• averythingcooks on May 18, 2020

  So this section of the book is not indexed (at least not that I could tell) but on pages 352-353 you will find a beautiful spread called "aromatic flavour bases of the world". There you will find illustrations of plates (in that vey charming - at least in my opinion - style found throughout the book) representing international cuisines "divided by fractions" of the key ingredients. Here you find mirepoix, soffritto, the hole trinity and a number of mixes/countries that I was not familiar with ( eg West African "Ato Lilo" & Puerto Rican "Recaito"). I currently have a large batch of Italian soffritto cooking in a cast iron - the fate of this delicious jammy mixture is to be frozen in 1/3 cup portions (easily sliced for smaller portions as needed). Perfect COVID cooking strategy if you are trying to save a significant amount of very sad celery etc.

Notes about Recipes in this book

• Chunky: Tuscan bean and kale soup

  • Jane on December 31, 2017

    This is a lovely warming winter soup, a thick stew-like soup. I cooked the beans in the Instant Pot then added the cooking liquid from the beans instead of stock. I think the grated Parmesan on top is important to lift the flavor a notch.

  • Rinshin on April 04, 2023

    Very good use of big sized super greens from Costco and tender fresh Spring cabbage. Made several versions of similar Tuscan bean and vegetable soup in the past and this is a good one. This is a luxury version of what all canned, bottled, and deli vegetable soups tries to be. The use of Parmesan rind is something I do often when making Italian style soups and good use of what is normally discarded. We enjoyed this healthy soup with homemade rolls. Photo added.

  • joeljkp on March 21, 2023

    Good chunky hearty soup. I made it vegetarian with no pancetta and using Cook's Illustrated's freezer vegetable stock. Also no parmesan rind because I didn't have any. Cooked the cannellini beans in the Instant Pot and used the cooking liquid. The result was great! We ate it with some hearty bread for dinner. Plenty of leftovers. I still like the Bittman version of this from How to Cook Everything Vegetarian as that's more of a true template recipe. I'm also not sure the cabbage is truly necessary here. But this is a really great take on this type of soup that I look forward to enjoying as leftovers.

  • ldtrieb on August 30, 2018

    Sort of followed the recipe, already cooked beans added to previously sautéed kale. Looked over the recipe and added anything that wasn't in the original recipe. Oh, and no tomatoes because I didn't have any. Amazing how the parmesan rind changed the taste in just a short simmering time. Superb!

  • ebs on January 25, 2020

    I had some ham bones in the freezer and was making stock with them, so used some of the stock, mixed with some chicken bouillon paste. Instead of pancetta, I used some frozen ham with bacon. I had only one bunch of kale, so it could have been a bit thicker, but this soup was so delicious

  • monicatgood on March 14, 2023

    Having received kale in my produce box this past week and my menus are primarily made from my received produce and EYB. Plugging in keyword "kale" and "soup" This recipe popped right up. Then my senses kicked into high gear. My mind immediately filled with the aroma of this soup. Yes! I had made it before! If you haven't made it, please do. If you have made it, I bet you'll make it again.

  • clcorbi on February 07, 2019

    Excellent soup recipe. Use a good-quality stock here if you can--it really adds a richness that can help cut through all the vegetables. Of course, all the parmesan really helps too. I normally don't love kale soups but this one was delicious.

  • Dannausc on June 06, 2021

    I used 9 c of kale and skipped the cabbage. I added a splash of apple cider vinegar and some pepper flakes. Fairly quick and easy. Pretty decent.

  • patioweather on March 09, 2022

    Cooked the Pasta y Fagioli version exactly as directed. Maybe it is the Alubia Blanca beans or the wine I drank while making it but this is the best soup I have ever had, despite having made soup with basically the same ingredients many times before.

  • AllieTaylor on September 22, 2024

    Made this pretty much following the recipe exactly for Pasta e Fagioli (used orzo). Had a huge rind in the freezer (yay!) and had found fresh bay leaves, and cavolo nero! Scored the last package of CN, so used quite a bit of cabbage very finely sliced. Needed a big splash of lemon juice just before serving to lift it. It was very good and we are looking forward to having the leftovers (always better the next day!). Forgot to mention that I used the pancetta and added water, rather than chicken stock, as I wanted the veggies to shine.

  • AugustaLarson on July 28, 2020

    Omitted the cabbage because I didn't have any, and it was still delicious. Well worth making the full quantity for leftovers.

  • rrackles on December 27, 2020

    Also omitted cabbage because I had none. Used canned navy beans. Husband said he would have liked it spicier, so may add some red chili flakes next time.serving size in book says 6-8, but that is more accurate for a starter. As a main dish for lunch, the two of us finished just over half, and we are looking forward to the leftovers!

  • eathealthy on April 02, 2023

    Delicious!! Made without pancetta, with chicken broth and Napa cabbage

  • rhb on November 17, 2022

    Loved this! I used pancetta because I had it...would love to know if others skipped the pancetta. It seems that this would not need it. I used chicken stock, cranberry beans (cooked with garlic, salt, & bay leaf), half the amount of grated parm, more kale, and no cabbage. Would make again.

  • dosojosazules on October 09, 2023

    Perfect use of many CSA veggies. Cooking times for each section were at least 10 minutes more than suggested, especially for cooking off the tomato juices to get it to a jammy consistency. Really perfect stew-accented with artisanal EVOO and sea salt

• Cherry tomato confit

  • Laurendmck on July 23, 2018

    I made this with grape tomatoes and put it on top of small toasts with ricotta. They were quickly devoured by my dinner group!

  • e_ballad on July 04, 2021

    Delicious. Cooked for only 30 mins based on @Ro_’s review. Used in a quick pasta dish with fresh basil, Parmesan & a splash of cream.

  • Ro_ on July 03, 2021

    This was nice-not-great. I think possibly I left them too long in the oven as they ended up a bit mushy. I quite liked it (served through pasta with some chicken, parmesan, lemon) but my partner wasn't a fan.

• Miso-mustard dressing

  • Laurendmck on October 22, 2018

    Really good on a slaw I made with cabbage, carrots, radishes, peppers, and garlic.

  • clcorbi on February 17, 2019

    Very nice, if a little heavy on the ginger for my taste. Delicious massaged into a kale/shallot salad.

  • averythingcooks on June 20, 2023

    We both liked this over a salad of mixed garden greens with grated carrot, radishes & red onion. It's different & interesting to have a dressing with no oil or dairy, and with miso on hand I will make this again (probably with a cabbage based slaw next time).

  • Baxter850 on June 05, 2022

    Very rich. Don’t think I’ll ever choose this over other ginger dressings. Maybe try with less miso.

  • Acarroll on September 25, 2021

    Really tasty, a little sweet for my taste. I would cut back on the honey next time.

• Tuscan pasta and bean soup (Pasta e fagioli)

  • Cheri on February 02, 2019

    This is good, better if made ahead. The kale is bitter, of course, so the fresh parm is a good counter. Makes quite a bit. Omitted bacon, added leeks.

