• annmartina on October 14, 2016

  If I could give this recipe 10 stars I would

• ellabee on October 10, 2015

  Kindle only for me -- this one weighs almost *seven pounds*, two more than the unmanageable Ad Hoc at Home. Why not two volumes? I imagine that the illustrations, diagrams, and photos make effective use of the space, and don't want *less* Food Lab wisdom. I just want to be able to manage handling it physically -- in the kitchen, in an armchair, or sitting in bed. Unsettlingly, publisher seems to be surprised by how brisk ebook version sales are.

• porterbl1 on September 27, 2015

  The pot roast recipe contains an error. I confirmed it with the author on Facebook. The oven temperature should be 275 not 225, and the lid should be partially open.

Notes about Recipes in this book

• Cheesy Hasselback potato gratin

  • consortiumlibrary on December 31, 2016

    Wonderful flavor & easier to make than it looks. Used fontina and parmigiano reggiano for 2 cheeses. Otherwise, followed recipe exactly (cut potatoes to specified size with mandoline and used specified size copper gratin dish). Unfortunately, the potatoes weren't cooked all the way through (discovered only when served). This needed another 30 minutes (add time while potatoes are still foil covered). First Food Lab recipe that wasn't perfect. Will make again and cook longer.

  • debkellie on February 12, 2017

    A nice crunchy top as Jojobuch says; and needed longer as tasteslike says.. I subbed in 1.5 cups buttermilk as I was short on cream.. so almost "healthy".. nice side.

  • jenmacgregor18 on December 29, 2021

    We liked this so much better than our usual scalloped potatoes. I will be using this for our future holiday meals. I swapped oregano for thyme. And I also had to use a smaller baking dish. I ended up with a 2 qt dish for 3 1/2 # of potatoes.

  • Rinshin on December 28, 2021

    Has a wonderful taste but with plenty of cream and cheese I am not surprised. Made a half a recipe so originally buttered a 2 qt square pan but 1 and 2/3 lb potato slices were not even 2/3 to 3/4 filled so had to use a smaller round baking dish. May need to adjust your baking dish with this recipe. Some reviews indicated potatoes were not quite done, so I adjusted. 40 min covered, 30 min uncovered, and after sprinkling the remaining cheese, 25 min covered. It was perfectly cooked and loved the texture and taste. This had some crunchiness but not excessive. Even using a half recipe, this was enough for 5 normal servings instead of 2-3. A repeat for sure and photo added.

  • Jojobuch on August 06, 2016

    Very tasty! Used double cream in the UK, you can probably get away with single cream though. Stacking vertically gives a really nice crunch across the top of the dish.

  • bskj123 on February 10, 2021

    4/5. I liked this but didn't love it and am not sure it's worth the extra hassle.

• Perfect roast prime rib

  • consortiumlibrary on December 31, 2016

    So good. Cooked at 160F for 5.5 hours then at 550F for 15 min. Even though cooked to medium by temperature, meat was red and juicy. This bothered some of the guests, put was perfect for my family. Will definitely do again.

  • wodtke on January 25, 2018

    I've cooked a LOT of prime rib roasts in my day, and this is totally the best recipe for them I've tried, and I think better than sous vide. It really is perfect! (5.5 lb roast, 5 hours at 170, 30 minute rest, 10 minutes at 500.)

  • Totallywired on September 24, 2018

    Perfect prime rib.

• Oxtail jus for prime rib

  • consortiumlibrary on December 31, 2016

    Amazing meat juice. Perfect with the prime rib and leftovers exactly right as jus for French dip. Oxtails are magic flavor bombs. Was glad to have this as Food Lab prime recipe doesn't make pan juices at all (the moisture all stays inside the roast).

  • Totallywired on September 24, 2018

    Pulled some leftovers of this out of the freezer from a year ago. Flawless.

  • Totallywired on September 24, 2018

    Delicious. Make in advance instead of under the roast as suggested.

• Slow-roasted boneless leg of lamb

  • consortiumlibrary on May 16, 2016

    In 45 years of cooking, this is the best way to roast lamb that I've tried (and I've tried lots). I'll never do it another way (cook lamb at 200F for 2.5-3 hours, rest at least 30 min, put in 550F oven for 6-10 min). The meat was succulent and quite tender. I used the garlic, anchovy & rosemary variation, and the flavors, for me, were perfect.

  • rionafaith on November 27, 2020

    Simple but delicious. I made the plain/base recipe version that uses only salt and pepper (though I speared in some sliced garlic cloves as well). I had a tiny leg, just under 2.5 lbs, so about half the size called for -- I roasted at 200* for a little over 2 hours until it hit 125, then rested a couple hours, then blasted as high as my oven would go (not quite 500, unfortunately) for about 15 minutes. Perfect! I'm eager to try some of the flavor variations next time.

• Slow-roasted boneless leg of lamb with garlic, rosemary, and anchovies

  • consortiumlibrary on May 16, 2016

    See my comments under the master recipe for Slow-Roasted Boneless Leg of Lamb. This method of cooking lamb is genius, and the garlic, rosemary & anchovy rub truly complemented the meat. Will make this again every Easter for the rest of my life.

  • mharriman on July 08, 2022

    We loved the tender and juicy meat this slow-cooking method produced, and the aroma coming from the oven was heavenly. The marinade gave the flavor that extra something special. I wanted my 4 pound roasted meat at medium, and realized that it needed more time in my oven for that to happen- at 3 1/2 hours, the internal temperature was barely 132. I rested my roast for 30 minutes and then completed the roasting as directed at 500 degrees for 10 minutes. The middle of the leg was definitely medium rare. Next time, I’ll allow much more time for the initial roasting and resting before finishing at 500 degrees.

• How to carve a bone-in prime rib

  • consortiumlibrary on December 31, 2016

    Very helpful tips for carving bone-in prime rib.

• Almost-no-stir risotto with chorizo and Brussels sprout leaves

  • Jane on April 04, 2016

    This was a strange risotto. By the time the rice finished cooking it was not the creamy consistency that slow cooked and stirred risotto has. And then you add a lot of cream and cheese, which still doesn't make it seem like a risotto. Finally, two minutes is not long enough for Brussels sprouts leaves to wilt - it was more like 5. Not one I will be repeating.

  • twoyolks on February 13, 2017

    I agree that this risotto was strange. The cream was an odd addition that lent some creaminess but not the kind I'd associate with risotto. It sorely missed the enrichment of butter that's typical in risotto. The combination of the Brussels sprouts and the chorizo was just an odd flavor that didn't meld well together.

• Foolproof hard-boiled eggs

  • mllamas on January 03, 2016

    First time I've ver been able to cleanly peel every egg.

  • Emily Hope on November 09, 2015

    Although for a hard-boiled egg recipe this is pretty fiddly, it totally delivered on the promise of easy to peel eggs. After five minutes of shelling I had 6 beautiful eggs with nary a dent.

  • rionafaith on November 29, 2016

    I've always started my eggs in cold water, but I decided to try this method after Kenji's vigorous testing. Okay, so it's not totally perfect -- after adding the ice, it took ages to come back to boiling again, and never really did because I got impatient and decided to just start timing from when I hit the simmering temp (I used a candy/deep fry thermometer in my water to monitor it). And my first two eggs still had varying degrees of craters... the other 4 peeled perfectly cleanly, however, far better than usual! The eggs were all perfectly cooked and still tender, too.

  • Karen_S. on November 28, 2018

    Every egg peeled easily and perfectly.

• Grilled skirt steak fajitas

  • jzanger on February 12, 2019

    I used the marinade for steak fajitas but cooked the steak inside and was only able to give it two hours. Even with two hours (at room temp) the marinade made the steak unbelievably flavorful. Who knew soy sauce makes such a great addition to Tex-Mex?! Don’t be shy about adding extra garlic or spices either. I did go ahead and add a nice pinch of salt into the marinade but my soy sauce isn’t super salty so I’d recommend tasting the marinade first.

  • fultre on May 10, 2022

    Forgiving recipe, I had venison roast that needed to be used up, sliced it horizontally into thinner steak-like slabs. Otherwise followed recipe and add my vote to the flavorful marinade camp! Used online serious eats broiler version for cooking method.

  • sdutton on June 25, 2020

    I made the marinade exactly as written. Delicious!!! I used flap steak because that is what I had on hand. This recipe is a keeper.

  • DFarnham on March 07, 2021

    Delicious recipe! Used skirt steak and marinated about 6 hours. The result was a tender and mouth-watering steak. The veggies also turned out great, although I cooked them indoors on the stovetop for ease. The pico is simple and fresh. I just turned the leftovers into a fantastic breakfast scramble. This recipe is a keeper.

• Beef and barley stew

  • mirage on January 01, 2016

    It was fine. Forgettable.

  • Delys77 on February 07, 2022

    This was popular at our house. I subbed ethical veal for the beef and it was very nice. Light in terms of flavour as veal can be, but still robust given the umami additions. Barley might be making more appearances at our house as it is a whole grain that gives the illusion of being processed given how starch it is. Quite nice.

  • ldtrieb on May 20, 2017

    We loved it. I am so happy to learn that browning the big piece of meat then cutting it up works just as well as browning all the little pieces.

  • bskj123 on February 10, 2021

    I LOVE this recipe. I've tried with a few cuts of meat - the more tender the better. Denver cut steak was awesome. This recipe gets better after sitting in the fridge a day or two. I use really high quality beef bone broth (Bonafide brand), so perhaps that helps as well. I think the kale is fine but you could easily do without it.

• 30-minute don't-call-it-Tuscan white bean and Parmesan soup

  • mirage on May 30, 2016

    Very light.

• The best garlic bread

  • vickster on April 23, 2019

    This is a really good garlic bread mixture. I added the Parmigiano-Reggiano but not the parsley. Wrapped it in foil and put on the bbq grill, but next time I want to toast open in the oven as the recipe says. I'm sure it will be better.

  • anya_sf on August 25, 2018

    The dipping method is ingenious - why didn't I think of that? The bread started to burn after 5 minutes in the oven; next time I will use a lower temperature. Although I cringe slightly when buying the fluffy supermarket "Italian bread", it's the perfect texture for this recipe. My family loved this garlic bread.

  • taste24 on June 22, 2020

    Great recipe for garlic bread. I loved the saucy mixture that you dip each slice of bread into - very flavorful.

