THIS IS MY BEST AND WORST FOOD LIST OF 2025!
1.BEST CHICKEN DISH: CHICKEN SCARPARIELLA
This was a recipe that I took from SipandFeast.com, a site I highly recommend. James Delmage posts easy to follow, mostly Italian-American taste-tasted recipes that are fun to make. I’ve yet to find a clunker in his repertoire. His Chicken Scarp is a classic. I made it multiple times this year and it will continue to appear in my rotation. With a sip or two of cold white wine, this weekend meal is a comforting ‘feast.’
2. BEST CHINESE-AMERICAN DISH: VEGETARIAN CRISPY NOODLES
I absolutely love crispy Cantonese style egg noodles. Cook the noodles, drain them and then dry them in hot oil until they are golden and crispy. Then make a stir fry with my Red Wok sauce and pour it all over the noodles. I have seen these noodles on lots of Chinese restaurant menus as a “Bird’s Nest.” I have to resist the urge to cook this every week!
3. BEST TECHNIQUE OF THE YEAR: VELVETING PROTIEN
I get so mad when I go to a Chinese restaurant and the chicken or beef is tough and chewy. Learning this technique will change your culinary life! Marinate the protein, then fry or boil until nearly cooked through. The second fry will result in PERFECTION.
4. BEST WINE I DRANK IN 2025: QUINTESSA 2018
A very experienced wait person at Ruth’s Chris on Vets in Metairie recommended the Quintessa Cabernet and I got the last 2018 bottle she had. I picture this wine wearing a tutu. It is a feminine wine, elegant and supple. So, there.
5. BEST COCKTAIL: SIDECAR
This might also be the worst hangover I had all year, perhaps the only one. With a touch of cinnamon on the rim of the coupe, this cocktail is dangerously fun to sip. And sip. And sip.
6. BEST SAUCE OF THE YEAR: MEUNIERE SAUCE
This is a classic New Orleans sauce that takes me back to the 80’s when I moved here and discovered Chef Paul, Commander’s, Mr. B’s and the other iconic restaurants of that era. I recently re-discovered this amazing recipe that elevates a fresh piece of fish as opposed to cloaking it.
7. MOST AMBITIOUS AND REWARDING DISH OF THE YEAR: OYSTERS ALADDIN
I pretty much love Oysters Rockefeller more than any dish in the world. This year I was honored to have dinner with a dear old friend and HIS dear old friend A.G., at Antoine’s… and A.G. ate Oysters Rockefeller seemingly for the first time. I think I have “almost” duplicated the recipe. Of course, there is no way to truly replicate the most famous dish at the most famous restaurant in New Orleans. Eating this dish at this restaurant with a picture of FBW on the wall is just one of my greatest delights in life.
8. WORST RECIPE OF THE YEAR: COD ALMONDINE
I like Ree Drummond but nostalgia could not save this recipe.
9. BEST NEW APPLIANCE OF THE YEAR: BREVILLE COUNTERTOP OVEN
My oven door EXPLODED one night. It sounded like a bomb went off in my kitchen. Thank goodness I wasn’t standing in front of it. It took a while to get a replacement so while I waited I cooked in a Breville countertop oven that roasted, baked, air-fried, dehydrated, proofed, warmed and slow-cooked. And toasted. Wow. I am still using it even though my built-in wall oven has now been replaced.
10. BEST NEW MOST ENVIABLE FOOD PERSON ON SOCIAL MEDIA
My fantastical Walter Mitty alter ego is Julia Child. Or Sabrina. Or the Barefoot Contessa. Maybe even the late Julia Reed. These are women who made amazing careers cooking, eating and talking about it. (Why can’t I do that?) Most recently, I have discovered the wonderful Corre Larkin. Her food looks delicious and she’s fun to watch. I want her life, I want her kitchen, I want her food.