• Pork braised with chilies

  • jzanger on December 11, 2017

    This tastes incredible and is dead simple to prepare. I made this on Thanksgiving day and we ate it the next night which I think gave the liquid time to reabsorb back into the pork. The resulting sauce was intense and complex without being spicy and all the beer added such a wonderful acidity to something that has the potential to be incredibly rich. I will absolutely make this again.

  • Astrid5555 on January 13, 2019

    This was excellent. Made only half a recipe, but my pork shoulder took more than 4 hours to become as tender as I wanted it to be. Used dried Guajillo chiles and the optional smoked paprika for extra smokiness. Looooved the sauce! Already looking forward to use the leftover meat to make pork tacos.

  • ShirleyHarring on March 28, 2021

    Very good base recipe - I found I wanted more liquid for the sauce though? I agree on it needing zesty flavours. I'd like to try this with an old coq or older braising hen.

  • Tatiana131 on January 28, 2018

    I think I used too much chipotle, less is more here. The sauce was complex and tasty, but not as enchanting as I'd hoped. It needed a lot of bright flavors of lime, sour cream, cheese to pick it up. I'd repeat it with some tweaks.

  • SpatulaCity on June 15, 2023

    Thought this was great! Used the optional smoked paprika. Ours had plenty of sauce - so much that it almost seemed like enchilada filling. Made for delicious tacos and then rice and bean bowls for lunch the following day. My grocery store only had dried “California” chili peppers. Not sure if that is a very mild pepper, but the resulting sauce was nicely mild with no heat. Next time I’d seek out other chiles, or add some fresh peppers to take it up a notch.

  • averythingcooks on September 04, 2017

    We really enjoyed this shredded pork / sauce combo in tacos. I used a mix of ancho, Anaheim and cascabel dried chilies and added chipotle as asuggested. After pureeing the sauce , I tried passing some through the sieve but didn't seem to "catch" much so skipped that step for the rest of the sauce. Of course I did peel the garlic even though she "said" I didn't have to :) I did thin it a bit with beef broth before adding it back to the shredded pork. Toppings included grilled corn cut off the cob, chopped lettuce, shredded cheese AND the lime crema / quick picked red onions from Dinner CTG. Those last 2 were a delicious complement to the smoky, spicy pork.

  • Dannausc on March 30, 2018

    I used beef broth in place of the beer. It turned out really good. Definitely deserves a repeat. Made for fantastic tacos.

  • Ro_ on October 27, 2019

    This was the first time I had ever made slow cooked pork like this, but it was very good. I used a 1.3kg pork shoulder and reduced all the ingredients except the tomatoes proportionally. I used one 500ml can of Leffe beer, some hot smoked paprika and 6 dried guajillo chiles. I took it out after 3.5 hours (I could have left it for 4 or even 4.5, realistically), shredded the pork and did the sauce, then combined them both and put the pot back in a warm oven for a couple of hours until I served. The result was very rich, smoky pork which was perfect for tacos. I agree with the other comment that this needs zingy, bright flavours to go with it: guacamole, coriander, cheese and lime were perfect with it. I'll make this again, but the tweaks I'll try will be a) using more tomatoes/liquid to get more sauce at the end (I'd have liked more) and b) trying other things than beer for the liquid, eg medium-dry cider to give a fruity, sweet note.

  • Lucylew on October 11, 2019

    I used bone in country pork ribs so mine cooked in about 3 hours. 1/3 dried ancho and 2/3 guajillo chiles and 24 oz Budweiser beer. Used the smoked paprika as well. After cooking, I removed the meat and then took out the bones, bay leaves and garlic skins and used the immersion blender on the sauce. This was so much better than I thought it would be! It made amazing tacos with corn tortillas, white onion and cilantro. Wow!

  • pastaplease on August 09, 2024

    So delicious! Deep flavor. Used a mix of what dried chilies I could find, mostly guajillo. As soon as the weather cools off so that I don’t mind having the oven on for three or four hours I will be making this again.

• Curried chicken salad

  • radishseed on November 12, 2020

    Delicious. I suspect a good vegetarian version could be made by subbing chickpeas for chicken.

• Caesar dressing

  • okcook on March 07, 2018

    This turned out really well. But, I made some modifications: I used 4 oil packed anchovy fillets; 3 T lemon juice; and 1 oz of grated Parmesan (I think there is a typo because 1 oz was about the one cup she gives as an alternate to weighing the cheese.

  • anya_sf on May 09, 2024

    I used store-bought mayo and oil-packed anchovies, rinsed, pounded in a mortar and pestle as directed. It seemed like too many anchovies, but I kept tasting as directed and ended up adding nearly all of them. Used the larger amount of lemon juice, the full amount of parmesan, and lots of black pepper. Delicious!

• Avocado, beet, and citrus salad

  • lorloff on August 06, 2023

    Absolutely delicious salad. I used chiogga beets both pink and orange from the farmers market. We loved the layering of ingredients. I used arugula and made th citrus vinaigrette with lemon and yuzu juice. Blood oranges, Valencia’s and cara cara oranges for the citrus. I real hit stunner on the plate. Highly recommended.

  • rosten on September 07, 2017

    Great instructions on prepping each part of salad independently. Lots of possible variations. I was surprised at how much better this very simple salad could get using her careful instructions.

  • anya_sf on March 24, 2022

    I made the avocado-citrus variation, adding cucumber (even though that isn't a checked option - it was good) and greens (frisee and romaine), but no onion. Dressed with any-other-citrus vinaigrette, this was a very nice salad.

• Persian herb and greens frittata (Kuku sabzi)

  • lorloff on May 05, 2024

    This was amazing very much more than the sum of its parts. I have a tortilla espanola pan that flips the frittata and with a flame tamer on a glass stove worked perfectly. It was a hit with our guests

  • apattin on April 07, 2019

    Used 15 oz spinach and 2 bunches of beet greens. 8 eggs. Divided into two so I could cook it more comfortably in a 10-inch non-stick pan.

  • apattin on April 07, 2019

    Next time I'll add some barberries 2TB

  • shannonstoney on November 19, 2023

    delicious. I had a lot of chard in the garden and this was a great way to use it.

  • cbk15 on November 27, 2023

    One of my favorites to riff on with whatever greens and herbs I have that are starting to go south. I love eating it as a sandwich filling for lunch or on its own.

  • pomegranate on May 10, 2022

    This was delicious and more than the sum of its parts. I used spinach instead of chard.

• Sicilian chicken salad

  • lorloff on July 30, 2021

    This was great. I halved the recipe because I only has a small amount of cooked chicken to use. The pine nuts were wonderful and with the currants. I used vegan mayo from my farmers market. I ended up adding more of the marinated red onions because they were so delicious.

