• MiMi60 on July 10, 2018

  Favorite Recipes from Melissa Clark's Kitchen pgs. 20-21 Baked Flounder with Eggs. I enjoyed making this.. It was quick and easy. I love how it tasted.. My husband said it was ok. he is a country fry the catfish, fill the arteries boy.. I had to use Tilapia instead of Flounder as my store doesn't carry flounder.

Notes about Recipes in this book

• Stir-fried chicken with leeks, oyster mushrooms, and peanuts

  • Jane on September 23, 2022

    I found when adding this Note that I had made this dish 11 years ago. I commented then it would be better with oyster mushrooms and cilantro and I can report it was. It was a quick and easy dinner and had good flavor. Not the prettiest of dishes (the soy sauce in the marinade makes everything brown) but it tasted good so I didn't really care.

• Red lentil soup with lemon

  • okcook on August 18, 2018

    I liked the flavours of the soup but I found it a bit thick...easily thinned with chicken stock with the addition of more lemon.

  • TrishaCP on January 19, 2019

    This recipe had been on my to do list forever, and it didn’t disappoint. I had it once with mint, and once with cilantro, and while both were good, I really loved the pop of mint with the lentils. I didn’t bother to purée my soup.

  • julesamomof2 on March 10, 2019

    Delicious soup! The only changes I made were to increase the lemon and to puree it until almost completely smooth. I am one to usually like chunky soups but this one was better mostly smooth.

  • averythingcooks on August 17, 2018

    This was my first effort from this beautiful book and it was really nice. The only change I made was to purée it until completely smooth using my blender (instead of leaving it chunky as she suggests) and using parsley as my herb this time. Some soups are best out of a bowl with a spoon and some soups are lovely sipped straight from a large mug. This velvety smooth, not too thick and really delicious soup is a definite mug sipper.

• Ham bone, greens, and bean soup

  • TrishaCP on April 27, 2022

    This was a clean out the fridge meal, but I’m so happy to have made this. So much flavor with this soup. I used a pressure cooker for 20 minutes to extract flavor from the hambone, before adding the cabbage and canned pinto beans, and later, the kale. I also skipped the bacon since my hambone was large and meaty. A definite keeper.

• Seared pork chops with kimchi

  • TrishaCP on April 05, 2020

    This was a nice use of kimchi and a nice quick evening dinner. I marinated the chops overnight and the flavor was good.

• Lamb merguez burgers with harissa mayonnaise

  • TrishaCP on June 23, 2021

    We did these on the grill, and we really liked them. The harissa mayo is the best!

  • southerncooker on July 15, 2018

    Son grilled these for us. We loved them.

  • Rachaelsb on June 27, 2019

    Enjoyed by all! Great flavors and fun to assemble-wasn't expecting to like the mayo with harissa but added great element.

• Garlicky sesame-cured broccoli salad

  • southerncooker on July 15, 2018

    I didn't care for the taste of this one.

• Chocolate chip pecan loaf cake

  • southerncooker on July 15, 2018

    This one is a bit on the sweet side but still delicious with a cup of coffee. Easy to throw together with things I already had on hand.

  • EN1 on November 10, 2018

    Easy to make, tasty, good as a gift

• Stupendous hummus

  • southerncooker on July 15, 2018

    Son and I enjoyed this one. We like trying new versions of hummus. I also made the cumin salt as suggested and it was a nice addition. I didn't cook the chick peas since I was unable to find dried at any of the stores I checked so I used canned. Two cans yielded a tiny bit more that the recipe called for and not wanting to waste them I just added them in.

• Deviled egg salad with anchovies, hot smoked paprika, and tomato

  • southerncooker on July 15, 2018

    Made 1/2 recipe for my breakfast. I didn't have hot smoked paprika but did have just smoked so I used that. Had anchovies I bought for another recipe. Really didn't taste them in this. Never thought of adding tomato to an egg salad sandwich but really enjoyed it. I had a great tomato from farmers market and made sandwich on a toasted whole wheat sandwich thin. Very tasty version of egg salad.

• Salami and horseradish cheddar bagel sandwich

  • southerncooker on July 15, 2018

    Son and I had these for lunch. Very good. I couldn't find horseradish cheddar so I used cheddar and a chopped horseradish in a jar. No poppy seed bagels so I used everything bagels.

  • BeckyLeJ on July 22, 2018

    A solid bagel sandwich choice especially in my currently pregnant state!

• Roasted shrimp and broccoli

  • southerncooker on July 15, 2018

    Quick, easy and delicious.

• Spicy three-meat chili

  • Rachaelsb on February 02, 2020

    Lots of heat but really yummy! This easily makes chili for 10-12.

• Thai-style ground turkey with chiles and basil

  • julesamomof2 on August 04, 2018

    This needed something more to really be a complete meal. It didn't look all the appetizing on the plate either. Could have benefitted from maybe some roasted broccoli or another green vegetable on top.

  • mpo on April 18, 2021

    This is a great weeknight recipe. So fast and easy. I did sauté up some broccoli and bok choy, and sprinkled a few wasabi peas for crunch.

• Double coconut granola

  • julesamomof2 on January 21, 2019

    This granola is just about perfect. I did leave out the brown sugar as I like my granola less sweet, and after reading the other posters note, I reduced the baking time to 30 minutes.

