Notes about Recipes in this book

• Poached salmon with herb and caper vinaigrette

  • ashallen on September 23, 2019

    If you like the flavor of poached salmon (I'm a moderate fan), this is a nice method for making it. I used parsley and tarragon as specified in the recipe, but I think other herbs would probably work well, too. I thought the herb and caper vinaigrette was just so-so (I'm not a big caper fan, though). I wouldn't make the vinaigrette again, but the recipe suggests several other sauces. [Cross-post for Annual Edition/Magazine/Science of Good Cooking/Cook's Ill. Cookbook.]

• Pasta with creamy tomato sauce

  • ashallen on November 07, 2019

    We love, love, love this pasta sauce, though it's creamy rich so we consider it a special treat. Flavors are absolutely delicious and multilayered. I usually add the wine and uncooked tomatoes at the end of the cooking process to taste since the acidity of the sauce varies with the ingredients available. Basil pesto has worked in place of fresh basil in a pinch, but fresh basil is really best. Doubling the recipe works fine. Freezes well. [Cross-post for Annual Edition/Magazine/Science of Good Cooking/Cook's Ill. Cookbook.]

• Sautéed spinach with pecans and feta

  • ashallen on December 12, 2019

    Very good - the rich flavor of the pecans goes really well with the earthy flavor of the spinach. I use 2-4 tablespoons of shallot which is less than the amount called for in the recipe. The original amount seemed realllllly shallot-y to me (even though I really like shallots). [Cross-post for Annual Edition/Magazine/Cook's Ill. Cookbook.]