• Eat Your Books

  2002 James Beard Award Nominee

• nomadchowwoman on January 17, 2010

  Good, solid recipes, many of which will be familiar.

• Nancy Levy on December 31, 2009

  Pasta, Pesto and Peas- summer room temperature good.

Notes about Recipes in this book

• Panzanella

  • jzanger on September 27, 2010

    This is my go-to recipe

  • czechmate on January 11, 2013

    Me too!

  • anya_sf on December 31, 2019

    I made 1/2 recipe with 1/3 vinaigrette, which seemed like the right amount. I added some baby spinach. It was very good. I found the onion to be a it harsh, so I'd soak it next time. The bread gets soft if the panzanella sits longer than 30 minutes, so serve it right then for the best texture, although the flavor is still good later.

• Strawberry country cake

  • jzanger on December 10, 2011

    This is fantastic, especially if you make a strawberry sauce to drizzle over top. Note that it makes enough cake for two full cakes. EDIT: with that second cake, I crumbled it into chunks and made an amazing Blueberry Trifle from joyofbaking.com. The citrus flavored cake worked perfectly with the blueberry sauce and the richness of the mascarpone/whipped cream filling.

  • anya_sf on December 31, 2019

    Watch the cakes closely so they don't overbake (mine did a little). The cakes domed quite a bit and were a tad dry, but that did not matter since this is like a giant shortcake, but with more flavor. I loved the citrus zests and vanilla. I added whipped cream stabilizer so it would last longer. If serving the same day, I would toss the berries in sugar to draw out some of the juice. Really yummy, not too sweet.

• Plum tart

  • jzanger on September 27, 2010

    easy, easy easy and SO wonderful.

  • anya_sf on September 26, 2018

    Really easy and delicious. Use a pan with higher sides, like springform or tall tart pan, or the fruit won't all fit. I needed to use 2 cups crumbs for the bottom and sides; there were still plenty of crumbs for the top.

• Grilled herb shrimp

  • Aggie92 on August 28, 2016

    Fabulous! Only had a pound of shrimp so I cut the recipe in half and the salt even further (down to 1/2 tsp). No other changes. Marinated for 8 hours and served with grilled mushrooms, French bread, a green salad, and a lovely French rosé wine. Two enthusiastic thumbs up for this easy and delicious recipe.

  • averythingcooks on July 06, 2019

    This is a lovely way to serve shrimp - my guests all raved that this was a restaurant quality appetizer!

  • anya_sf on December 31, 2019

    The shrimp marinated one day. I substituted mint for basil, which worked well. Very good and easy! I might use more herbs next time as it could handle more seasoning.

• Rugelach

  • DKennedy on April 06, 2016

    This is my go t0 rugelach recipe. I fill them with chocolate chips. Ina has a great rugelach primer on the food network if you can find the video.

  • Lepa on December 19, 2020

    These were easy to make and so very delicious!

  • anya_sf on December 31, 2019

    I made them a week ahead, froze them on the baking sheet, then thawed overnight in the fridge before baking. They were absolutely delicious.

  • GingerFoodLovers on August 12, 2023

    A wonderful recipe--so much flavor and gorgeous to look at.

• Caesar salad with pancetta

  • DianeKirkland on February 15, 2011

    This is the best Caesar salad dressing I've ever had. Don't by afraid to use all the anchovies called for; they're well balanced by the lemon juice. And don't tell anyone how many are in it (ever). It lasts a week in the fridge.

  • anya_sf on December 31, 2019

    Make the dressing ahead so the flavors have time to mellow. One quarter of the dressing was still more than needed for the salad. I substituted mayonnaise for the egg yolk and made the dressing in the blender since the smaller volume doesn't work well in the food processor. I used bacon instead of pancetta and skipped the anchovies. The salad was very good. If using peak-season, vine-ripe tomatoes, there's no need to roast them.

  • JJ2018 on September 22, 2018

    Absolutely delicious - go to Caesar dressing

• Lemon cake

  • Kfaber on January 26, 2014

    Really moist cake with amazing lemony flavor.

  • chawkins on December 21, 2015

    Very moist and lemony. Perfect balance of sweet and tartness. Got raves when I brought this to a party. You'll need a microplane for this recipe: it uses a third cup of zest.

  • stef on January 12, 2019

    One of my favourite lemon loaves. Always successful.

  • Lepa on February 04, 2021

    I was looking for a recipe to use up a surplus of lemons and found this. It's a bit sweeter than I usually like but still really good. I used a 9x5 loaf pan and it took 55 minutes to bake.

  • anya_sf on December 31, 2019

    I made one loaf (1/2 recipe) using Meyer lemons and half whole wheat flour. The cake was very good - great texture and just the right sweetness.

  • LemonVerbena on November 05, 2023

    This recipe used a lot of pans/bowls/utensils. And my lemons must have been extra large - I only needed 2 1/2 lemons to make 1/3 cup of zest. My cakes took 45 minutes to bake. They were VERY lemony, with good texture.