• Pasta with extra-garlicky shrimp scampi

  • JoanN on December 07, 2015

    Made half a recipe with small elbow macaroni because it was on hand; the corkscrew pasta called for would hold more of the yummy sauce. Used already shelled shrimp, so skipped the cooking the shells part; eager to try it that way, though, since I'm sure it imparts a lot of flavor. Add pasta water by the tablespoonful to start; quarter of a cup (for half a recipe) was too much and needed to be boiled down.

• Ultra-crisp slow-roasted pork shoulder

  • JoanN on March 16, 2021

    My 8-pound boneless shoulder took 10 hours to get to an internal temperature of 180°F, which was what I was aiming for. Only blasted for 10 minutes instead of 20 because fat was bubbling in pan and it was all too difficult to maneuver in my Breville. Next time will blast in big oven. Pork shredded when I tried to slice it. Texture was absolutely perfect for pulling. Never had better. Even flavor, with only salt and pepper, was wonderful. Skin, although blasted for only half the time, was still super crispy. This will be my go to for pulled pork from here in.

  • chawkins on June 08, 2017

    The skin did get ultra crisp, the pork was moist and tender and still sliceable and delicious. My picnic shoulder was just under 8 lbs and from the write-up, I was expecting the pork to be fall off the bone tender after being in the slow oven for eight hours, that I could easily make pulled pork out of it, that is not the case.

  • rionafaith on November 03, 2018

    This took all day but was super delicious with insanely crispy skin. I chose not to line the pan with foil as I thought I might make the pan sauce described in the headnote, but after pulling it out of the oven that would have been impossible as all the drippings had totally burnt onto the pan. In the final crisping stage, my oven had trouble staying up to 500 degrees with me opening the door to rotate the pork every 5 mins, and also my oven isn't big enough to fit a half-sheet pan in lengthwise so rotating was extra hard, but it just took a little more time. The end result surprised me a little though because while it was tender enough to pull cleanly off the bone while cutting, it still held its shape and was definitely a roast rather than pulled pork. I served this with the salsa verde from the same book.

  • dzant on February 03, 2021

    AMAZING!

• The world's most awesome sticky buns

  • Foodo on June 26, 2018

    Loved these so much the first time I turned around and made them again two more times. They are time consuming and do take a long time to rise. The only tweeks I made were to double the pecan caremel sauce and double the filling.

• Super-flaky buttermilk biscuits

  • Foodo on June 26, 2018

    Oh my! So perfect, my new go-to biscuit recipe.

  • damazinah on September 22, 2021

    Very flaky and tasty. I patted mine into a 12"x8" rectangle as directed but cut into 8 rectangular biscuits with a knife rather than using a biscuit cutter. They were a bit too big, so I'll probably pat into a square next time (10"x10"?) & cut 9 biscuits.

• Basic quick waffles

  • SheilaS on May 13, 2021

    These are indeed a good basic waffle. Not too sweet so they could work with either sweeter or more savory toppings.

  • Astrid5555 on November 11, 2017

    New family favorite! Made with the Basic dry pancake mix, which can be prepared ahead, these are really quick to make even though you have to separate the eggs. The addition of the club soda makes the batter very airy and the finished waffles really light and fluffy. The waffles puffed up more than expected in my waffle maker which made quite a mess, so be careful how much batter you add. A keeper!

  • anya_sf on May 02, 2020

    The texture wasn't as light as I expected, but my club soda may have been a little flat. Still, they were very good. I was surprised that the egg whites weren't folded in at the very end. I didn't see where to add the vanilla; I stirred it into the wet ingredients. I got 6 round waffles + 1 bonus smaller one.

• Perfect poached eggs

  • BethNH on May 13, 2018

    Perfect poached eggs! We followed this method except we added a bit of vinegar and covered the pan for three minutes after the whites had set a bit. This meant that we didn't need to turn the eggs over and the yolks were perfectly cooked.

  • Senkimekia on November 02, 2017

    This is the first time I have made decent looking poached eggs,so easy, worth the price of admission alone!

  • Charlotte_vandenberg on March 09, 2017

    Not so easy as the recipe suggests, but I'll keep on trying.

  • Fyretigger on March 31, 2022

    Works as advertised

• The easiest and fastest: roasted butterflied turkey with gravy

  • lorloff on November 28, 2019

    This butterfly spatchcocked method of cooking the turkey with the vegetables underneath worked perfectly. I wet brined the turkey per Samin Nosrat and separated the skin from the meat before roasting. I tucked fresh herbs under the skin. Rosemary, sage, thyme, parsley. The turkey cooked perfectly in a relatively short time. It came out exceptionally well.

  • lorloff on November 30, 2019

    This butterflied spatchcocked turkey was a real winner. The method of setting a grate on top of the vegetables produced delicious vegetables and great turkey drippings for sauce. I used carrots, celery, celeriac, parsnips, turnips, rosemary and tarragon both fresh. It cooked very quickly and evenly. I used a thermapen instant read thermometer and removed the turkey when the breast in several spots reached 160. I let the turkey sit for 25 minutes before carving. Instead of dry brining the turkey I used the 48 hour brine in Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat by Samin Norsat which worked wonderfully. I removed the turkey from the dry brine and allowed the skin to air dry for 8 hours. I also added fresh herbs under the skin of breasts, legs and thighs before I put the turkey in the oven to roast. I used fresh sage, rosemary, parsley, and thyme. I served with a chanterelle mushroom, rosemary and roasted garlic gravy. Will make again!

  • Dannausc on December 20, 2020

    I made it for Thanksgiving. It turned out really good. Fairly quick and easy. I used a mixture of root vegetables I had on hand for roasting under the bird.

  • Skamper on November 27, 2020

    The turkey cooked quickly and evenly; about 65 minutes for a 12 lb turkey. I used Kenji's herbed butter recipe, which was delicious. I made my own stock. The gravy lacked flavor and was a bit thin.

• Braised asparagus

  • mcvl on March 22, 2022

    This was a surprise. I couldn't wait any longer for asparagus -- it's March, for goodness' sake, I want asparagus -- so I bought some non-local at the grocery store and then, valuing it little, submitted it to this obviously faulty preparation. I couldn't have been more wrong. Braising brought out a whole complex of previously undiscovered flavors and undertones; delicious In future, I'll braise asparagus whenever I have some I consider inferior.

  • bskj123 on February 10, 2021

    I did not love this method - though in fairness asparagus is temperamental no matter how you cook it.

• Ultra-gooey stovetop mac 'n' cheese

  • Emily Hope on November 20, 2015

    This recipe definitely lives up to its name; it's like a super luxe Kraft. But I have to agree with twoyolks that it's very rich; I love mac and cheese but could only eat a small serving, and couldn't get enthused about the leftovers because of the heaviness. Oddly, the kids didn't care for it. The recipe also made a giant amount; if I were to make again (not sure I will), I'd probably cut in half and cut down on the butter. Served with roasted broccoli.

  • twoyolks on November 13, 2015

    This is very creamy and very good but very rich. I used Velveta for American cheese and it worked very well. The longest part of this recipe is waiting for the water to boil. This also reheated very well, even in the microwave.

  • taste24 on June 22, 2020

    This has a ton of thick, cheesy sauce which makes it so rich as others have stated. The flavor is delicious and is enough for a crowd. For some reason, my pasta always gets a little too overcooked with this recipe.

• Roasted mushrooms

  • Astrid5555 on September 22, 2018

    What a great method to enjoy mushrooms. A real flavor bomb!

• Pasta with caramelized eggplant and rich tomato sauce (Pasta alla Norma)

  • Astrid5555 on December 10, 2016

    One of the better Pasta alla Norma recipes outside of Italy. Letting the eggplant caramelize to a deep brown until completey tender makes a big difference. No need to re-season the eggplant slices with salt after cooking since they are quite salty after having tossed them with salt beforhand to draw out the water.

  • Globegal on August 07, 2020

    Liked this. Good recipe to use home-grown produce, esp bumper crop of tomatoes.

  • joanhuguet on July 31, 2016

    A delicious summer classic. The marinara recipe provided here, which uses half olive oil and half butter to round out the harsh notes of canned tomatoes, will be my new go-to recipe for easy tomato sauce.

  • Charlotte_vandenberg on December 27, 2017

    It’s a nice recipe, not too difficult, but also not the best pasta alla Norma I’ve eaten. The penne was finished, so I made spaghetti instead.

• Basic pan-seared pork chops

  • abrownb1 on January 08, 2020

    Nice simple way to cook a chop. Definitely check before the 10 minutes if you want medium. Mine was well done at the 10 min mark.

  • chawkins on May 31, 2017

    I cooked mine for a good 10 minutes and they were good, cooked to my liking, not overly done. I served mine with brandied cherries.

  • joanhuguet on October 07, 2015

    Moderate heat and frequent flipping produced an evenly pink, medium pork chop with no grey overcooked bands at the edges. Mine was done well before the 10 minutes of cooking time were up, so begin checking temperature early.

  • ellencooks on February 16, 2017

    Mine was also done before the 10 minute pork. Still good. Served with the maple mustard glazed pan sauce, which was excellent.

• Pan-seared pork chops with brandied cherries

  • abrownb1 on January 08, 2020

    The sauce recipe is a nice jumping off point. I subbed the brandy with Sherry and used blackberries and added a little thyme. I know it's not the same recipe now, but just wanted others to know it takes well to subbing berries and alcohol based on what you have on hand. Served with the pork chops for a delicious very lightly sweet and tangy note.

  • chawkins on May 31, 2017

    The sauce was quite good, the cherries and the balsamic offset the sweetness from the sugar.

• 30-minute minestrone

  • chefmichael on January 24, 2021

    One of the best soups I’ve ever made. For my optional veggies since it’s winter right now, I used red potatoes, parsnips, purple cauliflower, and purple turnips. Also used kale as suggested as an alternative to spinach. Definitely will make this again.

  • jhallen on December 18, 2020

    This is a very tasty and easy soup. The "30 minutes" is a little light given that there is some chopping up-front - not complaining just letting others know to budget a bit more time (like 15 extra min). Really easy and good. Also, I swapped in butternut squash for the zucchini and summer squash since it was winter and I had it on hand (also my husband is afraid of zucchini).

• Penne alla vodka with chicken

  • chefmichael on November 14, 2020

    Very good but is anyone else surprised that other than salting the pasta water, Kenji doesn’t call for another grain of salt in the instructions? This didn’t stop me from salting as needed of course. Was just very surprised at Kenji here!

  • sosayi on February 18, 2021

    Pretty good version of vodka sauce and relatively easy to execute. Not sure if it's my favorite ever, th0ugh, so I'll probably keep trying other versions.

