Notes about Recipes in this book

• Tzatziki

  • hbakke on June 03, 2021

    Delicious! Maybe my favorite tzatziki recipe I've made. The changes I made were to use a very large clove of garlic, and I didn't peel or seed the cucumber. I used a combination of mint and dill for the herbs.

• Chicken satay with spicy peanut dipping sauce

  • Ishie1013 on June 06, 2024

    I was kind of skeptical about the ketchup in the peanut sauce when I tasted it solo, but it did pair with the chicken really well, and was a little more americanized version of an eastern classic. The marinade for the chicken was AWESOME. I left it in for about 90 minutes while I did other things, and then I did put the chicken skewers on the grill on high heat rather than under the broiler. I also went with thighs>>breast, because I mean... come on.

• Broiled coriander-lemon shrimp

  • Ishie1013 on June 12, 2024

    Lovely dish that we made into a main course. The tarragon mayo is excellent, both complimenting the shrimp *and* making a nice dish for the artichokes that I served on the side. You do really want to babysit the shrimp under the broiler so they don't overcook.

• Shrimp and white bean salad with garlic toasts

  • Kn1tgrl on May 30, 2026

    Simple. Tasty. Recipe is easily scaled up or down.

• Fattoush

  • mitts on October 31, 2022

    This is so delicious. I added more arugula because I wanted more greens in the salad.

• Farro salad with sugar snap peas and white beans

  • brooke_o7pu7x on May 20, 2026

    Delicious- would make again

  • brooke_o7pu7x on May 20, 2026

    Very satisfying salad, love the chewy bites of Farro - will make again. Wanted extra tomatoes and olives so used 12oz tomatoes and whole 7oz jar of olives, definitely will do that again.

• Pearl couscous salad with radishes and watercress

  • mitts on October 31, 2022

    This salad is surprisingly delicious. Sherry vinegar and smoked paprika is a nice combination.

• Grilled bacon burgers with caramelized onions and blue cheese

  • mitts on October 31, 2022

    So good. Bacon in every bite!

• Classic turkey burgers

  • Kn1tgrl on May 30, 2026

    This was super easy and delicious

• Grilled steak sandwiches

  • dc151 on October 04, 2020

    The sauce for this is fantastic. It's a quick meal that is very memorable

• New England lobster rolls

  • Ishie1013 on July 12, 2024

    Very nice lobster roll recipe for the Maine style (cold lobster salad). Used home grown romaine instead of bibb lettuce as I had it in the garden, and it was quick to make and very tasty.

• Asparagus and goat cheese tart

  • Ishie1013 on June 11, 2024

    Really lovely and grassy green summer recipe. The puff pastry as the crust works very well, and the thin sliced scallions and asparagus really blend well with the saltier flavors of the goat cheese and olives.

• Whole Romanesco with berbere and tahini-yogurt sauce

  • narayani_iunahx on March 24, 2026

    Holy Yum!!!!

• Creamy corn bucatini with ricotta and basil

  • Ishie1013 on July 06, 2023

    This is just a review of the sauce since I used it on TJ's corn and ricotta ravioli. The corn sauce is excellent with strong summer flavors. I went with fresh corn as the recipe recommends. This would also work with canned corn off season. The sauce is really easy to make and comes together brilliantly, with the ricotta and basil topping adding a pleasant depth.

• Spice-rubbed pork chops with corn, summer squash, and poblano sauté

  • jay.moe on July 24, 2022

    The spice-rubbed pork chops were perfectly seasoned and had a smoky, slightly spicy flavor. I used boneless pork chops (that was what I had) and smoked paprika. I grilled them rather than pan fried...less clean up! They tasted great just as a pork chop. My husband, however, ate it as a sandwich since it was boneless. Good both ways! Next time I will make the corn sauté to go with the pork chops.

• Teriyaki stir-fried garlic scapes with chicken

  • Ishie1013 on July 05, 2023

    Excellent and quick dish to put together with a rich and complex flavor, and makes excellent use of garlic scapes. I used thigh instead of breast, which I always recommend, and it came out great. Will definitely make again when I can get scapes from the farmer's market.

• Slow-cooker sweet and tangy pulled chicken

  • hbakke on July 02, 2021

    A nice pulled chicken recipe, but not really spectacular. It tasted nearly the same as shredded chicken mixed with store-bought barbecue sauce, so maybe not worth the effort.

