It was a year of plant foods, bowl foods and whole foods.
With whole foods that meant preparing foods as simple as possible using foods with very few ingredients, it also meant Whole Foods Market chain being gobbled up by Amazon.
Not only did Amazon stun the grocery world by buying Whole Foods Market, the grocery store industry changed, too. More and more stores offer online grocery shopping with curb side pick-up or delivered to your door. And stores offer everything from groceries to clothing and toys.
In 2017, the Free Press spent our third year at the Great Lakes Culinary Center testing recipes and hosting events. And it's some of those recipes that were deemed stand-outs and ones we will make over and over.
The Test Kitchen's Favorite Recipe list includes Ham and Cheese sliders that are easy to put together and are crowd-pleasing. These baked sliders are versatile and should be at least in everyone's Super Bowl party play book.
Everyone is usually on the hunt for new chicken recipes, and we had plenty to choose from this year. There's a version of the famed Silver Palates Chicken Marbella served with sauteed kale. A healthy version of a Asian Chicken served the trendy bowl way from Henry Ford Health Systems won our vote.
Looking for more party food? We've got an appetizer for that: Sweet and Savory Bacon Twists. Staffers couldn't keep their hands of these.
Big juicy burgers were everywhere including the opening of downtown Detroit's first Shake Shack. There was also the arrival of the Impossible Burger, an all plant-based burger, at B Spot Burgers, which got rave reviews. But our fave burger recipe uses a blend of two cuts of beef for a juicy and flavorful burger. (Be sure to watch the recipe video on freep.com).
For low-carb dieters, cauliflower continues its merry way especially with the help of the ketogenic diet. Riced cauliflower is now sold frozen and pearl cauliflower fresh, both are great for making faux mashed potatoes. One of today's "Best-of" recipes using cauliflower in a simple form _ thinly shaved in a salad with a yummy vinaigrette.
And so, here are our favorites recipes from last year. We are sure you will enjoy them well into 2018.
Dig in!