• Shortbread cookies with dragées

  • Kfaber on December 25, 2013

    Good classic cookie. Dough was a bit crumbly, but dividing it into small batches made it easier to work with.

  • anya_sf on January 20, 2020

    I used a half batch of dough for these (other half for linzer cookies) and got 12 cookies, but the dough was rolled about 3/8" thick. They chilled 10 minutes before baking at 350 convection for 15 minutes. I could not get dragees, so I sprinkled some with sanding sugar and glazed the rest. A simple cookie, but really good.

• Chocolate chunk cookies

  • Marguerite on May 19, 2011

    A great recipe to freeze. Use a small ice cream scoop to make the cookies and freeze them in a container. When ready for a few, simply place on a tray frozen and bake as directed.

  • averythingcooks on March 13, 2021

    I made these a bit smaller (approx 22 g of dough / cookie) and so baked each tray for around 10 - 11 minutes. I used pecans in place of walnuts and I chopped up semi-sweet baking chocolate....keeping it down to around 4 oz (for a 1/2 recipe) because I do believe there IS such a thing as too much chocolate :) These are really good cookies.

  • anya_sf on January 20, 2020

    Half the recipe yielded 17 cookies. Baked at 350 convection, the cookies were done in 9-10 minutes. They were delicious, probably because they were packed with chocolate.

• Chicken chili

  • Cvryan on June 08, 2014

    I made this as recipe stated and bit underwhelmed by flavour. On other review sites reviewers have doubled spices to get it right. Will do this next time.

  • Sharonsez on December 23, 2012

    With some tweaks, this has become my go-to chili recipe. I cut way back on the peppers & chicken and adjusted the spices.

  • averythingcooks on May 06, 2023

    I have always passed over this recipe (ie 3 tsp of ground "heat" in a dish to serve 12??) BUT I am looking for mild dishes to help fill a parent's freezer and so came here. I added pickled jalapeno brine for brightness and included corn + black beans for more flavour / fibre. I also went with less tomato but felt overall it was a bit thin so I added some passata for more body. I scaled the basil back & included some parsley and at that point it fit my needs fairly well. However, as written, I won't make it again for just us - far too many better versions out there.

  • anya_sf on January 20, 2020

    We like beans in our chili, so I added some cannellini beans. Unfortunately, the chili was just OK. The basil seemed weird and the tomato was too prominent. We liked it better after adding some chicken broth and more chili powder.

• Garlic roasted potatoes

  • Melanie on September 13, 2014

    I usually parboil potatoes before roasting but this recipe skips this step and relies on the use of smaller potatoes, plenty of oil and a high oven temperature to get a great crunchy result. I loved the flavour of the garlic in this dish.

  • spencercooks on June 27, 2020

    Delicious but allow extra time for baking as mine took a bit longer than stated on the recipe.

  • anya_sf on December 31, 2019

    Easy. The potatoes roasted in 70 minutes. The were nice and creamy on the inside, crispy outside. However, the garlic burned after so long in the oven. Next time I'll either omit the garlic or add it halfway through roasting.

• Chocolate white chocolate chunk cookies

  • Melanie on October 04, 2014

    These were delicious and easy to bake (makes a huge number so I halved the recipe). Keep an eye on them in the oven, I managed to overbake by a minute or two and I think the texture suffered slightly.

  • averythingcooks on January 25, 2022

    I also had a little trouble with the bake time and am pretty sure I overbaked the 1st pan - maybe my cookies were a bit smaller but I had to drop the bake time for subsequent pans by 3 minutes. Of course they ARE cookies but we found them a bit sweet (but still pretty tasty). I have made similar cookies from other books that we did like better.

  • anya_sf on January 20, 2020

    I used natural cocoa, but probably should have used Dutch processed. Baked for 15 minutes. I let the first batch cool on the baking sheet longer than the second batch and preferred the second batch since the cookies were softer. I'd bake them a minute less so they're chewier.

• Smashed sweet potatoes with apples

  • RobynJ on July 11, 2014

    Added left over kent pumpkin from pumpkin and apple soup Lovely taste can taste the nutmeg and cinnamon

  • anya_sf on January 20, 2020

    We don't like our vegetables too sweet, so I skipped the apple topping, and it was quite good - not too sweet.

• Spinach gratin

  • czechmate on December 03, 2012

    Favorite, always part of Thanksgiving Dinner. Use a 9x12. Start thawing the 5 boxes of spinach 2 days early in refrigerator in a colander. Leftover idea: warm and use under poached eggs for breakfast

  • julesamomof2 on December 27, 2017

    This has had a place on our Christmas table for at least 10 years, a true fave that everyone loves.

  • anya_sf on July 04, 2019

    I made half the recipe using 2 16-oz bags frozen spinach. Half-and-half worked fine instead of heavy cream. Wonderful!

