2011 – a year in review

I honestly can’t believe how quickly this year has flown by.  It seemed not that long ago we were ringing in 2011, and now we are about to welcome 2012! Does anyone else feel this way?

2011 has been a year of ups and downs.  The most exciting of which was getting engaged on the beach in Fiji, on our way home from a wonderful holiday in the United States!  In case you haven’t read about it, and how my fiancé realised he had lost the ring just as he was about to propose, and thankfully how we found it again in the sand on Natadola Beach, you can read about it here. The night after our engagement, our last night in Fiji, we dined at one of the restaurants in our resort and the staff had secretly organised for us to be serenaded with a traditional Fijian farewell song.  It was so beautiful and moving when ALL of the staff from the restaurant came to our table and sang to us in deep and rich voices, and the beautiful song was so moving that I struggled to fight back tears.  It’s something that I will remember forever.

In June we visited the United States, and for me in particular, the highlight of that was the 8 days we spent in New York.  New York has long been a city I wanted to visit, and being there in person was almost surreal.  Being a huge fan of Sex And The City, and various movies set in New York, I’d seen many New York sites on the TV screen and couldn’t wait to see them in person.  And being in New York was so much better than I had imagined. I imagined when we arrived there I would likely end up disappointed, but I was far from it.  Admittedly, when we arrived late in the evening and saw all of the rubbish on the streets I was a little put off, but the next morning, and every day in fact, I couldn’t believe how clean the city is, and how efficiently it is run. Australia could learn a lot.  Understandably, with a city that size, you have to be efficient, but the speed in which the city cleaned up and dismantled the stands after the Puerto Rican day parades, which occurred while we were there, was absolutely mind blowing.  Troy and I both couldn’t believe that 1 hour after the parade was due to end the stands had all been dismantled and the street sweepers were already cleaning up.  Go to Melbourne at Grand Prix time and they seem to be cleaning up for days afterwards.

It was a city where we marveled at the beautiful buildings (including the amazing Met Gallery) and the efficiency of the public transport system, which was so surprisingly easy to get the hang of, despite stories we had heard to the contrary.  It was also a city of friendly helpful people, again despite what we had heard to the contrary.  We saw locals help tourists and explain how to use the subway and sometimes even take the tourists to their destination to make sure they didn’t get lost.  We also saw locals stop to help confused people trying to work out which way they were going according to the map they were holding, we met local New Yorkers who are clearly passionate about their city.  We had also heard that New York was an extremely expensive city, but again that was not what we encountered, in fact it just showed how expensive and overpriced Australia has, sadly, become.  We marveled at the ridiculously cheap prices for fruit and vegetables (compared to Australian prices), and how cheap every meal at every restaurant we ate at was compared to Australia.

The highlight of the New York trip for me though, was our visit to Daniel Boulud’s restaurant Daniel.  It was without doubt the most amazing meal of my life, and the staff were all amazingly friendly. Especially our waiter, Javier, who sneaked little extras from the kitchen for us to sample, and John, Maitre’d, who organised for me to have a tour of the Michelin starred kitchen and take photos to share with you.  John also organised for Chef Boulud to stop by our table and say hello.  Celebrities may do it for most people, but for me it’s amazingly talented chefs, so when Chef Boulud arrived at our table I was shaking with excitement and I have to admit I was a little starstruck, which embarrassingly left me lost for words.  He was very kind though, and stayed for a few minutes to talk, and give us suggestions of foodie places to visit.

Throughout the course of the year I was excited to see Delicieux receive mentions on The Huffington Post, The Hoopla, The Kitchn, Foodbuzz and Yummly.  2011 was also the year I dipped my toe into editorial work for a food magazine, Cravings, where I wrote a small article and shared a recipe.  Unfortunately, given industrial action on the Perth wharves I’m still yet to receive the print edition, but I was so excited to receive the final PDF proof and see my name, recipe and photo of my roasted beetroot salad in print. I’ll share the print copy with you when it arrives in a few weeks.

During the year there were some delicious recipes.  Here are a few of my favourites:

Mushroom Wellington

I  was so excited to take part in the International Mushroom Masters tournament with Australia v USA v Canada, and I was even more excited when my Mushroom Wellington was voted the winner of the dinner round of  the Mushroom Mastrers.

Spiced Pumpkin Tarts

These gorgeous little tarts, which were adapted from one of Alice Hart’s delicious recipes, were delicious and have become a favourite in our house, served with a delicious crunchy salad.

Cucumber Salad

Such a simple  salad, but so crunchy, refreshing and zingy.

Lego Cupcakes

These were to celebrate my fiancé’s sons birthdays, and while they were fiddly, it was so rewarding to see their faces when the cupcakes were unveiled.  But, I don’t think they were anywhere near as excited as my fiancé was when he saw them!

Blood Orange Tart

2011 was the year I became comfortable with pastry, and as a result, I had fun  making tarts of various flavours, but my favourite, without doubt, was this Blood Orange Tart.

Spice Roasted Pineapple Ice Cream

During 2011 I began to experiment by roasting different fruits and incorporate them into desserts.  My favourite of which was this Spice Roasted Pineapple Ice Cream.

Wicked Chocolate Orange Cookies

If you are a regular Delicieux reader you will know my fondness for chocolate, and these cookies showcase that perfectly.  They are rich and indulgent and contain my favourite flavour pairing – chocolate and orange.

Cherry Ripe Cake 

My final favourite chocolate recipe of the year was my Cherry Ripe cake.  In a word – delicious!

2011 was also the year I began to become somewhat comfortable with my photography.  While I know I’ll never be as talented as some of my favourite and supremely talented food blogging friends, who are amazing photographers and food stylists, I am slowly beginning to find my own style and voice to share my food journey.  Unfortunately, or fortunately, I am my own worst critic and usually dislike most of my photos, but being the perfectionist I am it pushes me to do better.  That being said, I did like a few of my photos this year, and below are some of my favourite images of the year.

Well, that was 2011.  I can’t wait to see what 2012 has in store.

Happy New Year everyone!!  I hope 2012 brings with it lots of wonderful things for you and your families.

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Tagged as: baking, Cakes, Chocolate, Daniel Boulud, desserts, Fiji, Natadola Beach, New York, Recipes