Notes about Recipes in this book

• Spicy tomatillo-lime sauce

  • peaceoutdesign on February 22, 2021

    This was good but if there's a next time I would hand chop everything after roasting and only blend until chunky rather than smooth. Instead of broiling, I roasted at 450 for the same amount of time because I was also cooking the "Magic Pork Shoulder" at that temperature.

• Easy smoky black beans

  • peaceoutdesign on March 31, 2021

    This is an easy recipe but there are just as easy black bean recipes that are a bit better.

• Shallow-fried plantains

  • peaceoutdesign on March 30, 2021

    You don't need a recipe to make these.

• Fish contramar

  • peaceoutdesign on March 31, 2021

    I could not find a whole fish so I had to use fillets. Maybe my rating would go up if I prepared as directed, definitely willing to try again but there would have to be a big improvement to up the recipes standing.

• Magic pork shoulder

  • peaceoutdesign on February 22, 2021

    I used only a 2.5-pound shoulder. I browned it for 20 minutes at 450, then cooked covered at 300 for 2-2.5 hours in convection mode. It was very flavorful and would definitely work well for a crowd.

• Extra-ordinarily easy tiramisu

  • peaceoutdesign on October 28, 2022

    I modified this by adding 3/4 cup of marsala to the sabayon. I can't imagine tiramisu without this. Adding more liquid did make the mascarpone mixture a bit too thin.

• Good-with-everything pickled onions

  • peaceoutdesign on February 21, 2021

    Good but follow the recipe only cut the garlic once or use less otherwise the garlic outweighs the onion.

  • averythingcooks on April 10, 2022

    I needed a quick pickled onion for sandwiches and came here. These were good and easy to scale back to smaller quantities but I don't understand the need for the oil and so skipped that part.

  • KristenS on July 31, 2020

    These are good. Just what I was looking for. And the quantity is realistic, too -- one onion, not a couple pounds. Will definitely make again.

• Almost-famous cranberry Bundt cake

  • Lepa on October 20, 2022

    This cake has a nice texture but it's too sweet and it lacks flavor. I would add more orange if I made it again but I doubt I will because there are so many other cakes that I like better.

  • KristenS on March 06, 2021

    This is a very good pound cake type cake with cranberries. Wait a day before eating/serving as it improves greatly overnight. If I make again I will double the orange zest. I used orange oil instead of bitters.

• Perfect ratio oatmeal-raisin cookies

  • averythingcooks on January 20, 2022

    This recipe uses melted butter (as opposed to softened or browned) and the rationale behind this is explained. The result is a classic oatmeal cookie that is crisp on the edges, chewy in the middle and not too sweet (as promised). I did not actually add any raisins and I used the suggested mix of pecans & chocolate chips. One note - I thought I was using a "heaping tbsp" for each cookie but I got 32 cookies (as opposed to the expected 20). This is a great recipe for very tasty cookies - particularly when you don't want to wait for softened butter.

• A chocolate chip cookie for modern times

  • averythingcooks on August 23, 2022

    These came together quickly and once you wrap your head around what dough looks like with melted butter (as opposed to traditional creamed etc) you are good to go. These are chewy with crisp edges and a lovely caramelized flavour. The only thing I would say is that the given mass of chocolate is actually too much for our preferences...certainly not a terrible problem :)

  • bwhip on February 27, 2020

    These turned out fantastic for us. Dough was kind of thick and crumbly compared to a more traditional cookie recipe, but the cookies were wonderful. Great flavor, with an excellent mix of crispy edges and soft center. Almond flour really made a difference here. Ratio of chocolate to dough was quite high, which didn't bother me at all. I chopped up Ghirardelli 70% bars for the chocolate. This could be my new favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe.

• Chocolate snacking loaf

  • averythingcooks on January 03, 2020

    For my first try, I cut this in half to make 1 loaf which was easy except for the 5 large eggs .....which = 1 cup. I had also purchased extra large eggs for some Barefoot Contessa holiday recipes & discovered that 2 extra large eggs = 1/2 cup - problem solved. I baked it for around 67 minutes.......and then panicked and took it out. Once cooled , it is fudgy (maybe undercooked at the bottom? I refuse to consider that) and totally delicious !!