  • Running_with_Wools on November 23, 2020

    This recipe is delicious and even my picky eight-year-old twins will eat spinach in this cheesy casserole. I use gluten-free flour as the bechamel is coming together, and it works great. I serve it for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and throughout the winter. I've also put the filling into a pie crust and baked it as a savory tart. I like to use Comte cheese, when I can get it. It's fun to bring to a pot-luck dinner, and the leftovers are wonderful, too.

• Cheddar and chutney on brioche

  • Wende on November 10, 2023

    These were disappointing. I had slider-sized brioche rolls, which looked very close in size to the rolls Ina used in her video of this recipe. I also used very good cheddar and an excellent chutney, but the ratio of filling to bread was very unbalanced - there was way too much bread. The markets in my area sell brioche in all manner of types and sizes, but maybe the mini brioche rolls that Ina's friend makes are even smaller than sliders. I see that she has a recipe for mini brioche rolls online, but that kind of defeats how easy this is supposed to be. In any case, I would not really make these again.

  • anya_sf on December 30, 2019

    I used milk rolls, which were similar to lean brioche in texture, and Patak's mango chutney. The chutney and cheddar were surprisingly good together.

• Peanut butter chocolate chunk cookies

  • KarinaFrancis on May 24, 2020

    I cut the recipe in half and that proved to be a huge mistake because these were fabulous. Crispy edges and chewy centre is how I like my cookies and these hit the mark, and who can resist peanut butter and chocolate? Note on quantities: I got 15 cookies and one tray was cooked in 17 minutes, the other tray took 20 even though I rotated them half way through.

  • averythingcooks on May 04, 2020

    I cut this in half and it still makes a lot of cookies! The first pan was flattened as directed and maybe baked a minute too long. I totally forgot to do anything to the 2nd pan - they went in as scooped & baked for the same 11 minutes. The 3rd was flattened and then cooked for around 10 minutes. Verdict? Pan 2 were the best! Also, these are not as sweet as my usual PB cookies BUT of course those ones are rolled in sugar. I also used a mix of semi-sweet chips with "alot" of roughly chopped dark chocolate (& I really have no idea now of what the actual ratio ended up being). The result is a "more adult tasting" cookie which we both really like.

  • anya_sf on January 20, 2020

    My son said these were the best cookies he'd ever had. Baked at 350 convection, they were done in 11 minutes, but in a regular oven, 17 minutes was perfect.

• Lemon bars

  • KarinaFrancis on July 15, 2018

    I'm not sure if this was a me fail, or and Ina fail (gasp) but this just didn't work out well. The filling was dense and chewy, so not sure if the temp was too high, the cook time was not right or the fact that I made the filling and had to have it sit while the base cooled (recipe skimming missed this detail). Not sure I'll try again or try another recipe for lemon bars

  • anya_sf on January 20, 2020

    I used Meyer lemons and the flavor was a bit milder and sweeter - good, but regular lemons may be better. I lined the pan with parchment for easier removal and froze the crust for 10 minutes before baking. Most recipes instruct you to pour the filling over a warm crust, so I did that, rather than letting the crust cool.

• Chinese chicken salad

  • KarinaFrancis on October 02, 2023

    You just cant go wrong with a peanut butter dressing, but somehow Ina manages to make it light and not stodgy. I poached the chicken because I only had skinless breast, but they were as flavourful and juicy as chicken breast can get. I added some crushed peanuts on top, because why not? Its a great base recipe to put your own touches on, as previous reviewers have noted

  • averythingcooks on July 19, 2023

    I started with a bed of garden greens (romaine & leaf lettuce) and topped it with shredded chicken, red, yellow & orange peppers, thinly sliced celery & grated carrot. I scaled the dressing to 1/4 (which is still a lot :) and while I really liked it as written, I absolutely loved it with a good squirt of sriracha added (ie T saw me eating a big spoonful as I claimed to be "just checking the dressing"). This was a lovely main course salad...and I've been asking myself - why did it take me so long to make this?

  • anya_sf on December 31, 2019

    I made half the recipe using 2 large chicken breasts (which needed extra roasting time) but the full 1 lb asparagus, 1 red bell pepper, and some bean sprouts and cucumber, over a bed of iceberg lettuce. There was plenty of dressing even with extra vegetables. Very, very good!

• Old-fashioned apple crisp

  • julesamomof2 on August 19, 2017

    This recipe makes an enormous apple crisp. Which makes it the perfect post trick-or-treating dessert (for the adults anyway). It's the one time a year I make it. Perfect for a chilly fall Halloween

  • anya_sf on January 20, 2020

    I made 1/2 recipe using Gravenstein apples. I wanted the apple flavor to be more prominent, so I omitted the orange zest and halved the nutmeg. It was really good! There is probably more topping than needed, but it's so delicious.

