Notes about Recipes in this book

• Artichokes, mushrooms, and roasted red peppers with Parmesan

  • Nancith on November 30, 2015

    Really delicious pasta sauce! I used frozen artichokes rather than fresh, and mixed mushroom blend, both of which worked well. Served it over carecce pasta; Wonderful flavor!

• Asparagus with mushrooms and caramelized shallots

  • MollyB on April 27, 2023

    Pretty good, but not a great dish. Make sure to season generously. It was much improved by a drizzle of truffle oil! Some porcini powder would be good added in with the mushrooms, too.

• Red cabbage smothered with onions and red wine

  • eve_kloepper on January 13, 2024

    A paired this sauce with pizzoccheri, a buckwheat pasta, and it was fabulous.

• Fava beans with shallots, fresh herbs, and goat cheese

  • Avocet on July 17, 2011

    Excellent. Very good with mushroom ravioli.

• Caramelized onions with white wine, cream, and fresh herbs

  • goodfruit on November 06, 2014

    No fresh spices available? I mixed about 2 tsp herbs de provence, 1/2 tsp oregano, 1 tsp basil and 1/2 tsp thyme together in a small custard cup, added a tablespoon or two of warm water and let it hydrate a bit before mixing it into the pasta. Also this recipe makes no pasta recommendations, so I used fusilli, or bowtie thinking it would hold up to the heartiness of the onions and cream, plus I added mushrooms, because, why not?

• Braised green beans with tomatoes and goat cheese

  • Nancith on June 02, 2024

    This was quite nice & relatively easy to make. I actually think more canned tomatoes would be better to create a little more sauciness. The addition of goat cheese added a great note of tanginess, although it didn't go too well with our Bordeaux wine. The "sauce" itself would actually make a nice side dish (it reminds me of a green bean-tomato dish my grandmother-in-law used to make!).

• Sautéed white mushrooms with carrots and oregano

  • Nancith on June 27, 2017

    So simple & so good! Even with only half the amount of mushrooms called for, the dish was a hit. I used thyme & rosemary from the garden rather than first option of oregano. Next time, more mushrooms & oregano will be given a chance.

• Double spaghetti with spaghetti squash and spicy tomato sauce

  • Nancith on August 26, 2015

    This recipe didn't thrill me. Without even using the entire amount of spaghetti called for, the squash was lost in this dish. I probably was too skimpy on the tomatoes which didn't help. A good use for spaghetti squash, but next time, I'll try jazzing it up somehow.

• Sautéed zucchini with lemon, pine nuts, and basil

  • Avocet on June 16, 2014

    Very good and easy pasta dish. Makes a nice lunch. Like almost all the recipes in this book, I find the amount of oil called for excessive, I cut it from five tablespoons to two. The onions need longer cooking than specified, but the zucchini needs only about two minutes, instead of eight. It is just as good with walnuts, if pine nuts aren't on hand.

• Sautéed zucchini with pink tomato sauce and basil

  • MollyB on August 18, 2020

    A nice way to use up a fair amount of zucchini. It was fairly quick and easy, and was a good weeknight meal. I used 1 28-oz can whole tomatoes instead of the fresh tomatoes, and felt that worked well. Don't skip the cream! It really brought everything together and offset the acidity of the tomatoes.