Dish Lister Year In Review
Issue No. 13: A recap of my favorite recipes, restaurant bites, products, and trends of 2024
Welcome back to Dish Lister!
2024 was a memorable year, including many ups and a few downs, but overall it was a great one for me personally, filled with travel, college applications(!!), and lots of delicious bites. Creating Dish Lister was a high point, allowing me to focus on something I truly love so much—food!
For my final issue of Dish Lister in 2024, it seems only fitting to share a few LISTS of my favorite recipes, restaurant bites, products, and trends of the year. I hope they inspire you to try something new—I promise you’ll be happy you did.
Ok, time to dish!
Best Eating In
These are the most delicious recipes I made for the first time in 2024. All have earned a permanent spot in my meal rotation. Click on the recipe names for links to (most of) the recipes.
FAVORITE NEW SAVORY RECIPES 🧂
Wontons and Vegetables in Curry Broth; What to Cook When You Don’t Feel Like Cooking, Caroline Chambers. My new favorite weeknight meal and a total flavor bomb.
Chicken Rice with Buttered Onions; Smitten Kitchen, Deb Perelman. The ideal comfort food recipe nestling roasted chicken thighs into a bed of buttery, oniony rice.
Brussels Sprouts Stir-Fry with Golden Raisins and Cheddar; Bon Appetit, Shilpa Uskakovic. This unexpected combination of ingredients is a major culinary win.
Manchego Stuffed Dates; SideChef.com. These prosciutto-wrapped, cheese-stuffed cuties were the stars of our Thanksgiving appetizers.
Lamb & Hummus Bowls; What to Cook When You Don’t Feel Like Cooking, Caroline Chambers. This simple, Mediterranean-inspired dish is restaurant-worthy.
Okonomiyaki-Style Crispy Cabbage Pancakes; The Weekday Vegetarians, Jenny Rosenstrach. Ideal for a light lunch.
Milk Bread Pull-Apart Rolls, New York Times Cooking, Naz Deravian. The most heavenly dinner rolls you will ever eat.
Chicken Parm Sliders; What to Cook When You Don’t Feel Like Cooking, Caroline Chambers. My kids love this recipe and any excuse to eat a sweet Hawaiian roll.
2024 Best New Savory Eats. Clockwise from top left: Milk Bread Pull-Apart Rolls, Lamb w/ Hummus Bowls, Manchego-Stuffed Dates, Chicken Parm Sliders, Wontons & Veggies in Curry Broth, Brussels Sprouts Stir-Fry w/ Golden Raisins & Cheddar.
FAVORITE NEW SWEET RECIPES 🍭
Chocolate Toffee Bar Brownies; Maida Heater. I love almost any dessert made with toffee bits, and these, from legendary pastry chef Maida Heater, are no exception.
Homemade McDonald’s Style Baked Apple Turnovers; BraveTart, Stella Parks. Made with both fresh and freeze-dried apples, this handheld pie is far superior to the original fast food version.
Coconut Kahlua Rice Pudding; Pull Up A Chair, Tiffani Thiessen. A rice pudding that’s a yummy combination of sweet, creamy, and slightly boozy.
Malted “Forever” Brownies; Dessert Person, Claire Saffitz. Brownies that are intensely fudgy in the best way.
Walnut Cake; Essentials of Italian Cooking, Marcella Hazan. Simple, classic, and delicious Italian cake.
Best Chocolate Chip Cookies in the World; Sweet Tooth, Sarah Fennel. This recipe makes my top 5 chocolate chip cookie list.
The Very Best Banana Bread; Pass the Plate, Carolina Gelen. This banana bread lives up to its name. Great way to use up those overripe bananas.
Strawberry Coconut Scones; Dish Lister Issue No. 3. This scone has a moist, not dry, crumb, and I adore the coconut and strawberry flavor combination.
Easy Pumpkin Streusel Bread; The Pancake Princess, Erika. This spice-forward autumnal cake doesn’t last very long whenever I make it.
Olympic Village Inspired Chocolate Muffins; Got Room for More, Danielle Sepsy. I skipped the chocolate ganache filling, and they were still incredible.
Ginger Cheesecake Cookies; NYT, Samantha Seneviratne The best cookie from my recent holiday bake-off.