• Slow-cooker street fair sausages with peppers and onions

  • Kn1tgrl on May 31, 2026

    This was super easy and hands off when days get busy.

• Chicken souvlaki

  • hbakke on June 03, 2021

    The tzatziki is the star of this souvlaki recipe. I think the barbecue time may be off because the chicken was overcooked and dry at 15 minutes, so I would watch them more closely next time. Overall this was a tasty dinner. I liked the steaming trick for the pitas on the barbecue. They were perfectly softened. I would make this again.

• Grilled lemon-parsley chicken breasts

  • jay.moe on July 21, 2022

    After pounding the chicken to an even thickness and marinating it 45 minutes, the grilled chicken was very tender and moist. The lemon-parsley sauce was a nice burst of fresh flavor drizzled over the cooked chicken.

• Grilled chipotle-lime chicken breasts

  • jay.moe on July 29, 2024

    This recipe was disappointing. I was expecting the chicken to be a little spicy, but it was not. If the chicken had been marinated in the vinaigrette rather than drizzled over after cooking, it may have been more flavorful. Overall the chicken tasted only of lime.

• Grilled mojo-marinated skirt steaks

  • jay.moe on July 17, 2022

    The steak grilled to a perfect medium rare in the amount of time specified. Next time I would cut back on the ground cumin, my family thought it was a little overpowering. Otherwise, the steak had a nice flavor.

• Barbecued pulled pork

  • jay.moe on August 11, 2024

    This recipe makes a moist, tender pulled pork. The dry rub has a well balanced flavor. I used boneless pork shoulder and it was fork tender after 90 minutes in the oven. It only needed to rest 30 minutes after it finished cooking. This is a good recipe that I would make again.

• Barbecued baby back ribs

  • jay.moe on July 29, 2024

    This recipe makes very tender, well seasoned ribs with a prominent smoke ring. I smoked the ribs on a charcoal grill and only opened the vents1/4 of the way to keep the temperature at the suggested range for a gas grill. After wrapping the ribs (without using a wire rack and baking sheet), I transferred them to a gas grill to finish cooking so I wouldn't have to turn on the oven. They were very tender after only cooking an additional hour at 325 degrees.

• Grilled asparagus with garlic butter

  • jay.moe on July 17, 2022

    The asparagus tasted fantastic grilled with garlic and butter. Makes a quick side dish.

• Grilled potatoes with garlic and rosemary

  • jay.moe on July 17, 2022

    The halved potatoes were big enough that next time I wouldn't bother putting them on skewers. I would also cook the potatoes less in the microwave so that they have more time to crisp on the grill without being overcooked.

• Brined grilled zucchini with mint salsa verde

  • Ishie1013 on July 05, 2023

    I really wanted to like this and the salsa verde is fresh and pleasant, but the brining and grilling zucchinis really does nothing for their texture, rendering them kind of woody and difficult to eat.

• Spice-rubbed picnic chicken

  • jay.moe on July 15, 2022

    The chicken was very flavorful from the spice mix rubbed under the skin; the entire chicken tasted good, not just the skin. Next time I would cut back on the salt a little. Cooked the chicken on the grill rather than turning on the oven, which made for quick clean up. I served the chicken warm off the grill, rather than serving it cold, but will try the left overs cold. This was a very good recipe and I will definitely make it again!

• Green goddess roast chicken

  • Ishie1013 on July 05, 2023

    This was just okay. The green goddess is lovely as a dipping sauce, but leaves a lot to be desired as a marinade. Despite leaving the chicken the full 24 hours, it was rather bland. The chicken also came out quite rubbery, despite using a meat thermometer. I feel like 475 degrees is way too hot. I mean, yeah, the chicken was done in 18 minutes, but with low browning, low flavor, and rubbery texture. Won't make again.

  • julesamomof2 on August 28, 2023

    The chicken marinade was easy to make but I could have used a bit more as it barely coated the chicken. That said, the chicken was browned and flavorful and the addition of the sauce on the side was nice but very garlicky (we just don't care for the overpowering flavor of raw garlic). I would make this again paired with summery sides it made a nice dinner without having to use my grill.

• Buttermilk coleslaw

  • hbakke on July 02, 2021

    I wanted to try a different than our usual coleslaw recipe, but we didn't love this. The shallots gave it too oniony of a flavor that I don't normally associate with coleslaw and others hated the addition of parsley. I guess I'll be going back to a more plain recipe in the future.