  • anya_sf on October 10, 2021

    Delicious, although like chefmichael says, you do need to add salt to taste. I didn't see a reason for the odd pasta cooking instructions, so I just cooked it the regular way, draining it 2 minutes before the time on the package so it could finish cooking in the sauce. While the chicken was good here, it didn't stand out. I added basil on top.

  • lholtzman on December 04, 2020

    Sauce can be made in advance. Take 1/2 the sauce out before adding chicken to make half vegetarian.

• Roasted Brussels sprouts and shallots

  • bernalgirl on March 24, 2022

    Exactly what I want from KLA: foolproof technique, even for the basics. A quick way to get to perfectly crispy Brussels sprouts.

  • twoyolks on February 08, 2016

    The Brussels sprouts are good but I prefer Cook's Illustrated's roasted Brussels sprouts which are similar, but don't cook as long and get covered during roasting. The shallots almost completely burned for me as did some of the Brussels sprouts. I think using a smaller baking pan would help. I did like the addition of sweetness and sour via the Balsamic vinegar.

  • kayanelson on November 26, 2021

    I prefer the Barefoot Contessa recipe. I had to cook these twice as long as it said to in order for them to be done.

  • Barb_N on November 27, 2020

    Once again I went along with the oven temp in the recipe (when will I ever learn?) and was rewarded with burnt shallots even though I sliced them thickly. It is an easy, basic recipe which satisfied my SO’s love of the little green things.

  • clcorbi on November 29, 2017

    Made these for Thanksgiving 2017--these were an easy and tasty enough side, but nothing earth-shattering, and not the best brussels sprouts preparation I've ever had.

  • Dannausc on May 21, 2018

    Quick, easy, and quite good.

• The ultimate Bolognese sauce

  • HazukaPie on March 23, 2017

    I could only buy chicken livers by the pound so I tripled the "flavor bomb" (liver, anchovies, soy, marmite) and froze 2 aliquots for future use. This recipe makes enough sauce for about 4 lbs of pasta - about 4 quarts.

  • Delys77 on January 10, 2022

    I followed the recipe as written except that I couldn't get any marmite so left it out and I went with the prosciutto sub. I didn't use the veal but did go with the suggested increase in gelatin. Very flavourful recipe and much loved by all at a small dinner we put together. I was worried it wouldn't reduce enough but in the end it did and was a good consistency. Much like others noted the colour was not as red as the pic, but I think this is just food styling as there is not enough tomato in the dish to make it the colour in the photo.

  • chefken on April 08, 2017

    There is a pressure cooker version of this recipe after he wrote the original recipe. It's published in SeriousEats.com. Here's the link: https://www.eatyourbooks.com/library/recipes/1549304/pressure-cooker-ragu-bolognese

  • koolMoD on November 25, 2017

    Made this for a dinner party and it was a huge hit. Have to admit I was skeptical of all the odd ingredients for a bolognese, but the end product was so very flavorful and lots of umami bombs! Have to admit that this took a lot longer than I expected. The colour of mine didn't match the deep red in his pictures and it took more than the 2 hours to reduce down the sauce. But it was such a flavourful and wonderful dish I'd definitely make it again.

  • jeffcole on June 23, 2018

    Can substitute Worcestershire or soy for fish sauce.

• Marinated kale salad with chickpeas and sumac onions

  • Senkimekia on November 02, 2017

    This was too acidic for me but a couple tweaks and this would be a great side.

  • ellencooks on January 08, 2018

    I halved this. Liked it but couldn’t really tell the sumac was there. Maybe use more next time.

• Steak house-style grilled marinated flank steak

  • Delys77 on May 03, 2021

    Great little sauce, and very easy to put together. It really is like a better A1. I was out of shallot so went with just a bit of onion that i had rinsed under cold water and it was all good.

  • twoyolks on July 24, 2017

    This is a great marinade. The flavor really compliments the steak well. I marinated it for close to 11 hours and I'd reduce the marinade time in the future as it almost overpowered the steak. The "sauce" was too strong for the steak but made a great dipping sauce for french fries.

  • Barb_N on July 26, 2020

    My new go to flank steak marinade. Our socially distanced guests raved about it and asked for the recipe. Eight hours of marinating was perfect. Subbed TJs umami powder for marmite; the rest of the ingredients are always in my kitchen. Served with a green salad, duck fat roasted potatoes and the last of the asparagus.

  • gallucci on May 12, 2022

    Really delicious marinade! I cooked half of a 2 lb flank steak so halved the marinade. Subbed 1 tsp fish sauce since I didn't have anchovies on-hand. Marinated 7 hours in fridge and cooked as directed on Weber kettle over 2/3 chimney of hot coals dumped into the Slow 'n Sear. Got a beautiful char in under 3 minutes per side, and then moved to the cool side for just another 3 minutes to get to temp. Marinade flavor really permeated the meat, and a tiny drizzle of the reserved marinade was a nice addition. Actually had a bit left over - sliced it super thin and served over mizuna salad with the marinade as a dressing. Excellent!

  • bwhip on July 01, 2017

    Excellent! One of our all-time favorite marinated flank steak recipes. Wonderful umami bomb of flavor. The only ingredient we didn't use was the marmite, as it wasn't immediately available. I liked the suggested grilling technique as well, using the hot part of the grill for three minutes each side, then moving to the side of the grill with indirect heat to finish, making sure the meat was nicely cooked without being overly charred.

• Lemon ricotta pancakes

  • jenmacgregor18 on November 12, 2015

    Had some leftover ricotta from ziti. This was a good way to use it up. A little tricky to flip, as they were very tender and delicate. After I mangled the 1st one, I ended up with my flexible oxo silicone cookie spatula and another spatula- 2-handed flip. Was fine after that. A non-stick skillet is a must. Great lemon flavor and very light texture. Keeping this one.

  • jenmacgregor18 on July 06, 2016

    good if you're looking for a lower sodium pancake. I left salt out of pancake mixture (but left baking soda as is). Also very good without lemon and with cinnamon & vanilla.

  • clcorbi on October 29, 2017

    I chose to try this pancake recipe because I had both buttermilk and ricotta to use up. Rather than adding the lemon zest that's called for, I doubled the vanilla extract and added some cinnamon and nutmeg, per our pancake preference. I had some problems with these sticking to the pan, so I ended up having to fry them with a bit of butter to make them easier to flip. Obviously, they tasted great that way, but the result was a bit more decadent than I was going for. My verdict is that these were good, but not any better than my standard recipe (the buttermilk pancakes from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone). Still, I would definitely repeat them next time I have extra ricotta.

  • rionafaith on June 11, 2017

    This batter was quite thick and I had a bit of trouble cooking the first batch properly, until I added an extra 1/4 cup of buttermilk. Could be because I used store-bought ricotta (though very good freshly handpacked stuff from Di Palo's) instead of making my own. Still found them tricky to cook properly... bubbles in the top aren't as obvious as in my usual other pancake recipes, so it's hard to know when to flip, and the ricotta makes them so moist that they seemed underdone inside. The lemon flavor is very subtle, zest only. Still good, just a little more delicate and fussy than more basic pancakes!

  • anya_sf on July 08, 2020

    I increased the recipe by 50%, which meant making 75% of the dry pancake mix - a bit of a math challenge first thing in the morning. I had store-bought ricotta so I didn't drain it, and used white whole wheat flour. A 1/4 cup ice cream scoop worked well for the thick batter, yielding 17 pancakes. The batter didn't spread on its own, so I used a spatula to spread it so the pancakes would cook more evenly. They did not develop bubbles on top - I went by color. The pancakes were very tasty, with a hint of lemon, and fairly light (probably would be more so with white flour). Perhaps whipping the egg whites would make them even lighter, but I was happy not to do that. I'd definitely make these again when I have ricotta to use up.

  • Skamper on June 22, 2018

    These were very tasty. The batter was very thick (though I may have accidentally added too much of the basic pancake mix) but thinned with additional milk it wasn't a problem. I added extra lemon zest. Served with maple syrup as Kenji suggests but next time will try a berry syrup or compote.

  • blazin on February 04, 2019

    I thought they were delicious, and glad to know I'm not the only one who had trouble flipping them. I followed the recipe exactly, using Kenji's recipe for fresh ricotta (with lemon juice instead of vinegar) and thought that the lemon flavor was perfect. My one complaint is that the recipe stated it would make 12 pancakes when measured with 1/4 c. measure, but it only made 8. Luckily, there were only two of us or we would not have had enough to go around. The man may be a great food "scientist," but his math skills are lacking.

  • jhallen on April 04, 2021

    These were very good. Unlike others, no trouble flipping here. They are a little heavier than regular pancakes but still fluffy and tasty. Also unlike for others, quantity came out as specified in the recipe. Very good.

• Extra-crispy sunny-side-up eggs

  • jenmacgregor18 on July 06, 2016

    I never made fried eggs at home. It was just something I always ordered when going out for breakfast. But these turn out perfect every time. So I'll be making them at home now.

  • twoyolks on January 08, 2016

    I made this slightly differently in that I cooked the eggs in butter instead of olive oil. I used the same technique and the eggs turned out perfectly.

• Creamy scrambled eggs

  • jenmacgregor18 on November 04, 2019

    Perfect scrambled eggs.

  • sosayi on April 17, 2017

    My go-to scrambled egg recipe. You can add in ingredients to this base, and they turn out perfectly creamy every time.

• Crispy oven-fried bacon

  • jenmacgregor18 on November 04, 2019

    Mess-less, delicious & crispy. I always do the 1.5 # package of bacon & store cooked bacon for when we want it.

  • rionafaith on December 10, 2020

    I love the no-mess method of cooking bacon in the oven but I find this is too much time. I checked a few mins early and it was already crispier than I prefer. Next time I'll try a slightly lower temp (400?) and will check even earlier, maybe starting around 12 mins.

• Weeknight spaghetti with meat sauce

  • jenmacgregor18 on August 15, 2018

    I liked his methodology of using a food processor to blitz the veg (carrots, onions, celery, garlic). And then mushrooms with the meat. It's a lot quicker than me chopping everything finely & the texture is good. I did use the anchovy; but replaced fish sauce with soy sauce. The taste of the sauce is very good; but it is not a clingy, tomatoey sauce, which I prefer. It's probably a lot closer to a traditional bolognese than I am used to. This is primarily where I deviated from the recipe--adding extra tomato paste, etc, to thicken the sauce.

  • e_ballad on April 13, 2021

    A really good pasta sauce that is very quick to pull together, provided that you have the requisite food processor. I didn’t run into any issues this the sauce being too thin, as noted by another reviewer, in fact it was almost the opposite!

