Notes about Recipes in this book

• Orecchiette with bacon, lemon, and cream

  • southerncooker on March 10, 2018

    I've seen reviews of this dish complaining of too much lemon. I used a small lemon for the juice and zest and thought it was perfect. The little bit of bacon fat added gives the taste of bacon through out the dish. Of course there was also 12 slices cut into 2 in wide strips. She has you cook the bacon in half cup water till it evaporates then continue cooking till crispy. I was skeptical about this process but it resulted in perfectly crisp bacon. I'll be using that method again when I need bacon bits for a dish.

• Grandma Guarnaschelli's lasagna with mini beef meatballs

  • southerncooker on February 13, 2018

    This was very good and we enjoyed the meatballs in it but my family said they liked my homemade lasagna better.

  • Dannausc on January 08, 2018

    It was good, but I don’t know if it was worth the effort to make forty mini meatballs.

• Warm potato and scallion salad

  • southerncooker on February 13, 2018

    I really thought we would love this one but none of us really cared for it.

  • Maefleur on February 17, 2018

    We loved this! Very well balanced and delicious both warm and at room temp.

• White mushrooms and spinach

  • southerncooker on February 13, 2018

    Daughter and I loved this one but hubby didn't care for it.

  • Dannausc on February 25, 2018

    Last weekend I made the White Mushrooms and Spinach from The Home Cook. I forgot to add the Marsala. It was still good.

• 1984 portobello sandwich

  • southerncooker on February 14, 2018

    Son and I really enjoyed these but hubby didn't care for them. The flavors of the goat cheese with the tomatoes and lemon juice on the cooked portobello mushrooms was delicious.

• Warm leeks "Niçoise"

  • southerncooker on February 24, 2018

    Son and I enjoyed this one. I made a half recipe. Loved all the flavors.

• Raw basil pesto

  • southerncooker on February 13, 2018

    Delicious and easy to make.

• Pasta salad with basil pesto

  • southerncooker on February 13, 2018

    Quick and easy supper. Delicious.

• Dark chocolate brownies

  • southerncooker on February 13, 2018

    Love dark chocolate and this recipe didn't disappoint. Delicious brownies.

• Easy beer bread

  • southerncooker on February 13, 2018

    Delicious served warm slathered with butter. Also good toasted with butter.

• Spicy blue cheese dip with endive spears

  • jenmacgregor18 on May 08, 2018

    It is good. Like a thicker, spicy blue cheese dressing. I was worried the yogurt would be too predominant; but it wasn't the case. If I try again, I may make w/ low-fat sour cream instead of greek yogurt. Less fat & will taste just as good.

  • Dannausc on January 27, 2018

    Quite good!

• My dad's lemon chicken

  • nadiam1000 on July 09, 2018

    This was quite good not sure if I will make it again because it is messy. The chicken thighs are difficult to cut into pieces so you end up with a lot of odd shapes and bits trying to cut them into 1". The dredging with the cornstarch is fussy as is the frying bit. I have a deep fryer and used fresh peanut oil but frying the lemons first messed up the oil with charred sticky pulp bits. I tried to scoop them out before frying the chicken but it left a black ring around the fryer. I doubled the sugar in the sauce and it was very tasty and tart; nice compliment to the fried chicken. might modify to be more of a stir fry next time

  • Partyof7 on December 28, 2020

    Mmmmm. Young and old loved it and requested again ASAP! Had no issues with the recipe

• Chicken cutlets with prosciutto and sage

  • chawkins on December 30, 2019

    The double dipping with the refrigeration in between did a pretty good job of getting the crumbs to stay on while pan frying. Like acalexander before me, I used half panko and half breadcrumbs. I found that only three eggs were enough for the dipping. Overall, a very good dish. I also skipped the red wine vinegar and used wine instead for the vinaigrette since my husband is averse to vinegars.

  • acalexander on September 21, 2018

    Used 1/2 breadcrumbs, 1/2 panko, Greek seasoning instead of oregano

• Mom's chicken cacciatore

  • chawkins on January 23, 2020

    A very decent cacciatore. I used 4 thighs and 4 drumsticks, had no fresh thyme, so used a quarter teaspoon of dried thyme instead. Also forgot to use the red pepper flakes when seasoning the chicken pieces but remembered during the early stage of the final simmering , so crushed 3 dried red chilies into the sauce and continued with the simmering.

