Notes about Recipes in this book

• Korean marinated beef (Bulgogi)

  • TaffyDeb on February 28, 2019

    So yummy and well worth the easy, yet many, steps! Brings back memories of Seoul. Goes great with the Dolsat Bibimbap - Korean Rice Bowl- from Cook's Illustrated May/June 2016

• Easiest-ever biscuits

  • Summerlandsky on March 29, 2019

    Hands down easiest and tastiest biscuit I have every made. So light and fluffy.

• Browned butter blondies

  • Summerlandsky on March 29, 2019

    These are perfect! I was hesitant because of the corn syrup but they really do make the most perfect thick blondie. Bake the 40 mins for full caramelized top and good interior. I used dark brown sugar with no problems.

• Braised chicken with mustard and herbs

  • dprostrollo on March 01, 2019

    This was fine, nothing extraordinary but a workable herb-y chicken recipe

• Lemon-olive oil tart

  • montecristo99 on February 21, 2019

    Wow, this is phenomenal. I wasn't sure about the dough as I mixed it--it felt oily and seemed too thin when pressed into the pan--but it puffed up and browned beautifully in the oven. I love the taste of the olive oil in both the crust and the filling. It's mild, but lends depth and interest. This was an immediate hit with those of my family who got to try it...it was devoured so quickly, not everyone got a piece! I'll be making this again soon.

  • Kinhawaii on April 24, 2019

    I was also surprised, nice crunchy crust & smooth lemon filling. I thought it might be too plain, but just lovely. I was worried that the crust might slump but it stayed up. Nice to have a crust that doesn’t need chilling.

• Indian butter chicken (Murgh makhani)

  • Emily Hope on May 03, 2019

    This was delicious -- better than the takeout we can get in our neighborhood (which to be fair isn't that great!), and fast enough to put together on a weeknight. I like the use of tomato paste instead of canned tomatoes here. Leans on the richness of both butter and cream, both of which seem essential to the end result. Served with rice, some random TJ's naan from the freezer, and a cabbage slaw to which I added sauteed mustard + cumin seeds plus curry leaves. Served about 5.5 adults of varying appetites (plus saved out one of the thighs plain for the kids). Definitely will be a repeat for us!

  • bwhip on April 28, 2019

    This one's a winner. We really enjoyed it. Pretty simple to put together, but develops great depth of flavor. The char on the chicken from the broiler is a nice touch as well. We served it with flatbread ("Baco Bread") from the Baco cookbook, which we always love. My wife wasn't sure that this recipe would be able to compete with another favorite of hers - the Instant Pot Butter Shrimp from Melissa Clark, but after tasting this, she loves this one just as much.

  • anya_sf on July 17, 2019

    A lot of flavor for very little work. I made the sauce ahead, although it isn't time-consuming. I forgot the green chile but will remember is next time. I added some frozen peas and also served rice and roasted turmeric cauliflower on the side. My family devoured this.

  • Apepin on July 17, 2022

    I've made this several times with chicken. I've also made it with paneer which we actually prefer. I usually add peas.

• Classic sloppy Joes

  • Rinshin on September 07, 2019

    Excellent tasting sloppy joes with great texture. The light browning of paprika and tomato paste with the onion and garlic mixture made the flavors pop. I was surprised how baking soda quickly changed the color of onion from white to golden. Reduced the amount of chili flakes and added a tsp of soy sauce . Otherwise I followed the recipe.

  • SenseiHeidi on October 20, 2019

    A perfectly balanced sloppy joe. My new favorite.

  • anya_sf on May 20, 2019

    The flavor was just right for my taste, and the filling definitely stayed in the bun better than the usual Sloppy Joe recipe. This will be my go-to recipe.

• Chewy peanut butter cookies

  • anya_sf on September 29, 2019

    I only had a little creamy peanut butter left, so I used mostly crunchy Skippy natural. It seemed to work just fine - not sure how the cookies would have been different with all creamy peanut butter. My scoop must have been slightly larger, as I got 22 cookies. I baked them 12 minutes; at that point they just had the slightest bit of browning. I didn't want to overbake, as I love chewy cookies. However, next time I'd leave them in a minute longer, as they were quite soft, and the fully-baked edges were still chewy. We loved the texture and prominent peanut flavor. The honey was noticeable, but I didn't mind, since I love honey with peanut butter. These are now my 2nd favorite peanut butter cookies after BraveTart's.

  • ashallen on November 18, 2021

    These have a really nice, chewy texture which is rare to find in peanut butter cookies. I think I messed up the flavor balance though by using a not-very-flavorful peanut butter (trying to use it up!) and the darkest of the dark brown sugar brands I've cooked with. The cookies were so dark, they kind of looked like spice cookies and the molasses competed with the peanut butter flavor. My peanut butter was also a natural peanut butter, which they advise against using, but the chewiness survived, fortunately. My husband, a huge peanut butter cookie fan, liked these but still prefers our usual recipe (=lightly modified version of 1998 Cook's Illustrated recipe). I'll try these again with a better peanut butter and a lighter dark brown sugar.

• Green bean salad with cherry tomatoes and feta

  • gastronom on August 24, 2019

    Caution here on timing! Green beans have good flavor cooked this way but even 5 minutes would have turned my very fresh beans to mush. At 4 minutes they were close to being overcooked.

• Green chili with pork (Chile verde con cerdo)

  • whitewoods on July 04, 2020

    I think the recipe type here is incorrect--starts with the same two letters though.

• Apple crumble

  • christineakiyoshi on August 18, 2019

    Delicious! Made this with Gravensteins

  • anya_sf on November 19, 2019

    The apples mounded above the rim of my 2" high pan. As a precaution, I lined the baking sheet with parchment and am glad I did, as the drippings charred quite a lot. I had to parbake the apples an extra 10 minutes before they were below the pan rim, but perhaps if I'd pressed down on them earlier, they would have collapsed. The crisp was absolutely delicious, with great apple flavor and a crunchy, sweet topping. However, the apples were pretty mushy. Next time I'll use a 9"x9" pan and add the topping sooner.

• Meringue bracket-style mushrooms

  • anya_sf on December 27, 2019

    The meringue recipe worked well, but I wasn't quite sure how to shape the mushrooms. I did my best, but ultimately ended up using traditional button mushrooms for my yule log, as they looked nicer. The recipe makes plenty of meringue to allow for trial and error. The meringue baked up light and crisp, just perfect, but got soft and sticky in the fridge (unsurprising - the recipe doesn't say to refrigerate, but I had to refrigerate the cake at some point after decorating it).

• Caramel-espresso Yule log

  • anya_sf on December 26, 2019

    Fabulous! This was my first attempt at making a yule log and it was a resounding success. The caramel-espresso filling was divine. The chiffon cake actually did crack a little upon unrolling (my towel may have been too damp), but the ganache covered it up. I had never made meringue mushrooms before, so I tried both bracket-style and button kinds, but the button ones turned out better and looked way cuter. I fear my family will ask for this every year from now on.