Notes about Recipes in this book

• Beef and cannellini bean minestrone

  • mharriman on April 05, 2023

    This recipe made a good soup the first night and a significant, delicious soup the second night after sitting in the fridge and allowing time for all the ingredients to develop fully. Easy to prep and cook on the stovetop. The soup went well with a crisp lettuce leaf salad with spring vegetables (spring onions, radishes, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes) and a crusty oven-warmed baguette.

• Creamy sweet potato and rosemary soup

  • FlowerGold on October 08, 2024

    Very good and yummy. Interesting nice flavors.

• Asparagus soup with herbed goat cheese

  • mharriman on July 25, 2019

    A luscious, delicious soup that took less than an hour to make - from chopping to serving. I made the goat cheese balls earlier in the day, and they were a nice foil to the asparagus. I used fresh basil from my garden which takes the edge off of the sometimes bitter flavor of the asparagus. A very good summer soup to make when the basil is in full bloom. Served with a baguette.

• Grilled California-style chopped salad with shrimp

  • alliebaybay on August 25, 2020

    I made this salad for dinner. It was pretty good! I used a golden zucchini and Trader Joe’s organic white corn tortilla chips. I also substituted arugula for butter lettuce and omitted the avocado because I am mildly allergic. Very light summer salad if you are trying to be healthy and nice balance of flavors between the grilled veggies grilled shrimp and fresh tomato and greens.

• Mediterranean halibut sandwiches

  • BasicStock on March 23, 2017

    I love this mayonnaise mixture and use it often for salmon burgers, adding a crushed clove of garlic.

• Arugula pesto, ricotta, and smoked mozzarella pizza

  • mharriman on July 23, 2019

    I substituted spinach for the arugula. We loved, loved, loved this pizza. It was different from the usual ones because of the two cheeses and vegetable as a base with fresh tomatoes for the only topping. As promised, this was very fast and easy to prepare and bake. Served with a romaine lettuce salad for a nice, light summer dinner.

• Pasta alla Formiana

  • FlowerGold on November 25, 2024

    Okay though I did make it gluten free. The flavor was simple and very much tomato. Serve with cheese. Took 10 extra minutes to get tomatoes done on top. Used a ceramic dish. Wash hesitant to use glass at 450 degrees.

• Filet mignon with rosemary and mushroom gravy

  • FlowerGold on October 09, 2024

    Good. The sauce is surprisingly light. The sauce took a lot longer to cook down and thicken. Maybe because I used gluten free flour and cornstarch. The steak was done and getting cold while simmering down and thickening the sauce.

• Beef and mushroom skewers with soy and scallion butter

  • FlowerGold on October 09, 2024

    Very food and easy. Could do half the butter. Soy didn’t really blend with the butter but adds enough clove or it is good.

• Grilled sirloin steaks with pepper and caper salsa

  • mharriman on July 13, 2021

    The bell pepper salsa gives the steak a fajita vibe which made me want to add guacamole, tortillas, onions, and cheese which I would plan for if there’s a next time. If I were to make this again, I’d also roast all the peppers instead of using ones from a jar. I roasted my yellow peppers and used a jar of red and the homemade were much better. This was an easy and fast way to have a steak dinner on the table- nothing extraordinary but fine for a Monday night.

• Rib-eye steaks with smoky arrabiata sauce

  • mharriman on February 18, 2021

    Good. I liked this; Husband loved it. The smoky tomato sauce spooned over the sliced grilled steak was a different and interesting flavor combination for us. I used a jalapeño pepper instead of Serrano since that’s what I had on hand. The recipe makes so much sauce, I cooked penne pasta as a side dish and spooned some sauce over it as well as the steak slices. Worth repeating. Side note: Sauce needs to simmer 25 minutes after prepping and combining ingredients in food processor, so it’s easy but not exactly super quick, imho.

• Chicken with tarragon and white wine

  • kateiscoooking on March 04, 2017

    made w bone-in, skin-on thighs. next time i'll remove the skin before serving. sauce was magnificent. sounds like it might be too much mustard but it wasn't at all.