• Chopped ranch Cobb salad

  • jenmacgregor18 on February 09, 2017

    I used 1/2 the buttermilk and 1/2 mayo as my light sour cream & buttermilk were going to be too sour. I added a little Worcestershire and onion powder. My garlic was apparently very strong. It had quite a bite to it. Next time I would use a little less garlic, maybe a smaller clove or 1/2 clove. And I'll just use regular sour cream and skip the mayo. Otherwise, it turned out very well. How can you go wrong with bacon, tomato, chicken, ranch & blue cheese?

  • averythingcooks on March 25, 2021

    A search for "Cobb salad" got me 9 hits on my bookshelf & I came here because....Food Lab! Of course, they all had the same basic salad components so the key with each was the dressing used. I had the necessary fresh herbs & buttermilk etc on hand but I was very disappointed in a 1st taste. As written the dressing seemed "thin & weak" and so I did a lot of doctoring.....more acid (red wine vinegar), salt, some mayo, honey & hot sauce! Ultimately, we had a great "big salad for dinner" but maybe I'll try Chrissy Teigen's dressing next time.

  • anya_sf on November 25, 2019

    The dressing had a classic ranch taste, but the flavor was easily diluted by watery iceberg lettuce (no romaine to be had these days). Perhaps some mayo would allow the dressing to cling better. The other ingredients are classic. I added some chopped cucumber as well. Cooking the chicken to 150 degrees was too pink for my comfort, so I cooked it to 165 and it was still flavorful and juicy.

• Winter greens salad with walnuts, apples, and Parmesan-anchovy dressing

  • jenmacgregor18 on November 13, 2019

    Since I can't stand the texture of frisee, I subbed escarole. I added a bit of lemon juice when I dressed it. The dressing is easy and good; just assertive. I love my bitter greens and overall this worked for me. I would repeat that next time and omit the granny smith apple. I don't much care for fruit in savory foods and just found it out of place here... and maybe reduce the anchovy just a tad.

  • clcorbi on February 28, 2017

    I really enjoyed the easy, Caesar-ish dressing on this salad. The only substitution I made was to use arugula in place of the frisee, since we prefer that green. Unfortunately, I don't think this salad is for me--I need to accept that I just don't like bitter greens like radicchio. The walnuts didn't really help much since they are sort of bitter, too--I would have subbed them with pecans if I'd thought about it. This is just not to my taste.

• White bean and Manchego cheese salad

  • jbuchman on October 14, 2020

    Excellent meatless supper. Ok to leave garlic out of the vinaigrette.

• Marinated kale salad with shallots and kidney beans

  • jbuchman on July 10, 2017

    Perfect technique. Still delicious after two days in the fridge.

• The best corn chowder

  • darcie_b on January 28, 2018

    This was delicious. The flavor is delicate and nuanced. I added some crushed lemongrass to the simmer liquid.

  • e_ballad on March 20, 2017

    I agree with JKLA that the quality of the corn will make or break this dish. But even with fantastic corn picked minutes before from the garden, this particular dish was a little... meh. Calling something 'the best' might have set up unrealistic expectations!

• Creamy broccoli-Parmesan soup

  • twoyolks on September 26, 2016

    The soup was a bit too heavy on the cheese flavor and there wasn't quite enough broccoli flavor. I also think cheddar would've worked better than parmesan.

• Chicken and dumplings

  • twoyolks on April 24, 2017

    I made this with homemade chicken stock and left over roast chicken. The dumplings are about perfect. The tanginess of the buttermilk really makes them.

  • clcorbi on February 28, 2017

    Absolutely delicious. I used two quarts of homemade chicken stock and a mix of store-bought chicken stock/water for the rest of the liquid, and simmered raw chicken in that mixture to cook it which also helped boost the stock nicely. Flavorful stock really makes all the difference here, since there are really no spices added to the soup. The dumplings were nice and tender as advertised. This is just perfect comfort food, and if you have pre-cooked shredded chicken and homemade stock on hand, it also comes together in around 30 minutes.

• 3-minute chicken cutlets

  • twoyolks on March 10, 2022

    A quick way of making chicken cutlets but there's nothing particularly special about it. That doesn't make it bad, just average.

• Crispy fried bacon

  • twoyolks on November 07, 2015

    I didn't really think there was much I could learn about cooking bacon. I was wrong. I've never had as perfectly crispy (but not overly crispy) bacon as when I used this method.

• Potato hash with peppers and onions

  • twoyolks on November 07, 2015

    This is similar to the America's Test Kitchen recipe for home fries but, for me, the potatoes ended up more evenly browned and the onions didn't burn. The slight heat from the hot sauce was a welcome addition. I added the optional eggs which were really quite good.

  • allisonsemele on November 11, 2020

    Very quick and easy--I find it takes several minutes longer for my eggs to set.

  • bskj123 on February 10, 2021

    This recipe introduced me to hash and it's now one of my breakfast go-tos. I often use matchstick potatoes instead of diced for a different texture, either way make sure you rinse the potatoes after cooking. I almost always cook bacon to add in and use the leftover bacon grease to cook the potatoes, peppers, and onions. Chipotle adobe sauce is a nice addition for some smokiness.

• Pasta with garlicky broccoli, anchovies, and bacon

  • twoyolks on July 26, 2017

    This was really nice. The broccoli and the bacon compliment each other well. The anchovies fade into the background. I thought it was a bit too heavy on the lemon flavor and would cut it back in the future (I'm also skeptical of the idea that 1 tbsp of lemon juice would be the juice of one lemon). I'd also increase the amount of broccoli and cut it into even smaller pieces in the future.

  • Rachaelsb on June 25, 2017

    Addictively delicious. Easily accessible ingredients that you have in house-great for that night when you don't want to have to go to supermarket.

  • rosten on August 24, 2016

    pretty tasty! could even use a bit more garlic!

  • clcorbi on November 14, 2018

    Yum. I was hesitant to complete all the garlic prep required for this recipe, but I'm glad I did, because the final flavor was delicious. If anything, I think I'd add even more anchovies next time. I agree you can do with blanching the broccoli less, or even skipping that step in flavor of roasting--I might enjoy that texture more, anyway.

  • sosayi on November 08, 2017

    I thought this was just okay. Three minutes blanching was too long for my broccoli and I should have followed my instincts to take it out earlier. I think I'd just roast the broccoli next time, to be honest, and then toss it with the garlic, anchovies, and such in the pan. I never achieved any of the "browning" of the blanched broccoli in the saute pan that Kenji referred to. I also increased the lemon juice amount as 1 tbl seemed too little and due to being out of lemon zest (somehow I only had denuded lemons in house), I added some sumac. The pasta was a little dry (even with lots of added pasta water), so I might add some vermouth in the future. I also prefer a higher broccoli to pasta ratio. I think with modifications, I could enjoy this recipe a lot. But, with so many changes, is it worth it? I don't know. It had good depth of flavor, but there are so many other broccoli/garlic pasta recipes it might not be.

• Easy cranberry sauce

  • twoyolks on November 29, 2016

    This is now my favorite cranberry sauce. It's a good balance between a whole berry sauce and a jellied sauce. It's more of a cranberry jam. It's also not too sweet so it works well with the other Thanksgiving dishes.

  • anya_sf on November 28, 2020

    Quick and easy, with several flavor options if you like those (we prefer it plain). Son loved it as written (I made it just for him). For myself, I'd reduce the sugar a bit.

  • Dannausc on December 20, 2020

    Super easy and good. I used the juice of two blood oranges and 1 t. Fresh ginger. My wife said this was the best cranberry sauce she’s ever had!

• Ultra-fluffy mashed potatoes

  • twoyolks on December 10, 2016

    I didn't particularly care for these. The flavor was dominated by the butter. The potato flavor didn't factor in at all. They also weren't particularly fluffy.

• Rich and creamy mashed potatoes

  • twoyolks on November 29, 2016

    These are perfect mashed potatoes to be served with gravy on top. They're rich enough without being too rich or buttery.

• Maple-sage breakfast sausage

  • twoyolks on October 27, 2021

    I found this a bit odd. It was both very savory and sweet at the same time. It just didn't work for me. I did use pre-ground pork.

  • dprostrollo on September 28, 2018

    Added Tbsp of mustard seeds - lovely flavor.

• All-American meat loaf

  • twoyolks on December 07, 2017

    This was a rich meatloaf. I particularly liked the glaze. However, I felt the meatloaf itself was lacking in flavor and there are more flavorful meatloaf recipes that I prefer.

  • sarahawker on December 12, 2018

    I made this with all-beef, flavor was good. Sub. miso paste for the marmite and it was a bit too salty. Glaze was very good but makes a lot, could be cut in half. This was VERY time consuming, not a week-night meatloaf.

  • e_ballad on August 01, 2020

    This is the best meatloaf we’ve ever eaten & well worth the 2.5 hour time commitment. Absolutely delicious.

  • patioweather on January 09, 2020

    This is the best meat loaf I've ever had but it required many steps and about two hours total time.

  • DFarnham on March 04, 2021

    This is a delicious meatloaf--definitely more time consuming, but worth the effort. I've never added cheese to a meatloaf before and thought the result would be goopy but you didn't even notice it was there. I added Tillamook Pepper Jack because that is what I had. Definite repeat on all fronts! Made Kenji's delicious crispy roasted potatoes on p. 476 and tossed some green beans with shallot butter on the side. Yummy!

• Roasted broccoli with garlic-anchovy bread crumbs

  • twoyolks on January 16, 2018

    A pretty decent roasted broccoli recipe. Make sure to cut the broccoli all to the same size so it cooks evenly. I made it without the bread crumbs but the texture would've been nice.

  • cgirl6 on October 10, 2021

    I made this according to the recipe (minus a little of the oil) and thought it was very good. Using the full amount of oil makes it a bit too oily for my taste. I return to this recipe again and again. The book's technique for roasting vegetables works very well.

• Mexican street corn salad

  • twoyolks on July 27, 2017

    This was excellent. I couldn't stop eating it. A recipe that serves four was easily eaten by two.

  • clcorbi on July 05, 2017

    Yum! This salad is so easy and packs a ton of flavor--I could definitely see us repeating it throughout corn season. Unfortunately we got a scorching hot jalapeno that overwhelmed the salad's flavor even after being seeded, but I could still tell this is a tasty dish. I might want to cube an avocado and toss it in next time for a more substantial salad, and then serve it with fried eggs and tortillas.

