-
Foodbuzz
-
My Photo Gear
Best of Cafe Fernando 2007
January 01st, 2008 | Category: Memoir/Meme/Misc.
Another year has passed. Here is a quick recap of the most popular posts of 2007.
David hosted January’s Sugar High Friday event and I baked Chocolate Caramel Pot de Creme from one of my favorite cookbooks of the year, The Sweet Life: Desserts from Chanterelle by Kate Zuckerman.
The highlight of February was the story I wrote about my first day in San Francisco. Vanskapkaka, the imaginary St. Olaf friendship cake from the TV show “The Golden Girls” accompanied the post.
On March 31st, Cafe Fernando turned one!
From the month of April, my favorite recipe is the Raspberry Pistachio Tart. Also, the Buddha moon cake mold caused quite a stir. It is one my most treasured kitchen tools.
The highlight of May was definitely the Raspberry Pistachio Chocolate Ganache Tart. A small tweak to an old recipe works wonders.
The tart craze continues. In June, the most popular post of the month was Cherry Tomato, Feta Cheese and Fresh Thyme Tart, which was awarded Winner in Edibility at the DMBLGIT event.
The most popular post of the year was Brownies My Way, which was published in July. Glad you liked it.
In July, I came across one of the most delicious ice cream flavors I have ever tasted. No surprises here - it is from David Lebovitz’s new book The Perfect Scoop. Gianduja Gelato officially made it to my top 5 most favorite ice cream flavors list. I also came up with another spectacular ice cream recipe of my own for the Hay Hay It’s Donna Day event: Campari Orange Sorbet. What a productive month…
In August, I baked my favorite cake of the year and judging from the comments, you liked it a lot, too.
September… My first Brioche trial…
In September, Cafe Fernando also received its first major mention in the press! I was so excited to appear in Turkey’s highest-circulated national newspaper, Hürriyet. I baked a batch of Chocolate Chip M&M Cookies for the editorial team as a thank you gift!
October’s most popular post was the Lemon and Raspberry Birthday Cake. It is from my most favorite cookbook of the year: “Baking: From My Home to Yours” by Dorie Greenspan. I also came across the best chocolate cupcake recipe I have ever tasted, which made a lot of people very happy!
In November, Cafe Fernando had a face lift. After endless hours of reading CSS forums, asking questions and drinking more coffee than an average person consumes in a year, I finally relaunched my blog with a new design. I also created a helpful page dedicated to conversion tables. How many grams is a cup of flour? The answer is here.
I also became part of a wonderful community called Foodbuzz. They are supporting my blog with the ads that you see on the left column. Their support will help me grow my blog even further (and buy more lenses for my new toy - yay!). They even sent me a greeting card for the holidays all the way to Turkey! A big thank you to the helpful team over at Foodbuzz!
Another very important highlight of the month was my new toy. I never mentioned this in the posts, but I bought a Canon 40d after waiting for a year for it to come out. As you might imagine, I am currently in love with it and the first series of photos I took with it.
December was probably the highlight of the whole year. The New York Times chose Ä°stanbul as the Foodie Destination for 2008. I had a chance to chat with Matt Gross about the recent trends, Ä°stanbul restaurants and my favorite destinations, but really didn’t expect to be mentioned in the article. He surprised me by mentioning Cafe Fernando and my last meal.
I wish I could say that the establishments mentioned in the article surprised me with thank you e-mails and phone calls, but sadly that didn’t happen (sorry for the rant guys - it was eating me up inside).
Well, that just about wraps 2007. I would like to thank my readers who fueled my passion with their encouraging comments and fellow food bloggers who inspired me with their own creations. Hope everyone the best for 2008!
8 Comments » | 
Email to a friend | Share this post at 
Comments
Leave a Comment
-
Drooling Over
-
Previously
I agree with your “best list”! Thanks for sharing your expertise, delicious recipes & ideas with us during 2007!
HI!! Wish you the very best for the 2008 too!
Cenk, I’m very thankful for having run into your blog by unknown means. I wish you the best for this new year, and I hope all of your dreams, plans and wishes come true.
p.s. I absolutely loved Ralph’s picture…I’m, sure he was licking his lips after eating one of your masterpieces.
Happy New Year Cenk! I love the round-up of all your favourites of 2007, here’s to an equally delicious 2008!
Cenk ~ It was a joy reading your blog in 2007. I hardly felt the need to bake too many sweet goodies at home, for I turned to your blog for a sugar high. May 2008 be filled with more sweetness.
Thank you all!
Laily - Unfortunately, it is forbidden for Ralph to eat any sweets. He is 13 years old and always hungry. A begging cute face makes it even harder to not give him food, but it is for his own good.
Shaun - Thank you for your most sincere comments throughout the year. Happy 2008!
Golden Girls Rules! I discovered you in 2007 and know that you will keep tempting my tastedbuds throughout 2008
It has certainly been a great year in food and photography!!Congrats on a successful year and keep it coming for 2008!!! It will be better than ever!