Donna Walsifer
best of 2025
As we close out another year, I’ve compiled a list of my favorite recipes for 2025.
Baked Buffalo Cauliflower Bites -
I tried this on a whim from the Dreyer Farms weekly CSA email. Wow, were these delicious and spicy! The cauliflower had a nice soft crust and the sauce packed a lot of punch. I made a quick homemade ranch dressing to temper the heat. These would be great for large gathering as they’re a healthy snack and no frying is needed.
Cheese Straw Biscuits - This recipe can be served as a lunch, light supper or for a buffet. While typically made with a country ham. You could sub a good quality smoked ham such as Black Forest for the country ham. What made this standout was the cheese straw biscuit slathered with a tomato chutney-mustard butter that had the spiciness from the Dijon mustard but with the sweetness from the tomato chutney.
Baked Buffalo Cauliflower Bites -
I tried this on a whim from the Dreyer Farms weekly CSA email. Wow, were these delicious and spicy! The cauliflower had a nice soft crust and the sauce packed a lot of punch. I made a quick homemade ranch dressing to temper the heat. These would be great for large gathering as they’re a healthy snack and no frying is needed.
Cheese Straw Biscuits - This recipe can be served as a lunch, light supper or for a buffet. While typically made with a country ham. You could sub a good quality smoked ham such as Black Forest for the country ham. What made this standout was the cheese straw biscuit slathered with a tomato chutney-mustard butter that had the spiciness from the Dijon mustard but with the sweetness from the tomato chutney.
Shrimp Cocktail with Chili Lime Sauce - America’s Test Kitchen for cold brining shrimp made for plump, sweet shrimp that were perfectly cooked. Tweaking traditional cocktail sauce instead of cilantro. (personal preference). The sauce had both zing and a bit of heat. Everyone at Christmas dinner loved this style of sauce.
Cheesy Egg Roulade - I saw this recipe on an episode of America’s Test Kitchen and went out to purchase a quarter sheet to try this recipe. This recipe takes under 20 minutes to prepare and is perfect for a breakfast buffet. Minced garlic was added for additional flavor and a filling of chopped spinach and Gruyère cheese made a scrumptious filling. I used shredded ricotta salada cheese and crispy Parmesan shards the second time I prepared this dish.
Orange-Vanilla French Toast Casserole with Bourbon-Maple Syrup - I made this for a brunch I had for friends and wanted a casserole that I could make ahead. The additional of both orange juice and zest made for a flavorful French toast casserole. What I loved was the addition of bourbon to the pure maple syrup that put this dish over the top.
Almond Frangipane Cookies - I love almond croissants and these cookies have the same flavor profile; they were fabulous.
Tiramisù Cookies - This is another in a cookie which mimics the traditional tiramisù dessert in cookie form.
Everyday Pizza Dough by Dan Richer - Although this recipe is a three-day process, the end product produces a light tasting pizza dough.
Instant Mashed Potato Gnocchi al Forno - This past year I tried my hand at making homemade pasta. On an episode of America’s Test Kitchen, they demonstrated how to made potato gnocchi using instant mashed potatoes. Using instant potatoes provides a consistent mixture and the moisture content of the mixture will not vary like russet potatoes.
Tortellini Mantovani with Pumpkin and Amaretti - I follow “Pasta Grannies” on Instagram and saw a reel with Nonna Laura preparing Tortellini Mantovani with Pumpkin. I was intrigued as I had homemade pumpkin puree and was in the market for some new recipes. Luckily for me in the video, Laura gave the ingredients and quantity as she prepared the pasta dough and filling. My goodness, the pasta was absolutely delicious! The amaretti added a lovely, subtle sweetness to the filling. The Mostarda provided a flavorful sweet and sour taste and the apples complemented the pumpkin filling. We loved this pasta.
One Pot Chicken Cacciatore with Potatoes - husband has requested that I make the potatoes alone from this recipe. However, as part of the overall dish, they get their flavoring from the rosemary, anchovy, garlic, capers, olive oil and salt along with the chicken, which lends a richer flavor to the potatoes. The whole meal was quite tasty.
Garlic Butter Steak Bites - This recipe had a lot of great reviews on NYT Cooking webpage. I purchased a boneless sirloin steak from the butcher. The steak cubes were marinated in mixture of olive oil and soy sauce and cooked very quickly in a very hot cast iron skillet. Butter and minced garlic rounded out the sauce. The steak was wonderful, between the cut of beef and the simplicity of the recipe, you couldn’t ask for a tastier meal.
Strip Steak with Dijon Sauce - I purchased a strip steak at Perrotti’s Quality Meats in Cranford NJ for this recipe. The sauce in this recipe enhanced the steak, but didn’t overwhelm it. It had a nice balance of flavors with the small addition of sugar to soften the Dijon mustard and white wine vinegar. It was definitely a steakhouse quality meal.