  • eliza on November 21, 2022

    Thanks to the previous reviewer for drawing my attention to this recipe. I have fennel, parsley, celery etc from the garden, and also added a bit of dill. Used almonds as the nuts. Excellent salad!

  • SugarTreeBaking on February 09, 2019

    Used slivered almonds instead of pine nuts, halved red grapes in place of the hard to locate currants. Delicious blend of flavors, very enjoyable served in butter lettuce cups. When I make this again, I’ll add a teaspoon of sumac to the red onion and olive oil mixture.

  • KarinaFrancis on December 29, 2020

    Yum, this was delicious, served on toasted sourdough for a light dinner. I felt very accomplished making the aioli by hand and it was so much better than shop bought. I’ll definitely make this again and might try the previous suggestion of using almonds and grapes.

  • dinnermints on September 12, 2023

    This was good - I felt it needed some more zip, but then again, I used half reduced fat mayo and half jazzed-up Greek yogurt (lemon, salt, Worcestershire sauce), so I'm sure that affected the flavor. I added all of the vinegar from the onions, more lemon juice, more salt, and some pepper. Preserved lemon would be good too, and sumac as another reviewer suggested. It does make a lot! For five cups of shredded chicken, I used almost two whole packages of Costco boneless skinless chicken thighs (was left with one thigh). Served over crusty bread with roasted beets & pesto as a side.

  • bwhip on July 03, 2017

    Very tasty. A really nice blend of textures and flavors, with the creaminess of the aioli offset by the acid of the lemon juice and macerated onions, along with a little sweetness from the currants.

  • lean1 on August 10, 2024

    Made this yesterday. Made half the recipe with roasted chicken. Used less onions and more celery. My aioli came from a pre-made jar. I love the combination of flavors. Served on flatbread. I also swapped cashews for the almonds. Great recipe.

  • Dannausc on May 23, 2019

    Really good with a nice variety of flavors. Definitely worth a redo!

  • pastaplease on August 09, 2024

    Love this and so does everyone i’ve served it too. I have made it as an appetizer for my Mah Jongg group by stuffing it into those small bell peppers that make little boats when you cut them in half. More recently, I filled puff pastry shells with this salad as an appetizer and that was a hit. And I’ve eaten it straight from a bowl or on toast. Instead of raisins, I use cranberries because I really dislike raisins and currants seem like raisins, otherwise I’ve stuck to the recipe, with some minor adjustments to add a little bit more lemon or salt here and there. Also, used Best Foods/Hellman’s mayo rather than make my own mayo for the aioli (then added the garlic and lemon, of course). Leftovers are good for at least two days. Using an entire Costco roast chicken (minus the one leg I always manage to eat while I’m shredding) yields a lot of this, so there are leftovers.

  • LifeofPie on November 20, 2022

    This was the best chicken salad I ever made and maybe ever had. My substitutions were Hellmans/Best Foods mayo for the Aioli, toasted slivered almonds for the pine nuts and some fennel seed (in addition to the ground) in place of the fennel bulb and added a little more celery to give it more texture from not using the bulb. I served it in Little Gem leaves and it was really good. It makes a lot though so you could cut the recipe in half. I used a deli chicken for the meat and used the carcass for stock. I think the currants are important and I also use a very high acidity red wine vinegar for the onions. This had great balance and I would make it again by half-ing the recipe.

• Spatchcocked Thanksgiving turkey

  • lorloff on November 30, 2019

    This spatchcocked turkey was a real winner. I used the method from Kenji Lopez-Alt’s The Food Lab 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. Samin’s brine was magnificent and flavored the turkey throughout wonderfully. I removed the turkey from the dry brine and allowed the skin to air dry for 8 hours per Lopez-Alt’s instructions. I did not have enough time to air dry it over night. 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.

  • lorloff on November 26, 2023

    This year I made this great recipe for the third time and wet brined the turkey using Samin's turkey breast meat brine. For a 15 pound turkey I needed to quadruple the brine recipe, but is same out even better than the dry brine and browned beautifully without needing to air dry the turkey. The meat was succulent, perfectly cooked, and both the white and dark meat were really juicy. Served with a version of David Tanin's mushroom gravy. David Tanin, Wild Mushroom Gravy Food and Wine Nov 2012 p 166.

• Honey-mustard vinaigrette

  • Kjohns101 on June 12, 2018

    I love this. Made with dried shallots or without shallots. Very simple but just right amount of sweet, not too sweet. Used on a shrimp chef salad with oranges. Good on butter lettuce and goat cheese salad. Keeps well for 3 to 4 days in fridge.

  • averythingcooks on December 21, 2021

    This was a lovely vinaigrette served over mixed greens beside a rich pasta dish. The full recipe makes a sensible amount ( ie salad for the 2 of us for 2 nights) and it has a great balance of flavours from the shallots, Dijon and honey.

• Chicken with vinegar (Poulet au vinaigre)

  • mcvl on March 08, 2020

    Hmm. This is good, but in no way special. Another time I would take a hint from Marcella Hazan, or Judy Rogers, or Grace Young.

  • Kinhawaii on May 05, 2020

    Good. Could see this with other herbs.

  • Dannausc on March 11, 2018

    Decent

• Fresh ginger and molasses cake

  • L.Nightshade on May 20, 2019

    I've tried making this cake in a ring pan and a bundt pan, because I wanted a pretty form, but it is just too moist for that. It needs the flat pan with the parchment. So I finally gave in and made a full recipe in a springform lined with parchment, which worked perfectly. I don't think this cake needs frosting or any accompaniment, so I dusted with powdered sugar. The sugar eventually melted into the moist cake, so it needs dusting at the last minute. It's a fabulous, moist, flavorful cake. Mr. Nightshade has requested for all his birthdays, my birthday, and Christmas.

  • kellyluc on January 19, 2024

    Great cake! I made the cream cheese frosting from the Silver Palate cookbook, but omitted the lemon juice.

• Caesar salad or, an exercise in the art of layering salt

  • L.Nightshade on April 06, 2019

    What I actually did was follow the salad instructions on pages 48-49, then later found the dressing recipe on page 247, which is much more specific about the ingredients and amounts. The dressing also requires the mayonnaise, which I made from page 86, a lesson in fats and emulsion, then later found the actual recipe on page 375. I also made the torn croutons from pages 236, adding garlic as in the first variation on page 237, but not the oregano. It may take me a while to get the hang of this book. I found it a bit annoying that the “lessons” in the front of the book are not cross-referenced with the actual recipes later in the book. BUT. This salad was perfect! One of the best Caesar salads I’ve ever eaten. And I did like the experience of making the dressing by taste instead of by measured ingredients. I felt kinda cheffy.

• Creamy asparagus and mint pasta

  • Astrid5555 on June 06, 2020

    This was really good, manageable for a weekday lunch. Did not blanch the asparagus in the pasta cooking water, but sautéed the cut spears in a pan together with the yellow onions. Loved the addition of fresh mint!