  • BeckyLeJ on July 22, 2018

    Bake time was a little long in my opinion, leaving the granola just a bit overdone for my taste. Will try again.

• Buckwheat pancakes with sliced peaches and cardamom cream syrup

  • Frogcake on October 28, 2018

    Because I didn’t have many of the ingredients for this, I can only say this recipe inspired me to make what amounted to a gross variation of what is likely a good recipe. I used half a cup of rolled oats and the rest all purpose flour, a mix of plain yogurt and milk with orange juice to a total of two cups, two large eggs instead of one, and two tablespoons instead of one of honey. Pancakes were fried in canola. The taste was excellent but I had to lower the fry pan temperature a bit to prevent burning. (Admittedly there was a moment of frustration ??) !*#a. I think the honey influenced the temperature adjustment. However, the burnishing (not burning) of the pancakes was quite yummy especially with maple syrup.

• Spicy black beans with chorizo and jalapeños

  • EN1 on January 18, 2019

    The sweet onion is key

• Buttery, garlicky, spicy calamari with Israeli couscous

  • Maefleur on July 17, 2018

    I subbed orzo for the Israeli couscous and fresh chili for the crushed red pepper. A quick and tasty meal.

• Curried coconut tomato soup

  • averythingcooks on February 01, 2020

    Well - I am unsure about this. I followed it pretty closely but used less water at the start of the simmer and I only had 1 can of coconut milk. After the purée, I pushed it through a sieve and then added the coconut milk with some heavy cream that needed using up. It is very smooth and thinner than usual tomato soups (as she explained in the head note) and I will happily take it for lunch til it's gone - but again .....still not entirely sure about this combo of flavours.

  • averythingcooks on February 04, 2020

    As a followup to my 1st note - I will say that I sipped this from a mug at my desk yesterday and it is a flavourful, warming, not too filling soup. Of course this is how Melissa Clark described it in the head note so I believe she was right!

• Spicy chicken barley soup with sweet potato and spinach

  • averythingcooks on May 14, 2021

    This is a very hearty & tasty pot of soup! I used the full amount of aromatics, sweet potato, greens & spices (including a “chile cinnamon rub” from my pantry) but cut the barley and chicken back by half and used less broth (no water) - and I still seem to have a ton of soup. I used Thai basil as the fresh herb and added chopped roasted red peppers for a (much needed) pop of colour. This soup will definitely become part of the regular rotation.

• Creamy parsnip and leek soup with bacon

  • averythingcooks on February 01, 2020

    This is a nice creamy bowl of soup. I did add some garam masala early in the simmer to add some warmth to the flavour base and after pureeing, I added some extra broth and swirled in some heavy cream. I still felt it was too sweet (parsnips always seem to surprise me this way) so I finished with a heavy grind of pepper and some of Chrissy Teigan's chili oil. Now I have a lovely pot of soup with a nice hit of background heat.

• Chile-coconut braised beef short ribs

  • averythingcooks on January 19, 2020

    I came here with LOTS of short ribs in the freezer and kind of a forgotten book on a bottom shelf. I will admit that a taste before going in the oven was way too "limey" so I did add a good shot of honey. After a long slow braise, the meat is beautifully tender (& easily shredded) and the broth is thick and rich. I finished it by wilting in the remains of a bunch of spinach, lots of chopped green onions, chopped roasted red peppers and a good handful of peas. We are eating it with buttered & crisped naan for scooping and it is really delicious.

• Whole wheat peanut butter sandies

  • bwhip on June 08, 2020

    These are really good peanut butter cookies. Texture is a lovely mix of crunchy but with a little softness, and the raw/demarara sugar makes the texture even more fun and interesting. Flavor is really good too, nicely buttery. I didn't have whole wheat pastry flour, so substituted half-and-half all purpose and whole wheat flour.

• Maple blueberry cake

  • bwhip on July 02, 2020

    Good cake - nice flavor, not too sweet, but watch the cooking time. Recipe calls for 50 to 60 minutes at 400 degrees. When I saw the volume in the loaf pan (not that much), I thought the baking time seemed far too long, especially at that temperature. I decided to check at 40 minutes. It was already more than baked at that point, probably was ready five minutes earlier.

• A perfect tomato sandwich

  • BeckyLeJ on July 22, 2018

    So simple and so tasty! Perfect lunch for a hot summer day and a great use for all the tomatoes coming out of my garden!

• Pesto scrambled eggs with fresh ricotta

  • BeckyLeJ on July 22, 2018

    The salty, herby pesto paired with the creamy ricotta made for a tasty and satisfying spin on scrambled eggs.

  • purrviciouz on August 02, 2020

    I used pesto from a different recipe but this technique for adding to the eggs and topping with fresh ricotta. This was a seriously indulgent and delicious brunch, we loved it.

• Sesame soba salad with roasted shiitakes and tofu croutons

  • purrviciouz on June 09, 2020

    I'd say this is the best soba noodle salad I've made. I used light sesame seeds and omitted the cucumber. Next time I'd cook the whole 6 servings of soba noodles that come in the package and bulk up the salad with maybe shredded lacitano kale and more mushrooms. Really fantastic.

• Joy the Baker

  Melissa Clark, very fundamentally, knows what’s up. Her New York Times recipes and cookbooks are all very cookable...

  Full review