The best things I cooked recently

I set a more manageable goal of 52 new recipes year, and hit that number around Thanksgiving. Quite a lot of them were really good - maybe I'm getting better at reading recipes and picking out the ones my family will enjoy? Here are some of the best:

Apple Cranberry Tart (with almond paste) from Viking River Cruises: sweet, almond-y, delicious... I would use a better choice of apple than MacIntosh, but otherwise wouldn't change a thing.

Cranberry Brie Bites (on crescent roll dough) from Delish.com: these were a bit fiddly to assemble, and they made a huge mess of my mini-muffin tin... BUT they were amazingly tasty, and even the picky eaters in the family really liked them.

Bourbon Snickerdoodle Blondies from Broma Bakery: these were disappointingly dull on the first day, but got better with age.

Sourdough No Knead Dutch Oven Bread (with yogurt) from Tidy Mom: this is like cheater's sourdough bread and everyone loves it. I did a variation with 1 cup whole wheat flour replacing 1 cup white flour, and molasses replacing the honey, and it's our new family standard.

Easy One Bowl Oatmeal Cookies from Serious Eats: follow the directions exactly, and you'll get perfect oatmeal cookies.

Chocolate Chunk Orange Scones from Cookies and Cups: very good scones; made them without the glaze because they're already quite sweet.

Green Bean Casserole with Crispy Onions from Smitten Kitchen: very good, even though I cheated and used Trader Joe's crispy onions instead of making my own

Teddie's Apple Cake from Food52: easy and delicious. My students loved it.

Pumpkin Bread from Smitten Kitchen: so, so good and much in demand since I first made it this fall.

Momofuku's Soy Sauce Eggs from Food52: use low-sodium soy sauce or they turn out WICKED salty... but still delicious. These are great to keep in the fridge as a high-protein snack.

Hobo Bibimbap from Food and Wine: not quick to make, but most of it can be prepped ahead of time. This was a HUGE hit at my cousin's birthday party, and even the picky eaters in the family enjoy it.

Shrimp Cocktail from Serious Eats: a lot of work, but absolutely worth it

Apple Weekend Cake by Dorie Greenspan (via David Lebovitz): easy and delicious.

Apple Ricotta Cake (AKA Lousia's Cake) from Food52: slightly sticky, but otherwise excellent. This is a great way to use up leftover ricotta...

I also made two great recipes that don't have online links: Copycat Panera Turkey Chili from a website that seems to have gone defunct... fortunately I wrote it down while making it, so I still have the original. It was delicious and made enough food to be lunch all week. Also the Raspberry Rhubarb Muffins from Flour by Joanne Chang. I found many of her other recipes to be frustratingly imprecise, but this worked perfectly except for making 20 muffins instead of jus 12.