I have been talking with food loving friends as well as consulted my gut to come up with five food trends of 2012.

Carrots. Everyone eats them raw as a snack or just as a side dish. In 2012, carrots will be more of a star than an understudy. I had to most delicious carrots with onions dish in December, and I could eat them everyday. Besides the 2012 Pantone coloris orange so it just makes sense. Here’s a recipe for Carrot Cake Jam from the blog Apron Strings.

Artisan Marshmallows. Making marshmallows is becoming really popular. Emily of Nomnivorous has made hot pepper marshmallows, red velvet ones and also cardamom. In Brooklyn, Baked and Whimsy and Spice make yummy marshmallows. Eater spotted the trend of savory marshmallows.

Feb 26 Update: Now there’s a new dessert cafe called The Mallow Bar in Rosedale, which is near Baltimore.

Flavored Salt. Sea salt has gotten everyone acclimated to coarse salt. Now salt comes in different flavors will be big in 2012. You can make your own by checking out Jaden Hair’s recipes.

Just like I don’t believe that nothing is “the new cupcake”, I don’t feel that anything can replace bacon. However, duck fat is the new ingredient to add willy nilly. In the past month, I have eaten duck fat cookies and edamame cooked sauteed in duck fat. Duck fat in doses is nice, but could be a quack.

Cornmeal.  It is not just  for cornbread or frying fish. Cornmeal cookies, cornmeal pancakes and cakes are other ways to use cornmeal.  You can chalk it up to Southern influences, but I think cornmeal is a grain that people will substitute for flour in some recipes because of its texture and corn taste.

I will be in Fort Greene this Saturday hosting a twitter scavenger hunt from 12-3PM with BlackAtlas.com. If you find the van, then you can win passes for dinner at Chef Marcus Samuelsson new restaurant in Harlem, Red Rooster on Monday, November 15. Follow me (Niche) and (Black_ Atlas) for clues.

Update: Saturday was a lovely day, and I had fun hanging at the Brooklyn Flea and Greene Grape Provisions with Kiratiana, the editor of Black Atlas.

momofuku pork bun, originally uploaded by nichellest.

We can stop saying “President-Elect Obama” now because Barack is in the White House. Yay!

Here are the links:

• Tapas at Casa Mono was a great way to celebration Inauguration Night. The pumpkin and goat cheese croquetas were so yummy.
• Whitehouse.gov is a great site to not only follow what’s going on with the 44th President, but it is good to brush on your American history knowledge with a listing of all presidents.
• Stopped by the Serious Eats Happy Hour and then a few went over to Momofuku Milk Bar where we ate soft serve ice cream. The flavors chocolate malt and orange julius were my favorites.  I also had my first ever Momofuku pork bun (pictured above). It was so good.
• Worked at New Work City today and got a sneak peek of  Tony and Todd’s co-working book, “I’m Outta Here”.
• Read the blog posts by Michelle and Anita, the two writers at I Can Bring Home The Bacon.

Nato, Matt, Niche and RKB, originally uploaded by nichellest.

Tonight, I went to the book party for Baked at PowerHouse Arena in DUMBO. Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito, the owners of Baked in Red Hook, have written their first cookbook,  Baked: New Frontiers in Baking, which is full of delicious recipes for cakes, brownies, whoopie pies and cupcakes. The Chocolate Malted cupcakes pictured above are so yummy!

Before going to the Baked event, I stopped by the FreshDirect event at Union Square Wine and Spirits.  The event was to promote the FreshDirect’s new online wine store partnership With USQ Wine Store.  There was cheese and wine pairings, sake with edamame,  a few Spanish wines and a really spicy ginger cocktail made with Canton.  I especially liked the Llopart Rose Brut Cava so I may get some for the holidays since they will be here soon.  At the event, I met a couple of writers from Crain’s,  a very cool former model who is a foodie, and actress Robin Mattson who played Heather on General Hospital back in the day. Plus, I talked to fellow foodbuzz blogger Miss Ginsu and the very nice publicists at MWW.

Saturday, originally uploaded by nichellest.

I’m in Atlanta visiting the fam. My sister has this adorable little dog named Star who is 10 weeks old.

My dad made the most tasty BBQ ribs on Saturday. They were bone-sucking good. Sunday, my family and I went for brunch at The Pecan, a delicious soul food restaurant in downtown College Park. The pepperjack grits are so good.

I got a copy of this new eco-magazine, Boho.

fashion kitty’s betsey johnson purse, originally uploaded by nichellest.

Last night was so much fun. First, I stopped by Digital Wednesday’s at Ono and was surprised when someone tapped me on my shoulder. I turned around and it was Jessica. Later I had dinner and drinks at Spice Market with Fashion Kitty and ThisNext Mavens Shoshi, Science Geek and 20SomethinGirl. As we were finishing dessert, my old pal who I had been playing text message tag with all day walked in. We hadn’t seen each other in seven years. After one last drink at the Hog Pit, I spent ages on the subway getting home, but I had a blast!

fancy ham and cheese sandwich, originally uploaded by nichellest.

Before eating a delicious croque-monsieur at Lucky Strike, I went to a book party in Soho for photographer Lisa Kereszi’s book, Fantasies.  It was a crazy crowded at the party which was held in a Soho loft.  There was one gray haired man walking around eating a bowl of cereal. I think that’s his “party schtick”. Other people tie knots out of cherry stems.

This morning I started the day with a Slim Jim which was left over from the Roanoke trip. This evening I had macaroni and cheese at Florent which is delicious and carb-tastic. I even upgraded by ordering Black Forest Ham with it just to be naughty. Besides, Purim is on Friday.