The holidays are winding down and I do not know about you, but I am having a difficult time getting back into my routine. In January I will begin creating new recipes again but until then I believe some review is in order. This year there have been a lot of great joys coming out of the kitchen. There have also been a lot of fails and frustrations. Taking a cue from The Simple, Sweet Life I decided I should join in the fun and share my most memorable fails of 2014, along with a couple of my favorites for good measure.

I am still in my first year of blogging and there have been a lot of fails associated with it. There are a lot of reasons why I will not post something. There are recipes that do not work out, things that burn, things that taste awful and bad photos. Oh the bad photos. I have no professional photography experience or equipment so I make the best of what I do have. So with those things in mind, let us look at the best and worst of 2014.

Joy: The Leaning Tower of Cake These little cake towers were my third blog post since I started blogging. They had an adorable little lean once I cut into them but I was so happy with how the photos turned out for this post I did not care.

Frustration: The old fashioned with a twist. I made and drank quite a few of these one Sunday morning into the afternoon. It was close to brunch time so it is acceptable and good bourbon should never go to waste, right? The light was too harsh and the heat was melting the ice so quickly it became a huge mess. After 2 hours of fighting I finally gave up and decided to call it quits. This recipe will be revisited for sure.

Joy: Smoked Blackberry Miso Salmon This was the first recipe I dove into the kitchen without any research and just went to work developing.

Frustration: Pomegranate Fresno Chili Wings The sauce for these turned out great but wings were not cooked crisply enough. When I added the sauce they immediately got a soggy texture you can even see in the pictures. Gross.

Joy: Chocolate Covered Cherry Mason Jar Cakes This post was memorable because it is really when I found my rhythm with writing. I was tired of pure instructional writing and really wanted to share with readers how I would in real life.

Frustration: Ceviche I do not even want to discuss the bright green background in these. That was not the only problem here though. The calamari was so tough and chewy it was inedible. I picked all of it out and only the scallops and shrimp was eaten.

Joy: Blueberry Buttermilk Biscuits This post was a game changer for me this year and memorable because I really began reaching for unique twists on classic recipes. I was also thrilled that these were great for breakfast, dinner or even dessert.

Frustration: Summer’s Best Tuna Salad While I realize I take the risk of sounding completely egotistical this salad was incredible. So why didn’t I post it? I did not sharpen my knife before slicing the tuna, resulting in a massacred tuna steak. It was shameful and could not be forgiven.

From all of the frustrations of 2014 there were definitely a lot more joys to overcome them. I am looking forward to sharing more with you in 2015. Have a safe and happy New Year!