  • bwhip on November 10, 2017

    Excellent! My wife and I really enjoyed this. Fairly easy to make, and the sauce has a wonderful depth of flavor that tastes like it must have taken hours to develop. We’ll make this again for sure.

• Farfalle with sausage and roasted broccoli

  • chawkins on January 27, 2020

    A tasty pasta dish, I used all hot sausages because that what I had on hand. Agreed with the previous reviewers that it could use a lot more broccoli.

  • agale723 on January 17, 2018

    Excellent base recipe. I tripled the broccoli (we love roasted broccoli) and added 1/2 cup of whipped ricotta (from Joshua McFadden's Six Seasons: A New Way with Vegetables) at the end. Delicious! Husband gave two thumbs up.

  • julesamomof2 on January 07, 2019

    Wow is this ever good. I threw this together because I had all of the ingredients on hand, but was not expecting it to be so delicious. I made it exactly as written but you could easily double or even triple the broccoli, which I will do in the future. My kids especially loved this.

• Cherries with ginger lemon curd

  • PiaOC on January 28, 2018

    Great taste combination but will need to work on fresh ginger next time. I wasn’t a great fan of its texture - perhaps reduce to 1 or 2 tablespoons or process after grating to achieve smoother consistency. Served with a plain olive oil cake.

• Lemon cake

  • julesamomof2 on February 18, 2018

    This was light and moist, but a little boring on its own, so I make a lemon buttercream frosting to slather on top - extra sweet and delicious!

• Rhubarb strawberry pie

  • julesamomof2 on May 03, 2020

    Gloppy (relies on a lot of cornstarch ) and didn't keep well past the day it was made. Not a repeat.

• Pancetta, arugula, and roasted tomato salad

  • julesamomof2 on May 25, 2020

    Unlike the previous reviewer, we didn't love this. We prefer our salads light, crisp, and fresh, and this one isn't that. I think I might like it better with some additions to crisp it up a bit. But this is all just personal preference, the salad was perfectly fine and turned out as written.

  • bwhip on September 23, 2018

    We loved this salad. A lovely mix of sweet, bitter, salty, and crispy. We added some hard boiled eggs and a bit of avocado, and it made for a really nice meal. Looking forward to having this one again.

• Spicy Chinatown pork dumplings

  • Maefleur on February 23, 2018

    Very flavorful, will make again. Sauce compliments without overpowering.

• Beef meatball soup with paprika and Israeli couscous

  • Maefleur on November 03, 2020

    A spicy and warming soup, this time I used ground turkey instead of beef and reduced the parm in the meatballs to 1 cup. Still very flavorful and satisfying.

• Warm blueberry ginger turnovers

  • Maefleur on February 08, 2018

    Just as good with raspberries! The recipe states to cut out eight 3-inch rounds, but I believe it should be eight 6-inch rounds. A very tender, flakey pastry and tasty filling.

• Braised chicken with prunes

  • Cookie24 on November 07, 2017

    Good flavor and easy to make. The prunes add a nice sweet note to the dish, however next time I will cut the prunes in half rather than leaving them whole. Used legs and thighs only, didn't have pearl onion, so used large diced regular brown onion, all other ingredients stayed the same. Family enjoyed the dish, will probably make again.

• Beets, toasted walnuts, and black pepper goat cheese

  • Dannausc on December 08, 2018

    It seemed like an exorbitant amount of goat cheese, so I only used 4 oz. which was sufficient. It was pretty decent.

• Raw white mushroom salad

  • Dannausc on December 08, 2018

    Good and easy though my wife didn’t care for it.

• Classic pot roast

  • Dannausc on December 08, 2018

    Quite good. I really liked the addition of mustard.

• Sticky fingers baked chicken wings

  • Dannausc on February 11, 2018

    They have a definite BBQ sauce flavor. They are good, but not my favorite flavor for wings.

• Yogurt-marinated chicken thighs with pickled mustard seeds

  • Dannausc on February 19, 2018

    I liked it a lot.

• Spicy baked chicken wings with honey vinegar glaze

  • Dannausc on February 11, 2018

    Good with a nice Asiany flavor.

• Beef chili

  • Dannausc on December 08, 2018

    Good but nothing special

• Chicken and coconut milk curry soup

  • Dannausc on February 03, 2018

    Fairly quick and easy. Quite flavorful. If used as a main course, serves 4 at most.

