At the end of the year, people tend to say things like, “Can you believe another year has gone by?!” and “How time flies!” But I’m not going to express either of those sentiments. 2012 was kind of a big year for me: I reached numerous culinary milestones, started a relationship with the guy of my dreams, completed a summer internship at Gothamist (something I am still so proud to admit to), and even finished college. 2012 was delicious, exciting and at times scary, and I am just about ready to close this chapter of my life and start a new one. To properly say goodbye, I wanted to have a look back at the highlights of this year. I thought ten would be too many and five too little, so I settled on eight – in no particular order:

1.) My recipe for fried pockets of heaven. Not only one of my personal favorites, but also the post with the most views of the year.

2.) My review of Alyssa Shelasky’s Apron Anxiety: This book was one of the most enchanting and heartfelt memoirs that I have ever read. And having Alyssa herself tweet at me was cool, too.

3.) My first cooking video. Filming this was a little nerve-wrecking and I guess it shows. But I’m proud of it nonetheless and plan to make more in the future. Stay tuned!

4.) I made bread for the first time… sort of. Although I have not perfected this skill yet, at least I have gotten over my fear of using yeast… well, sort of.

5.) I perfected my recipe for Boeuf Bourguignon.

6.) I discovered the best way to spend a summer day in NYC – eating my way through Smorgasburg.

7.) Lamb burgers w/ pickled onions and spicy mayo. One of my favorite recipes to date.

8.) I’ve successfully incorporated quinoa into my diet and even discovered a way to prepare it so that it doesn’t taste like bird feed.

What were the highlights of your year? Please share below in the form of a comment!