2024 Sweet Treats of My Dreams. Clockwise from top left: Chocolate Toffee Bar Brownies, The Very Best Banana Bread, Ginger Cheesecake Cookies, Strawberry Coconut Scones, The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies, McDonald’s-Style Apple Turnovers, Olympic Chocolate Muffins.
RECIPE MVPs (recipes I made the most)
Bircher Muesli; Susanality Substack, Susan Spungen. My breakfast on repeat for much of this year.
Simple Chicken Tortilla Soup; Smitten Kitchen, Deb Perelman. My favorite thing about this soup that had so many tasty components is the homemade crispy tortilla strip topper.
Chile-Roasted Chicken with Honey, Lemon, and Feta; New York Times Cooking, Melissa Clark. One of the easiest and tastiest sheet pan dishes I made this year.
Hot Dog Soup, Dinner Party Project, Natasha Feldman. Definitely a lot fancier than it sounds; the Parmesan rind that flavors the stock is everything.
Roasted Vegetable Reubens, Weekday Vegetarians: Get Simple, Jenny Rosenstrach. My kids would choose the vegetarian version of this sandwich, made with roasted Brussels sprouts and broccoli, over classic corned beef.
Peanut Butter Noodles, NYT Cooking, Eric Kim. I make this packaged ramen with peanut butter sauce dish when I have to feed my kids in less than 10 minutes. And they happily eat it every time.
Chile Crisp Fettuccine Alfredo with Spinach; NYT Cooking, Genevieve Ko. The addition of chili crisp and spinach to this classic pasta dish creates its wow factor.
Lasagna Soup; Once Upon A Chef Weeknight/ Weekend, Jenn Segal. I was making and loving lasagna soup well before it became so popular in 2024. This particular version (with a dollop of Parmesan-infused ricotta on top) rocks.
Roasted Brussels Sprouts Caesar with Tahini; NYT Cooking, Yasmin Fahr. I’m a fan of Caesar-ifying dishes; the tahini makes it extra special.
2024 Recipe MVPs. Clockwise from left: Chile-Roasted Chicken w/ Honey, Lemon, & Feta, Chili Crisp Fettuccine Alfredo with Spinach, Bircher Muesli, Roasted Brussels Sprouts Caesar w/ Tahini, Roasted Vegetable Reuben, Peanut Butter Noodles.
Best Eating Out
Between college visits with my son and trips with family and friends, I was fortunate to have many opportunities to travel in 2024 (including Scottsdale, AZ, Las Vegas, Breckenridge, CO, Peru, Italy, Ithaca, NY, and Burlington, VT), and I ate some fantastic food along the way. My final Top 5 restaurant bites of the year are noted below, plus a number of worthy honorable mentions.
TOP 5 BEST RESTAURANT BITES (in order):
Cinnamon roll, District Doughnuts (Las Vegas, NV). A sweet, fluffy, and warm cinnamon roll with a crispy, bruleed top layer?! Yes, please!
Pear ravioli, La Giostra (Florence, Italy). These amazing savory sweet handmade raviolis literally melted in my mouth.
Mazeman, Konban (NYC). Of all the delicious bites we had at Konban, this noodle dish with spicy pork and house-made almond butter stood out.
Stuffed gnocchi, Luigino’s (Montclair, NJ). Pillowy gnocchi + amazing truffle sauce + lots of cheese = pure magic.
Chocolate layer cake, The Crooked Ram (Manchester, VT). I shared this cake with 4 other people, but could easily have finished the entire slice myself and fallen into a happy chocolate coma.
Best Restaurant Bites of 2024. Clockwise from top left: Cinnamon Roll from District Donuts, Pear Ravioli from La Giostra, Mazeman from Konban, Stuffed Gnocchi from Luigiano’s, Chocolate Cake from The Crooked Ram.
Honorable Mentions- 2024 Top Restaurant Bites:
Cheeseburger (and cottage fries!), Sag Harbor Tavern (Sag Harbor, NY)
Au Poivre Burger, Raoul’s (NYC)
Cookie Dough Cake Slice, Cupcake Bake Shop (NYC)
Corn Cookie, Culture Espresso (NYC)
Strawberry Fantasia, Bar Primi (NYC)
Chicken with Rice, Hainan Jones (NYC)
Folded Cheeseburger in a Pita, Miznon (NYC)
Squash Cheddar Kale Gratin, Blue Hill (NYC)
Scallop Dish, Mérito (Lima, Peru)
Wagyu with Cheese Pizza, Tin Plate Pizza (Breckenridge, CO)
Florentine Steak, La Giostra (Florence, Italy)
FAVORITE FOOD EXPERIENCES
I also had the opportunity to participate in some fun, delicious food experiences; these are the highlights:
Sushi by the Sea “secret” omakase dinner (Ridgefield, NJ). Apparently it’s not so secret anymore, but it was when I dined there last February. (Right before your reservation, they texted you the address to an unassuming, hidden location.)
