SKIP TO: Best Recipes – Favorite 2025 Cookbooks – My Recipes
After all the changes of 2024 – newly married, moving states, and adopting a dog – 2025 felt like the year to lay low and settle into our new rhythm. The biggest adjustment by far was life with a dog. Somehow, shockingly, we are now morning people, as Helen insists on breakfast well before dawn.
But we ate very well this year – as my doctor kindly noted at my last physical – and there were a couple of exciting milestones, too: celebrating 10 years since starting this account and finally finding my groove with recipe development. I truly can’t thank so many of you enough for testing recipes and sharing such thoughtful, helpful feedback!
Today on the blog, I’m rounding up the favorite dishes I cooked, the recipes I developed, and the cookbooks I loved most this year. My mouth was watering just pulling it all together. I hope it inspires you to get cooking in 2026.
BEST RECIPES
Here are my favorite recipes I cooked this year
Jump to: Appetizers | Soups, Stews + Salads | Main Dishes | Side Dishes | Desserts + Bread | Breakfast
APPETIZERS
Ayesha Nurdjaja’s Charred Chicken Wings with Chermoula White Sauce (Recipe here)
Ari Kolender’s Char-Broiled Oysters with Garlic Butter and Parmesan (Recipe here)
SOUPS, STEWS + SALADS
Wishbone Kitchen’s Blueberry BBQ Grilled Chicken Salad (Recipe here)
Smitten Kitchen’s Grilled Chicken Salad with Cilantro-Lime Dressing (Recipe here)
Via Carota’s Cavolo e Farro – Green Cabbage and Toasted Farro with Speck (Via Carota Cookbook, page 204)
Dolly Parton’s Rustic Chicken and Dumplins (Recipe here)
Eric Kim’s Cornish Game Hen Soup with Fried Shallot Oil (Recipe here)
MAIN DISHES
Wishbone Kitchen’s Heirloom Tomato Galette (Recipe here)
Eric Kim’s Cheesy Corn and Ranch Pizza with Black Pepper Honey (Recipe here)
Millie Peartree’s Cajun Shrimp Bowls (Recipe here)
The Woks of Life’s Spicy Beef Biang Biang Noodles (Lamb version here)
Edy Massih’s Za’aatar Chicken Thighs (Recipe here)
Eric Kim’s Weeknight Curry Rice with Eggplant, Spinach and Lotus Root (Korean American, page 144)
Lidey Heuck’s Braised Short Ribs with Port, Shallot and Cranberries (Cooking in Real Life, page 111)
Eventide’s Brown Butter Lobster Roll (Recipe here)
Lidey Heuck’s Champagne Chicken (Recipe here)
Ayesha Nurdjaja’s Kofta Meatballs With Pistachio-Arugula Sauce (Recipe here)
Eric Kim’s Winter Squash Risotto with Chewy Rice Cakes (Korean American, page 153)
The Original Dish’s Baked Rosemary Chicken Meatballs with Tomato Orzo (Recipe here)
James Park’s Fiery Spaghetti and Meatballs (Chili Crisp, page 70)
Eric Kim’s Roasted Lobster Tail with Lemony Green Salad (Korean American, page 173)
Ayesha Nurdjaja’s Mushroom Arayes (Recipe here)
SIDE DISHES
Nok Suntaranon’s Pad Ma Kua Yaow – Stir-Fried Eggplant (Kalaya’s Southern Thai Kitchen, page 180)
Samin Nosrat’s Creamy Lemon-Miso Dressing with Roasted Broccoli (Recipe here)
DESSERTS + BREAD
Michelle Polzine’s Russian Honey Cake (Recipe here)
Dan Pelosi’s Caramelized Banana Pudding (Let’s Party, page 216)
Joe Beef’s Marjolaine (Recipe here)
Claire Saffitz’s Rhubarb Custard Cake (Recipe here)
Lacey Ostermann’s Cheesy Garlic Swirls (3 Doughs, 60 Recipes, page 116)
Anna Olson’s Rhubarb Cream Tart (Sugar, page 23)
Marcella Hazan’s Diplomatico – Chocolate Dessert with Rum and Coffee (Recipe here)
Claire Saffitz’s Millionaire Shortbread (Recipe here)
Beatty’s Chocolate Cake (Recipe here)
BREAKFAST
Hawa Hassan’s Awaze Avocado Toast with Soft Boiled Eggs (Recipe here)
Calvin Eng’s Steamed-Then-Fried Egg Sandwich (Salt Sugar MSG, page 64)
Briana Holt’s Buttermilk Sugar Biscuits (Recipe here)
FAVORITE NEW COOKBOOKS
New in 2025:
- Salt Sugar MSG: Recipes and Stories from a Cantonese American Home by Calvin Eng
- Setting a Place for Us: Recipes and Stories of Displacement, Resilience, and Community from Eight Countries Impacted by War by Hawa Hassan
- Good Things by Samin Nosrat
- The Wishbone Kitchen Cookbook by Meredith Hayden
- Let’s Party by Dan Pelosi
- Soju Party by Irene Yoo
Most anticipated 2026 cookbooks:
- TBD, Ayesha Nurjaja (October 2026)
- Everyone Hot Pot: Creating the Ultimate Meal for Gathering and Feasting by Natasha Pickowicz (January 2026)
- Obsessed with the Best: 100 Methodically Perfected Recipes Based on 20+ Head-to-Head Tests by Ella Quittner (March 2026)
- Hello, Home Cooking: Do-Able Dishes for Every Day by Ham El-Waylly (March 2026)
STORE-BOUGHT IS FINE RECIPES
A handful of my favorite recipes that I developed this year!
