Seasonal Sundays (Week 53) Hello, 2021

Hey, All ... only four (four!) more days and we can toss the 2020 calendars into the dust bin. Bonfire, anyone?
But hey, recipes, quick-quick. First, Kitchen Parade's Best Recipe of 2020, any guesses? And then to finish out the year, I've gathered a few quick recipes ideas for you. Greens and black-eyed peas for "good fortune" in the New Year. Or how about a Cajun New Year?! Some Dessert Splurges for Small Gatherings. Plus for those of us mentally (or culinarily) preparing for the much-welcome seasonal switch, some healthy choices that bridge the gap between "December food" and "January food".
C'mon in, look around. If just one recipe gets a second look (and a cook!), it'll make my day. And yours too, I'm willing to bet.

~ Skip Straight to the Good Stuff ~

Welcome to Seasonal Sundays ...

Whew. How does a simpler Christmas still jam-pack every single minute? And leave me ready for a three-day nap ...

I do so hope your holiday brought starfields of joy, all that your unique family and social circumstance could deliver. What a year, eh?

This week, I got to see my 94-3/4 year old father every day, through heavy door glass into a dim room but still, more kinda face-to-face time since mid February. We sang carols over the phone ...

Then on Christmas Eve afternoon, we braved 20-degree cold and 20-mph winds for drive-by, present-drop visits in the driveway. Soooo cold.

And now, of course, Happy New Year!

But most of all, thank you for sharing 2020 with me. Your presence, your comments, your notes, your encouragement all fuel a continuing commitment to simple food prepared well following the seasons and ever mindful of household food budgets.

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PICK ONE

Pick One is for those of us overwhelmed by life's unending choices. If that resonates, then check out this one recipe and then call it a day. It's one that I think could make the most difference, the one I hope will become a regular in your kitchen, as it is in mine.

• THE RECIPE Slow-Cooked Greens & Smoked Turkey So good, you'll want to eat the pot.
• MORE "GOOD FORTUNE" FOODS New Year's recipe ideas

Best Recipe of the Year

I love-love-love the last week of the year in the food blog world. By tradition, each of us look back over the prior year, noting which recipes resonated most with readers, selecting our personal favorites. We all take a different tack ...

For many years, like other food bloggers, I picked a dozen favorite recipes from the year. Once eldercare responsibilities took over my life, I switched to selecting just one "most useful" recipe per year, they're all collected here Best-Ever “Most Useful” Recipes 2002 – Present.

Every year, it's hard to pick! In 2020, my Best Quick Tomato Salsa (Red Salsa) and My Guacamole were top contenders. So was the lunch-saver Chicken Salad for Sandwiches.

But in the end, there was no denying the one thing I make week in and week out.

Rice. Plain ol' but wonderful white rice. Plump and moist. Perfect every pot.

And most of all .... freezer friendly! We can't eat a big pot of rice every week so we eat what we want, the rest goes into the freezer in small, meal-size containers. That means just-as-good-as-cooked-fresh is quick-quick-quick, just two minutes in the microwave.

"Useful" can be exciting!

• THE RECIPE How to Cook White Rice Basics done well, for dinner, for the freezer.
• ANOTHER TAKE Oven-Baked Brown Rice So good, make it every week.

Make It a Cajun Celebration

• THE RECIPE Gumbo A classic Cajun gumbo, except that the roux is cooked in the oven.
• ANOTHER TAKE Vegan Chickpea Gumbo

• THE RECIPE Big Cajun Chopped Salad
• ANOTHER TAKE Babe's Naked Fruit & Veggie Salad

• THE RECIPE Bourbon Pralines The famous praline recipe from the New Orleans School of Cooking.
• THEN MAKE Mini Tiramisu Cups with Pralines Tiramisu made with eggs that are cooked, not raw.

Celebratory Splurges

• THE RECIPE Lemon Pudding Cake Light and airy lemon pudding cake, baked till golden on top and a soft lemony pudding forms below. Wonderful with raspberries or blueberries!
• ANOTHER TAKE Southern Belle Lemon Layer Cake Easy lemony cake with lemony cream cheese frosting. Also cherry layer cake, orange layer cake, many variations!

• THE RECIPE Chocolate Decadence Cake The ultimate chocolate experience.
• STELLAR WITH Raspberry-Red Wine Coulis (Reduction Sauce) Sweet-but-tart raspberry sauce, a perfect added-touch for desserts.

• THE RECIPE Coconut Cream Pie How to move grown men to silence.
• ANOTHER TAKE Easy-Easy Chocolate Coconut Pudding Just five ingredients and ten minutes to pudding.

Getting a Healthy Head Start

• THE RECIPE Mediterranean Eggplant Skillet Quick, easy & tasty vegetarian supper.
• ANOTHER TAKE Moroccan Chicken A one-pot stew simmered with eggplant and tomato perfumed with Moroccan spices.

• THE RECIPE Slow Cooker Curried Vegetable Stew A spiced stew with many vegetables!
• ANOTHER TAKE Squash & Carrot Stew Rich with world spices.

• THE RECIPE Quick 'n' Easy Raw Salad My own "healthy habit" that I hope will inspire yours, too.
• YOU'LL NEED A LITTLE DRESSING My Everyday Creamy Herb Salad Dressing Never the same twice.

Trending

My Top 10 Recipes are predictable, hello Ham 101: What to Know Before Buying a Ham and Weight Watchers Zero Points Garden Vegetable Soup. But every week, seasonal recipes catch the internet's attention and start to trend.

• THE RECIPE Turnip Puff or Rutabaga Puff A family Thanksgiving favorite.
  
• ANOTHER TAKE Squash Puff An old family recipe, traditional for Thanksgiving.

• THE RECIPE Finnish Carrot Casserole
• ANOTHER TAKE Creamy Carrot Purée

What's New?!

• THE RECIPE Savory Roasted Pecans A quick savory appetizer or food gift.
• ANOTHER TAKE Party Nuts with Fresh Rosemary "Those Good Nuts."

Just Updated!

• THE RECIPE How to Roast Peppers in the Oven
• ANOTHER TAKE How to Roast a Pepper on a Gas Stove

Hey! Don't Be a Stranger ...

I'd love to hear from you. Comment, send me a quick e-mail via recipes@kitchen-parade.com, dot-dash in Morse code, build a fire for smoke signals, launch a message in a bottle, send a Christmas letter, get the dog to yip, toss me a note wrapped in a rubberband, write a message in the sky, scratch a note in the sand, listen to a seashell, whatever.

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Kitchen Parade is written by second-generation food columnist Alanna Kellogg and features fresh, seasonal dishes for every-day healthful eating and occasional indulgences. Quick Suppers are Kitchen Parade favorites and feature recipes easy on the budget, the clock, the waistline and the dishwasher. Do you have a favorite recipe that other Kitchen Parade readers might like? Just send me a quick e-mail via recipes@kitchen-parade.com. How to print a Kitchen Parade recipe. Never miss a recipe! If you like this recipe, sign up for a free e-mail subscription. If you like Kitchen Parade, you're sure to like my food blog about vegetable recipes, too, A Veggie Venture. If you make this recipe, I'd love to know your results! Just leave a comment below.

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2020