  • averythingcooks on June 04, 2021

    Oh wow - is this ever good :) I cannot get cotija cheese here so I used a mix of both feta and parm. I also added some extra scallions and a diced roasted red pepper. We had this beside fajitas and I would absolutely make this again.

  • Cookie24 on August 21, 2019

    Family loves this. Super easy to make and tasty. Try not to subsititue cotija cheese with something else; this cheese really adds a great flavor. As clcorbi suggested, adding a cubed avocado sounds delicious.

  • taste24 on June 22, 2020

    I can't get enough of this salad - it has so much flavor. Perfect way to use either fresh or frozen corn. I use the recommended Cotija cheese which I feel makes the salad as good as it is. It is also delicious leftover and cold.

• Brandy-cream pan sauce

  • twoyolks on March 10, 2022

    I found this to be fine but for the amount of effort, it just came across as too plain.

  • bskj123 on February 10, 2021

    This recipe is great! And I didn't even use brandy!

• Cooler-cooked rib-eye steaks with shallots, garlic, and thyme

  • twoyolks on February 08, 2016

    This was a decent example of a sous vide steak but neither the technique nor the ingredients really add anything beyond any other recipe. None of the flavor of the shallots, garlic, or thyme end up in the steak or really the cooking juices from the steak.

• Cheesy broccoli casserole

  • twoyolks on January 03, 2019

    A rather nice broccoli casserole. It's not too difficult to make and the cheese mostly complements the broccoli instead of overpowering it.

  • taste24 on June 22, 2020

    This is my favorite broccoli cheese casserole. It's so creamy and flavorful and the shallots in the breadcrumbs provide a lovely touch.

• Creamy coleslaw

  • twoyolks on May 28, 2019

    Removing water from the cabbage made the dressing less watery but at the same time made the cabbage too limp and wilted. I also don't think the flavor of the dressing was great.

  • Skamper on April 15, 2022

    I made a half batch using these ingredients but the technique for the same recipe on the serious eats site, which is less time and labor intensive. For the dressing I used 1 tsp of granulated splenda. I was pleased with how it turned out and thought it made a nice change from oil & vinegar based slaws, but M thought it was too creamy (even with light mayonnaise). Leftovers were still crunchy the next day.

• The ultimate quintuple-cooked thick and crispy steak fries

  • twoyolks on February 08, 2016

    The fries got crunchy but they didn't get as crunchy as I like. They simply aren't as good as the triple cooked fries from Modernist Cuisine.

• Crunchy oven fries

  • twoyolks on October 17, 2017

    This was a bit weird. The potatoes are covered in a breading before being baked. But the breading doesn't work that well because they're not fried.

  • annmartina on February 09, 2019

    This recipe really didn't work for me me. The buttermilk curdled when I added it to the hot potatoes. The breading was kind of heavy.

• Beer-battered fried cod

  • twoyolks on December 23, 2021

    The batter is a bit thick and I question the lack of seasoning of the fish directly (instead of only in the batter).

• Extra-crunchy chicken-fried steak with creamy gravy

  • twoyolks on December 04, 2015

    The flavor of this was very good. It was also very crisp and crunchy. However, it was simply too salty. I'd cut back significantly on the salt next time.

  • Rinshin on September 03, 2021

    This recipe has some elements of Cooks Country version using flour, cornstarch, and baking powder as well recipe by Grady Spears using buttermilk. I rate all three producing excellent CFS. But, If all the positive parts can be combined, well, it will be an ultimate CFS. I did not use Kenji’s salt or spiciness proportion - it would have been too salty and spicy for us. Made excellent crispy coating using cubed steak that has been pounded further. I liked the addition of onion and garlic in cream gravy, but it was missing the extra umami factor of using chicken broth in Cooks Country. I added mushroom powder to coax more flavor out of gravy. Surprised Kenji did not add a drop or two of fish sauce. I plan to do that next time. Photo added.

  • ellencooks on March 09, 2016

    I made these with cubed steaks. Definitely too salty but good texture and spices. Just need to cut down on the salt.

  • taste24 on June 22, 2020

    This is my favorite fried chicken recipe - I cut chicken breast into strips and bread them that way for chicken tenders. I find if you don't let the chicken sit too long in the buttermilk mixture, it isn't as salty. Otherwise, the spice mixture is genius.

• Chicken Parmesan

  • twoyolks on November 13, 2015

    This is a classic but very good version of Chicken Parmesan.

• Perfect easy red sauce

  • twoyolks on February 08, 2017

    This was a fine, simple marinara sauce but there wasn't anything special about it.

  • AndieEats on February 08, 2022

    Threw in about 1/4 cup heavy cream and a pinch of salt. Great, simple sauce to go with our cheesy ravioli.

• Classic baked macaroni and cheese

  • twoyolks on December 07, 2017

    I made a double recipe of this for my daughter's 4th birthday. It was quite a hit with the kids. I used a combination of mild cheddar and monterey jack cheese. It had the right texture for a creamy, baked macaroni and cheese. The taste was good and I didn't find it too rich. My bread crumb topping didn't particularly crisp well but it was still nice.

  • Veronik on April 25, 2020

    I didn't see the errata until now, so made it with 1/2 a cup of milk. It may have helped, but it probably would still have been too rich and heavy.

  • sosayi on November 18, 2017

    Made this last night for my son’s 3rd birthday. I normally make the baked macaroni and cheese from The Gourmet Cookbook, but decided to try a new version. While delicious, it was almost tooooo cheesy and tooo heavy. I didn’t add the eggs and soaked the noodles for less time than suggested (maybe 15 minutes, not 25), as I didn’t want the noodles to be over cooked and the sauce too firm. Since I prepared it a day in advance, I added in a little warm water to loosen it before baking and added the bread crumbs halfway through baking. In all, I enjoyed it, but probably wouldn’t make it again. Just too rich.

• Classic baked ziti

  • twoyolks on February 08, 2017

    This did not live up to its promise. By putting so much cheese on top, when eating this, you get bites of all cheese or bites of not enough cheese. The extra tomato sauce on top also didn't help.

  • mooo42 on March 04, 2020

    I tweaked this significantly, used 3 c of jarred sauce, omitted mozzarella, subbed evap milk for cream and added a pound of frozen spinach and about 12 oz of meatless meatballs. I didn’t have extra sauce to pour over the dish but I didn’t think it needed it either. It turned well for a midweek family dinner.

• Classic American potato salad done right

  • hirsheys on July 09, 2017

    This was completely interesting, even though I had to make a few changes (yellow potatoes, not russets and pickled okra rather than cornichons). I made a 1/4 recipe. The potatoes came out a lot less mushy than mine usually do, which was cool. Overall, it's tasty, but not vinegar-y enough for me even with vinegar being used 3 times. I think it's because the recipe uses rice vinegar, which is a little mild for me. Also, I am a sucker for hard boiled egg in my potato salad, which this doesn't have.(Though oddly, the list of ingredients here on EYB includes egg yolks, but the book doesn't have them.) It's a tasty version, but won't be my go-to. ETA: This was much improved after two days in the fridge. Next time I'm going to add hardboiled eggs, but otherwise this was a hit after two days.

  • Baxter850 on May 28, 2020

    Great recipe. Not as rich as most Mayo based recipes. The rice wine vinegar is a game changer. Suggest cutting potatoes in half once they’ve been boiled and cooled.

• 30-minute black bean soup

  • mrsmadam on July 06, 2018

    This was really good. Subbed a red bell for the green and added some refried black beans (because I had some leftover) for extra body. Pureed a bit with the immersion blender and added the kernels of one ear of corn (raw).

  • BadSuzanna on January 05, 2022

    Really liked this one. Subbed red pepper for green. Doubled the chipotle. Used dried beans. Will make again.

• Pasta with olive oil and three flavors of garlic

  • mrsmadam on January 31, 2018

    This was excellent. The garlic three ways gave it wonderful nuances and made with the maximum amount of chili flakes it had a nice kick. I made half and it was plenty for three reasonable servings. While prepping, I zested one lemon thinking it was in the ingredient list – I think my attention wandered to the recipe on the next page. When I was finishing I realized my error so tasted and decided to add it anyway. I won’t make it without the zest next time.

• 15-minute pantry tomato soup

  • imaluckyducky on August 05, 2019

    Extremely quick and satisfying base to play with and develop different tomato soups depending on whatever cravings you have. Despite the author's recommendation, I used "Signature Kitchens" (store brand) and "Red Gold" brand canned whole and diced tomatoes in this recipe with great success. Added a bunch of fresh thyme to cook into the soup, as well as some garlic after the onion and before the dried spices. My fat was a mix of bacon grease and butter because I like to live dangerously. This will be the basic tomato soup recipe I recommend to my friends.

  • MeganGarcia on July 27, 2017

    I find this recipe to be quite satisfying when I need a lunchtime tomato soup fix. As indicated in the name, it's very quick and uses typical pantry ingredients. I've made it quite a few times; by now it has become my go-to tomato soup recipe because the flavor is very good considering the lack of effort entailed in making it.

• Classic sage and sausage stuffing

  • imaluckyducky on December 02, 2020

    5 stars! Classic flavors, beautiful texture. I was worried that the amount of bread wouldn't fit into a 9x13 and I was proven wrong (thankfully). This will likely be the go-to "classic" recipe moving forward whenever able to hose large gatherings again.

  • anya_sf on November 27, 2020

    Great, classic flavor, similar to what I grew up with but with sausage added (I also used Jimmy Dean sage sausage). Kenji doesn't mention salt and pepper (although they are listed in the ingredients), but I added some (tasted a bread cube dipped in the mixture prior to adding egg). 1/3 recipe filled an 8"x8" casserole dish.

  • Tweedles81 on November 29, 2019

    I love experimenting with food, but straying too much with stuffing is sacrilegious in my book. As stated, this is a classic stuffing recipe and is absolutely incredible! I did only use about 2 lbs of bread cubes, and I added some additional salt while mixing but otherwise was true to the recipe. We are done looking - this will be our family recipe for years to come! P.S. I used Jimmy Dean sage sausage (wrapped in a tube-like shape).

• Tender Italian meatballs with rich tomato sauce

  • Rachaelsb on October 31, 2017

    Very labor intensive and while taste was great...completely fell apart on me when added to sauce. My guess is that bread soaked in buttermilk too much???

  • e_ballad on August 22, 2021

    Flavour-packed. Off @Rachaelsb’s note, I erred on cooking the meatballs a bit longer than indicated, so avoided disintegration, but this did compromise the tenderness promised in the title.