  • breakthroughc on March 11, 2023

    Not my favorite apple crisp. I wish I would have left the orange zest out. I prefer a crisp that has some brown sugar in it. I won’t make again,

• Brisket with carrots and onions

  • Tinala523 on May 03, 2021

    Absolutely delicious! Definitely will make again. Easy and very flavorful, everyone loved it! I used a bag of baby carrots and a bag of frozen pearl onions; they were as good as the brisket.

  • anya_sf on December 31, 2019

    I cooked a 3.5 lb brisket with half the rub, 2 lg onions, 1 lb carrots, 8 celery stalks (I like more veg), and about 32 oz tomato juice to reach 3/4 of the way up the meat. Baked for 3 hours, the brisket was perfect. I used foil, not plastic wrap, and it did not touch the tomato. The brisket was very good. The tomato juice ended up quite sweet.

• Asian grilled salmon

  • stef on June 04, 2020

    A very easy marinade to make with few ingredients. We grilled on a non stick sheet pan designed for bbqs. Salmon turned out very moist. Will repeat.

  • mzgourmand on April 03, 2021

    This is our go to salmon recipe. You can tweak it & it is incredibly reliable - everyone loves it. I've made it both on the grill & in the oven.

  • anya_sf on December 31, 2019

    I grilled a smaller piece of salmon (1.3 lbs) and used half the marinade. I put the salmon on foil so it wouldn't stick and did not turn it. The fish took about 18 minutes to cook. It was very tasty, especially with additional reserved marinade. I've also roasted salmon at 425 degrees using this same marinade, which was easier and really good.

• Lobster rolls

  • stef on July 18, 2015

    Used shrimp instead, cut mayo to 1/3 up and added half a teaspoon horseradish. Everyone loved it.

  • anya_sf on January 20, 2020

    The rolls had good flavor, but the lobster salad had a bit too much celery (although the crunch was nice). No way does this make 7-8 sandwiches unless they are really skimpy - more like 4.

• Sautéed asparagus and snap peas

  • Lepa on April 20, 2021

    I followed this recipe and added some sesame oil and seeds at the end. It was easy and a great way to use up produce I had from the farmer's market.

  • anya_sf on December 31, 2019

    Simple and delicious.

• Apple crostata

  • Lepa on January 16, 2021

    This was a delicious and easy alternative to apple pie because I didn't have time to make it. My dough was a bit tough to roll out. Maybe I should have let it warm up a bit before rolling. It broke apart quite a bit but in the end, with the rough shape, it didn't really matter. I might also cut the apples slightly smaller than Ina recommends next time.

  • averythingcooks on April 21, 2019

    I made this to take to my father-in-law for Easter dinner and it was a hit! The pastry recipe is easy to halve for 1 tart (why she gives a double recipe only to freeze half is not explained...other than the obvious "yes- I could freeze half" I guess) and it rolled out beautifully. Both the pastry and the filling (with its streusel topping) are certainly sweeter than my traditional fall double crust apple pie but it WAS flaky and delicious and I will make this again.

  • anya_sf on January 20, 2020

    Really, really good, especially with ice cream. The crust was easy to make. This worked with Golden Delicious apples.

  • secoffey on January 22, 2019

    This is awesome -- secret is the orange zest!

• Carrot cake cupcakes

  • spencercooks on June 27, 2020

    This recipe is always a hit when I make it. Time consuming but well worth the effort. I agree with the other comment about watching your baking time as these are typically done in less time than stated on the recipe. I also did not make the decoration.

  • anya_sf on January 20, 2020

    1/3 recipe made 6 large cupcakes, but should have made 7 as the cupcakes overflowed. I stirred in the carrots using the mixer on low, rather than by hand. The baking time was way less than 45 minutes - closer to 25. 1/4 frosting was the right amount for my 6 jumbo cupcakes. I didn't make the decoration. They were very good, but watch that baking time.

• Sautéed cabbage

  • averythingcooks on January 11, 2023

    I agree with anya_sf - this is really about the method & the result is a very tasty pan of cabbage. I cooked 8 oz of cabbage which was good for the 2 of us. Other versions in my books add cheese, bacon, cream etc but if you want something simple to celebrate just the cabbage AND is very good - this is it.

  • anya_sf on January 20, 2020

    This is a good, basic method - the way I usually cook cabbage. Taste for salt at the end before adding all of it, as it may not be needed.

• Pasta, pesto, and peas

  • averythingcooks on June 29, 2020

    I have made the full on version of this a couple of times (with both freshly made & good quality jarred pesto) and we really like it. Today I was looking for a quick lunch inspiration to use up left over cooked bow tie pasta. I scaled the pesto and mayo back (way back actually) & added lemon juice slowly to taste. I did not use the spinach for this version but yes to the peas, Parmesan and pine nuts! The result is a great (& quick!) lunch :)

  • anya_sf on December 31, 2019

    I made half the recipe, but adjusted the proportions: 13 oz whole wheat fusilli (no bow ties), 16 oz frozen spinach. The sauce was thick, but I liked it. I added more lemon juice to taste and omitted the pignolis (didn't have). I also added some artichoke hearts, roasted chicken breast, and diced tomato for a one-pot meal. It was quite good, especially with the additions. People added more cheese to taste.

