Best American Recipes 2004-2005

In t r o d u c t i o nWe never quite know what we're going to find when we begin combing through hundreds of cookbooks, magazines, and newspapers looking for the best recipes of the year which is a good part of why this is such an exciting enterprise. It's not unlike a massive culinary treasure hunt. Sometimes the treasures are anything but obvious, such as the Manhattan chef Waldy Malouf's pasta with mushrooms and chives a recipe that looks so plain-Jane on paper that we almost passed it by. Yet as soon as we tested this easy recipe, we immediately fell for its clean but complex flavors. It's one of those can't-stop-eating- it dishes that we make again and again a definite "best."One of the most intriguing aspects of our search is recognizing the hot dishes of the year that seem to pop up everywhere. Once we identify these, we take it upon ourselves to test our way through as many versions as it takes to find the very best one out there. For instance, we knew early on that good old-fashioned crispy fried chicken was a big passion this year, partly because the food writer Jeffrey Steingarten fried his way through some two hundred chickens and devoted an entire column in Vogue to his findings. After testing plenty of different recipes, the one that stole our hearts was Fried Chicken Littles crunchy, tender morsels served with a zingy, eye-opening dipping sauce.It also didn't take us long to notice that granita, the sparkling Italian ice that up until now seems to have been waiting in the wings, was suddenly everywhere and in every imaginable flavor. This super-simple frozen dessert easily displaced sorbet and even ice cream this year. Taste the grapefruit and star anise granita in the dessert chapter, and you'll know why.These are, of course, very homey dishes. And without a doubt, "homey" is the watchword this year. But that doesn't mean plain, and it certainly doesn't mean boring. From shrimp cocktail and chicken noodle soup, to burgers and meatballs, to crisps and crumbles, the recipes that delight us may be familiar, but each has a sophisticated global twist. Shrimp cocktail comes glazed with a spicy-sweet jalapeo-lime sauce, green chiles show up in macaroni and cheese, burgers are made from fresh salmon and dolloped with a snappy aoli, and old-fashioned chiffon layer cake is flavored with ginger and mango.We also were struck by a corresponding and equally unmistakable trend: the revival of old recipes that had been forgotten or had fallen out of favor. We freely admit to having a huge preservationist streak, and we were thrilled to find others sharing the same passion. Resurrecting old recipes is not just an exercise in historic preservation; some are just too good to do without, including the mild southern curry called Country Captain. We tested several and chose a particularly elegant version.You probably won't find a trifle on your favorite restaurant menu, but this big holiday treat from England has been gathering a lot of interest on this side of the ocean. The one we love most is Nigella Lawson's summer blackberry trifle, which brilliantly simplifies this gorgeous, impressive dessert.Not that every standout recipe of the year falls into the old-fashioned, homey category. There are plenty of thrilling new recipes as well, such as Paula Wolfert's ethereal asparagus, cooked slowly in its own delectable juices with a touch of fresh tarragon.A quick scan through the recipes that made their way into this collection reveals an impressive facility with global flavors that is no longer limited to chefs or hard-core foodies. We were happily surprised to see how mainstream several cuisines have become: Spanish and Mexican, in particular, but also West Indian (one reason ginger beer is turning up everywhere). Possibly the most exotic cuisine we encountered is Scandinavian, which brings its own refined excitement to our tables. These influences are changing the contents of our pantries, where you're now likelMcCullough, Fran is the author of 'Best American Recipes 2004-2005 ', published 2004 under ISBN 9780618455065 and ISBN 061845506X.