Notes about Recipes in this book

• Cheese ball with cumin, mint, and pistachios

  • kbrooks on January 25, 2025

    This cheese ball is quite tasty. I reduced the celery to 1/3 cup and minced, rather than sliced it. Asiago or parmesan-reggiano will work in place of the pecorino romano.

• Savory fig tart

  • abbycox on March 22, 2026

    Easy and fine but didn’t thrill me

• Chilled potato-chive soup

  • innerharbors on July 18, 2024

    Potato and lime are simply not harmonious on my palette. I might try again with lemon juice instead, but there are many other wonderful chilled soup recipes in the world, this one will not be found among them.

• French country cabbage soup

  • kbrooks on January 25, 2025

    Really good soup. Slow simmer for best flavor. And don't be tempted to use less than all 4 garlic cloves...they are essential and don't overpower.

• Baby romaine with green goddess dressing

  • kbrooks on January 25, 2025

    Really great dressing. I use 1 tablespoon Best Foods mayonnaise in place of the egg yolk and reduce the olive oil to 1/3 cup.

• Tomato and fresh green bean salad with crisp prosciutto

  • kbrooks on August 15, 2025

    Delicious salad. I used heirloom tomatoes and green beans from the farmers market. Omitted the cherry tomatoes.

• Spinach and tabbouleh salad with feta and olives

  • innerharbors on March 04, 2025

    This is a great riff on tabbouleh with more of a salad feel with the spinach subbed in for parsley. Nice as a bed for broiled fish or lamb burgers.

• Sardinian rice salad with tuna, olives, and capers

  • innerharbors on February 24, 2024

    A lot of chopping but the result is a great combination of satisfying flavors. A really great Mediterranean main or side.

• Chicken salad a la Danny Kaye

  • Rinshin on March 29, 2024

    No bean curd sticks in this recipe but it does include bay leaves.

• Three-ingredient fettuccine alfredo

  • kbrooks on January 25, 2025

    This was a definite no in our house. Just doesn't have the flavor and richness of traditional fettuccine Alfredo.

• Tex-Mex macaroni and cheese with green chiles

  • kbrooks on August 26, 2024

    This is a big hit in our house. Sort of a souffle-like macaroni and cheese. Caveat: be sure to use white corn tortillas. If you use yellow the taste will be fine but the resulting casserole will be an unappealing gray color.

  • innerharbors on February 04, 2025

    Like the other commenter, we loved this. No notes. Lots of leftovers that reheat well!

• Sear-roasted salmon fillet with lemon-ginger butter

  • abbycox on April 15, 2026

    Super easy and tasty. I skinned the salmon using the boiling water pour over method

• Drunken steak

  • kbrooks on January 25, 2025

    Interesting marinade. We really liked this dish exactly as written. Recommend an overnight marinating for the most flavor,

• Braised beef short ribs Chinese style

  • kbrooks on January 25, 2025

    Really, really, really good! Make this the day before you want to serve and reheat next day. Did I mention that it's really, really, really good?

• Creole ham and shrimp jambalaya

  • kbrooks on May 03, 2026

    This is a favorite. Made exactly as written. My husband isn't a big fan of shrimp, but he loved this.

• Tacos with chorizo and potato filling

  • milgwimper on November 17, 2015

    This was good, and it was somewhat unusual for some of the dinner guests. I had a little bit of a problem with the potatoes but other than that it was tasty and filling.

• Green beans with crisp shallots, chile, and mint

  • kbrooks on May 07, 2026

    The chile just doesn't work in this recipe.

• Mashed potatoes with sage and white cheddar cheese

  • kbrooks on January 25, 2025

    We loved the flavor added by the sage infused cream and milk. Be careful adding the cream and milk to the hot butter and sage - it really bubbles up!

• Fresh apricot-berry crumble

  • nadiam1000 on July 02, 2018

    I made this to use up the last of our apricots after making a couple of batches of jam. I thought the mix of apricots and berries with an oat crumble topping sounded good and would be quick and easy. This was a good crisp but not perfect for us. I used the centers of the apricot pits in place of the almonds. The filling was a bit too tart and even after letting it stay in the oven long enough for the filling to bubble for a good long while; it was still too juicy for my taste. I prefer a more set filling so I would add a bit of cornstarch or flour - a tablespoon or two and more brown sugar. topping was really good and a nice proportion to the filling.

  • kbrooks on August 20, 2024

    Made this with peaches and berries instead of apricots and it was delicious. Didn't have a problem with the filling being too juicy that the previous reviewer had. And the balance of sweet and tart was fine. Maybe it was because of using peaches instead of apricots? I would reduce the amount of cinnamon in the topping next time I make it.

• Pumpkin bars with lemon glaze

  • innerharbors on December 21, 2025

    Delicious! Very sticky with all the dates. I think sugar could really be reduced down a bit. These were a mess to cut after the short cooling time received, so will probably wait until they've chilled overnight next time to see if I can get tidier looking little bars. All in all a keeper recipe.