• Always-on vegetable soup

  • averythingcooks on September 27, 2020

    This recipe served as the inspiration for a great pot of vegetable noodle soup. I love a soup recipe that uses up fridge and pantry odds & ends. My mixed veg (added after the aromatics) included corn, some aging orange & yellow peppers, a couple of smallish Yukon golds and some frozen butternut squash cubes. I added a minced fresh cayenne chili, some chickpeas from the freezer and the end of a package of fine egg noodles. I now have a rich, broth based veggie laden soup with a lovely hit of background heat.

• Potato-corn chowder with basil-poblano-garlic relish

  • averythingcooks on August 26, 2021

    The basic soup recipe is VERY good but as I wanted a more substantial main, after giving it a quick mash and adding far less cream than called for, I added a handful of ham and some chopped roasted red peppers. This is a great soup using fresh seasonal ingredients AND the poblano-basil relish swirled into each bowl really did take it to a new level. We both really enjoyed this chowder.

• Grilled skirt steak with chimichurri

  • averythingcooks on March 26, 2021

    I made this version of chimichurri (which does NOT call for cilantro) to spoon over thin slices of a thick grilled strip loin steak. It added a lovely fresh pop of flavour to our plates and the only change I made was to mince a small (hot!) red chili from my freezer stash in place of the dried red pepper flakes. A great little lemony garlicky touch to make dinner a little more special :)

• Lemon-shallot vinaigrette

  • averythingcooks on February 15, 2021

    This a really nice vinaigrette that I used with a pile of green leaf lettuce studded with lots of little add ins (cucumber, red onion, celery, grated carrots and feta).....acid from the lemon with sharpness from the shallots & Dijon all tempered by sweet from the honey......just lovely.

• Tahini green goddess dressing

  • averythingcooks on January 03, 2023

    This was delicious over greens but the full recipe makes 3 1/2 cups (!) so some pretty hefty scaling / "guesstimating" came into play. I did add fresh dill with the parsley and we really are starting to like the use of tahini in salad dressings. I would make this again as a dressing and as a thicker version to use as a dip for veg.

• Creamy Parmesan dressing

  • averythingcooks on June 10, 2023

    This dressing is rich with lots of flavour but I felt it was too thick (more dip like than a dressing) so I did thin it with some milk. We dressed a simple salad of chopped romaine, red onion, grated carrots & radishes with it and as I said...it is really good.

• Spicy vegetable stock

  • averythingcooks on August 24, 2019

    This is a nice, "richer" than usual veg stock. I used a "red chili paste" which is really hot! Not sure if that is what she actually meant by "red pepper paste". I packaged the stock in much smaller portions to use in spicier soups, chilli etc as I'm not sure it is suitable everywhere I would use stock.

  • KristenS on February 23, 2022

    This was really really good. Will make with noodles. Didn't have spice paste (so not really the recipe).

• Sopressata meatballs

  • averythingcooks on June 05, 2023

    I made these meatballs to glaze in a sweet/sour sauce with sauteed veg over noodles. They do have a lot of ingredients, but they did not take long to put together helped by having raw bacon crumbles waiting in the freezer. I used a spicy calabrese and would add even more next time. I make lots of meatballs that we like and this recipe has joined that list.

• Chocolate chip-buckwheat-banana pancakes

  • bwhip on July 21, 2019

    These were interesting and different. Really tasty and relatively light and fluffy considering the lack of eggs. I made them with whole milk, and would like to try them with almond milk as well. I’ll definitely make these again.

• Hungarian baked rice pudding

  • Aproporpoise on May 15, 2023

    This recipe calls for quite a bit of milk compared to the amount of rice. I found it too heavy on the dairy and it did not fit into my 9x13 pan. I’d start with 6 cups and if you have room for more go from there.

• Spaghetti with bacon and sopressata meatballs

  • Indio32 on March 21, 2021

    Made this for a Sunday lunch..... probably the last hearty? meal till the weather starts to close in again later on in the year. As a whole it was fine but I found the meatballs a little fussy with too many flavours competing. I think if I do this again I'll swap out the bacon for a hint of chilli.

• Not my mama's banana bread

  • calguire on January 25, 2024

    This recipe has almost no added sugar. I was still curious to try it as a healthy snack for the kids, hoping the sweetness from the bananas would help, but it really wasn't sweet enough. The second loaf will probably be turned into French toast.