  • kayanelson on April 28, 2022

    I really loved this. So simple to make. I loved the mint but my daughter thought it was a bit too much. Chives or basil would work also,

• Any-other-citrus vinaigrette

  • abrownb1 on December 16, 2019

    Super simple and delicious! The shallot can be strong if used right away - it definitely benefits from making in advance to give time to mellow. Suggest halving the shallot if using right away if you want a more delicate flavor. I've made it with a blend of lemon/grapefruit and it was wonderful, especially with salmon or shrimp and avocado.

  • anya_sf on March 24, 2022

    I didn't have shallot, used orange juice and zest, and ended up adding a bit more olive oil and a generous sprinkling of salt. This was great on the avocado-citrus salad.

• Buttermilk-marinated roast chicken

  • bernalgirl on December 13, 2022

    I could probably start and end by saying my Jewish MIL, a wonderful cook and daughter of a wonderful cook, a veteran of many a Shabbat roast chicken, said this is the best roast chicken she’s ever had. I don’t have roast chicken mojo and this came out wonderfully moist and flavorful throughout, with that beautiful burnished skin. I can’t believe I waited so long to try this.

  • twoyolks on January 06, 2021

    I'll be a contrarian and state that this wasn't really any better than any other roast chicken I've made. The chicken was fine if a bit bland. It did brown a lot but it was closer to too much. Not bad, just not exceptional.

  • Wende on April 13, 2022

    I LOVE this way of making chicken. This is absolute simplicity so buying the highest quality chicken possible is key to flavor success. The leftovers stay incredibly moist, even if reheated, so they are spectacular in chicken salads or sandwiches. There are other, more involved, buttermilk chicken recipes out there - Nigella's Tenderest Chicken and the variation of it in Hesser's latest NYT cookbook, to name two - but neither are really any better than this, imo. If you live in the South, it's easy to get smaller-sized containers of buttermilk, but if you're stuck with a big carton, you might want to plan on making buttermilk biscuits, pancakes, ranch dressing, etc to use up the rest of the buttermilk.

  • Barb_N on January 24, 2019

    This does make for a very moist chicken, but it terms of flavor and ease of prep I prefer Zuni Cafe's technique. Now looking for recipes to use up buttermilk...

  • Tatiana131 on January 28, 2018

    Fabulous recipe, amazingly tender and well seasoned chicken. Rivals our house recipe of roast chicken with lemons and garlic.

  • raybun on September 17, 2017

    I know it's not much of a recipe but the method is excellent! The chicken is SO moist after its salt rub and 24 hr buttermilk marinade. That varnished mahogany look is not from a strange photo filter, it really looked like this! (Photo)

  • inflytur on November 27, 2020

    Excellent for turkeys also. I followed her modified recipe for brining a turkey that was published in the NYTimes in Nov. 2020. Three quarts of buttermilk for a 13 lbs bird.

  • KaraCooks on February 14, 2020

    I make this chicken regularly...I have sometimes added Franks Red Hot to the buttermilk for a nice hit. Super easy and YUMMY!

  • bwhip on November 23, 2017

    So simple, yet so great. Perfectly moist and flavorful chicken.

  • anya_sf on December 23, 2020

    So good! Truly the moistest chicken ever. My chicken weighed a little over 4 lbs and needed an extra 15 minutes for the thighs to cook through. We sprinkled extra flaky salt on top at the end. I wonder if this technique could be used for just breasts.

  • BasicStock on December 08, 2018

    This is going to be the way I roast chicken from now on. Moist and slightly elusively tangy. Makes me want to tackle more of Samin's recipes.

  • shesketh on January 21, 2019

    Wonderful way of cooking chicken - tender, moist and full of flavour. Everyone loves it.

  • Tweedles81 on February 12, 2019

    This was my first time roasting a whole chicken, and I don’t think I am ever going to do it any other way! This was juicy and flavorful - even the leftovers were moist the next day! I look forward to building on it next time - maybe stuffing the cavity with aromatics, adding a few spices to the buttermilk marinade, etc.

  • Ro_ on September 07, 2020

    This was great in terms of the moistness and the perfectly crispy skin. However, it lacked flavour for me - possibly this is because I forgot to dissolve two tbsp of salt in the buttermilk, so I just ground salt into the buttermilk-chicken bag as best I could, but maybe not enough. Next time I'd probably add some other seasonings to the buttermilk too - some interesting suggestions in the other comments.

  • excurvatus on July 26, 2019

    I feel like the whole internet already knows this, but this truly is as amazing as everyone says it is. Relatively blank slate to add other flavours to your leftovers, too.

  • sofull on November 24, 2020

    So good. So easy. Very moist and no fuss recipe.

• Kufte kebabs

  • bernalgirl on November 12, 2021

    I made the main recipe with saffron, these kebabs are tender and flavorful. I’ll make these again and look forward to trying the Moroccan and Turkish variations

  • twoyolks on June 19, 2020

    Pretty quick and simple to make with great flavor. I made them with ground beef without any issues.

• Indian carrot raita

  • bernalgirl on March 20, 2021

    This and dal makes such a simple and delicious meal but I can’t wait to try this with more complex dishes.

  • sosayi on January 29, 2020

    Really delicious and quick to prepare. Simply grate carrots, add to yogurt with grated ginger and spices toasted in ghee. And done! Good accompaniment to a spiced lentil soup. Would make again.

• Tuscan bread, bean, and kale soup (Ribollita)

  • bernalgirl on January 22, 2021

    Great easy base soup, finished rosemary chile oil.

  • meggan on April 07, 2022

    Does have very good flavor with only a few spices.

  • jdjd99 on April 03, 2022

    Outstanding flavor. Great recipe for mostly pantry ingredients and leftover bread. I didn’t have bacon, but had some Spanish chorizo, and that turned out delicious.

• Basic pesto

  • wcassity on July 21, 2024

    Great! Really good technique and proportions, perfect flavor profile.

  • purrviciouz on August 14, 2020

    This is my favorite basic pesto method so far. It's a great combination of the slow vs. modern way to make it and produces great flavor. I love to put it on cold pasta salad or in scrambled eggs.

• Persian-ish rice

  • twoyolks on June 19, 2020

    I didn't cover my rice and it came out completely cooked in about 35 minutes (I did make a half recipe). I found that the browned rice was too salty and too crunchy. It was almost too crunchy to eat.

  • Tatiana131 on January 28, 2018

    After the initial parboiling the rice cooks uncovered in yogurt. In my case this was insufficient to finish cooking the rice as there are no instructions to cover the rice so it can steam. It came out pretty flavorless and raw.

  • tmitra on March 23, 2022

    I'm pleased with how well this recipe worked, and with the salt and fat, the rice was delicious. I didn't cover the pan, and the rice was done and flipped well at 35 minutes.