• Bucatini with garlic and oil

  • Dannausc on December 08, 2018

    Super simple and easy. Quite good. Worth a repeat.

• Spicy weeknight marinara sauce with bucatini

  • Dannausc on January 27, 2018

    Fairly quick and easy. Quite good!

• Pasta puttanesca

  • Dannausc on February 25, 2018

    Good but nothing special.

  • angrygreycat on February 07, 2020

    Made this for a late night dinner. Good basic Pasta Puttanesca recipe. I would make again but probably increase the capers as they do mellow considerably here.

• Pumpkin nutmeg bread

  • Dannausc on December 08, 2018

    It was really good and moist.

• Veal meatballs with tomatoes and Parmesan cheese

  • PanNan on January 06, 2018

    The whole family thought this was delicious. The sauce was a little thick and I added a can of tomato puree and a little water and it was perfect.

• My dad's Chinese pork shoulder

  • PanNan on January 13, 2021

    This dish was well received by the family. The flavors were nice, but a bit more subtle than expected. I served it in a rice bowl with broccoli and the sliced pork, and added soy sauce and sriracha to hike the flavor up a notch.

• Crispy potato cake

  • Partyof7 on December 28, 2020

    Disappointed! Not much flavor. Would not repeat

• Roasted root vegetable soup

  • Partyof7 on January 02, 2021

    Like a more interesting and complex parsnip soup that I often make. So delicious!! I made as written. Maybe a crouton would be a nice crunchy addition to the super smooth soup but everyone loved it as is

• Creamiest of the creamy broccoli soup

  • Partyof7 on January 13, 2021

    Very pleasant. Easy to make. Halved the crushed red pepper and it has a nice bite. Nicely thick, just a tad boring

  • angrygreycat on October 13, 2018

    Made this for a light supper today. Nice taste with the roasted broccoli and garlic, however not nearly as thick and creamy as I am used to from my go-to recipe. My daughter liked it and as I said it tasted nice. I might just cut down the proportion of liquid ingredients to broccoli or add cornstarch or use a roux to make it thicker.

• Beefsteak tomato, bacon, and red onion salad

  • deirdrereid on July 14, 2019

    Excellent, the best tomato salad we've had all summer. I used chunks, not slices, of tomatoes. Didn't add the grape/cherry tomatoes because I didn't have any. Used German Johnsons for the beefsteak tomatoes. Omitted the sugar and used basil instead of tarragon.

• The sherry vinaigrette I use on everything

  • angrygreycat on July 29, 2018

    Just recently bought this book and haven't used it all. I made a salad for dinner tonight and just made this vinaigrette and it was very good. Through everything in the blender and it came together as an almost creamy dressing. Nicely tangy.

• Balsamic dressing

  • angrygreycat on November 18, 2018

    Made this as a new take on my usual Mustard vinaigrette. I happened to have some Raspberry vinegar that I had been gifted to use any way. Nice tasting on a simple salad of greens, green onions and some grated carrot.

• Whole pork loin roast with Cajun rub

  • angrygreycat on April 14, 2019

    Made this for dinner tonight - it was excellent. Marinating and then rolling in the spice rub after searing but before putting in the oven gave it great flavor and kept the meat moist and tender. The sauce it created was spicy and nice bite to it. I served with cheesy mashed potatoes and a broccoli salad.

• My cannoli filling rum cake from childhood

  • angrygreycat on October 27, 2018

    Made this for dessert for tomorrow. The filling is very easy. The cake is the Yellow cake recipe also in the book. She instructs you to grease the cake pans, not flour or use parchment. One of my layers stuck very badly, the other was in a push up tin and I was able to get it free of the tin without breaking it up. If I made this yellow cake again, grease, flour and parchment would be used. The other thing to note is that this is supposed to be her general yellow cake and mine tastes very lemony, like a lemon cake not a regular yellow cake. I presume this is due to the fact that you have lemon zest and juice and no vanilla or almond extract to tone that down

• Spicy carrot and cabbage slaw

  • LPlume01845 on July 01, 2019

    I subbed slivered red peppers for carrots - inspiration. I love non-mayo slaws, and this had a great level of heat and complexity - though simple to make. A keeper.