Notes about Recipes in this book

• Polish white borscht (Biały Barszcz)

  • nicolepellegrini on April 10, 2026

    Not quite the white borscht I grew up with for Easter, but very good nevertheless! I added cooked beets at the end, left out the dill and marjoram and added some lemon juice for the sour notes (and just a little sour cream at the end). I liked the potato base for giving it a little more thickness from the start.

• Tagliatelle with poppy seeds and prosciutto

  • Rutabaga on April 29, 2014

    Simple, delicious, and an intriguing way to incorporate both buttermilk and poppy seeds. Having made the dough the night before, I used homemade egg fettuccini, and even with the rolling and cutting of the pasta (using the Kitchen Aid pasta attachment), this dish was ready and on the table in under 45 minutes. Instead of shallots, I used green garlic as that's what I had on hand. The overall flavor was mild, but a little tangy from the buttermilk and lemon juice, with a gentle crunch from the poppy seeds. Even with the cream and cheese, it had tasted refreshingly light.

• Cuban-style ropa vieja

  • jayg312 on May 19, 2012

    Came out perfect - will double up on the olives next time

  • adrienneyoung on October 02, 2012

    Definitely a keeper. Not difficult at all. Just takes a bit of time.

  • Laura on October 10, 2012

    This was fabulous! I cooked it for 3 hours and did not bother to shred the meat -- at that stage it shredded itself. The only change I would make is to add more olives. Also, I used the cilantro as a garnish rather than adding it to the dish so that the flavor would shine.

  • imaluckyducky on January 04, 2015

    Hands-down my favorite ropa vieja recipe I've found yet, and it's passed the Cuban friend's grandmother test. I like the olives in this, but if you're not an olive fan, omitting them still produces a wonderful dish. I don't bother cutting the flank/skirt steak into pieces, I leave it in its larger sections because after 2-3 hours it'll shred on its own. Can be made in a slowcooker, just brown the meat before plopping into the crock pot and cook it on low for 8 hours.

  • hirsheys on January 27, 2019

    Wow, this was FANTASTIC. It takes some time to put together, but is quite easy in the scheme of things. I browned the meat in big chunks, but ended up cutting them into strips later in the process to help speed up the cooking (I had to start cooking dinner later than I'd have liked, so was in a rush...) This worked well. I followed this recipe exactly, though the bottom of the pot scorched a bit at one point while the peppers and onions were cooking, so I had to add some water to the pot. This just added to the flavor, I think. The whole dish was so delicious - I served it with rice, but it would also make great tacos or empanadas. I'm very excited to have this recipe!