  • puddlemere on January 06, 2019

    The recipe in the cookbook doesn't call for covering the rice after parboiling, but the version on the website does: https://www.saltfatacidheat.com/heat/pavo-en-escabeche/. I ended up covering it after about 15 minutes so that the rice would cook through, and cooked it in the butter/oil for about 45 minutes total. It came out really delicious and crispy!

  • SpatulaCity on June 15, 2023

    Loved the texture of the results, but so disappointed that I didn’t realize Samin used Diamond Kosher salt. My rice came out SO SALTY because I use Morton Salt. I’ll know better to adjust the salt down next time. Otherwise I loved the results and found this rice turned out so much better than another recipe I tried which called for soaking the rice for hours in salted water.

  • Dannausc on December 27, 2017

    It did not hold together when I flipped it over and could have used a few more minutes in the pan. It still tasted really good though!

• Marshmallowy meringues

  • twoyolks on December 11, 2022

    The flavor is good but the marshmallow texture is a bit odd for meringues.

  • hirsheys on May 10, 2020

    Made these right as I was getting sick with COVID, so not sure I totally got the full experience. They were a nice texture, though.

• Turkish köfte

  • twoyolks on June 06, 2021

    I liked the köfte but felt they were a little on the bland side.

  • Dannausc on December 27, 2017

    So good!

• Finger-lickin' pan-fried chicken

  • twoyolks on January 07, 2024

    The chicken was good but it didn't seem to be all that different from any pan-fried chicken breasts I've made.

  • Tatiana131 on January 28, 2018

    I usually omit parmesan for ease of prep. The key is seasoning (salting) all toppings really well - the flour and the bread crumbs. Frying takes about 2X as long as indicated, but that may be because I'm a lazy chicken pounder. I usually only use about 3-4 tbsp of ghee, and it's enough. Excellent tender, flavorful chicken that has none of dryness or stringiness common to chicken breasts.

  • Ro_ on March 06, 2023

    Delicious! A bit faffy with all the bowls, and I made an error and put the parmesan in with the flour instead of the breadcrumbs, but it didn't seem to matter as the result was delicious. I agree you don't need as much ghee as you might think. The chicken was really tender and tasty.

• Chicken pot pie

  • hirsheys on April 29, 2019

    I chose to make the chicken pot pie in hopes that it would be similar to one that my mom used to make growing up. In the end, my cousins (new parents, who I cooked this for) and I liked this, but didn't love it, though that may have been in part due to the few changes I made to the recipe. I stayed pretty true to the recipe, though I used chicken breasts (on the bone), rather than a whole chicken or chicken thighs, since I prefer white meat for pot pie. I also wish I'd used sherry rather than wine, since I like the flavor better. Next time I'd chop, rather than shred the chicken, too. (I left out the skin - too flabby!) You're supposed to skim off 1/2 c fat, then mix it with 1/2 c flour to make a paste that you then reincorporate with the gravy. I had much less than 1/2 c fat, but it worked fine, though a bit gluey. I used my own version of drop biscuits, rather than the ones from the book.

  • hirsheys on April 29, 2019

    Quick update - I've just eaten the leftovers from yesterday and they are WAY tastier. The whole dish went from meh to YUM. The wine flavor came out more and everything melded together much more. Next time I make this I'll make the filling the day before, then make the biscuits and bake it the day I serve it. Definitely worth making again. This has now become my standard chicken pot pie recipe. It’s great.

  • onetui on June 23, 2024

    An excellent (albeit time-consuming) recipe. I've made it a couple of times, once using skinless chicken thighs and leaving out the carrots to suit a friend who can't eat them, and again with the filling as written. The unmodified filling was better. Both times, I swapped the biscuit topping for pre-made butter puff pastry, which I prefer.

  • hashi on January 09, 2024

    I thought this was really delicious…Salted the chicken overnight and added some chopped, parboiled potatoes toward the end. It’s a multi-step recipe, so plan for it to take some time.

  • pdxpat on November 17, 2022

    Too many onions, too coarsely chopped. I'll dice them next time and add more carrots.

  • Acarroll on October 29, 2021

    I veganized this and made it with tofu instead of chicken. I used pre-made puff pastry. The flavors turned out delicious!

  • LittleLemon on November 01, 2022

    I made this using a rotisserie chicken, which greatly simplified this recipe. My family loved it! I used the pie crust topping, and it was deliciously flaky. I left the thyme sprigs and bay leaves in the filling while the pie crust baked, to infuse more flavor in the sauce. I used a 3.5 quart Le Creuset Braiser from start to finish, and it was just the right size.

• Slow-roasted salmon

  • mrsmadam on July 25, 2021

    This is a great method for salmon. I had one 12 ounce, skin on filet of what I would consider normal thickness. I have to agree about checking after 25 to 30 minutes as mine was overcooked at 45 minutes. That said, I agree with Barb_N, the method is so gentle the fish was still very good. Be careful with the soy glaze. It goes from done to ruined in the blink of an eye. I ended up topping mine with buttered panko and briefly slipped it under the broiler. Also, the skin just slipped off after cooking.

  • mondraussie on October 25, 2018

    Pay attention - cooking time depends on the thickness of your salmon. Definitely check after 25-30 mins.

  • Barb_N on January 23, 2019

    Despite other’s notes about risking over cooking, I think this is a very forgiving techniques and results in moist, perfectly cooked fish. Served with lemon salsa from same book.

  • rosten on January 16, 2018

    Very good, incredibly simple. Would have been better if I pulled it out of the oven a little sooner. So, would recommend checking after 30 minutes or so. . .

  • pattyatbryce on March 06, 2019

    So simple and delicious. Now in regular rotation.

  • Skamper on June 11, 2019

    This was delicious. I used two single portions of salmon and let them roast for about 24 minutes. Basted them with tare.

  • Heykellysue on April 10, 2020

    Very simple and turned out great. I chopped a bunch of dill and cilantro and coated the filets with the herbs and olive oil and let marinate for a couple hours before cooking. the fresh dill really complemented the salmon

  • dosojosazules on December 26, 2022

    This is going to be my go to approach to cooking salmon from now on. So simple and came out perfectly

• Nekisia's olive oil and sea salt granola

  • UteJohanna on November 16, 2019

    You can massively reduce sugar with great results - I make it with 100 ml maple syrup and no added sugar and it's so good!

  • peaceoutdesign on May 17, 2024

    much like all the maple syrup, EVOO, and salt recipes that are always good.

• Glazed five-spice chicken

  • KarinaFrancis on August 24, 2021

    Yum! I halved the recipe and used thighs and they were delicious, beautifully bronzed and sticky. I bet this would be great with wings too. I wish I’d listened to Samin and made rice for the delicious juices

  • stockholm28 on June 09, 2018

    This requires an overnight marinade. Other than that, this is a very flavorful dish that requires little effort. I cut the recipe in half and just cooked 4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs.

  • Barb_N on June 12, 2018

    This is an amazing marinade that spins straw into gold while cooking. Next time I will bake in a larger dish as there were too many pan juices (which I normally would relish) for the pieces to really get sticky.

