NRFD 2012 In Review

As promised, I am writing my post today about the most popular items on No Room For Dessert.  2012 was a year filled with restaurants, both good and bad.  I was also able to bring you some brand new recipes of items I had never made before, as wells as what have been classics in my life, such as Mom's Mac N Cheese.  I also want to note during this post some of the interesting things I have learned while working on this food blog.
First, we hit over 7000 views of this blog towards the end of 2012.  That excites me and I hope we can double that in 2013.  I learned that many of my friends are closet foodies, and have told me that they read my posts (with some people reading some, and some people being avid readers!), and that makes me feel so good, especially when they want to try something I have written about.  My whole point in creating this blog was to share my love of everything food, and I'm glad to see that's what's happening. 
Second, I have learned that in addition to my US readers, I have the most views from readers in Russia, Germany, the UK, and France.  I have even had people in Latvia peruse it!  I think it's cool that NRFD is worldwide.  I was a little surprised I didn't have more Canadian readers since they're so close to the US, but I did have a few.
I get the most traffic from people Googling a search phrase, but people who have seen my Facebook posts come in second, and people on Pinterest make up a large portion of my readers as well.  I was surprised I didn't have more Twitter traffic, since I have the most "friends" there.
As far as posts go, the top 5 most popular in 2012 were as follows:
1. A lot of people were interested in my Kobe-style Dinner, which I actually posted in 2011.
2. Apparently there is a big following for Authentic Mexican Enchilada Sauce, judging my the number of views this post got.  This post was originally written in 2011 as well.
3. Another 2011 favorite that carried over to be my third most poular post in 2012 was my recipe for Tuna Kobachi.
4. Crab Rangoon was another one of my recipes which was originally posted in 2011 that was still popular in 2012.
5. My fifth most popular post in 2012 was actually written in 2012 and that was the recipe for my Cheese-Stuffed Bacon-Wrapped Chicken Breasts.
This tells me a couple of things.  One, I need to write more Asian-themed posts since three out of the five had to do with variations on Asian cuisine.  Two, people love anything bacon wrapped.  And three, homemade authentic enchilada sauce is something people are really interested in, and I'm going to see if I can make different variations of enchilada sauce in 2013 to keep up with reader demands.
I got the great opportunity in 2012 to visit and write about Panera Bread and I hope I get more Tastemaker offers in 2013.
My top three articles about food trucks in 2012 included my post for the Silver Bistro, Winter Park Food Truck Stop, and the Gastro Truck.  I visited all of these trucks/places in 2011, and wrote about them in the same year.  I did not get to visit as many food trucks as I would have liked in 2012, and am going to try to do better in 2013, especially since there are SO many of them out there now!
As far as my favorite recipes in 2012, I wanted to give you two.  One is inspired by another food blogger, and one is a recipe I saw on TV, while watching one of my favorite programs, The Chew.
My recipe from The Chew is not one that and Iron or Top chef came up with.  It was Clinton Kelly's recipe for Pan Fried Chicken with Brown Butter Caper Sauce.  A new recipe for chicken is ALWAYS something I am looking for, and I just adore lemons and capers.  It is fairly simple to make, especially if you set up all your ingredients ahead of time, and is absolutely delicious.  I think I'll be making it frequently in 2013.
My recipe from a fellow food blogger was the recipe for Goat Cheese & Red Pepper Fettucine.  I love pasta, I love being inspired from fellow foodies, and I love simple recipes that taste great.  Goat cheese is by far one of my favorite cheeses, and I like to try to incorporate ingredients like roasted red peppers in new ways.  I look forward to seeing what other kinds of recipes pop up in 2013 from other food bloggers, and I hope I'll find some new favorites to make in my own home.
I have lots of great ideas for new recipes to make this year.  I am looking forward also to trying new kitchen equipment, I want to bring my readers many more special posts, I plan to visit new restaurants and food trucks, and I will be doing a lot of research/reading/TV viewing that all has to do with food this year.  Most importantly, I hope to keep my blog readers interested by bringing you many new recipes and ideas about places to visit.
I hope everyone has wonderful year, and thank you so much for visiting my site!  Please keep coming back :-)