• Chicken meunière with tomato and parsley sauce

  • mharriman on November 05, 2021

    Good! My husband and I liked the sauce with the chicken. I served my chicken over the sauce instead of under it. This is a very quick and easy recipe. Since tomato season is past its prime where I live, I used canned, peeled plum tomatoes and incorporated some of the sauce from the can into the recipe. Served with a green lettuce salad.

• Salmon cakes with lemon-caper yogurt sauce

  • mharriman on February 03, 2022

    Loved the lemon-caper sauce with the salmon! I made 6 cakes the size of regular sized crab cakes instead of 10 smaller ones. This was a quick and easy recipe as promised by author. I pan-fried my cakes in olive oil (2 T) only, to reduce the fat content and they tasted great.

  • aschick on January 20, 2026

    Good recipe - have made it multiple times. I have stopped including the corn over time. While it tastes good, enough corn will pop and burst while cooking that it’s more chaotic than needed!

• Balsamic-glazed salmon

  • mharriman on May 12, 2018

    The glaze on the salmon was a bit soupy and for me overwhelmed the rich taste of the salmon. I would reduce the amount of glaze next time. I would have liked to make the fresh edamame and fresh snap pea side dish to go with the salmon as suggested, but alas, neither was available in my fresh produce aisle.

  • mharriman on October 27, 2020

    Tried this again with a longer simmering time and nearly double the maple syrup called for and it was thick and delicious. Went well with roasted baby Yukon potatoes.

• Broiled tilapia with mustard-chive sauce

  • kariholsberry on May 14, 2026

    Super easy and tasty.

• Vegetables in red curry

  • julesamomof2 on October 15, 2021

    Pretty basic vegetable curry with the addition of canned baby corn, which I didn't care for. This was fine, but there are better options out there so will not repeat.

• Chicken adobo

  • swiand on October 09, 2024

    This is a family favorite recipe. The flavor is loved by the entire family.

• Asian chicken salad

  • kateiscoooking on March 03, 2017

    This is our go-to chicken salad. We buy a rotisserie chicken and take everything into the office and use this for lunch. The dressing is perfect!

  • mharriman on July 14, 2018

    This turned out pretty good and took very little time to put together. I used the leftover pieces from a whole roasted chicken made and eaten the day before. The salad is a nice, refreshing and light meal on a summer night — no heating of a stove or oven needed if you skip roasting the nuts!

• Red potato and tomato salad

  • FlowerGold on August 09, 2024

    An alternative to mayo based potato salad. Is a nice side as a salad and a starch. Can be make ahead.

• Sautéed kale, mushroom, and cranberries

  • vickster on May 25, 2013

    Simple and tasty vegetable side dish. I had to use up some kale and mushrooms, and the cranberries add an unexpected tasty sweetness. Also tried without the mushrooms, and used 1 large shallot instead of garlic with a touch of habanero olive oil.

  • julesamomof2 on April 14, 2020

    Decent side dish for kale and mushroom lovers like me. I left out the leek b/c I didn't have it and I blanched the kale first, which was a pain and probably could be avoided by using baby kale instead of lacinato kale but then that would result in entirely different dish. This exact same recipe appears, along with some goat cheese I think, as a wrap in another Giada cookbook.

• Wilted spinach with tomatoes and basil

  • mharriman on November 30, 2020

    The basil helps bump up the flavor in this very easy side dish. We thought it was a bit reminiscent of vegetable ratatouille.

• Raspberry-balsamic parfaits

  • FlowerGold on August 14, 2024

    Nice simple dessert. A lighter option than ice cream with fruit.

• Huffington Post

  ...you won't see any six-hour, slow-cooked roasts, but rather all of the recipes can be made in under an hour. If you're worried that will translate into oversimplified, flavorless recipes, don't fret

  Full review

• Huffington Post

  The cookbook rises to the challenge, delivering ... dishes that come together quickly... a welcome handbook of fantastic recipes and surefire Monday-to-Friday strategies for every home cook.

  Full review