Notes about Recipes in this book

• Clam, chili, and parsley pizza

  • Emily Hope on July 18, 2013

    It's been quite a while since I've had a Franny's clam pizza, but this just about lives up to my memory, and is far and away the best clam pie I've ever made at home. The key, it turns out, is heavy cream, reduced down to a glaze with the clam juices and painted on the pizza. The only red flag for me was that the recipe has you add heavy cream to the pan without straining the juices to remove grit--my clams were exceptionally clean and so it wasn't a problem, but by the time the glaze reduces there's no way to strain out the grit, so I'd do it before adding cream if you think your clams might be gritty. I also though their technique of turning on the broiler halfway through the cooking process was inspired--I did get some nice char on the top crust (thought I think I need to give up my parchment-paper crust underneath and just flour the peel to get good color underneath). Worth the time and the calories.

• Zucchini soup with Parmigiano-Reggiano and basil

  • Emily Hope on June 26, 2013

    A nice level of depth and (subtle) flavor for a vegetarian soup. Reminded me a bit of soups from Outerlands in SF. I think the garnish (parmesan, basil, oil) is key and wouldn't omit, unless you wanted it to be vegan. I also needed to add some extra salt and a couple of teaspoons of lemon juice to bring up the flavor. This did required a fair bit of work for a simple soup--caramelizing the zucchini in two batches, sautéing the aromatics separately, and simmering them together. Even using the pressure cooker (5 min on high and a quick release), I'd say it took about an hour from start to finish the first time out. It also uses a LOT of olive oil (I cut back somewhat). Not everyone was a fan: C said, "You can gussy it up all you want, it's still zucchini soup." Served with roasted tomatoes with anchovy breadcrumbs (Nigel Slater) and a Brickmaiden sesame loaf.

• Chickpea and kale soup

  • Emily Hope on October 08, 2013

    Another nice soup from this book--excellent flavor and fairly easy to make (though it does require three separate steps plus a trip to the blender). I only had one bunch of kale so cut the dry chickpeas by a half-cup and cut the water to 2 quarts (cooked in the pressure cooker for 20 minutes with a natural release); this worked but the soup was a bit thin--I'd cut the water a bit more for the p.c., even for the full amount of chickpeas and kale. I also cut back the olive oil quite a bit. I like that the kale and some of the chickpeas are pureed while others are left whole--it had a nice texture and was a beautiful green color. I might try a little fresh marjoram in the sachet next time. There was a slightly bitter note--not sure if it was the kale or the olive oil. C prefers this to the zucchini soup from the same book; I'd give that soup a slight edge over this one.

  • Lepa on July 28, 2018

    "Lousy" and "thumbs down" is the feedback I got on this soup. I have to agree. Considering how fussy it was to prepare- not to mention the 1.5 cups of olive oil in it(!) it was shockingly lacking in flavor. The texture was also off. I might throw the pot away instead of subjecting anyone to leftovers. . . it was that bad.

• Fusilli with pork sausage ragu

  • TrishaCP on April 11, 2020

    This was good but not great. It takes a while to prep all the veggies and I felt the celery was a bit out of place. Also, rather than draining the fat after cooking the meat, you are supposed to cook the ragu, let it come to room temp, chill it, and then remove most of the fat. Why and who has time for that? (Besides all of us under stay at home orders I guess!) I assumed it was to keep the meat tender, and since I had time, decided to follow the recipe and see how things went. The meat was still oddly dry even cooking with the fat and so much more work than just draining it in the first place.

• Spaghetti with herbs and ricotta

  • rglo820 on May 12, 2017

    Didn't love this recipe. Despite the large quantity of herbs (~1 cup total), the flavor was not overly herbaceous. Also, this instruction to add water to a pan full of hot oil immediately after removing it from the heat resulted in a splattery mess. I might willing to give it a try again with handmade ricotta and more herbs.

• Fusilli with black kale pesto

  • wcassity on December 23, 2017

    Very tasty - elevates all the ingredients. Added 1/2 pound Italian sausage. Used one pot. Good for winter.

• Penne with broccoli

  • julesamomof2 on July 29, 2017

    Boring. I cut down on the oil but still too oily for us. Won't make this one again.

• Zucchini, cherry tomato, and Pantaleo

  • julesamomof2 on July 09, 2017

    Tested this out as a contender for upcoming dinner party. I chose it because I had all the ingredients already on hand. It was quite delicious, and tasted exactly as you would expect: if you like zucchini and cherry tomatoes, then you will like this. I used just enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan before adding the zucchini and I did not add any extra to the finished dish as called for. I think using the entire amount would have made the dish too oily.

• Meatballs

  • cadfael on March 23, 2022

    Meatballs; very tender if don’t over work and mix until just combined thoroughly. Therefore soak the bread very well, add all other ingredients to it and mix well before adding to mixed meat. Mix just enough. Scoop with medium scoop onto parchment lined pan. Roll gently to shape and refrigerate. Brush with oil just before baking. I baked 475º for 11 minutes Convection. Rested in pan five minutes

• Marinated artichokes

  • ellencooks on March 18, 2021

    This was good but salty.

• Spaghetti with artichokes

  • ellencooks on March 18, 2021

    Another one that is too salty for my taste but other than that it was good!

• Fried asparagus, artichokes, and spring onions with ramp mayonnaise

  • ellencooks on March 18, 2021

    I used the batter on artichokes, green onions and asparagus. No ramps so no ram mayonnaise. Good and tasty!

• Fried zucchini with Parmigiano-Reggiano and lemon

  • ellencooks on March 18, 2021

    This was really good! I've made fried zucchini many times but have used a flour/egg/breadcrumb coating before. Good batter here and we really liked the lemon and cheese on them.

• Marinated zucchini with mint, garlic, and chili

  • lesliec on August 05, 2016

    Flavors were good but I found this dish to be too oily for my taste.

• Ricotta pound cake

  • akrupnick on August 21, 2021

    Needed significantly more baking time. Also more cooling time as it fell apart. Tasted good though. Cooling really is important. This cake tasted excellent the following morning.

• Bucatini alla puttanesca

  • katiesue28 on April 29, 2020

    Absolutely delicious and easy. I used regular wet-brined capers rather than the salt-brined. Same great taste but simpler.

• Celery, fennel, and pear salad with pecorino and walnuts

  • Trepess on May 15, 2021

    Easy, tasty, and refreshing salad. No need to make separate vinaigrette - you just squeeze on some lemon juice and olive oil. This one's a keeper.

• Oprah.com

  ...tons of ideas for everyday cooking with fresh ingredients—and reminds us that just a few items (lemon, capers, pecorino) can make an ordinary dish amazing.

  Full review

• Serious Eats

  Unlike many aspirational restaurant cookbooks, Franny's is generous, practical, and fun. They've tailored recipes to work in small home kitchens and provide suggestions for tweaking techniques...

  Full review