  • bwhip on July 08, 2017

    Delicious! I cut up a whole chicken for it, and made my own five-spice, as my grocery store was lacking. Marinade/Glaze was really tasty. I served it with the recommended Jasmine Rice and Vietnamese Cucumber Salad from the same cookbook. Excellent, flavorful combination.

• Roast: butternut squash and Brussels sprouts in agrodolce

  • KarinaFrancis on May 08, 2021

    I really enjoyed this salad. Unfortunately the Brussels sprouts were big and unappealing so I subbed broccollini. The agrodolce was delicious with the squash. Next time I will add a bit more mint.

  • ksg518 on September 24, 2021

    I've made this several times. It's a lovely dish especially with the agrodolce and mint. Leftovers hold up reasonably well if you keep the dressing separate. This is substantial enough to be a vegan main dish but would also make a great holiday side dish.

  • Lepa on January 27, 2018

    My family of squash skeptics loved this salad. I did, too. I will absolutely make this again. We ate it with coconut rice and soy-glazed salmon and it was a bright contrast to the rich, creamy rice. Like the other poster, I turned the vegetables so they would evenly brown.

  • Rutikazooty on January 13, 2018

    This is an amazing dish!! I’m not crazy about squash but this is so good. I did turn the squash and brussel sprouts over while they roasted although it didn’t say to do that in order to get browned on other side.

  • jdjd99 on January 02, 2022

    This was a delicious holiday side dish. It was a great combination of flavors, and the acidity really cut through the other rich dishes in a holiday meal.

  • jenburkholder on November 28, 2021

    More than the sum of its parts and very simple. The vinegared onions are delicious. Would make again - would also be good with most any vegetable. Very holiday-friendly.

• Vietnamese cucumber salad

  • KarinaFrancis on April 11, 2021

    Like previous reviewers, I thoroughly enjoyed this simple, fresh and crunchy salad.

  • ezwriternc on December 05, 2022

    Nice refreshing salad. I definitely shaved my slices too thin. Next time i will slice them by hand.

  • clcorbi on February 17, 2019

    Excellent cucumber salad. I omitted the cilantro because I didn't have any, and thought it was fine with just the mint. The toasted peanuts really take this over the top.

  • sosayi on July 12, 2023

    Crunchy, bright and fresh. Used mint and basil. Served with grilled lemongrass pork, rice noodles and soy roasted carrots. Would make again!

  • sosayi on February 15, 2020

    Delicious cucumber salad. I upped the fish sauce slightly and only had dried mint, not fresh. Otherwise followed the directions exactly. Would make again.

  • Rutikazooty on January 14, 2018

    Delicious salad.

  • Ro_ on June 18, 2021

    I love cucumber salads, and this was a great one. I accidentally bought parsley instead of coriander, so just used that, and it was fine! Loved the sour acidity of this salad, and the richness of the peanuts. Will make again.

  • Beebopalulu on December 08, 2019

    Good cucumber salad, but not extraordinary

• (Shell)fish: pasta with clams (Pasta alle vongole)

  • peaceoutdesign on February 21, 2023

    This was the best pasta alle Vongole yet. I used only smaller clams so I didn't chop them up but I did remove them from the shells and left a few to top the pasta with. I used all the liquids including some bottled clam juice I had. I think what makes this so tasty and thick is finishing the pasta in the pan. It definitely absorbed some of the flavor and the sauce hung to the pasta rather than just the pasta swimming in it. You could easily use canned clams. My red pepper flakes were very potent, I loved it but it was spicy for others.

  • metacritic on September 04, 2020

    This dish sings. I adore this cookbook and so far this is the standout recipe (alongside it's variation with sausage). Serve this dish and those with you will sigh, with contentment but also a sense of discontent, knowing they have never encountered its equal. I don't believe that the dishes I've had on the Amalfi coast quite approach this level, though I can't wait to try this with real Sorrentine lemons.

  • Apepin on February 13, 2022

    Delicious! I used all littlenecks and added some fresh chopped clam meat. I used the liquid from the clam meat while cooking the onions. It took 3 water changes to purge my clams.

  • kkmatti on August 02, 2023

    Made the pasta alle vongole with mussels and fresh linguine. It was very good and a definite make-again. I would skip the saffron next time as it got lost in the dish. This made enough sauce for 2 people, I would double the recipe for 4. We left the shells on the mussels instead of shucking them as the recipe calls for.

• Buttermilk panna cotta

  • peaceoutdesign on January 29, 2024

    This is foolproof if you follow the handling of the gelatin as written but instead of setting on water use 3/4 of the buttermilk. I Topped with a compote of dried apricots and crystalized fennel seeds.

• Citrus salmon

  • Zosia on August 07, 2020

    The slow-roasting method worked very well and the citrus complemented the salmon nicely.

  • tmitra on February 08, 2023

    I feel like I missed something? Under the slow-roasted salmon recipe, folks recommend checking for doneness at 25-30 minutes. I roasted a 1 lb (not 2 lb) filet at 225 (confirmed by oven thermometer) for 50 minutes, and it still wasn't flaking. I roasted it for another 10 minutes at 300. I served it with the avocado and citrus salad, and overall, it tasted like...salmon? I'll stick with broiling, as I prefer the crust on top and the quick cooking time.

  • anya_sf on March 24, 2022

    The salmon turned out perfectly moist. I'm not sure how much flavor the orange slices added, but they looked pretty. I ate a couple and they tasted good, but other people didn't eat any, since we had this with avocado-citrus salad.

  • Ro_ on February 11, 2023

    Meh, I didn't really get much citrus flavour from this, it was kind of...bland?

• Shaved fennel and radishes

  • Zosia on August 07, 2020

    Bright tasting and with good crunch. It went well with the slow-roasted salmon (citrus variation)

  • damazinah on December 26, 2020

    This is a great light salad to counter richer meals. I served it at Christmas dinner with some Italian fare, but it would work well anytime you just want a bright, easy side. Shaving the radish & fennel give them a much less intense, almost sweet (by vegetable terms), flavor.

  • apw2020 on June 23, 2022

    So delicious with the lemon vinaigrette! Perfect light summer lunch.

• Bright cabbage slaw

  • bching on March 17, 2019

    What a great technique and variations. It's now my go to slaw. The recipe says it serves 4 generously. I'd say it serves 8 generously, and it's easy to scale up and down.

  • averythingcooks on December 26, 2018

    I made this to serve with tacos (chile braised pork from the same book). For me, it was far too acidic ..... a couple of spoonfuls of miracle whip (I know - love it or hate it!) tossed in fixed it for my palate.

  • sdutton on January 16, 2019

    My husband and I make this often. We love it.