• Rori's potato chips

  • averythingcooks on August 05, 2019

    I make these for guests to serve with Ina's green herb dip. They are a bit time consuming but very much worth it - and there are never any leftovers unless I hide some before hand!

  • anya_sf on December 31, 2019

    I was going to make 1/2 recipe, but only made 1/4 because I needed 2 baking sheets just for that and I didn't have time for batches. Some potato slices were hard to turn. They browned unevenly, but in the end just a few were not crisp. We ate them right away and they were pretty good.

  • reveric on May 18, 2020

    OK, but not particularly flavorful

• Orzo with roasted vegetables

  • averythingcooks on March 13, 2019

    This is a lovely side dish for any grilled meat. I often skip the eggplant and just up the amount of peppers. I do tread carefully with the lemon - for my palate there is a fine line between perfect and too much. I can't count how many times I've made this for company or just the 2 of us.

  • anya_sf on January 20, 2020

    Very tasty. There was too much dressing though - I'd use 3 Tbsp oil and maybe just 2 Tbsp lemon juice to reduce the tartness. The amount of feta could be reduced as well.

  • pattig on May 14, 2020

    Not very flavorful:(. I made it in the morning & used Meyer lemon juice. Maybe a regular, more acidic lemon would be better? Hardly any lemon flavor but veggies were good.

  • breakthroughc on March 18, 2023

    This was delicious. I took Anya_sf’s advice and used 3 T oil and 2 T lemon juice for the dressing and it was perfect. I held back 1 T of the olive oil from the vegetables and sautéed the garlic in a small skillet instead of trying to roast minced garlic for 40 minutes. I think it is key to dress the salad when the orzo is still warm so it absorbs the flavors. I also used about half of the feta and I did crumble it. I am going to make it again in a few weeks for entertaining.

• Fennel soup gratin

  • anya_sf on January 20, 2020

    Half the butter was plenty. The various spirits really boosted the flavor. Overall, this was quite good. I used canned chicken broth, so I'm sure homemade would taste even better. Half chicken, half beef broth might add more depth.

• Baked Virginia ham

  • anya_sf on January 20, 2020

    Since I wasn't serving 20, I used 1/4 ham (Trader Joe's spiral-cut), which was almost 6 lbs, with half the glaze, which was more than needed; 1/3 glaze would have been fine. The glaze was really good. Baked 1 hour, the ham seemed just right, so a larger one might need extra time. Delicious!

• Cranberry fruit conserve

  • anya_sf on January 20, 2020

    I made 1/2 recipe using walnuts, but with a whole apple. Made a few days ahead. It tasted good, but was too sweet for my taste. I could eat it over ice cream for dessert or with oatmeal for breakfast.

• Fruit tarts

  • anya_sf on January 20, 2020

    I made the dough a day ahead and had to add a little extra water, but was pretty easy to roll and cut. 1/2 recipe yielded 9 tartlets, using shallow, one-piece pans from Bridge. Excess dough was rather hard to trim, so I didn't always do that, but then the dough hung over the edge, making the shell hard to remove from the pan. The crust flavor was great, the texture crisp and light, but slightly tough (could be my fault, and my oven could have been off). The filled tartlets were delicious, although tricky to eat - too large to pick up, hard to cut. Both the jam + berry and curd + berry fillings were great.

• Hot mulled cider

  • anya_sf on January 20, 2020

    I used Asian pear and apple cider. This was a delicious, warming drink. Great with rum too.

• Roast loin of pork with fennel

  • anya_sf on January 20, 2020

    The flavor was great, but cooking times were way off for me. The vegetables were done after 45 minutes, but the pork (just under 3 lbs) needed 1 hour 20 minutes to cook. It would have been better to put everything in the oven at the same time.

• Vegetable pot pie

  • anya_sf on January 20, 2020

    I blanched the vegetables and made the dough a day ahead. I "only" used 1 stick of butter to saute the vegetables, which was plenty. I added some peas at the end. Half the crust recipe was enough to cover 1 large pot pie (rather than 4 individual ones). The pot pie was very rich, but good. Next time I'd omit the pearl onions, as they were too hard and oniony in this dish.

• Double chocolate pudding

  • anya_sf on January 20, 2020

    I only had 5 egg yolks and lowfat milk, but the recipe worked. The mixing technique was unusual and awkward, as the milk splattered. The pudding was very tasty, but not better than other recipes which are simpler. It served 3 generously.

• Orange chocolate chunk cake

  • anya_sf on January 20, 2020

    I made this for a pot luck and everyone raved. The chocolate chips mostly sank to the bottom. The ganache was a bit thick but good anyway - fudgy.

