Notes about Recipes in this book

• Roasted tomato rustic tart

  • Emily Hope on August 23, 2014

    This tart's a winner--I made a version with tomatoes from our garden and added a layer of herbed goat cheese underneath the tomatoes. Really delicious, and I loved the crust--buttery and flaky, and so simple to make. I was a bit suspicious of the technique and thought that the dough seemed too wet--but it worked perfectly. I was also concerned that the goat cheese I added might make things soggy, but it didn't seem to. My only quibble is with the serving suggestion--she says 8 pieces, and I'd say four to six servings is more reasonable unless you're serving a lot of other sides. Served with long-braised green beans with (more) tomatoes, though I think a salad might be a better match.

  • Rinshin on April 02, 2014

    Outstanding recipe! I made roasted tomatoes and the crust mid morning and by lunch time, it was ready to be served. My husband loved it. The crust is so simple to make, yet similar to good tasting puff pastry without all the puff. The texture is there though. I can see using this pastry to make many things. My husband who is no cook at all suggested I use it for apple or pear turnover - I've never heard him give me suggestions like this which tells me he loved them. Thank you Susie Middleton for this awesome tart. My oven must run hotter (I have been thinking about replacing it at some point) but it only took me less than 30 minutes at 400 degrees to bake. It's best to check after 30 minutes depending on your oven temperament.

• Chinese grilled chicken and Bibb lettuce "wraps"

  • crandall57 on May 11, 2015

    A lot of work to prepare, but worth the effort. The lettuce wasn't quite as strong as it needed to be, so we just ate it with a knife and fork. Used the thinnest rice noodles; put a little peanut oil on them so they wouldn't stick together. Double the dipping sauce next time. Made a peanut dipping sauce as well. Preferred the one from the recipe.

• May Day radish and parsley salad with lemon and ginger

  • crandall57 on May 11, 2015

    Refreshing summer salad. Love the crystallized ginger in the dressing. Went well with Chinese Grilled Chicken and Bibb Lettuce "Wraps" from the same cookbook.

• Gingery strawberry-rhubarb crisp with brown sugar-pecan topping

  • ssimm411 on June 15, 2014

    I am a big star to my husband and my neighbors! THEY LOVED THIS! Definitely will make again!

• Quick-roasted tomatoes

  • Rinshin on April 02, 2014

    What can I say except awesome! So simple and so delish. I did not have enough plum tomatoes and used cherry tomatoes too and they worked great.

• Pan-Pacific grilled pork tenderloin medallions with fried rice and toasted coconut

  • Rinshin on April 03, 2014

    This was a surprise. I chose this recipe because I was curious about the author's use of ingredients to make fried rice. I make fried rice often using more traditional ingredients so I thought for sure this was some 2nd rate fried rice. But, it's not at all. Very, very good fried rice and I love how she used soy sauce and maple syrup to mimic certain taste of Asian ingredients. It worked very well. Instead of eggplant, I used zucchini and also added beans sprouts toward the end. The toasted coconut was a nice touch and worked really well. The pork was very tasty, although I think I may have overcooked it a bit. Next time, out comes my trusted thermometer. Interesting idea of combining Southwest taste of pork with South Eastern flavor of Asia from fried rice. I can't wait to make this again.

• Winter green market meatloaf

  • Rinshin on April 05, 2014

    I had high hopes for this meatloaf, but unfortunately I can only give 3 stars out of 5 and my husband said 1-2 stars compared to my own regular meatloaf. The texture was weird. I don't think it's from the veggies because my regular meatloaf uses a lot of veggies too, but it's mixed much, much more and wetter which makes for terrific meatloaf. Also, this meatloaf was too spicy hot and I only used 1/2 the amount of serrano pepper. I normally use tabasco, but serranos in this meatloaf made the heat stand out too much. I think meatloaf with this much heat is not that good. The use of feta sounded good, but after it was baked for close to an hour, I did not notice any feta taste or texture. It seems like a wasted ingredient. I may try making this again with many tweaks using my own know-how because I did like the idea of adding kale.

• Spring celebration salad with crab cakes and avocado-chive dressing

  • Rinshin on April 04, 2014

    Made using lump blackfin and dungeness crab I had on hand - both frozen. Excellent crab cakes. These crab cakes need to be handled delicately though since it's not packed tightly to highlight the texture of crab. So many crab cakes are mushy mess and cannot find crab pieces, but with these you can. I loved the salad and dressing component of this salad which went really well with crab cakes unlike more common mayo or creamy based dressings.

• Roasted Brussels sprouts with pomegranate dressing, dried cherries & toasted walnuts

  • abscholz on August 03, 2017

    Do not put brussels on a tray and roast as they will be too dry for the salad. I doubled the recipe and placed all on a tray and they were not "snug" as the author suggested. Will try again following the recipe.

• Boston Globe by T. Susan Chang

  The book has everything, and is artfully constructed and written with heart. The recipes are so attentive to flavor that they break right through two of my kids’ current phobias (fish and squash).

  Full review

• Fine Cooking

  A former chief editor of this magazine, Susie Middleton is an amazing cook, and her many recipes published in Fine Cooking are always reader (and staff) favorites.

  Full review