Notes about Recipes in this book

• Don't lift the lid potatoes

  • averythingcooks on May 05, 2023

    I scaled this back to 8 oz of potatoes and was generous with the herbs. I will admit to lifting the lid a few times to check that the butter wasn't burning as it's hard to control temp on my stove. These were good, especially if you are after soft rather than crispy baby potatoes.

• Fluffy mashed potatoes with Boursin cheese

  • averythingcooks on February 09, 2024

    Yes...these are good potatoes but oh so rich. If I make this again, I'll likely use 5% cream in place of the 35% called for. I used herb & garlic Boursin and I did use a ricer as instructed (my favourite way to get creamy smooth potatoes). We both agreed that a heavy hand with the pepper grinder was a must. I scaled this to 1/3 to serve 2 and it would have served 3 easily.

• Honey barbecue sauce

  • averythingcooks on June 10, 2023

    Lots of honey, mustard & ginger set this apart from others I've made and the result is a very tasty sauce that thickened up nicely once cooled down. I started with 1/2 the cayenne and that was enough...there was heat but the other flavours still came through. 1st use was as a dip for crispy chicken fingers and the rest is in the fridge waiting for lots of uses.

• Dijon herb butter

  • averythingcooks on July 09, 2024

    This versatile butter made great use of my herb planters & is heading to the freezer in 1 tbsp portions. I did scale the sage back by 1/2 (we sometimes find it over powering) and made up the difference with a mix of parsley & chives. Also my butter was very soft and so no need to bring out a mixer...a fork worked just fine.

• Beef stew with dumplings

  • averythingcooks on October 16, 2020

    This was a great cold, rainy day (non-turkey!) dinner. I did not have mushrooms or parsnips in the house but cubed red potatoes & frozen pearl onions worked great. The order of steps is different compared my usual stews......render the bacon, then leave it in the pot & add the aromatics & then add all of the meat to "brown". I'm not sure my meat browned very well (compared to browning it in small batches after removing rendered bacon) but I went ahead with it as described. The result was a very flavourful stew with a thick & richly flavoured "gravy". I did NOT make the dumplings as we were not big fans of our other attempts at them.

• Lasagna for Paul

  • averythingcooks on August 26, 2019

    I made this because I had a large container of her "Gram's" sauce made a day or so earlier in the fridge. However, as I looked at the plain ricotta I wondered why I wouldn't use up the ends of a bunch of fresh basil and some lingering frozen spinach. On top of those I added part of an egg and some salt and pepper. I was worried that the bechamel came out too salty but this problem was not detectable in the final product at all. I do appreciate specifics re: amounts for each layer as in the past I have found myself lacking enough sauce etc for the final layer. Also this helps if you use / make a different sauce - you know exactly how much you will need. Next time I will make the homemade pasta sheets she suggests. A definite repeat with simple modifications.

• Gram's spaghetti sauce

  • averythingcooks on August 24, 2019

    I tried this recipe because of the method of pureeing carrots, onions & celery in a small amt of water before adding to the meat with everything else. I did add minced garlic & some hot Italian sausage to the beef and also puréed the tomatoes with lots of fresh basil leaves. A taste early in the simmer was very carrot forward - not happy. I added a good splash of red wine, more tomato paste and some basil pesto.......a much later taste was better! Next time I think I would use red wine in place of water to purée the veg.

• Cinnamon doughnut muffins

  • averythingcooks on February 19, 2021

    Oh boy....these are delicious! I made a 1/2 recipe and was to able to fill 7 (rather than 6) cups in my 12 muffin tin and still got 7 huge muffins! They are tender & light and the cinnamon sugar coating is awesome. She does say that they freeze well - but I wonder about the coating somehow disappearing when they thaw? I am going to test that with one of these guys. I also might try them as mini muffins as well. This is a definite repeat.

• Blueberry bran muffins

  • averythingcooks on June 26, 2023

    These really are very good muffins. I did top up the blueberries a bit and actually forgot to rest the batter for the suggested 15 minutes (it did sit for a bit at least) and maybe that's why I got 16 muffins (not 12) but as I said...very good and my father-in-law will appreciate the heavy hand with the berries.

• Good ol' fashioned white bread

  • averythingcooks on June 14, 2020

    This was easy to cut in half for one loaf. She calls for bread flour to start the dough followed by an additional quantity of all purpose flour. Everything I've read over the years says that Canadian AP will perform much like bread flour (based on its protein content) so I used all AP. The initial dough was stickier than I expected ( b/c of the AP?) but it came together beautifully after the second addition and the combination of dough hook followed by manual kneading. I have a lovely shiny loaf (really good toasted!) and next time I will make the full recipe for 2 loaves.