• Lime curd

  • anya_sf on January 20, 2020

    This recipe uses a lot of equipment, but is an easy, reliable way to make curd without a double boiler. The curd was delicious with strawberries.

• Seafood chowder

  • anya_sf on January 20, 2020

    I adjusted the proportions to have more broth relative to seafood, which I preferred: 3/4 lb shrimp, 1/3 lb scallops, 1/3 lb crab, 1/4 lb monkfish. 4 Tbsp butter was plenty, although I did use 3 Tbsp cream. You could use different seafood and it would still taste fabulous.

• Seafood stock

  • anya_sf on January 20, 2020

    Easy to make. I didn't try this on its own, just used it in the chowder; it was great there. I needed to add about 3/4 cup water.

• Vanilla Armagnac ice cream

  • anya_sf on January 20, 2020

    I used Cognac as I didn't have Armagnac. Although the ice cream froze overnight, it was still very soft due to the alcohol. The texture was dense, like gelato, which I love. The flavor was wonderful, with grape notes. It was really good with the plum tart, but also on its own.

• Herbed goat cheese sandwiches

  • anya_sf on January 20, 2020

    Very tasty. I omitted the garlic. I added too many cucumber slices so the sandwiches didn't hold together well; it's important to keep the cucumber layer thin.

• Perfect roast turkey

  • anya_sf on November 27, 2020

    Not perfect by any means. My turkey weighed 13 lbs, so I roasted it 20 minutes before adding the onions (cut in 1/2" wedges). I placed the turkey on a rack to help it cook more evenly. The turkey still took an extra 30 minutes for the thighs to reach the right temperature (3 hr 20 min total). Since I was making mashed potatoes, I only added carrots and fennel, but they were pretty crowded in the pan and cooked unevenly; some pieces were still rather hard after 2 hrs in the oven, although the flavor was very good. The breast meat was dry and the bottom skin was pale. Ina has much better turkey recipes. If you make this, I recommend dry brining the turkey 1-2 days ahead, elevating the turkey on a rack, and using a super large pan so the vegetables have room.

• Popovers

  • anya_sf on January 20, 2020

    Good, basic recipe. I made 1/2 recipe using 2 smaller eggs and lowfat milk. My tin was dark, so I reduced the oven temperature to 400, and they were done in 25 minutes.

• Pears, English Stilton, and Port

  • anya_sf on October 11, 2022

    Pears, Stilton, and Port are a classic combination, great for entertaining. I used Anjou pears, green grapes, Trader Joe's Stilton, water crackers, and Warre's 1977 Vintage Port. The only difficulty was that the crackers would break if you tried to spread the cheese on them; thinly sliced bread would work better.

• Filet of beef sandwiches

  • anya_sf on January 20, 2020

    My homemade bread was difficult to slice 1/4" thick, so my slices were more like 1/3"; the sandwiches were thicker, but still manageable. 1/4 dressing was enough for 3 sandwiches. I used butter lettuce instead of arugula and added tomato. They were good.

• Endive and avocado salad

  • anya_sf on December 31, 2019

    I used 4 endives and 2 large avocados to serve 4 people. Half the dressing was just the right amount. Very good!

• Rack of lamb

  • anya_sf on January 20, 2020

    I ran out of Kosher salt, so I used half the amount of fine sea salt. My racks were small (1 lb each). There was a lot of sauce. I lined the pan with foil for easier clean-up. Cooking time was perfect. The mustard sauce was rather overwhelming; I scraped it off and thought the seasoning was better then. I wouldn't make the sauce again as written, but would consider using 1 Tbsp mustard with some olive oil and the other ingredients.

• Caramel chocolate nut ice cream

  • anya_sf on January 20, 2020

    The full recipe would not fit in my ice cream maker; I made 1/3 recipe. I chilled the mixture, pecans, and chocolate overnight. The freezer canister may not have been cold enough because the ice cream barely froze. The flavors were great, but the ice cream was over-the-top rich; I'd prefer it to be lighter. The chunks were also a bit large.

• Potato pancakes with caviar

  • anya_sf on January 20, 2020

    I started to make 1/2 recipe, but didn't make them all as I ran out of patience. The pancakes did not brown easily and the potatoes turned an icky gray/pink color, although they looked a bit better after cooking. I used regular butter in a cast iron skillet; I don't know if that affected the color. I'd try adding some oil next time. The pancakes were only crispy straight from the pan, but after sitting, and they were pretty greasy. I wouldn't bother making these again.

• Salad with warm goat cheese

  • anya_sf on January 20, 2020

    A delicious classic. There is way more dressing than needed for the salad.

• Grilled salmon sandwiches

  • anya_sf on January 20, 2020

    I scaled this down for 2 people, but still made 1/2 the sauce, as it's an awesome dip for vegetables. The sauce really makes the sandwich. My tail-end piece of salmon was thin, so it grilled 3 minutes per side. Served on brioche buns, the sandwiches were decadent and delicious. I added tomato and avocado, because why not?