Bar Mutz tasting (Viaggio Restaurant, Wayne, NJ). This past summer, the chef behind critically-acclaimed Pasta Ramen in Montclair, NJ previewed menu items from his new concept Bar Mutz to eight people a night. Opening in Westwood, NJ in February.
Smash burger crawl (various locations around NYC). One highlight of my summer was trying five different smash burgers in one afternoon with my teenage son and walking over ten miles to eat them all. I wrote about our adventure in my first issue.
Private cooking class (Bologna, Italy). Three of the top bites from my Italian summer vacation were the lasagna verde, homemade truffle tagliatelle, and crescentine (fried dough) that my family and I made during a private cooking class at a home in the hills overlooking Bologna.
One Bite Pizza Fest (Randall’s Island, NYC). So much pizza, so little time. My husband, kids, nephew, and I had a lot of fun sampling some of the best slices in the Northeast at this second annual NYC pizza tasting event.
Best Products
PRODUCTS I OBSESSED OVER
I was extremely happy to discover these six food products in 2024. (Links to the products in their names below.)
Good Culture Cottage Cheese. Cottage cheese definitely had its moment in 2024, and this is my favorite brand.
Angel Bakeries Pita Bread. Soft, pillowy, and delicious, this is the best store-bought pita bread I’ve ever eaten.
One Trick Pony Peanut Butter. This family-owned, female-led brand was in the top 3 in my natural peanut butter review; their limited edition Maple Crunch flavor is literal crack. Use the code KERRY10 for 10% off your first purchase.
Smashfoods Chia Smash Strawberry Superfood Jam. Mix this delicious all-natural jam into oatmeal, along with a drizzle of One Trick Pony peanut butter, and thank me later.
Tony’s Chocolonely. I haven’t been this excited about a chocolate bar in a very long time. I’m giddy like Charlie in Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory when I eat it.
Absolutely Gluten-Free Grain-Free Crackers. These crispy crackers, with an ever-so-slight buttery flavor, are surprisingly gluten-free.
Tillamook Holiday Sugar Cookie Ice Cream. I drove out of my way to buy this limited edition ice cream (containing sugar cookie dough chunks and burnt sugar bits) and will be sad when it’s gone after the holidays.
Products I Obsessed Over. Clockwise from top left: Angel Bakeries pita, Tony’s Chocolonely, One Trick Pony peanut butter, Tillamook Holiday Sugar Cookie ice cream, Absolutely! Gluten-Free crackers, Smashfoods Superfood Jam.
Best Trends
WORTHY VIRAL RECIPES/FOOD TRENDS
Viral recipes and food trends can be a bit hit or miss. These were the biggest “hits” in my book from the last year.
Corn Ribs. See my Cheesy, Spicy Corn Ribs recipe from my Substack, Issue No. 2.
Date Bark. This was my go-to sweet treat in the fall.
Olympic Village Chocolate Muffins. See above, Best Sweets.
Logan’s Cucumber Salad. This genius recipe (and its subsequent offshoots) caused a cucumber shortage in Iceland, and I’m guessing grew mandoline sales everywhere too.
French Onion-ified Recipes. I’m not sure if this was deemed an official trend in 2024, but French onion recipes were EVERYWHERE—from galettes to grilled cheese to mac and cheese to burgers to meatballs, and more—and I was here for it.
Cookie Croissant. I was skeptical of pairing chocolate chip cookie dough with a perfectly wonderful-on-its-own croissant (and baking), but was happy to be wrong about this enjoyable mash-up.
2024 Winning Trends. Clockwise from left: Cookie croissant, corn ribs, French onion galette, Logan’s cucumbers, date bark.
That wraps up my 2024 Dish Lister year in review. In just about a week, I look forward to hitting the reset button and starting anew on building my 2025 “best of” lists. If you enjoyed reading this post, please LIKE it below, and don’t forget to share it with all of your favorite foodies.
Thank you for your support, have a Happy New Year, and see you in January!