• Focaccia with a salty top

  • averythingcooks on April 03, 2023

    I scaled this to 1/2 (9 x 13 stoneware pan) and it is very good with the heavy hit of olive oil, salt & rosemary that I love in a good focaccia. It is not as chewy or crisp as some others I've made but that might be my fault for taking it out too early? It came together very quickly and the dough was quite sticky but I've also seen that with other recipes. This is worth repeating.

• Real English muffins

  • averythingcooks on September 02, 2019

    I've wanted to try this recipe since I bought the book a month ago. I will say that there did not seem to be enough flour and when she says "slightly sticky" mine was REALLY sticky ....... I did gradually add flour near the end of the mix and pulled the "ball" of dough out onto flour to work in before it went into the bowl for the 1st rise. They rose beautifully both times and the cook in the cast iron pan worked perfectly. I tried one toasted and buttered - oh yeah - and then split the rest before freezing them. I love toasted English muffins and I am absurdly proud of these!

• Fluffy flaky biscuits

  • averythingcooks on February 12, 2021

    These came out of the oven very tall & very pretty! She calls for just "butter" so I used unsalted based on the amt of salt actually specified (3/4 cup butter + 3/4 tsp salt - which seems to fit what I've been reading about this) but I still think a touch more salt was needed. Also, again I found her dough to be stickier than expected (using AP flour as specified) and needed to use extra to get anywhere near both an inch thick & "cuttable". All that being said - very tasty....but not better than Anthony Bourdain's.

• Roasted tomato soup

  • averythingcooks on December 02, 2019

    This was similar to my gold standard Whitewater Cooks roasted tomato soup but certainly not better. I followed it pretty closely but I did run the roasted tomatoes through the food mill before adding them to the simmer. I dumped the end of a bottle of red wine into the aromatics and reduced it which I do believe did add a richer flavour to the soup. One other key difference that I do believe impacted the final flavour was the timing re: the balsamic vinegar. WWC adds the balsamic to the tomato roasting tray & this version added it at the end after the soup has been pureed. I do make different tomato soups but if I'm going to the time & effort of the roasting step - I'm sticking with WWC. This was good but not great.

• Curried carrot soup

  • averythingcooks on June 10, 2020

    I really like carrot soup so I think my issue here is more a matter of palate than the actual recipe. Even with a smaller amt of the orange zest, that is really all I can taste. I upped the curry powder, added minced garlic, tried some hot sauce and still.... I have seen other recipes with the "curry + orange" theme so I think it's just not my thing.

• Italian sausage sauce soup

  • averythingcooks on September 08, 2019

    I am eating a bowl of this right now and it is lovely! A few changes for personal preference (& freezer/pantry contents) included crisping the bacon 1st, removing it and then browning crumbled sausage meat (as opposed to bigger chunks) with some minced garlic and a chunk of my wonderfully jammy sofrito from the freezer. I used navy beans in place of chick peas and added chopped parsley with the fresh basil. I used a small can of fire roasted tomatoes and some excess "2 pepper" Rotel from the freezer which provided a nice level of background heat. It's rich & filling and a great vehicle for using what is on hand/needs using up.

• Little gem with breadcrumb dust

  • averythingcooks on March 10, 2021

    This was the inspiration for a lovely little plated salad beside last night's steaks. I used what I had in my fridge to replicate the idea, which included romaine, a crunchy panko pasta topping (Thug Kitchen) and a thick parmesan dressing (Simply Julia) . I also added some thinly sliced celery to the 'regular" radishes. This was a great idea for a different salad presentation, the panko was a nice change from our regular "crunchy things" AND we both really liked it.

• Clubhouse chopped salad

  • averythingcooks on October 28, 2020

    With romaine to use up in the fridge, this served as the inspiration for a great big bowl of "salad for dinner". In addition to everything she called for in the salad, I added some sliced celery, grated carrot and some crispy tortilla strips. The only issue is that although I would have liked the honey mustard dressing....T not so much - so I made a homemade ranch instead. With chunks of roasted chicken breast, crispy bacon, hard boiled eggs and some cubed Monterey jack, this was a delicious and very satisfying dinner. I certainly intend to make the dressing another night to see if I can change T's mind :)

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