  • CorneliaCooks on May 21, 2022

    OMG. I grew up hating BBQ and slaw (yeah, I was a weird kid in the Midwest.) But this recipe is great! I chopped 1/2 of a red CSA cabbage and did the salt trick--no water came out. Then I did a whole white onion with (store-bought!) lemon juice and did not drain them when it was time to add them to the main bowl. Meanwhile, I julienned two CSA carrots. I added an indeterminate amount of avocado mayo, stirred it all together, and... perfection! I'm in love. Best slaw ever.

• Indian-spiced salmon

  • ksg518 on January 27, 2021

    Just delicious. I had great salmon which probably contributed to the final product but we felt the spices worked perfectly with the salmon. I think the cooking time is a little too much - mine was done in about 35 minutes. This is a spinoff of Nosrat's slow cooked salmon so check the reviews for that recipe for more comments about the cooking time.

  • Stephenn31 on September 14, 2023

    Nice spice mixture. I pan fried the salmon as it was hot and I didn't want to turn on the oven, and still turned out well.

• Chicken with lentil rice (Adas polo o morgh)

  • twarner on December 08, 2020

    This was absolutely delicious!

  • pdxpat on September 02, 2023

    Fantastic!

  • paisleymonsoon on December 29, 2020

    This homey and tasty. The raisins are really the best part. I will definitely make this again. I could have shaved a lot of the 1-hour prep time off this recipe if I'd cooked the chicken and onions at the same time in separate pans. I ended up having to wash the pan after cooking the onions because the bottom was getting too black, so I didn't get any bonus flavor. Also, this recipe tricked me a couple of times because I didn't realize I should NOT have rinsed the basmati rice. I did, and then I had to dry it off. Also, I didn't realize I needed to pre-cook the lentils. So there I was an hour into prep with uncooked lentils. I just threw them in the pot and hoped 40 minutes would cook them. It did, and I liked the texture better than mush. I kept adding more water because I was afraid of everything sticking and burning. In the end, I added twice as much or more than the original liquid amount. However, the salt amount recommended was accurate to properly salt the dish.

  • eathealthy on November 21, 2022

    Not sure why the lentils need to be precook. Next time add them with the rice and add 6 cups of broth. Dates are nice but definitely not essential

  • eathealthy on November 21, 2022

    I did not try the yogurt sauce

• Meyer lemon salsa

  • Barb_N on January 23, 2019

    I made this to serve with slow roasted salmon. I don’t have access to organic meyer lemons so made with regular lemon. Simple and more than the sum of its parts.

• Meat: pasta al ragù

  • Tatiana131 on January 28, 2018

    Fabulously rich and complex sauce, made the house smell so good that my non-pork eating guests asked if they could have some. Comes together very easily, and is incredibly flavorful and rewarding.

  • ldtrieb on September 19, 2017

    Used up some whey I had frozen instead of milk (I did correct later after long cook down and add some regular milk) I had ground pork and ground up some leftover tri tip for the beef. It was lovely, more in the freezer for later.

  • Ro_ on September 27, 2020

    Incredibly rich, smoky, very meaty, unctuous from (presumably) the whole milk (I actually used semi skimmed + some cream). I can't get good quality ground pork where I live, so I actually just used a piece of pork shoulder and a piece of beef chuck and chopped them up very small myself with a knife. The meat certainly cooked through and was very tender, but it didn't start falling apart, so I think texturally the dish would have been better with actual ground meat. I made a half quanity, and 400g of pasta, which I thought would give the two of us eating it leftovers, but it was so good we ended up polishing off the lot ;-)

• Tomato: pasta alla pomarola

  • ldtrieb on September 19, 2017

    I used wonderful tomatoes, they are so good this year. Froze some and made meat sauce with the rest.

  • averythingcooks on August 19, 2024

    I made this with garden Romas & am happy with the results. After trying to "smash" the 1/4'd tomatoes with the wooden spoon, I switched to the potato masher & finally ran kitchen shears through the pot which was probably the best approach. I ran this through the biggest food mill disk (great for catching skins) & then moved to the middle one which took care of a lot of seeds. This is heading to the freezer in 1 cup portions and will likely get made again this season.

  • Ro_ on February 27, 2023

    Really nice sauce, whizzing it up made it very creamy. I used too much pasta for the amount of sauce I had though, which was a shame and thinned the sauce out slightly too much with the pasta water.

  • spatterson88 on March 14, 2021

    I'll probably not use as many onions next time - they were big and using two overwhelmed my canned tomatoes.

• Almond and cardamom tea cake

  • ldtrieb on September 19, 2017

    Was afraid it would be too sweet, reduced the sugar by 1/3 and almond paste from 9 oz to 7 oz. Ground my own cardamom and increased it slightly as I found a little more than the recipe called for. It came out very light, with subtle taste of cardamom and slightly crunchy almonds on top. I would definitely make this again.

  • anya_sf on March 31, 2021

    I didn't try the cake until 2 days after baking, but it was still delicious.The cake was soft, dense, moist (no surprise with all that butter and almond paste), with a prominent cardamom flavor which I loved. Note: wrapped several times in plastic and foil, the cake survived an airplane journey in a carry-on suitcase.

  • Dannausc on May 23, 2019

    I liked it quite a bit.

• Vegetable: pasta with broccoli and bread crumbs

  • pistachiopeas on February 26, 2021

    Made for the second time recently, and used panko toasted in olive oil for the breadcrumbs. The kids loved it.

  • Lepa on August 22, 2018

    I was trying to recreate a perfect bowl of pasta that I enjoyed in Italy recently so my expectations were rather high and I was probably setting myself up for disappointment. This made a good bowl of pasta, for sure, but the long-cooked broccoli didn't have the simple, sweet taste of the broccoli pasta of my dreams so I enjoyed it less than I might have under different circumstances. It was quite good with the breadcrumbs and parmesan (and anchovy) but I'm afraid I'll have to keep looking for the perfect recipe.

  • Dannausc on December 10, 2017

    Quite good.

  • excurvatus on July 26, 2019

    The technique this recipe teaches is so useful. I was impressed how much I could do with so little.

  • paisleymonsoon on January 03, 2021

    I made this one with the bean variation (great Northern beans) and the added suggestion of olives. I also added cherry tomatoes which I think added a nice fresh layer to the dish. It's nothing to write home about, but it was good. My vegetarian pre-teen loved it, so that's always a win. The beans made it extremely filling.

• Conveyor belt chicken

  • jdub1371 on June 21, 2020

    Very tasty (and moist) chicken thigh, even seasoned with nothing but salt. Skin was pleasantly crisp but not crackly-crisp. Good just the way it is but would be easy to spice up. Boning a thigh is easy and it cooks fast under weight.

  • SpatulaCity on October 04, 2024

    I need to attempt this again because I didn’t get the desired results. Here’s where I think I went wrong. I deboned the chicken and maybe made a mess of it. The thighs weren’t all uniform because of that, and the skin didn’t brown evenly. So much pale flab on the sides when the centers were getting dark. I should have done some slight pounding to get them to an even thickness. Used a 10” skillet that fit all my full batch of thighs, and weighed them down with another 10” skillet. Unfortunately this basically acted as a lid, which caused a lot of steam to drip back down into the pan, and prevented browning. Next time I’d use a 12” skillet for cooking so the thighs would have more space, and there would be plenty of room for steam to escape. I was so focused getting a nice color on the skin that I overcooked the thighs. Will try again taking a little more consideration.

