10 favorite Los Angeles Times recipes of 2011 Crisp-skinned salmon on a bed of bacon-flavored lentils and dandelion greens. Recipe (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times) By the Food staff It takes a lot to get a recipe through our Test Kitchen. We make it again and again, getting it so that it doesn't just work but is the best that it can be. Like the children at Lake Wobegon, all of our recipes are above average. But still, of the more than 300 we published in 2011 - more than most cookbooks - there were some that stood out more than others. And so, as is our tradition, we're bringing back our 10 favorite recipes of 2011 for a curtain call. They're a varied bunch. We've got old-fashioned pretzels and homemade pop tarts. We've got Nancy Silverton's famous focaccia and Thomas Keller's technique for crisping salmon skin. There's a little exotica, including a perfectly authentic baklava from Turkey made with homemade phyllo dough and an exuberantly spiced version of a Moroccan carrot salad. But then there's also a homey apple-butter cake from Huckleberry Bakery that we can almost guarantee you'll want to make over and over again. You'll find all of these recipes and more in today's Food section. And as a little bonus, we've got a couple more favorites waiting for you online.