your favorite recipes of 2024
plus: five perfect party snacks
Monday, December 30, 2024
Good morning!
The year I embraced the potluck [Eater]
In This Industrial Design Class, Students Eat Their Homework [NYTimes, unlocked]
We missed summer warmth so much, we snuck below the equator to find it. Greetings from vacation! I hope you are (also) having an excellent and restful holiday break and are only checking your email because you had a hunch I’d send you some delicious ideas. (Or so I humor myself to believe.)
[I’ll tell you all about our trip when we get back but if you’re ever interested in scrolling through my previous vacation write-ups, you can find them all here: https://smittenkitchen.com/travel/]
Below: The Smitten Kitchen recipes you cooked the most in 2024. I love rounding this up at the end of each year, seeing the new appearances and also the forever favorites, going strong. I’m proud like a mom at kindergarten graduation!
Plus: A few of my go-to party snacks, all showstoppers (promise!).
I hope you wrap up this year in a happy, cozy place with your favorite people. Here’s to an even more magnificent 2025! 🥂
Cheers!
Deb
shop my favorites
Ever wonder where I get my cutting boards, paring knives, offset spatulas and more than you see when I cook? I've created a page on Smitten Kitchen with links to some of my favorite kitchen items, the ones I'm asked about the most — yes, including the the Smitten Kitchen x Staub Braiser (currently out of stock but we’ll have more in soon!). For each item, I've attempted to provide a range of shopping links so we're not just focusing on one giant retailer.
I’ve written three cookbooks and I’m a tiny bit biased, but I think you’d love them all. Wondering what you might cook from Smitten Kitchen Keepers for your holiday tables and New Year’s parties? I thought you’d never ask! Try the endive salad with apple matchsticks, carrot tarte tatin, fettucine with white ragu, and raclette tartiflette. To finish, I recommend the thick molasses spice cookies, the family-style crème brûlée, and/or the white Russian slush punch. Were you looking for a list of all the recipes in each of my cookbooks? I’ve added these in a separate page and hope it makes it easier for you to find everything you want to cook.
“One of the winning elements of ‘The Recipe’ is that it’s not prescriptive — rather than settling on one universal ‘perfect’ recipe, the chefs explain their personal preferences, then give listeners the information they need to make their own adjustments. By breaking their recipes down ingredient-by-ingredient, digging into what each one is doing, they make the science of cooking approachable and fun.” — New York Times, 7 Podcasts to Inspire a New Hobby
“J. Kenji Lopez-Alt and Deb Perelman’s new podcast gets to not only the heart of how they make their recipes—but also the why behind each decision, too.” — Esquire, The 26 Best Podcasts of 2024
The latest full episode of my podcast with J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, The Recipe with Kenji and Deb, is all about the mighty Bacon, Egg and Cheese (BEC) Sandwich! You can listen to it anywhere you get your podcasts, such as Apple, Spotify, and more. A few weeks ago, we ran an excerpt of the new special audiobook edition of Smitten Kitchen Keepers, Smitten Kitchen Keepers: A Kitchen Counter Conversation. You can listen to it here.
The Most Popular Smitten Kitchen Recipes of 2024
PARTY SNACKS
baked brie with balsamic red onions
Baked brie, my way: A simple, flaky galette dough forms a decadent packet around a small wheel of brie with sweet-sour jammy red onions under and over the cheese, a paper-thin layer of Dijon, thyme, and a crackle of sesame seeds on top. There is nothing better.
cider-glazed bacon-wrapped dates
The most popular appetizer at every party is also the easiest to make. I am anti-stuffing (too fiddly, takes forever), but pro-glazing, and this one, with cider vinegar, maple syrup, flaky salt, and aleppo pepper, makes what is already an impossibly delicious party snack even more so.
feta tapenade tarte soleil
My favorite radiant and party-perfect appetizer that celebrates the longer, brighter days ahead is also a cinch to make. Once your puff pastry is defrosted, it can be assembled and baked in under an hour.
walnut pesto
Not even exaggerating when I say this is one of the best things I know how to put on toast: crunchy, salty, tart with a little kick, it is always a hit. If you make a big jar of it this week, you won't be sad to have it for all the snacks and parties to come.
fudgy bourbon balls
I think we should bring this 60s holiday party standard back. My version uses bourbon instead of rum, a brownie's worth of chocolate, a dab of molasses for intensity and a tumble in sparkly shimmery coatings. They age well (just like us!) so go ahead and make them ASAP and be glad they’re ready when you are.
baked brie with balsamic red onions
See you next week!