• The best vegetarian bean chili

  • joeljkp on October 31, 2021

    Really great vegetarian chili with good depth of flavor - primarily chile, with a bit of tomato. Not too spicy. Relies on separately-prepared chile paste, but that is pretty simple and can be made in large batches and frozen. Using pre-made chile paste, this recipe takes about 2 hr, or half the time of similar recipes from Cook's Illustrated.

• Light and fluffy buttermilk pancakes

  • joeljkp on May 08, 2022

    These are exceptionally good pancakes, and true to the name. Our go-to special-occasion recipe.

  • clcorbi on February 20, 2017

    I had all the ingredients on hand to make these pancakes so I knew we had to try them out. This is my first use of the book, and the result was really nice! These pancakes are decidedly fluffier than my go-to recipe (from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone). As always, I doctored the batter with a bunch of cinnamon and a little nutmeg. As good as these were, the batter is a bit fussy to make, because you have to separate and beat an egg white. I will probably only use this recipe on occasions where I have sour cream to use up, but we did thoroughly enjoy them.

  • jhallen on March 31, 2021

    These were good, and were light and fluffy, particularly given how thick they were. Still, I prefer a thinner pancake. But they were good.

• Santa Maria-style grilled tri-tip

  • bching on January 01, 2017

    Great tri-tip grilling instructions. This recipe will be my go-to--although I will vary the rub often, I imagine. We found we preferred the texture of the meat cut with, rather than against, the grain.

• Traditional lasagna Bolognese

  • Jojobuch on January 21, 2016

    Definitely the most involved lasagna recipe I ever made; lots of extra ingredients in the ragu - some of which are very odd (marmite? Fish sauce?) - and I had never added cheese to my bechamel (I guess it becomes a sauce mornay?) for lasagna. The result was worth it though, it received rave reviews at a dinner party. It's a weekend project but leftovers freeze very well.

• Pan-roasted rack of lamb

  • joyous on April 01, 2018

    Made this for Easter. Salted the day before. After nearly 10 minutes in the pan, the rack was measuring 60 degrees, so I put in a 400 degree oven for an additional 13 minutes. My rack was 8 bones and 2 lbs just like in the recipe so I have no idea how this technique is supposed to work.

• Quick and easy pan-seared steaks

  • ldtrieb on February 16, 2018

    Delicious

• Diner-style ham and cheese omelet

  • joanhuguet on October 04, 2015

    Kenji's salting and resting technique for omelet eggs is spectacular! I added a good pinch of salt to my eggs and let them rest for about 15-20 minutes while I cooked my omelet filling. The resulting omelet was perfectly seasoned and extremely tender, with no tough outer layer of overcooked egg.

• Easy skillet-braised chicken with peppers and onions

  • joanhuguet on October 04, 2015

    This recipe missed the mark for a couple of reasons. First, 1 tablespoon of smoked paprika was completely overwhelming, giving the broth a gritty texture and acrid taste. In addition, there was far too much liquid in the braise. I had to take out the meat and bring the sauce to a rolling boil for about 15 minutes in order for it to have any body whatsoever.

• Maple-mustard-glazed pan-seared pork chops

  • joanhuguet on October 07, 2015

    I found that this sauce was overly sweet, although it could have been that the particular mustard I used (Trader Joe's Grainy Dijon) was not strong enough. Next time, I might try a combination of grainy and smooth Dijon for a stronger mustard flavor.

• Quick chickpea and spinach stew with ginger

  • joanhuguet on October 24, 2015

    Luscious, elegant, and easy. I've made this twice since the book came out, once with spinach and once with rainbow chard. Reheats very well, but also very good at room temperature. Don't skip the drizzle of olive oil at the end.

  • lils74 on August 07, 2022

    Made this on Friday, surprisingly easy and the results were delicious and comforting, especially for how little active prep time there was. I played a little fast and loose with the chickpea/spinach quantities based on what I had, and subbed a few curry leaves for the bay, which I didn't have. I second joanhuguet that the leftovers are equally delicious. Would make again for sure.

• Maple-mustard-glazed roast pork tenderloin

  • joanhuguet on January 17, 2016

    Wonderful technique - tenderloin was a perfect medium and juicy.

  • averythingcooks on July 20, 2017

    This was GOOD - glaze was delicious and pork was perfectly pink and moist .....sometimes so hard NOT to overcook a tenderloin but the 4 minute glaze/ check cycle to finish caught it at the perfect point of "doneness". I've never used the pre-browning cornstarch dredge before - it also certainly seemed to work :)

  • bskj123 on February 10, 2021

    I also have come to love pork tenderloin after this recipe. I enjoy tenderloin more than pork chops and loved using the pork chop glazes in the book instead for tenderloin.

• Roasted beet and citrus salad with pine nut vinaigrette

  • LittleTex on October 07, 2020

    Delicious. Used almonds instead of pine nuts. My beets came out pretty al dente so I might boil them first next time (I am not experienced at cooking them).

• Mild red wine-olive oil vinaigrette

  • mamacrumbcake on August 14, 2016

    Good, solid vinaigrette for every day. The garlic and the shallots really add to the depth of flavor.

  • Acarroll on October 17, 2021

    Easy, solid vinaigrette. A tad oily for my taste, but that could just be my preference.

• All-American pot roast with gravy

  • mamacrumbcake on May 18, 2021

    This was good and very savory, but not the best. It was very heavily umami and I think would be improved with a bit more tomato, or maybe a squeeze of lemon. Probably won’t repeat as there are other recipes we greatly prefer.

  • bskj123 on February 10, 2021

    I've tried this recipe a couple of times and I just don't love it, despite the umami bombs. Perhaps I'm too anchored to my mother's easy recipe with an onion soup packet...

• Diner-style asparagus, shallot, and goat cheese omelet

  • kgmom on May 02, 2021

    Recipe available online: https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2016/04/diner-style-asparagus-bacon-gruyere-cheese-omelette-recipe-food-lab.html

  • clcorbi on May 13, 2018

    Really delicious flavor combination--a perfect spring meal. No reason why you can't make this for dinner, and it's incredibly fast to boot.

• Quick creamy pasta with prosciutto, peas, and arugula

  • e_ballad on August 23, 2020

    I’m doing what I usually hate in reviews: commenting on a recipe when I’ve made a significant substitution, in this case, bacon for prosciutto. But in these crazy covid times... I can report that if you choose to make this substitution, the result will be delicious. I can only imagine that the prosciutto would be even more so.

  • KillaBee2k5 on March 31, 2022

    Quick and a bit healthier than normal alfredo. The prosciutto really elevates the dish.

• The ultimate chicken vegetable soup with noodles

  • e_ballad on June 24, 2021

    Perfectly serviceable, but “ultimate” is definitely stretching things. I went the noodle route.

• Asparagus salad with toasted almonds and goat cheese

  • clcorbi on May 01, 2018

    This is a really delicious salad, and leftovers keep very well. The only change I made was to use less than the 4oz of goat cheese called for--I find that a little goat cheese goes a long way, so I used half the amount called for, and we thought it was perfect.

• Kale Caesar salad

  • clcorbi on March 06, 2017

    This makes a really, really good salad. I made a half-recipe with one bunch of kale, and after we tried the salad, I instantly regretted not making a full recipe. We followed the instructions with no changes other than to chiffonade the kale, and to massage the dressing into it rather than just mixing it in. The breadcrumbs really add an extra lovely dimension of crunchiness, and it's essential to make nice homemade ones to get that delicious crunch. Luckily, the bread can bake while the rest of the salad is being assembled, so it isn't too fussy. I would not hesitate to make this delicious salad again.

  • Ecngreg5 on July 30, 2022

    We absolutely loved this salad!

• Cheesy chili mac

  • clcorbi on July 31, 2017

    So, this recipe is awesome. Both the components--the chili and the mac n cheese--are delicious separately, so it's not surprising that they're still delicious when mixed together. The only change I made was to reduce the amount of cheddar in the mac n cheese to 1lb, rather than 1 1/4lb, and I also omitted the extra Parmesan on top. Here's the thing about this recipe, though. IT MAKES A HUGE AMOUNT OF FOOD. I guess I should have realized this from the ingredients list--1lb beef, 1lb pasta, 1lb cheddar, 1/2lb American cheese--but since the head note said 4-6 servings, I just didn't think about it. Once I started cooking I realized how much food I actually had on my hands. I would say you could feed 10-12 on this recipe. Maybe more, with sides. I filled a huge casserole dish and still had too much chili mac, so I filled a second medium dish wish the rest, and stuck it in the freezer. I hope it defrosts well. This is certainly delicious but you will get a LOT of food from it.

• Fresh ricotta

  • clcorbi on February 28, 2017

    This recipe works! I used the stovetop variation. I actually let the ricotta simmer for too long because I was waiting to see large, defined curds--that never happened. My curds were tiny and couldn't be scooped out with the slotted spoon. After doing some googling, I discovered that this is all right and so I just poured the entire curds/whey mixture into the strainer, rather than trying to scoop out the curds. The ricotta still drained perfectly, so in the future that's how I'll always do it!

  • blazin on February 02, 2019

    I used lemon juice and the microwave method. After 4 minutes I had nice curds but the temperature was only around 130, so I put it back in for another minute. The curds stayed about the same and the temp rose to 140. I went for another minute and the temp didn't really rise much still, so I went ahead and strained it for fear of burning the milk. Taste and texture seemed perfect so I trust that it's not necessary to heat all the way to 165, especially since I'll be using in pancakes and it will be cooked once again.

• Pan-roasted mushrooms with thyme and shallots

  • rionafaith on November 27, 2020

    Completely delicious. The soy sauce and butter to finish really add a lot! A pound and a half of mushrooms seemed like a lot to fit in the pan but they cooked down significantly.

• Salsa verde

  • rionafaith on November 03, 2018

    I made this to go with the roast pork shoulder from the same book and it was nice. Since that is a rather heavy dish, I chose to only use about a 1/2 cup of oil in the sauce and I think even that was a bit much... I would have preferred this even more as a chunky relish with maybe only a touch of oil. If I make this again I think I will add some lemon (maybe just zest?) as it could use a bit more brightness and maybe some heat as well. Love the combination of parsley, capers, and anchovies though, and the honey adds just the right touch of sweetness. I wasn't in the mood to chop by hand so I just pulsed this all in the food processor and it was fine.

