Notes about Recipes in this book

• Turkey hash

  • Rutabaga on November 29, 2014

    I made a variation of this recipe using leftover mashed potatoes. Because the potatoes were very soft, the hash didn't brown like it would have if made with freshly cooked and grated potatoes (or even leftover plain cooked potatoes). Still, it was homey and comforting, and a good, fast way to use Thanksgiving leftovers. Because my husband does not like eggs, I didn't top the hash with them, but I think that would be a delicious option to try with the leftovers (leftovers of leftovers, in this case).

• Greek-spiced baked shrimp

  • Laura on January 20, 2013

    I've made this several times. Love how simple and quick it is. The flavors are delicious and it's a pretty dish as well.

• Pumpkin muffins

  • apattin on July 23, 2017

    Added one extra tsp of baking powder and 2 TB extra pumpkin puree. Perfect muffin, IMHO. Not too sweet, moist, light crumb, not overpowered by spices.

  • IowanCorn on December 14, 2025

    I used fresh pumpkin and subbed chopped pecans for pumpkin seeds and dried cranberries for the raisins, The spices were well balanced against the pumpkin so that you could still taste everything. They rose nice and the cooking time was correct. All and all, a well written recipe.

• Spaghetti and Swiss chard with garlic chips

  • Rutabaga on September 29, 2015

    This is a great quick pasta dish with chard. The flavor combination is perfect. Last night I made it using about a quarter cup of barberries, along with a pinch of sugar, instead of currents, which wasn't a bad substitution, but currents are best. It's also a good dish with whole wheat pasta. The only difficulty is that all the good stuff migrates to the bottom of the pot!

• Sausage and mushroom penne gratin

  • Rutabaga on May 12, 2014

    Rich and satisfying, this pasta dish is good, simple comfort food. I only had a half pound of mushrooms, but they were morels, so didn't shrink down the way many mushrooms do and still added plenty of flavor and texture. I also substituted butter cheese for the mozzarella, which was good, but maybe not better than mozzarella.

  • Rutabaga on April 19, 2015

    I made this again, this time using goat cheese instead of mozzarella, and including some leftover wild garlic cream sauce in place of some of the heavy cream, as well as adding chopped caramelized onion to the mix. This is definitely a versatile dish, very adaptable.

• Cranberry sauce with dates and orange

  • Rutabaga on November 24, 2017

    I'm not generally a big fan of cranberry relish, but I'll make an exception for this one. The flavors blend together seamlessly, and create a really rich, well-balanced sauce that's not overly "candied". If I'm making cranberry sauce again, this is the recipe to use.

  • lorloff on November 26, 2023

    This was a great cranberry recipe that will make again. The dates add a depth of flavor that together with the oranges in the recipe really delicious and we are big fans of cranberry sauce. My husband is using the leftovers to mix into his morning yogurt.

• Spiced couscous and turkey pilaf

  • Rutabaga on May 19, 2014

    I liked the fact that this simple dish used a few less common ingredients - pearl couscous and diced turkey meat - that are still easy to come by. The flavor is subtle, but warm and filling. We found that feta cheese was also a nice addition.