Notes about Recipes in this book

• Creole sauce

  • anya_sf on September 13, 2022

    I made 1/2 recipe to use in gumbo. The roux didn't thicken it much, but the consistency was good after blending. Made with Crystal hot sauce and Vietnamese chili-garlic paste (what I had), the spice level was good for us - noticeable but not super spicy.

  • anya_sf on June 24, 2025

    Note that the stated yield seems way off (6.5 cups, when 2.5 quarts broth are called for).

• Brown roux

  • anya_sf on September 13, 2022

    I made 1/2 recipe using the stovetop method to save time. This roux is only supposed to be "golden brown" rather than darker brown as I'd have expected. The stated yield is way off - it's listed as 2.25 cups for the full recipe, but when you mix flour and butter together like this, the total volume isn't actually additive due to the blending of the two. I got a little over 1/2 cup from 1/2 the recipe.

• Pumpkin, parsnip, and butternut squash soup

  • hillsboroks on November 07, 2015

    Tasty way to use up fall vegetables and end up with lovely soup. I followed the recipe exactly and used the fresh sage but the soup still didn't have the flavor pop that I expected so I added another round of nutmeg and black pepper plus 2 tsp dried sage. The final result was a very warming, flavorful soup that I will definitely make again.

• Chicken and sausage gumbo

  • anya_sf on September 13, 2022

    I made 1/2 recipe, but with 1/2 Creole Sauce recipe rather than 1/3. Since the gumbo and sauce both call for virtually the same ingredients, I was tempted to streamline and just cook them together, blending part of the resulting soup, but it wasn't too much extra work to do them separately and the result was probably nicer. This recipe is identical to the seafood version, except that one calls for 3.5 lbs seafood and this one calls for a mere pound or so of meat, which I interpreted to mean you could use however much you like. For 1/2 recipe, I used 6 oz andouille and 1 lb shrimp (in lieu of chicken), added in the last 5 min of simmering. With the extra Creole sauce, the gumbo was fairly soupy, but we didn't mind - it was delicious over rice.

• Sautéed collard greens

  • anya_sf on November 07, 2022

    I preferred the texture of the collard greens cooked longer, closer to an hour. The vinegar was too strong for my taste; would cut it in half if I made this again.

• Roast pork tenderloin with brown sugar pineapple jam

  • hillsboroks on July 31, 2016

    This turned out great for a summer dinner party on the deck. The flavor of the rub is subtle but very tasty. I reduced the amount of cayenne pepper in the rub by 2/3 to suit our taste and it was perfect. I didn't get much orange or bourbon flavor from the marinade so next time I might put the meat in the marinade a couple of hours earlier. But what put this recipe over the top is the brown sugar pineapple jam. The flavor of this jam is intense and wonderful. Do not skip the jam! My guests all went back for seconds of both the pork and the jam. I served the jam alongside the meat instead of on top of it because I wasn't sure how people would like it but it was the hit of my menu and had everyone talking about it. I love recipes like this that have you brown the meat on the stove and then pop the pan into the oven to finish, especially when having guests over. Since the oven is so hot (450F) watch your meat thermometer closely so as not overcook it.

• Brown sugar pineapple jam

  • hillsboroks on June 16, 2019

    This recipe makes more than enough for the pork tenderloin so the second time I made this I planned ahead and put the excess hot jam into 4 oz. canning jars and processed them in a hot water bath for 10 minutes. Then I could quickly make this dish on a week night. The jam is the perfect complement to the pork. It is sweet tart and is perfect with chicken too.

• The old fashioned

  • adrienneyoung on October 15, 2012

    The new house cocktail for this house... Um... Apartment.