Notes about Recipes in this book

• Crunchy potato wedges

  • twoyolks on March 24, 2013

    The crust for these is very reminiscent of fried chicken.

• Crispy potato tots

  • twoyolks on October 24, 2012

    These turn out very reminiscent of the hash browns from McDonald's.

• Sweet and sour sauce

  • twoyolks on October 24, 2012

    I used apricot jam in place of the apple jelly. I think apple jelly would be superior to the apricot jam. Because of the sweetness of the jam, I needed to add additional white vinegar.

• Authentic beef enchiladas

  • twoyolks on June 27, 2013

    Instead of simply braising the beef, I pressure cooked it at high pressure for 50 minutes. I also made sure to season the meat after it had been cooked. I only ended up with 10 enchiladas instead of 12.

• California barbecued tri-tip

  • twoyolks on May 18, 2013

    I cooked the beef in a marinade sous vide. Then chilled it and cooked it on the grill. Because it was a thinner piece, it ended up overcooked. It did have good flavor but would be better only cooked on the grill.

• Wood-grilled salmon

  • twoyolks on May 28, 2013

    The salmon became much too smokey.

• Morning glory muffins

  • chawkins on March 17, 2013

    They are good muffins but not sure if they are worth all that work. Coconut and walnuts need to be toasted and then processed to a fine powder in the processor, pineapple and shredded apple need to be strained and resulting juice cooked down and cooled before everything is combined.

• Crispy baked potato fans

  • chawkins on January 10, 2014

    Impressive looking baked hasselback potatoes and pretty tasty to boot. Seemed like a lot of work but was actually quite simple. I was pretty liberal with the olive oil when brushing it on the potatoes, but somehow the potatoes did not seem to be able to soak it all up, there were little puddles left on the pan, so will use less oil next time.

• Herb-crusted beef tenderloin

  • chawkins on October 29, 2015

    Very good. The bread crumb crust was very crunchy and the Parmesan added a lot of flavor. I quartered the recipe because I was cooking for two with a pound and a quarter piece of tenderloin. I used the same cooking time and oven temperature. The meat was a tad overdone to my taste, but still pink in the middle, so reduce the cooking time a bit or better yet use a probe, I was just lazy.

• Huli huli chicken

  • Rinshin on May 01, 2016

    Really delicious with that Hawaiian taste. Notch up or down with the garlic chili paste which really boosts the taste of this sauce. I used 30% less salt soy sauce for brine and that did not affect the taste at all. Too windy for bbq so baked these a 375F for 45 minutes turning every 15 min with a blast of broil right before coming out of oven. This sauce will work with pork and fish too.

• Cincinnati chili

  • Rinshin on May 18, 2015

    Was intrigued by this recipe after watching the show. Never lived in Midwest so never heard of this unique American style of combining chili and pasta. Loved it. I made it Chili 5 ways.

• Smothered pork chops

  • Rinshin on December 21, 2019

    Another homey, comfy, and easy smothered pork chops to nourish our wary stomachs after over the top Vegas eats. Cooks iIllustrated does this type of cooking so well. A little more splash of vinegar next time. Served with requisite mashed potatoes. Photo added.

• Amish potato salad

  • Rinshin on April 14, 2014

    Simple and tasty. The balance between tart and sweet is spot on. The inclusion of sour cream tempers the sweet/tart flavor perfectly. Having lived in the Amish area during my teen years, I have many fond memories of food from the area and this one reminded me of those simpler times. I know they were going for the traditional taste, but I wish they added green onion as a topping for color and taste. Otherwise, I plan to repeat this recipe with just minor changes.

• No-fear single-crust pie dough

  • sarahkalsbeek on June 16, 2019

    Used this pie crust with the icebox strawberry pie, also from this book. I think I didn't spread the dough out quite enough, because it was a little thick/tough to cut through with a fork while eating the pie. But it was very tasty and matched really well with that particular pie.

• Icebox strawberry pie

  • sarahkalsbeek on June 16, 2019

    Very delicious, but read the recipe carefully! I didn't cook the strawberry mixture down until it measured exactly what the recipe said it should measure, and so the pie didn't completely set in the fridge. It was still very yummy.