Zha Paigu are Taiwanese fried pork chops that are fried twice to give the exterior a nice crunch. The pork got a nice infusion of flavor from the marinade, and being only 1/4-inch thick, they cooked fast but were tender and juicy with a delightful crispy exterior.
Fennel, Apple and Gorgonzola Salad and Pear and Radicchio Salad with Blue Cheese - both of these tasty salads are a nice change from a traditional green salad. The use of fruit, fennel and a radicchio, an Italian variety of chicory, made for unusual but wonderful tasting salads.
I have an ongoing list of recipes that I would like to try. I think for the start of 2026, I’ll try to start off healthy, avoid cookies and desserts. I would like to perfect my pasta making skills so I can prepare homemade pasta for our weekly Thursday night dinner. Visit my website for more tasty offerings.
Wishing you a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year!
Cheesy Egg Roulade - I saw this recipe on an episode of America’s Test Kitchen and went out to purchase a quarter sheet to try this recipe. This recipe takes under 20 minutes to prepare and is perfect for a breakfast buffet. Minced garlic was added for additional flavor and a filling of chopped spinach and Gruyère cheese made a scrumptious filling. I used shredded ricotta salada cheese and crispy Parmesan shards the second time I prepared this dish.
Orange-Vanilla French Toast Casserole with Bourbon-Maple Syrup - I made this for a brunch I had for friends and wanted a casserole that I could make ahead. The additional of both orange juice and zest made for a flavorful French toast casserole. What I loved was the addition of bourbon to the pure maple syrup that put this dish over the top.
Almond Frangipane Cookies - I love almond croissants and these cookies have the same flavor profile; they were fabulous.
Tiramisù Cookies - This is another in a cookie which mimics the traditional tiramisù dessert in cookie form.
Everyday Pizza Dough by Dan Richer - Although this recipe is a three-day process, the end product produces a light tasting pizza dough.
Instant Mashed Potato Gnocchi al Forno - This past year I tried my hand at making homemade pasta. On an episode of America’s Test Kitchen, they demonstrated how to made potato gnocchi using instant mashed potatoes. Using instant potatoes provides a consistent mixture and the moisture content of the mixture will not vary like russet potatoes.
Tortellini Mantovani with Pumpkin and Amaretti - I follow “Pasta Grannies” on Instagram and saw a reel with Nonna Laura preparing Tortellini Mantovani with Pumpkin. I was intrigued as I had homemade pumpkin puree and was in the market for some new recipes. Luckily for me in the video, Laura gave the ingredients and quantity as she prepared the pasta dough and filling. My goodness, the pasta was absolutely delicious! The amaretti added a lovely, subtle sweetness to the filling. The Mostarda provided a flavorful sweet and sour taste and the apples complemented the pumpkin filling. We loved this pasta.
One Pot Chicken Cacciatore with Potatoes - husband has requested that I make the potatoes alone from this recipe. However, as part of the overall dish, they get their flavoring from the rosemary, anchovy, garlic, capers, olive oil and salt along with the chicken, which lends a richer flavor to the potatoes. The whole meal was quite tasty.
Garlic Butter Steak Bites - This recipe had a lot of great reviews on NYT Cooking webpage. I purchased a boneless sirloin steak from the butcher. The steak cubes were marinated in mixture of olive oil and soy sauce and cooked very quickly in a very hot cast iron skillet. Butter and minced garlic rounded out the sauce. The steak was wonderful, between the cut of beef and the simplicity of the recipe, you couldn’t ask for a tastier meal.
Strip Steak with Dijon Sauce - I purchased a strip steak at Perrotti’s Quality Meats in Cranford NJ for this recipe. The sauce in this recipe enhanced the steak, but didn’t overwhelm it. It had a nice balance of flavors with the small addition of sugar to soften the Dijon mustard and white wine vinegar. It was definitely a steakhouse quality meal.
Zha Paigu are Taiwanese fried pork chops that are fried twice to give the exterior a nice crunch. The pork got a nice infusion of flavor from the marinade, and being only 1/4-inch thick, they cooked fast but were tender and juicy with a delightful crispy exterior.
Fennel, Apple and Gorgonzola Salad and Pear and Radicchio Salad with Blue Cheese - both of these tasty salads are a nice change from a traditional green salad. The use of fruit, fennel and a radicchio, an Italian variety of chicory, made for unusual but wonderful tasting salads.
I have an ongoing list of recipes that I would like to try. I think for the start of 2026, I’ll try to start off healthy, avoid cookies and desserts. I would like to perfect my pasta making skills so I can prepare homemade pasta for our weekly Thursday night dinner. Visit my website for more tasty offerings.
Wishing you a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year!