And the Golden Whisk goes to ... The best recipes of 2012

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Say goodbye to 2012, but hold onto the memories — I mean recipes.

Every year the staff and contributors at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution get together to hash out the best recipes of the preceding 365 days. They’re the recipes the staff know they’ll be cooking again and again.

Favorite recipes for 2012 included Thomas Jefferson’s Chicken Fricassee, a savory dinner dish served over rice, and the Cream Cheese Coffee Cake, which pairs perfectly with a steaming cup of Joe.

Here are some of the winners of 2012’s Golden Whisk Awards:

Thomas Jefferson’s
Chicken Fricassee

Serves 6

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

½ teaspoon black pepper

½ teaspoon paprika

3 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken pieces

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 cup water

1 cup dry white wine

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 medium onion, diced

2 cups fresh small mushrooms (about ½ pound)

1 cup half-and-half

1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

In a small bowl, combine salt, nutmeg, pepper and paprika. Sprinkle evenly over chicken pieces.

In a Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken pieces and cook until well-browned on both sides, 7 to 10 minutes total per piece, depending on size. Do not crowd pan. When chicken is browned, remove from pan and keep warm. Continue until all chicken is browned and removed from Dutch oven. Add flour to fat in Dutch oven and cook until flour is lightly browned, about 1 minute. Whisk in water and wine and stir until smooth. Return chicken to pot and bring liquid to a boil. Cover pot, reduce heat and simmer chicken 45 minutes, rearranging chicken if necessary during cooking time so all pieces spend time in the liquid.

While chicken is cooking, in a medium pan, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion and mushrooms. Cook until vegetables are lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Stir in half-and-half, sage and parsley. Keep warm.

When chicken is finished cooking, arrange on serving platter. Stir mushroom mixture into chicken cooking liquid, combine and pour over chicken. Serve hot.

Adapted from a recipe in “Capitol Hill Cooks: Recipes From the White House, Congress and All the Past Presidents” by Linda Bauer