• Slow-roasted boneless leg of lamb with with harissa and garlic

  • rionafaith on January 04, 2021

    The harissa I used was on the mild side but this was still delicious. I used 2 garlic cloves and grated them. I don't think all the oil is necessary, maybe just a glug next time. I've made Kenji's basic lamb technique with a boneless leg of lamb before, but this time I used a bone-in butt-end half leg, about 3 lbs, and it worked just fine.

• Ultra-crisp-skinned pan-roasted fish fillets

  • rionafaith on December 03, 2020

    Simple but great technique. My salmon fillets turned out perfectly.

  • Dannausc on May 21, 2018

    I used a cast iron skilllet and had trouble getting the skin to crisp.

• Creamy spinach and mushroom lasagna

  • rionafaith on September 03, 2016

    This is fairly labor intensive, and took almost 3 hours of prep, but it was worth it -- the taste is absolutely fantastic, definitely restaurant-quality. I was a bit scant on the mushrooms as I only had two 10oz containers and it would probably have been better with the full amount, or even more, but then I'm a mushroom fiend. Only problem I had was the noodles sticking together a bit and I don't think I agitated them enough or maybe didn't have enough water in the pan when soaking them, so I'll be more mindful of that next time.

• Foolproof homemade mayonnaise

  • rionafaith on July 10, 2017

    Made using the immersion blender method. Rather strongly flavored mayo due to the olive oil. Also makes a large quantity (2 cups) -- I would half it next time as that's more than I can get through in a couple weeks. However I have an even simpler immersion blender mayo recipe that uses a whole egg, and I think I prefer that one over this.

• The best short-rib chili with beans

  • stpbcyld50 on November 08, 2019

    Really good. I used chuck instead of short ribs (provided as an alternative)

  • DFarnham on March 11, 2021

    Fantastic! Let ours sit for three days. Outstanding flavor and definitely a repeat.

• Arugula and walnut pesto

  • JulieQC on January 20, 2019

    Very tasty. Great for a simple pasta/parmesan/cherry tomato & toasted walnut salad.

  • cgirl6 on October 11, 2021

    Excellent with a slow roasted salmon, without the parm.

• Chile paste

  • averythingcooks on December 31, 2018

    I try to make sure that I always have a bag of these little chile paste patties in the freezer. They form the base of many chili & soup recipes. Once I've infused this flavour, I taste and use any number of the dried chili powders in my pantry to round out the flavours.

• Master recipe for compound butter

  • averythingcooks on October 22, 2020

    I made a 1/2 recipe of the blue cheese, shallot etc butter to use on some lovely thick striploins tonight........absolutely delicious! I also made the garlic-chili version (other 1/2 of the stick of butter) with chipotle chili powder - it is destined to be used with lots of sautéed / grilled veg. Both mini logs are now in my freezer and I look forward to using both of them.

• Pan-seared hanger steak with herb and garlic marinade

  • averythingcooks on September 02, 2021

    In the intro, the author does state that this marinade does not have one of his 3 essential components (acid) to allow for longer marinating, but when I tasted for salt as instructed my 1st reaction was "it needs acid". So yes, I admit to adding the juice of 1/2 a lime (for a 1/2 recipe) and then a bit of Dijon. We really liked the flavour given to our steaks (not the greatest striploins that marinated for maybe 2-3 hours) but I certainly wouldn't repeat this one as written (even for a much longer marinating flank steak)....just not a match to our palates.

  • bskj123 on February 10, 2021

    really loved the fennel in this recipe.

• Grilled flap meat (steak tips) with honey-mustard marinade

  • averythingcooks on August 11, 2021

    This tasty marinade did the job for last night's grilled flank steak (one of the suggested substitutes for flap meat). If you like a bigger hit of acid in your marinade (as we do) a squeeze of fresh lemon or lime will do it.

• Peruvian-style spicy jalapeño sauce

  • averythingcooks on January 15, 2022

    Oh wow - this stuff is delicious! As soap tasters, I used a mix of parsley & Thai basil in place of the cilantro and it's exactly what he says..."spicy & cooling" at the same time. We dipped everything on our plates in it (roast chicken, crispy smashed potatoes & breadsticks). I ordered aji Amarillo paste online a while ago and am always looking for different ways to use it - this alone is a great reason to have it on hand.

  • jrmisener on January 27, 2022

    Awesome mix of spicy and creamy! Really complemented the roast chicken well.

  • BadSuzanna on March 07, 2022

    Delicious. I made mine in the mini-chopper and the cilantro didn’t fully blend. Try blender next time. Did not have aji amarillo.

  • bskj123 on February 10, 2021

    This sauce is awesome! Super tasty.

• Crispy semi-smashed new potatoes

  • averythingcooks on January 15, 2022

    I make a lot of different smashed potato recipes but this is one of very few (at least that I've made) where they spend the entire cook on the stove top (boiled & then in a cast iron pan)....and they were beautifully crispy and delicious.

• Peruvian-style roast chicken

  • averythingcooks on January 15, 2022

    This is a really good way to flavour a flattened chicken. He does just say "paprika" and I have 3 to choose from so I used a mix of Spanish smoked paprikas (sweet & hot). We certainly liked it and the suggested creamy green sauce is awesome. I will make this again for sure.

  • jrmisener on January 27, 2022

    used half smoked and half regular paprika; flavor was fantastic and chicken was very moist! definitely recommend pairing with the green sauce.

  • BadSuzanna on March 07, 2022

    Very good. Used chicken thighs. Needed to use broiler at the end to crisp the skin. Green sauce was a must have accompaniment. Will be good for meal prep.

  • bskj123 on February 10, 2021

    I thought this chicken recipe was great! Especially with the creamy cilantro sauce.

• Easy grilled naan-style flatbread

  • averythingcooks on January 01, 2022

    I also had to add some extra yogurt to my dough and the 1st rise was certainly went beyond 2 hours. I moved the pan to a different room for the 2nd rise and ultimately cooked these in a dry cast iron skillet. We used used them as a base for a beautiful roasted veggie & sausage mixture and they certainly did the job. I do think I've made better yogurt based flatbreads so may not repeat this one.

  • anya_sf on September 26, 2021

    Although I added a little extra liquid to the dough (I used yogurt initially), it may have been drier than it should have been. I wasn't able to roll out the pieces nearly as large as 10"x6" - more like 7"x4". My gas grill was misbehaving and the first (test) bread got too charred. After turning down the heat, the next batch was pretty good, but the final batch was overly pale. Only about half the melted butter was needed for brushing. I also sprinkled the breads generously with flaky sea salt as they were rather bland otherwise. I would try this recipe again using a grill pan.

• Spicy Thai-style flank steak salad

  • anya_sf on October 26, 2019

    I used bavette steak marinated 12 hours and cooked on the grill. It was very flavorful. I reduced the red pepper flakes to 1 tsp as I did not want it too spicy. We had the steak over a salad consisting of butter lettuce, spinach, cucumber, red bell pepper, peanuts, and mint leaves, using the reserved marinade as a dressing. Next time I'll add a little oil to the dressing. Overall, the salad was light and delicious, nice on a warm evening.

• Easy homemade crème fraîche

  • anya_sf on May 28, 2021

    For some reason this did not work for me; the cream never thickened properly even after 24 hours (my kitchen is cool). I've made creme fraiche before using 2 Tbsp buttermilk per cup of cream and that worked well. Maybe the type of buttermilk also matters.

• Basic dry pancake mix

  • anya_sf on November 25, 2019

    This takes about 5 seconds to mix, but there's no real reason to mix it ahead, since it's just the dry ingredients for one batch of pancakes or waffles.

  • jhallen on March 31, 2021

    This was good - really a component of the other pancake recipes in this book. Easy and good building block.

• Blueberry pancakes

  • anya_sf on November 25, 2019

    Even with half white whole wheat flour and blueberries, these were the fluffiest pancakes I've ever made. I used about 2 cups buttermilk and 1/2 cup sour cream. Fantastic!

• Fry sauce

  • anya_sf on February 21, 2021

    Loved this sauce! Classic flavor, perfect on smashed burgers and for dipping fries.

• Classic diner-style smashed cheeseburgers

  • anya_sf on February 21, 2021

    Great burgers! I was able to cook 3 at a time in my 12" cast iron skillet. Used a meat pounder to help flatten them, although I should have pressed them down a little more as they shrank back a bit. I loved how quickly these cooked and didn't have to worry about achieving the perfect medium-rare - although Kenji says that, this type of burger inevitably ends up medium-well but still remains juicy. The fry sauce was perfect on them.

  • taste24 on June 22, 2020

    If you're a fan of the smash burger (thin patties that are crispy on the exterior and edges, and sometimes stacked) - there is no better recipe/method than this one. I continue to go back to this way of making burgers over and over.

  • rhughes24 on December 30, 2021

    A great way to make burgers at home.

• Simple whole roast chicken

  • anya_sf on September 02, 2021

    My usual chicken roasting method is dry-brine (same as Kenji's method here), then a relatively high roasting temperature. This one differs by roasting on a baking steel, preheating the oven to 500 F, then immediately reducing to 350 F. I prefer my chicken more well-done than Kenji, so after an hour the chicken wasn't done to my taste (not surprising). I was going to check it 10 minutes later, but unfortunately got pulled away and the bird roasted 30 more minutes instead. At that point, of course, the internal temp was way too high. Nevertheless, the meat was still pretty moist and flavorful, so I'd say this method works. The skin did not get that brown, especially not on the bottom, despite being on a rack.

• Hot buttered snap peas with lemon and mint

  • anya_sf on May 30, 2020

    Snap peas cook so quickly that it didn't seem necessary to blanch them in such a large amount of water; I used about 2 quarts and only cooked them 1 minute. I didn't love the way the butter coated the snap peas - think I'd like it better with regular peas. The flavors were nice though, and the preparation very quick and easy.

• Stovetop mac 'n' cheese with broccoli and cauliflower

  • anya_sf on November 20, 2021

    Like a homemade version of Velveeta shells 'n' cheese (I used shell pasta and Velveeta for the American cheese). Mac 'n' cheese style is a personal preference and now I know I prefer the baked kind. This was pretty good, but super rich, with tons of sauce. I doubled the vegetables (used broccoli only) and would use even more if I ever made this again, since there was so much sauce.

• Buttermilk ranch dressing

  • Dannausc on October 04, 2020

    Quick and easy. Quite good. Worth a repeat.

• Spaghetti with garlic, anchovies, capers, and olives (Puttanesca: the best spaghetti for a night in)

  • Dannausc on May 21, 2018

    Pretty good. My wife liked it a lot.

