2011 is even more amazing!

Blessings-
Amanda

48pinups said...

Love the pic of you at Blogger Prom, so cute! Congrats on a stellar 2010.

-Allison

Diana said...

I'm really glad that we finally started hanging out more in person this year! Yay Blackboard Eats! ;)

Many more good times to come in 2011! And I can't wait to see all the delights (not duds) you dish up!

marla {Family Fresh Cooking} said...

Esi, I am so happy that we have gotten to spend time together in person. This is such & uplifting post. I hope that 2011 has many great opportunities in store for you :)

Taylor said...

This is a great round up of recipes...it has definitely been a great food year!! Happy New Year :)

Banana Wonder said...

Mmmm delicious recipes! I want to make those Meyer Lemon rolls the most. Wow, what a great year Esi!

Maria said...

What a great year! Happy New Year to you!

shaz said...

Happy New Year to you Esi. Sounds like you've had a fabulous year and may 2011 be even better. Good luck with the catering.

Kerstin said...

Happy New Year! I still want to try that crack pie! Hope you have fabulous 2011 :)

Unknown said...

happy new year!!! sounds like you had a good year ;)

Alicia Foodycat said...

Happy New Year Esi! All the best for your catering ventures this year.

Kristen - Dine & Dish said...

Looks like you had a wonderful, fun filled year!

The Duo Dishes said...

Hey that's us! :) Happy 2011! Hope lots more awesome things are in the works for you.

Andrea said...

Wow Esi, congrats on the great year! And can I just say, you are just about the cutest thing in the world. Love the flower!

lovelanguagetest said...

Oh hey there. Did you miss me? Somewhere between BodyPump classes , polar vortices , and quick trips to
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