• Tomato fennel salad

  • anya_sf on December 31, 2019

    I omitted the orange zest (but would add it in future). The salad was very light and refreshing, really good.

• Peach raspberry shortcakes

  • anya_sf on December 31, 2019

    I used leftover mini shortcakes from the deconstructed strawberry shortcake recipe (same recipe, just smaller), but the regular amount of peach/raspberry mixture and a bit more whipped cream. What a delicious combination of flavors! I put cream underneath and on top of the fruit, with orange zest on top of the cream. The zest added another layer of flavor, not just a garnish.

• Mango salsa

  • anya_sf on December 31, 2019

    I made this one day ahead to accompany the shrimp. Served chilled, it was great with the shrimp.

• Spaghettoni al pesto

  • anya_sf on December 31, 2019

    I used regular spaghetti and added diced tomatoes and peas. I added salt to taste, plus some of the pasta cooking water to loosen the pesto. Good, basic recipe.

• Pesto

  • anya_sf on December 31, 2019

    Good, basic recipe. I only processed the nuts 10 seconds or they would have turned into nut butter.

• Real margaritas

  • anya_sf on December 31, 2019

    Good margaritas. I used Cuervo gold and skipped the salt since my husband doesn't like it.

• Sautéed fresh corn

  • anya_sf on December 31, 2019

    Simple and good. I added salt and pepper to taste and stirred in some fresh basil.

• Grilled leg of lamb

  • anya_sf on December 31, 2019

    Half the marinade was enough for 3 lbs lamb. Marinated overnight, not a lot of flavor got into the lamb, so maybe marinate longer. 40 minutes on medium heat was too long on the grill for my lamb, but the lamb was still tender and flavorful even well done.

• Tzatziki

  • anya_sf on December 31, 2019

    I made 1/2 recipe to accompany 3 lbs lamb and it was still a lot. Great flavor, very refreshing. The tzatziki tasted good immediately after being made, but was better a few hours later. Great with the lamb or as a dip for pita or a baked potato topping.

• Tabbouleh

  • anya_sf on December 31, 2019

    Made a few hours ahead, the tabbouleh was very good - refreshing, not heavy.

• Oven-roasted fruit

  • anya_sf on December 31, 2019

    For the stone fruit, I used nectarines and assorted varieties of plums. 1/2 recipe served 3 people. Watch the raspberries because they almost burned at 450 degrees. I didn't broil them - no need, since they were already very juicy. We ate the fruit warm topped with honey Greek yogurt. Easy and really good.

• Balsamic onions and blue cheese salad

  • anya_sf on December 31, 2019

    I had to roast the onions at 350 because I had something else in the oven, but 375 would have been better. There was twice as much salad dressing as needed. Overall, this was very good, but pretty vinegary. We had it with grilled steak, which was a great combination.

• Raspberry vodka

  • anya_sf on December 31, 2019

    I just used 6 oz raspberries. Only 550 ml vodka fit back in the 750-ml vodka bottle. I used Smirnoff, not wanting to use a premium brand for this. Four weeks later, we used the vodka to make raspberry cosmos: 1 oz vodka, 3/4 oz cran-raspberry juice, 1/2 oz Cointreau, 1/2 oz lemon juice. They were good. The color was pretty

• Caviar dip

  • anya_sf on December 31, 2019

    Fabulous with potato chips. I've also made this with parsley instead of dill, served with toast points and veggies.

• Noodle kugel

  • anya_sf on December 31, 2019

    I made 1/2 recipe in an 8" square glass pan using 3 eggs. The baking time was just right. The kugel was not too sweet, but I still prefer it as a sweet dish with fruit, rather than a savory side dish. My son loved it, especially the raisins.

• Perfect poached fruit

  • anya_sf on December 31, 2019

    I used late harvest moscato. Definitely make this ahead, as the spices were a bit strong the first day, but mellowed after a couple of days. I cut the pears in half because they were large. The dried fruits were still a bit chewy; next time I'd poach them the whole time with the pears. We enjoyed this with some vanilla ice cream, which was a nice combination.

• Roasted asparagus with scrambled eggs

  • anya_sf on December 31, 2019

    I made this for 2 people using 4 eggs and whole milk, started cooking the eggs on medium heat, then reduced to low when starting to set, which cooks the eggs faster but still leaves them creamy. I loved the flavors of egg and asparagus together.

• Sour cream coffee cake

  • anya_sf on December 31, 2019

    I used bleached AP flour instead of cake flour. The cake was very rich and moist - the quintessential coffee cake. Keeps well.

  • LemonVerbena on November 05, 2023

    I made half of this in an 8x8 pyrex dish, and it only needed 30 minutes to cook. It's a very good cake.

• Tropical smoothies

  • anya_sf on December 31, 2019

    Half the recipe just fit in the blender. The smoothies were quite good, fairly light.

