2018 has been the first full calendar year of the blog. It has been an exciting year for change and growth. I’ve learned a lot along the way and have enjoyed engaging with you throughout this journey. I have some exciting things planned for 2019 and hope you’ll come along for the ride.
Looking back on 2018, I’ve published 106 posts including this one. Notably, 25 posts this month, thanks to the 24-day Let’s Get Blitzen: co*cktail Advent Calendar.
Today I’m recapping the 10 most popular recipe posts of 2018 as indicated by page views. I’ve listed the top five tastes and the top five tipples. If I just did the top recipes, regardless of category, we’d have nine drinks and only one food item, you bunch of drunks.
Top 5 Tastes
#1 – Strawberry Coconut Semifreddo
The top performing food post of 2018 was this pretty little Strawberry Coconut Semifreddo. The marbled finish on this dessert is mesmerizing, as is the flavour. Much simpler to execute than ice cream, no churning required, this recipe is a clear winner for any hot day. It’s also guaranteed to dazzle guests with it’s pretty appearance.
#2PumpkinCheesecakeTrifles
Another painfully easy dessert recipe, but this time for fall. Part of the beauty of these trifles is that they are individually portioned for easy consumption – make just as many as you need for your dinner party. Great for Thanksgiving or any autumnal dinner.
#3 Lemon Blueberry Cottage Cheese Pancakes
I’m told my friend’s mom makes these for breakfast every weekend for her husband. So, Sue is probably singlehandedly driving up the numbers on this post, thanks Sue! Honestly, they are f*cking delicious so if you haven’t made them yet, you should definitely make 2019 the year of Lemon Blueberry Cottage Cheese Pancakes. Protein-packed and toothsome thanks to the cottage cheese and topped with life-changing Earl Grey Syrup – which also happens to be great in co*cktails.
#4 Maple Balsamic Sweet Potato Quinoa Salad
Bless your hearts, you let this salad make it into the top 5. Brace yourselves for a lot more greenery next month, I’m planning to feature healthy-ish recipes heavily for January to help everyone make their best effort toward their health and wellness resolutions, and then we’ll go back to drinks and decadence, as is our want. This is a well-built salad with plenty of flavour and just a touch of sweetness, the addition of quinoa really helps to flesh it out into a meal salad.
#5GoatCheesePastaPrimavera
This is definitely one of my personal favourites from the past year. This dish is bright and fresh with spring vegetables, I think the corn really makes it interesting, and a delightful tang from the goat cheese. It’s an easy weeknight meal for anyone short on time or energy who doesn’t want to compromise flavour.
Top 5 Tipples
#1 Elderflower Rosé Sangria
This drink is for getting white girl wasted in July – it puts up absolutely no fight and before you know it, you drank the entire pitcher and you’re trying to twerk in front of your coworkers. The title is basically three buzzwords that I’m sure are searched endlessly on Pinterest. Elderflower. Rosé. Sangria. I’m confident the popularity of this recipe has been in no small way enhanced by its Pinterest-friendly title and the ubiquity of “Rosé All Day” slogans, t-shirts and novelty drinkware that seemed to dominate 2018.
#2 OnTiltOldFashioned
I think we can all see why this post was popular. Excuse me while I pat myself on the back. The stunning visual effect of the homemade ice wedge really makes this drink memorable. Visit the full post, to see how I achieved this with nothing more than a rocks glass, water and a muffin tin. This recipe is a twist on the classic Old Fashioned, for when you want the same same but different.
#3 Watermelon Refresher
What’s not to love about watermelon, lemon, simple syrup and gin? I see you, I feel you, I got you. Another perfect summertime sipper, I think this drink got a little extra love thanks to the garnish game. A little garnish trigonometry goes a long way.
#4FlirtyThirtyco*cktail
Fresh apricot, ginger beer and aged rum make for a delicious combination in this tipple. This was also one of my most personal posts for the year, looking back and looking ahead as I turned 30 in August. In many ways, 29 was about surviving but I’ve committed to being about thriving, to getting back up when I’m knocked down, four months in, it’s going pretty well.
#5 Apple Cranberry Crush
Given how many times my mom has asked me to make her this drink in the few short days we’ve been together over the holidays, I think it’s safe to say this has been one of her favourites in 2018. This and the Celery Margarita. This is a perfect fall/winter co*cktail because it calls for muddled fresh cranberries and those are generally hard to find outside of that window between Thanksgiving and New Year’s. Apple cider, Aperol, ginger liqueur, and Lillet Blanc all round it out to make it a tasty and complex co*cktail.
Chime in on the comments below with your personal favourite recipe from 2018 or what you’d like to see in 2019!
