Best of 2007 Recipes from Ca Phe Sua Da (Vietnamese Milk Coffee Iced) to Cuban Lemon Garlic Roast Chicken

Before I file away all my photos from the past year, I thought I'd do a round-up of my best, prettiest, and most popular recipes of 2007. Completely unscientific, of course. Based upon which foods I thought were the tastiest, photographed the best, or popped up most frequently on searches. Click on the recipe title to get to the particular recipe post. Ca Phe Sua Da (Vietnamese Milk Coffee Iced). Canh Chua Ca (Vietnamese Sour Fish Soup). Carne Asada (Mexican Grilled Meat). Cha Gio (Vietnamese Egg Rolls). Che Bap (Vietnamese Pudding with Corn and Tapioca Pearls in Coconut Milk). Chicken Pot Pie with Cilantro Biscuits. Cobb Salad. Cuban Lemon Garlic Roast Chicken. ***** 1 year ago today, I was in awe of the pizza tossing at Lanesplitter Pizza and Pub - Berkeley.

Best of 2007 Recipes from Aji Verde (Peruvian Green Chili Sauce) to Butter

Before I file away all my photos from the past year, I thought I'd do a round-up of my best, prettiest, and most popular recipes of 2007. Completely unscientific, of course. Based upon which foods I thought were the tastiest, photographed the best, or popped up most frequently on searches. Click on the recipe title to get to the particular recipe post. So in alphabetical order, we start with... Aji Verde (Peruvian Green Chili Sauce). Albalu Polow (Persian Sour Cherry Rice). Baechu Kimchee (Korean Pickled Napa Cabbage). Bibimbap (Korean Mixed Rice). Bo Bia (Vietnamese Spring Rolls with Chinese Sausage, Shrimp, Eggs, and Jicama). Bo Luc Lac (Vietnamese Shaking Beef). Borscht. Bruschetta al Pomodoro (Italian Tomato Bruschetta). Buckwheat Crepes. Butter. ***** 1 year ago today, two of my cousins started quilting too.

Banh Tom (Vietnamese Shrimp and Yam Fritters)

I love, love, love yams. Or is it a sweet potato? Well, apparently it's the sweet potato I really love, but Americans use the words yam and sweet potato interchangeably. :P


The bright orange color means sweet potatoes are chock-full of beta carotene and vitamin C. While I love sweet potato fries, I didn't encounter banh tom (Vietnamese shrimp and yam fritters) until I dined at Brodard Restaurant - Garden Grove. I liked the restaurant's thick-cut sweet potatoes and the "nests" that were formed with a shrimp on top.

So while banh tom Ho Tay (West Lake shrimp fritters) originated in Hanoi, this version is quite different from the Northern Vietnamese presentation, which tended to have thinner-cut fries and a lot more batter. Adding a bit of turmeric into the batter helps with the color, and aids liver and digestive health as well. Serve with a platter of herbs to wrap the fritters and it's pretty healthy. Well, except for the frying. In which case, you can easily bake the fritters instead.