Notes about Recipes in this book

• Cheesy corn casserole with jalapeños and cilantro

  • hillsboroks on October 12, 2022

    This was a great dish to use up some of the abundant garden corn that we just put in the freezer. It was relatively quick to put together and oh so delicious. I made a half recipe and put it in an 8 x 8 inch LeCreuset casserole and it was just perfect. It cooked to a nice golden brown in about 40 minutes. Next time I will reduce the jalapeños to about half for our tastes.

• Saffron rice pilaf with apricots and almonds

  • hillsboroks on April 10, 2023

    I was so impressed with the results when cooking basmati rice using this technique. It was perfect, each grain separate and perfectly cooked. We aren’t fans of saffron so I omitted it but the rice with the apricots and almonds was fabulous.

• Beet and carrot noodle salad

  • hillsboroks on January 20, 2023

    This has a tangy Thai peanut sauce style dressing which goes really well with the carrots and beets. But next time I think I would save a lot of work and just grate the veggies rather than try to make the spiralized noodles. The raw beets had a sweet earthy flavor which went nicely with the carrots. Once the dressing was added everything turned pink so you couldn’t distinguish carrots from beets but it all tasted very good and the leftovers were still tasty the next day.

• Cumin and chili roasted sweet potato wedges

  • hillsboroks on January 04, 2022

    This method of roasting sweet potatoes was easy, fast and yielded a new delicious side dish. The spice rub of cumin, garlic powder and chili powder was perfect, not overbearing but rather a nice complement to the sweet potatoes. I would have given this 5 stars if the wedges were a bit crispier on the outside but I will definitely make these again.

• Cheddar and scallion drop biscuits

  • Rinshin on May 11, 2022

    Perfectly tasty biscuits. Almost as simple as mixing pancakes and easier because these are baked. The texture is light even when cooled and I can taste both cheddar and green onions. Good accompaniment to soups or sliced in half with ham. Photo added.

• Slow-cooker mushroom biryani

  • Skamper on October 20, 2020

    We both enjoyed this and it was pretty quick and easy. The note said it would only work in a traditional slow cooker, but it worked fine in my instant pot on slow cooker mode. I followed the directions about microwaving the onions, etc, but next time would try sauteing them in the IP as well. I used brown basmati rice and it was done when I checked after 90 minutes on high.

• Rustic bread stuffing with fennel and pine nuts

  • Skamper on November 27, 2020

    Good but not amazing. Made a half batch. Too many onions.

• Best baked potatoes

  • Skamper on February 15, 2023

    This has been my go-to method for baked potatoes since it was published in Cooks Illustrated magazine.

• Best baked sweet potatoes

  • Skamper on February 15, 2023

    These turned out well. My 8 oz potatoes reached 200F after 6 minutes in the microwave. At that point, I took a page out of the "best baked potato" recipe in this book and bathed them in a bowl with 1/2 c water and 2T kosher salt briefly before roasting. My potatoes were probably done at about 45 minutes. I turned off the oven and let them go until the rest of dinner was ready and they were not overbaked. I'll bake them this way again.

• Barley with celery and miso dressing

  • Skamper on August 17, 2020

    We loved this. Great flavor. Made a half batch. Barley took about 38 minutes. Used regular rice vinegar. Good at room temperature.

• Potato gratin with leeks and fennel

  • Skamper on December 27, 2021

    Very good side dish for ham. I scaled this down for a smaller number of servings, using approximately one third the amounts called for, and baked in an 8x8 pan. I did the initial bake earlier in the day and the final 30 minutes while the ham rested.

• Garlicky broccolini

  • Skamper on September 22, 2020

    Good but not a standout. Could have used another minute in the covered pan.

• Simple mashed sweet potatoes

  • Skamper on July 22, 2023

    Simple and delicious. I made a half batch and didn't need to add any more salt at the end.

• Southwestern black bean salad

  • Skamper on April 26, 2023

    This was good. I wanted something lighter to go with tacos so I swapped diced cucumbers for black beans. made a half batch & used frozen corn. Added 1/4 tsp coriander.

• Roasted broccoli with shallots and fennel seeds

  • Skamper on May 23, 2020

    We both liked this. I made an approximate half recipe.

• Whole pot-roasted cauliflower with tomatoes and olives

  • Cookbooksgalore on May 14, 2023

    Must be great to have a test kitchen with industrial grade equipment. But if you pulse 2 x 28oz cans of whole tomatoes in a regular food processor, you will spend ten minutes cursing and cleaning the counter as the juices run down the stem of the blade and spill everywhere. Use a Vitamix if you have it, or put the tomatoes in a bowl and use an immersion blender.

• Roasted Brussels sprouts with bacon and pecans

  • DavidandValerie on June 03, 2021

    Make this one. It is the best!

• Fresh corn salad

  • cpandrew on July 06, 2022

    I liked the suggestion to salt and drain the tomatoes in a colander before adding to salad. I will use this hint in other dishes with tomatoes.

• Braised red potatoes with lemon and chives

  • Liz_Young on July 06, 2022

    These were good, the flavor was mild. Not a quick recipe. I have other potato recipes that I like better.