• Banana raspberry smoothies

  • anya_sf on August 18, 2022

    This is just a variation suggested in the head note

• Raspberry butter

  • anya_sf on December 31, 2019

    We enjoyed the butter on KAF honey-whole wheat-oatmeal bread. The raspberry butter didn't mix smoothly because the jam was too cold, but still tasted very good.

• Cinnamon honey butter

  • anya_sf on December 31, 2019

    Delicious! We had it on KAF honey-whole wheat-oatmeal bread. We liked this butter a little bit more than the raspberry butter.

• California pizzas

  • anya_sf on December 31, 2019

    The crust was super easy to make and roll out (I didn't refrigerate it). Our toppings were mozzarella, truffle Italian cheese, red bell pepper, prosciutto, mushrooms, plum tomatoes, basil, salami, and olives in various combinations. Pizzas baked in 10 minutes. The pizza crust was fairly soft, rather than chewy, but still enjoyable.

  • stigard on March 09, 2019

    This is my go to pizza dough. It’s always great.

• Ice cream sodas

  • anya_sf on December 31, 2019

    I made strawberry-vanilla ice cream sodas using the syrup recipe in the book and light vanilla ice cream. The overall flavor wasn't strong, but was fairly refreshing. Tasty and easy.

• Strawberry syrup

  • anya_sf on December 31, 2019

    Very good, nice in the ice cream sodas.

• Chopped liver

  • anya_sf on March 26, 2020

    I made 1/4 recipe, which was plenty for 3-4 people, using duck fat instead of chicken fat and tawny port instead of madeira. Six pulses in the food processor chopped the mixture rather finely. I forgot to add the egg to the processor, so chopped it by hand and stirred it in at the end. Nice flavor if you like liver, good with matzo.

• Chicken soup

  • anya_sf on December 30, 2019

    I used 2 chickens instead of 3; I can't imagine the 3rd chicken would have provided noticeably more flavor. Lost track of time and didn't remove the chicken breast until 1.5 hrs of cooking, so it was slightly dry, but worked fine in the soup. Next time I would simmer the stock partly covered, as so much liquid evaporated that I just had enough for the soup. I also think 3 hrs total simmering time would be enough. I was very confused as to the matzo ball cooking instructions - was I supposed to cook them in the stock, remove them, then cook the diced carrots and celery? That's what I did, but the matzo balls soaked up an enormous amount of stock. I think I'd poach them in water next time, although then they wouldn't taste as good. The soup had great chicken flavor that you just can't get from a can.

• Matzo balls

  • anya_sf on December 30, 2019

    These did not turn out for me, but that's probably down to user error, as I'd never made matzo balls before. My first mistake was to grind matzos myself rather than buying matzo meal. The ground matzos were not fine enough, so the balls had a very loose texture. It would also probably help to refrigerate the batter for much longer than 15 minutes. The matzo balls totally fell apart in the chicken stock and also soaked up an enormous amount of liquid. I went ahead and let them cook, then used a fine mesh strainer to remove them into one massive blob. We then took scoops of the matzo blob into our bowls, since they did taste very good - like the chicken stock itself. I doubt I'll ever attempt matzo balls again, but if I do, I'll look at other recipes to research how to get them to turn out right.

• Smoked salmon with mesclun

  • anya_sf on December 31, 2019

    Simple and delicious. I used half the salmon to make it more of a salad course. Half the dressing was enough for the greens.

• Filet of beef

  • anya_sf on December 31, 2019

    After 35 minutes, the beef was still too rare. It needed at least 10 minutes more. Definitely use a thermometer to check the temperature of the meat.

• Butternut squash and apple soup

  • anya_sf on January 20, 2020

    2/3 recipe still made a lot. Penzey's mild curry powder worked well here. I pureed it in the food processor. The amount of liquid seemed insufficient, but was actually enough. However, the apple juice made the soup way too sweet. Next time I'd use at most 1/2 the apple juice and add water or broth for the rest of the liquid. This would have been great if it hadn't been so sweet.

• Gorgonzola sauce

  • anya_sf on December 31, 2019

    Delicious! Super rich, but fabulous with the beef.

• Roasted cherry tomatoes

  • anya_sf on December 31, 2019

    Easy and quite good, even out of season. I didn't have basil, but the tomatoes were still nice, but would be better with the basil.

• Chocolate ganache cake

  • anya_sf on December 31, 2019

    Good for minimal effort, but not the greatest chocolate cake. I used a different frosting.

• Shrimp salad

  • anya_sf on December 31, 2019

    I scaled the recipe down to 1 lb shrimp (1/4 recipe), but with 1/8 the dressing. Made the shrimp salad a day ahead, then served it over lightly dressed butter lettuce with cucumber and avocado. Very nice, quick, and easy.

• Kitchn

  Out of all of Ina Garten's cookbooks, this one is her favorite.

  Full review