• Fusilli salad with salami, provolone, and sun-dried tomato vinaigrette

  • jay.moe on July 15, 2022

    Substituted Gemelli for the Fusilli and Pepperoni for the Salami. It tasted like pizza in the form of pasta salad! Made a great summer side dish. This is best served as soon as it is made.

• Watermelon-lime agua fresca

  • Ishie1013 on July 12, 2024

    Pleasant enough, tasted very much like drinking a watermelon. The lime notes were fairly masked though.

• Peach-strawberry frosé

  • hbakke on June 05, 2021

    Refreshing. A nice summer drink.

  • Ishie1013 on June 11, 2024

    Pleasant and summery. Accidentally added bananas as I couldn't separate them from the peach and strawberry frozen blend I bought. It was hard to get the rose ice cubes to actually freeze.

• Green bean salad with cherry tomatoes and feta

  • Ishie1013 on June 11, 2024

    Very nice elevated side dish. I was skeptical about the mint, but it enhanced the flavors nicely. I boiled the green beans for 10 minutes as I had a diner who prefers her veggies on the soggy side, though they still came out al dente.

• Lemon posset with berries

  • julesamomof2 on September 08, 2020

    I made this with Stevia, which didn't fully dissolve so it ended up a bit grainy. Everyone said they liked it, but it would have been much better with regular sugar. Recipe makes enough for 4 VERY small portions.

• Easy peach and blackberry tart

  • Ishie1013 on June 06, 2024

    Really simple summery rustic tart. Mine was not attractive as I made the crust a bit too thing and had fruit juice run out, but the taste was great, and required very little prep time other than chilling the pie dough.

• Broccoli rabe with garlic and red pepper flakes

  • Ishie1013 on June 06, 2024

    This was fine, but nothing particularly special.

• Skillet-roasted cauliflower with garlic and lemon

  • Ishie1013 on June 10, 2024

    Very nice recipe to highlight the cauliflower and easy to adapt. I did have to use a lime because I was out of lemons, which was still good, but lemon definitely matches better, used Wegmans rosemary sourdough for the bread, which was excellent, and finally, topped it with a little goat cheese.

• Raspberry chiffon pie

  • Ishie1013 on July 12, 2024

    My first time actually using powered gelatin to make anything other than jello shots, and it was awesome! The pie crust (also from the book) failed pretty spectacularly and I'm not certain why though likely involved my own oven, but the homemade raspberry jam bottom with the light and fluffy raspberry chiffon topping and the vanilla spiked handmade whipped cream was awesome. My guests LOVED this.

• Chocolate eclair cake

  • Ishie1013 on July 14, 2024

    Another winner from this book. I was amazed by how much the combination with the graham crackers really mimics the taste of an eclair. Brought it to a party where it was enjoyed and my boyfriend took half the leftovers! Despite my efforts, the sugar did brown a bit at the bottom of the vanilla pudding, but while it interfered with the bright white color to the cream, it gave it a nice warm sugar glaze note that I wound up liking.

  • organizedmomof7 on May 16, 2025

    My go to dessert recipe. The cream layer is divine.

• Icebox margarita cheesecake

  • Ishie1013 on July 02, 2025

    This would have been five stars except for the "jello shot" top layer. I know they test their recipes and so I'm not sure what went wrong, but I used the springform pan and lined it with parchment, per directed, and did everything else correctly, and then when I went to pour on the remainder of the margarita mixture after putting it through a mesh strainer and after cooling the rest for over an hour, the mixture promptly ran directly over the edges of the cheesecake, down the sides, and out the bottom, so more of a margarita sogged cheesecake than a thin jello shot layer on top. The flavor was amazing though. And I got a lot of compliments. But I still have no idea how that shot idea was supposed to work. Update: I made this again, but made sure I had a VERY tight seal on the parchment. It worked far better this time. Still might be best to not use the springform pan, but this time, the layer on top was great.

• Roasted baby pattypan squash with lemon and basil

  • VegasCook37 on September 02, 2025

    Made 9/2025 great way to make them except for having to turn the oven on to 500 dgr in the summer.

• Horchata paletas

  • Ntesfai on January 02, 2026

    At first I made the coconut paletas, but they were too boring. Then I made the horchata paletas which were good. I’ve made these a few times and will make them again. I just won’t call them horchata paletas when I serve them because they don’t taste anything like horchata.