Notes about Recipes in this book

• Black bean soup with roasted tomatillos

  • Rutabaga on October 13, 2018

    For such a simple recipe, this soup packs great flavor. This is possibly the easiest black bean soup I have made, and definitely worth doing again. And I didn't even add the bay leaves or pepper! I like to offer a variety of topping with black bean soup, so served it with sour cream, crumbled cotija, cilantro, tomatoes, and a couple of salsas. Since I had leftover tomatillo salsa from another recipe, I used that instead of making the one called for here (which happened to be quite similar). But even without anything added, I found the soup to be very satisfying on its own. As a side note, the author doesn't include quantities for many of the ingredients. Those with cooking experience likely won't mind, and may even like this approach, but it could be daunting for someone new to cooking soup from scratch.

• German wild mushroom soup

  • Rutabaga on November 29, 2019

    This soup is rich and comforting. I used a couple cups of homemade chicken stock, and only a little over one cup of cream - two cups would be excessively rich, I think. For mushrooms, we used chanterelles, which were nice, but I'd prefer including some heartier varieties if possible, like porcini, shiitake, or hedgehog. If you really like mushrooms, use more than a pound. Shallots would also be good in place of the onion.

• Leek risotto with blue cheese and hazelnut oil

  • Rutabaga on March 28, 2019

    Blue cheese, leeks, and hazelnut oil are a good flavor combination. Unfortunately, I used the full two quarts of stock when making my risotto, just because I wanted to finish it off. The result was a soupy risotto that was also a little overcooked, but that was my fault, not the recipe's. I was pleasantly surprised by the charred leek tops. I was afraid they would be tough and flavorless, but they were tender and sweet, and made this a much more interesting dish.

• Potato, Manchego, oregano pizza

  • Rutabaga on April 04, 2020

    This is probably my favorite potato pizza. Maybe it's the garlicky cream sauce? The sauce, by the way, is also wonderful when mixed with traditional tomato pizza sauce, which is what I did with the leftovers. I used Enzo's pizza dough from The Elements of Pizza rather than the dough recipe here.

• Beery mac and cheese

  • Rutabaga on March 22, 2020

    This mac and cheese is quite satisfying. The addition of beer, a hint of mustard, and shallot really give it an extra umami edge. I also really like the combination of aged cheddar and Gouda; I will definitely use a mix of those cheeses more often. It's still super cheesy - at least, as cheesy as you want it to be. As with most recipes in this book, many amounts are left open to personal taste. And it's still very kid-friendly. My oldest fairly shoveled it into his mouth!

• Breakfast collard greens

  • Rutabaga on November 02, 2018

    These greens have great flavor. I primarily stuck with the seasoning listed, although I used black pepper instead of white. The inclusion of maple syrup, cider vinegar, mustard, and nutritional yeast is a good combination. As recommended in the book, they're the perfect side for the biscuits and mushroom gravy, as it contrasts well with the richness of that dish. I cooked my greens down quite a bit, but I think adding a little stock and cooking them down further would be even better. My husband really like the flavor and said the only thing missing was meat!

• Rye, caraway, black pepper biscuits with mushroom gravy

  • Rutabaga on November 02, 2018

    This makes a wonderful warm winter supper, no reason to serve it only for breakfast. The gravy recipe is very open to interpretation. I used mostly baby shiitake, and also porcini, and a mix of 2% milk and heavy cream. Delicious! The biscuit recipe seems off, however. The dough was far too wet after I added the buttermilk and cream. Part of this may have been because I used heavy cream instead of cultured cream, but even with that taken into account it seemed like too much liquid. Fortunately, it is easy to add extra flour, and the biscuits were delicious as well - very rich and tender, although they didn't rise very high.

• Smoked trout breakfast sandwich

  • Rutabaga on January 15, 2019

    My boys and I frequently enjoy smoked trout for breakfast, and this was a delicious way to dress it up a little. Well, for the boys I kept it simple, but I enjoyed the additional touches of mustard and thyme. Since I had only regular thyme, I also added a little lemon zest. Crisping the trout skin is also a fun addition.

• Sharp cheddar and arugula scones

  • Rutabaga on November 10, 2020

    I like these as a savory biscuit variation. They're excellent paired with a fried egg. The rest of my family liked them, but prefers plain biscuits, especially my youngest child. I'd make them again as a base for savory biscuit sandwiches, but otherwise will stick with more basic biscuits for the family.