• Cherry tomato-shallot relish

  • Dannausc on May 21, 2018

    I used it to top salmon. It was really easy and my wife really liked it. I thought it was fine.

  • bskj123 on February 10, 2021

    I really like this though it's quite a bit of work for a fish sauce - I think his dill and tartar are more bang for your buck time-wise.

• Creamy mushroom soup

  • koolMoD on November 28, 2017

    Very simple recipe that resulted in a flavourful soup. I used an immersion blender so did not get the silky texture I probably would gotten with a blender and fine mesh strainer. I did not match at all the golden colour of the soup in his picture (though honestly the colour I got is the colour I would have expected from a mushroom soup).

• Potato and corned beef hash

  • Skamper on March 20, 2020

    Used both corned beef and onions. A scant half teaspoon of dried thyme adds really good flavor.

• Cheesy cauliflower casserole

  • blazin on January 30, 2019

    Yum! Used 50% Brie (rind trimmed), and the rest a blend of aged cheddar, smoked gouda, colby jack, and a touch of sheep's cheese. Great way to use up leftover scraps from a party or on a clean-out-the-fridge night. Would also be killer as an entree casserole (or extra-decadent holiday side dish) with some smoked ham or other pork product.

• Foolproof Hollandaise sauce

  • etcjm on December 02, 2018

    I did the immersion version. Yes it works. Yes it's easy and tasty. I used a sweet thermometer as didn't want to guess temp when it was specified. I was surprised how quickly the butter got to this temp so next time I would go slower. (Made peanut brittle yesterday and I think I was getting carried away!) Definitely a do again.

• Herb-rubbed roast turkey gravy

  • Totallywired on October 09, 2018

    Terrific.

• Caesar salad dressing

  • ebalk02 on April 30, 2022

    Don't need another caesar dressing recipe after this. This is it. I usually use store bought mayo as a base instead of making my own and it's still superb.

  • DFarnham on March 04, 2021

    Delicious!

• Super-crisp roasted potatoes

  • ebalk02 on April 30, 2022

    Agree with taste24 - more time consuming than the average roasted potato but the results speak for themselves. Definitely a company-worthy side.

  • DFarnham on March 04, 2021

    The best roasted potatoes you will ever eat! I watched Kenji's You Tube video on how to make these first, so I added chopped garlic, in addition to rosemary and other herbs I had on hand. OMG! Sooooo good! Leftovers are awesome for breakfast, if there are any actually leftover....

  • taste24 on June 22, 2020

    These are the best crispy potatoes you will ever eat, and then best method to prepare them. While tedious, it's brilliant. I used canola oil instead of duck fat.

• Pan-seared zucchini and corn

  • Catherp on July 17, 2020

    I made the zucchini part of it since you cook the corn and zucchini separately. It was a delicious and quick way of cooking farm fresh zucchini. Make sure to read the description of how to cook the zucchini. It will change how you saute it from now on.

• Broiled asparagus with Parmesan bread crumbs

  • DFarnham on March 04, 2021

    I think this is the most delicious asparagus recipe I've ever eaten! Definite repeat!

• Easy weeknight ground beef chili

  • DFarnham on February 08, 2022

    Really delicious and simple to prepare. I cheated and used already diced canned tomatoes, and also increased the number of chilies in adobo because we like heat. I used Chorizo Bomb chili powder blend from World Spice Market here in Seattle. Topped with cheese and sour cream--yum! Definite keeper.

• Pasta with garlic and lots of vegetables

  • ChefGrumpy on September 18, 2021

    Tasty. The lemon zests it up. Garlic three ways - crushed cloves simmered at low heat in oil, sliced and microplaned or minced -- sounds a bit fussy but works well. Vegetable substitutions can be made at will. I had less color diversity because I used the broccoli stem (peeled) and zucchini - no summer squash (yellow) or cherry tomatoes (red) so my dish was more washed out in colors.

• Lighter fettucine Alfredo

  • taste24 on June 22, 2020

    This did not turn out for me at all. It was watery and flavorless. I will stick to full fat, stick to your ribs Alfredo when I decide to indulge.

• Upgraded green bean casserole

  • Fyretigger on April 28, 2022

    These are really delicious and truly are an upgrade to the traditional green bean casserole, though I did stick to using commercial french fried onions rather than make my own using shallots.

• Fresh pasta with pork and tomato ragù

  • Apepin on October 30, 2021

    This was good, but took much longer than stated to reduce. Next time I would leave the pork in larger pieces. I might try it with ground pork.

• Easy skillet-braised chicken with tomatoes, olives, and capers

  • jenburkholder on October 24, 2020

    Good, but felt like it was missing something. Not quite as deep in flavor as I would have expected. Used a sauvignon blanc for the wine; maybe a chardonnay or similar would have been better. Still decent, and went well with the chard and couscous I served it with.

• Hot buttered peas with bacon, shallots, and tarragon

  • bskj123 on February 10, 2021

    This is currently my favorite peas recipe!

• Grapefruit vinaigrette

  • bskj123 on February 10, 2021

    I really didn't like this but maybe I'm just not a grapefruit dressing person.

• Hot buttered peas with prosciutto, pine nuts, and garlic

  • bskj123 on February 10, 2021

    Be careful not to oversalt like I did as the prosciutto and pine nuts already carry a lot of salt... Ultimately I didn't think this recipe was more flavorful than the less expensive recipe of bacon and tarragon, which I LOVE.

• Pan-roasted pearl onions

  • bskj123 on February 10, 2021

    These taste awesome if cooked right with the butter but it's really time-consuming to peel a ton of raw pearl onions and they are really expensive. I tried with frozen but they don't have the same texture, so this is a special occasion side dish for me.

• Braised leeks with thyme and lemon zest

  • bskj123 on February 10, 2021

    I'd never tried cooking with leeks until this recipe - I didn't love it - leeks are a bit expensive compared to other veggies. I agree with Kenji that they are "meatier" than other vegetables though whether this is appealing to you is likely personal - I didn't love it.

• Barbecue-glazed roast chicken

  • bskj123 on February 10, 2021

    Very tasty! One of my favorite chicken recipes in the book.

• Slow-roasted boneless leg of lamb with cumin and fennel

  • bskj123 on February 10, 2021

    Ok, if you're not used to lamb and you try this, note that lamb is VERY VERY gamey, especially grass-fed! Way to gamey for my taste, despite how much Kenji loves it. I wish I could love it, but I guess lamb is not for me - I didn't grow up on it and I'm not sure I can acquire the taste...

• Easy skillet-braised chicken with white wine, fennel, and pancetta

  • bskj123 on February 10, 2021

    Super tasty! I didn't use pastis but the fennel taste still comes through from the fennel seed.

• Foolproof Béarnaise

  • bskj123 on February 10, 2021

    Apparently it's not foolproof because I blended and blended and couldn't get my sauce to emulsify - perhaps my eggs weren't up to temp or the butter wasn't clarified perfectly. Fail for me.

• Grilled marinated short ribs with chimichurri

  • bskj123 on February 10, 2021

    I didn't love the chimichurri sauce

• Dill-lemon crème fraîche

  • bskj123 on February 10, 2021

    I really love this quick sauce for fish and have made it regularly

• Lemon caper pan sauce

  • bskj123 on February 10, 2021

    This sauce is incredibly good.

• Cheddar cheese and scallion biscuits

  • bskj123 on February 10, 2021

    The addition of the cheese and scallion definitely is an upgrade over the basic recipe.

• Arugula and pear salad with Parmigiano-Reggiano and sharp balsamic-soy vinaigrette

  • bskj123 on February 10, 2021

    Decent but not my favorite.

• Tomato and mozzarella salad with sharp balsamic-soy vinaigrette

  • bskj123 on February 10, 2021

    This recipe is a step-up from a basic Caprese salad, I LOVE it. Use heirloom tomatoes and buffalo milk mozzarella if you can. Yum!

• Pub-style thick and juicy cheeseburgers

  • rhughes24 on December 30, 2021

    The broiler method works great - it will splatter your oven ceiling with grease, but this is a great option if you live in a big city apartment and don't have a grill. I like these with goat cheese and caramelized onions.

• The ultimate creamed spinach

  • rhughes24 on December 30, 2021

    The flavors in this creamed spinach are great. It is truly decadent - it has spoiled me for most creamed spinach I get in restaurants. However, the first time I made it as written I found the cream-to-spinach ratio was way too heavy on the cream side for me. I tried doubling the spinach, but of course spinach is so watery, and that just made it even creamier. Then I decided to add kale instead of more spinach. So now I make it as written, plus 1-2 bunches of chopped kale, adding at the same time as the spinach. It is still decadent, but not swimming in quite as much extra cream, plus the kale gives it more depth of flavor. And it's healthier...right?

• Fried shallots

  • rhughes24 on December 30, 2021

    The time he suggests cooking the shallots would have incinerated mine. I pulled them out quite early and they were still burnt to a crisp. This is an easy enough method, just ignore the times in the recipe and use your eyes.

• Sharp balsamic-soy vinaigrette

  • KatieK1 on April 26, 2022

    Disappointed. It didn't have the kick I expected. Since I now have so much of it, will consider how to make it more vivid.

  • KatieK1 on May 02, 2022

    A further note: this dressing tastes much better after the first day.

  • Anthonygrob on January 16, 2022

    Loved. Interesting version of a balsamic dressing in that it veers savory instead of sweet, which is more common. Would love to try it as a beef marinade.

• Restaurant-style chopped antipasti salad

  • mdagl on February 11, 2022

    There was a good amount of prep time involved, but I loved how this turned out. Next time, I would probably add a little less red onion, but the soaking time made them a lot more palatable for this dish. I'd make this again.

• Food52

  Picked for Food52's November 2017 Cookbook Club.

  Full review

• Dallas Observer

  If you’re willing to learn, you will love The Food Lab. For the home cook who’s serious about his craft and willing to buy a gadget or two...is basically a college-level course in cooking techniques.

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• Eater

  You don't need this book, if you've got a fast internet connection. But when the power goes or the wi-fi goes down, the people who own this book will be the ones you want inviting you over for dinner.

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• Food52

  Kenji’s voice is inspirational and thought-provoking, cerebral and accessible, academic yet Internet-y...This is an obsessive cook at his best, teaching readers in a way that both he—and they—enjoy.

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• Leite's Culinaria

  Website reviews best cookbooks of September, 2015.

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• Real Baking with Rose Levy Beranbaum

  ...he has opened my eyes to new and better ways of cooking without the need of high tech specialty equipment. This is an extraordinary and invaluable cookbook.

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