6 Year Blogiversary

Today Manu’s Menu turns 6! I almost can’t believe it’s been that long! And what an incredible journey it has been! I have learnt so much along the way (have a look at one of my first posts’ pictures!) and I have met, although mainly virtually, many amazing people.

Looking back, I can easily say that this was yet another great year for Manu’s Menu!

I think I have learnt how to use my Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L IS USM Macro Lens. It lets me take very detailed pictures of food that looks better up close, like this Black Olive Tapenade (click on the picture for the recipe):

I still use my Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM too, as not all pictures can be taken with a Macro lens – a full cake, for instance, would not fit in the frame. 😉

If you are curious to see my photography improvements for yourselves, just check out my Foodgawker gallery.

These are my favourite pictures of the past year (click on the picture for the recipe):

Baked Goats Cheese Rolls with Honey and Thyme

Affogato al Caffe

Spelt and Raspberry Baci di Dama

Mushroom and Mozzarella Skillet Chicken

Chestnut Bread Rolls

Castagnaccio

Eggplant and Smoked Scamorza Risotto

Mushrooms in Escabeche

Bosnian Burek

Yogurt Plumcake

Chole Masala

I am very grateful for all the people I have “met” during these years. I want you to know that even though I do not always reply to each single comment, I read them ALL and they mean a lot to me! Every comment is special… so keep them coming! I also know I have many “silent” readers out there and I am very grateful to you too… Don’t be shy, stop by and say “hello”, I’d love to get to know you! Thank you for all your love and support!

The summary of this 6th year of blogging would not be complete if I did not share some statistical data with you’ll:

As you can see from the screenshot, since its creation, Manu’s Menu has been visited by more than 2,855,000 different people and it has a pageview count of over 7.5 million! I had never even dreamt that my blog would be read and followed by so many people!

I am also quite happy with the results in the Social Media area… Manu’s Menu has more than 7,550 followers on Facebook, more than 2,400 on Twitter and more than 5,150 on Pinterest. I am in about 10,150 circles in Google+. Even though there’s always room for improvement, these achievements go well beyond my expectations! THANK YOU EVERYONE!!

This past year, I have also had the honour of being featured in a variety of online publications and other websites, among which Better Homes and Gardens (which featured both my Pineapple Passionfruit Jam and my Walnut Roquefort Sables), Buzzfeed (which featured my Baked Nutella Iris), She Knows (which featured both my Tsukune and Karaage Recipes), Yahoo Lifestyle Australia (which featured my Nutella Pizza), The Huffington Post – Canada (which featured my Sticky Chinese 5 Spice Chicken Wings and my Copycat Starbucks Banana Nut Bread), and The Huffington Post – Australia (which featured my Banana Milk).

I have also started to collaborate with 2 online publications: Parade and Great Italian Chefs. Make sure to check out my articles and recipes!

The accomplishment that I am the most proud though is being among the TOP 8th Australian food blogs (at the time I write)!! That’s huge for me!

I also thought it would be nice to share Manu’s Menu 10 most visited posts of this 6th year… here they go in descending order! – Click on the picture for the recipe.

CHICKEN TIKKA MASALA
HOME-MADE CONDENSED MILK
CHOCOLATE PANNA COTTA
HOME-MADE CREMA DI LIMONCELLO
HYDERABADI CHICKEN BIRYANI
STICKY DATE PUDDING WITH BUTTERSCOTCH SAUCE
SALTED CARAMEL PANNA COTTA
MILLE FEUILLE
CHICKEN TIKKA
PASTA BAKE

For the complete list of the recipes I have published, go to my Visual Archive.

These instead are my personal favourite recipes of 2016 (click on the image for the recipe):

Italian Sausages in Tomato Sauce

Saffron Pumpkin Porcini Risotto

Sweet and Sour Chicken Stir Fry

Macine Cookies

Savoury Italian Croissants

Tuna Dill Salad Pita Pockets

Pear Gorgonzola Gelato in Hazelnut Balsamic Tuiles

Apple Filled Cookies

Onion Schiacciata

Spelt and Hazelnut Bread

Artichoke Sofficini

This has been quite an interesting year on Social Media. Facebook has been making it harder and harder for pages to reach their audience. Basically, the more you like/share/comment etc., the more likely you are to get my updates on your feed. If you are using other social media platforms besides Facebook, remember you can follow MsM also on: Twitter, Google+, Pinterest and Instagram. Come join us!

By the way… this is my Most Pinned recipe EVER… it’s been pinned over 43,000 times!

The best way to receive all my recipe updates though is to subscribe to my free weekly Newsletter. Just fill out the form on the side bar of the blog to start receiving my weekly email with all the latest recipes, featured posts, news, discounts and sneak peeks. Also, remember that when you subscribe, you will also receive my free e-book on pasta with lots of yummy recipes. So, what are you waiting for? Sign up now!

So, which was your MsM’s favourite recipe this year?

Once more I want to thank all of you for your love and support during these last 6 years!! Here is to many more!!!

*In the spirit of full disclosure, this post contains some affiliate links, which means that I may get a commission if you decide to purchase anything from Amazon.com. I only recommend products that I use and love myself, so I know you’ll be in good hands.