Notes about Recipes in this book

• Thai minced pork salad (Laab)

  • twoyolks on August 21, 2014

    I used one yellow chile instead of 4 Thai chiles and this was almost too hot. The flavor was mostly hot and sour.

• Tomato sauce with onion and butter

  • Rinshin on July 13, 2016

    I've made this several times in the past but have not rated it. The mention of 8 best recipes by Epicurious had me making this again for simple lunch yesterday. Since there are only 3 ingredients (5 if you add the pasta and Parmesan cheese) the quality of tomatoes must shine. I used Cento brand of tomatoes this time to make this and it was a good choice. Did not have sweet onions but using a regular yellow onion worked just fine. To me this sauce is pure Italian as it gets and such a satisfying sauce simply served over spaghetti. The taste and aroma of butter really comes through. Very important to cook the sauce long enough for butter to begin to separate. Very noticeable sheen too when it's at the right consistency and taste.

• Chicken liver pate

  • rmardel on June 14, 2021

    This is very close to, if not the same as, the recipe I grew up with, from the Classic Gourmet Cookbook, and has the advantage of being indexed. I still make this and it always disappears at parties, whether I make it with butter or chicken fat.

• Mulligatawny

  • okcook on November 21, 2012

    This soup tastes wonderful and I think by tomorrow it will be better having had time for the flavours to mingle. It is quite thick. Next time I make it my husband would prefer the soup not to be pureed so the texture isn't quite so smooth. That's his personal preference. I may also cut back on the amount of lentils. It calls for 1 3/4 cup in 9 cups of stock. I think I'll try it with just one cup. We had to add more chili as we like our food hot and spicy.

• Chicken with 40 cloves of garlic

  • rmardel on June 14, 2021

    This is a favorite recipe, although I have modified it enough over the years that it may just barely resemble the original. It works well for chicken, pheasant, and game birds. Although the recipe calls for a whole chicken, I find it works better with thighs and legs; the breasts become too dry. Other modifications include eliminating the stock and replacing it with additional vermouth, increasing the tarragon to 3 tablespoons, and adding parsley, celery, and onion as aromatics. I brown the chicken in a Dutch oven, sauté the vegetables, then return the chicken to the pot with the herbs and vermouth. I cook the dish in the oven about an 1 hour, then remove the lid and cook another 15 to 20 minutes, until the chicken skin is brown.

• Chicken, olive, and lemon tagine (Djaj mqualli)

  • lorloff on May 31, 2014

    Great recipe. Delicious worked well for a dinner party my guests liked it so much they took home all the left overs. Marinated the chicken for 2+ hours in garlic, ground cumin, ground coriander, ground cilantro, olive oil salt and pepper. After sautéing before baking I added olives marinated garlic. I also added a head of garlic cloves unpeeled to the mixture before baking.

  • Maura on October 25, 2014

    I also marinated the chicken before cooking and added chopped dried figs to the recipe, served over couscous. Wonderful!

  • eliza on October 04, 2015

    This was very easy to put together and gave a good result. I used chicken thighs instead of legs and this worked out well. Also, on the salt levels, I used stock with no salt and it still came out very salty.

  • Laura on April 09, 2016

    We really enjoyed this dish. I followed the recipe pretty exactly except that, at the last minute I discovered that I didn't have any chicken stock, so I substituted water. That doesn't seem to have diminished the flavor, can only imagine it would be even better with the stock. I also didn't add the cilantro and parsley until after the dish was finished cooking, I felt they'd have more impact if they were fresh. I made this with bone-in, skinless chicken breasts and they came out perfectly, really moist, not dry at all. The flavor of the sauce was really delicious, especially owing to the preserved lemons. Almost anything is better with preserved lemons!

  • Frogcake on May 08, 2017

    Consistent with all of the other reviewers, we found this tagine very tasty! I followed the recipe as written except for baking it in my Dutch oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 45 minutes. Served with couscous and roasted slivered almonds.

  • TrishaCP on September 23, 2020

    This was just as flavorful and delicious as other reviewers stated. I didn’t find it too salty- but I did remove the flesh and pith from my preserved lemons along with rinsing them before they were added. Served with cauliflower rice and roasted carrots.

• Joe's special

  • anya_sf on May 18, 2019

    I used a whole 16-oz bag of frozen spinach, but otherwise followed the recipe. It was hearty and delicious. The whole family loved it.

• Spaghetti alla primavera

  • innerharbors on May 31, 2025

    Totally loved this -- and the head note in the recipe describing its origins. A few more steps than the average pasta dish but I'm glad I didn't skip any because the results were fresh and flavorful. Recommended.

• West African peanut stew

  • jbny on June 17, 2024

    really good! I used a bit less stock, dumped the whole 14 oz can of tomatoes in, eyeballed the other measurements, and it was great. used chunky peanut butter so omitted the peanut garnish. I'll make this again.

• Caribbean oxtail stew

  • meggan on May 08, 2019

    I thought this was good - I used sweet peppers instead of Habaneros and my 4-year old liked it! My oxtails did not have much meat so next time I might supplement.

• Bacon and egg pie

  • anya_sf on January 31, 2019

    I had never had this before and searched similar recipes to see how they differ. I ended up using this basic one, but layered some chopped onion and frozen petite peas on top of the bacon before adding the eggs, then sprinkled chopped parsley and dill on top of the eggs. I scaled it down for a 9"x9" metal pan, using 9 eggs and maybe 8 oz bacon. Didn't put the sauce inside the pie, but served it on the side. Skipped the egg wash. Baked for 45 minutes. My family loved it. Will make again.

• Indonesian fried rice (Nasi goreng)

  • twoyolks on October 17, 2014

    Instead of cooking the eggs before the rice, I cooked them concurrently. This is quick and easy to make and creates a very nice fried rice. The chile and shrimp paste add a nice background note without being overpowering. I made a half recipe and that was almost more rice than I could cook at one time. I wouldn't make a full recipe.

• Flemish beef and beer stew (Carbonnade)

  • hirsheys on January 06, 2018

    I didn't like this. The bacon taste was too strong. I also don't know if I used the wrong beer, but I didn't like the flavor.

• Creamy chicken curry (Murgh korma)

  • twoyolks on November 12, 2016

    The chicken and sauce were bland. The flavor of the spices didn't show through at all.

• Gratinéed scallops (Coquilles St.-Jacques)

  • ellabee on March 23, 2013

    Adapted to #24 gratin. Made bed of mushrooms-onons-herbs, laid wine-poached bay scallops over. Added veloute made w reduced poaching liquid and cream, topped with grated cheese, broiled. Unexpected availability of scallops and tarragon same week = delicious old school treat. Leftovers: sliced scallops in half horizontally to nestle in remaining sauce, used breadcrumbs and Parmesan for topping. Glad to have minimized poaching time (5 min).

• Shepherd's pie

  • chawkins on September 17, 2014

    Very good. I started with a pound of left over roasted leg of lamb instead of 1.5 lb of raw lamb shoulder. and used only 3/4 stick of butter instead of a whole stick in the potatoes. Also, 6 minutes of reduction time after adding the tomatoes is not enough to get to the consistency that I like, I used fresh tomatoes rather than canned ones though.

  • innerharbors on December 26, 2024

    An exceptional recipe that I've enjoyed for years. Almost always use boneless leg of lamb, which seems easier to come by. And almost always add a half cup of frozen peas to the final simmer before putting it in the oven. Delish!