  • Dolcetto23 on January 30, 2021

    Dangerously good. Definitely worth using top notch organic chicken for this.

  • Ro_ on March 28, 2023

    I was sceptical as to how good this could really be, but I stand corrected: it's a great recipe. The skin on the chicken rendered really well to be crispy but (as another commenter says) not crunchy/crackly, which was actually really nice. I let it all cook for about 15-20m as opposed to the stated 12, I think I didn't have my heat turned high enough at first. A great way to cook an inexpensive piece of plain chicken quickly, and you can then jazz it up in all sorts of ways with sauces or flavourful sides.

  • excurvatus on August 03, 2019

    I went through a stage of making this - I feel like the fat had difficulty getting fully rendered for me. I'm going to return to it very soon.

• Spicy brined turkey breast

  • janeh9 on August 31, 2019

    Moist and delicious! Brined for about 12 hours. I added two turkey legs to the brine, moved all to a small roasting pan after initial stove top cooking. I was skeptical about the amount of pepper flakes called for, but the brine is perfect! P.S. Got the boneless turkey breast at Trader Joe’s.

  • SpatulaCity on June 15, 2023

    So bummed that I didn’t know Samin used Diamond Kosher salt. I used Morton kosher salt and the resulting turkey breast was so salty that it almost tasted cured. Brined for 24 hours. Hopefully shouldn’t be too bad if I serve it on a sandwich or salad and avoid adding any additional seasoning. Going to try next time with half the salt.

  • Frenchfoodie on March 20, 2020

    This is so good! My half breast made for a half recipe which was still so juicy and tender. Not spicy at all.

  • amandabeck on November 24, 2023

    Made for a small Thanksgiving -- delicious, timing was spot on, and can't wait to use leftovers for sandwiches!

  • Tweedles81 on April 02, 2019

    I was hoping to use this for sandwiches as Samin suggested, but my family loved it so much that they didn’t leave me with any leftovers from our dinner! I had to deviate from the recipe a little. I used a bone-in skin-on breast, which took about 5-10 minutes longer to cook. I also only brined the turkey for 5 hours, because I didn’t have more time. The turkey was still super moist and flavorful (and not too spicy as I feared) so I didn’t feel that I missed anything. I will definitely make this again, but will try to find a boneless breast as Samin suggested.

• Chicken and garlic soup

  • LittleTex on September 23, 2020

    I found this soup to be amazing. It lifted my spirits on a dark winter's evening, it cured what ailed me. Don't leave out the parmesan rind; you can fish it out and chop it when it cools, and add it back in. Highly recommended.

  • Dannausc on March 30, 2018

    Pretty decent. I liked it better than my wife did.

  • Melissa_427 on November 25, 2021

    Subbed pheasant.

• Asian slaw

  • LittleTex on July 21, 2023

    Good but maybe needs more soy sauce and some sesame oil. Tasted better after sitting in fridge overnight. Had it with the Glazed Five-Spice Chicken from same cookbook, very nice combo.

  • Lepa on April 18, 2018

    We liked the gingery taste of this slaw but I think it would benefit from a bit of fat- maybe some sesame oil? Also, I used purple cabbage and I'm not convinced the salting was necessary or improved the taste/texture of this slaw.

  • Skamper on January 02, 2021

    This is very good. I made just enough for 2 and eyeballed the amounts.

• Autumn panzanella (roasted squash, sage, and hazelnut)

  • LittleTex on September 23, 2020

    A process-oriented, multi-component recipe with delicious results. Well worth making. I reduced the amount of macerated red onion to just a sprinkle (I have a hard time with raw onion); also used less bread than called for. Very hearty, could almost make a meal by itself.

  • anya_sf on December 22, 2020

    I made sort of a cross between this and the Winter panzanella, using roasted squash, roasted red onion (not raw), hazelnuts, arugula (no one likes kale), and roquefort cheese (no sage). It was delicious. The croutons that sat longer were better, as the other ones were fairly crunchy. Next time I will try regular vinaigrette instead of browned butter, as I think it might coat everything more evenly.

  • Beebopalulu on December 03, 2019

    Very nice flavours. Used swiss chard instead of kale due to availability.

  • Lonion on May 08, 2023

    Cozy, rich, delicious

• Brown butter vinaigrette

  • LittleTex on September 23, 2020

    Delicious and a gorgeous color. Who would have thought to use butter in a vinaigrette.

  • anya_sf on December 22, 2020

    Interesting and good. Not sure I like it better than oil-based vinaigrette, but it was tasty in panzanella where the croutons soaked up some of the butter.

  • lindseyshannon34 on June 14, 2020

    This was interesting. Made it with strawberry salad, macerated red onions and toasted hazelnuts. Would make again

• Indian-spiced fried chicken

  • puddlemere on January 06, 2019

    This turned out amazing--I'm kind of obsessed with the Indian spice/mango chutney glaze combo. We used deboned chicken thighs.

• Tahini dressing

  • metacritic on November 10, 2020

    We loved this on arugula. A rich, creaming, and filling dressing. This would be especially good on grilled veggies or with cucumbers and more substantial vegetables added to greens.

• Caramel cream

  • metacritic on December 24, 2020

    This is ridiculously good. I couldn't imagine the recipe would work and I couldn't imagine this book would fail. I was half right. The caramel stayed soft and molten even after cooling and the whipped cream obtained soft peaks. I can't imagine what dessert I craved that this wouldn't improve.

• Classic apple pie

  • metacritic on December 24, 2020

    The platonic ideal of pie. The crust is superb. Follow every step and you will find Nirvana.

• Classic pumpkin pie

  • hashi on November 26, 2022

    I don’t generally like pumpkin pie, but this recipe turned me around. It’s super easy and has a great flavor!

  • SpatulaCity on November 24, 2023

    Great flavor. I don’t know if it didn’t work out because my oven temp was off, or I used the wrong type/size of pie dish. The pie cracked completely and had a super soft and loosely-goosey texture. But again, delicious flavor with a perfect spiciness and sweetness.

  • amandabeck on November 25, 2022

    I made several pumpkin pies this season and I was most happy with how this one turned out-- I used freshly ground cloves and the flavor came through very powerfully. I also appreciated that I didn't need to blind bake the crust.

  • Ishie1013 on October 25, 2022

    Excellent pumpkin pie recipe and came out light and fluffy. I made this with her all-butter pie crust recipe.

• Blue cheese dressing

  • SpatulaCity on October 10, 2024

    I made this recipe with Greek yogurt, one of the suggested cream options. As written it was a little ho-hum and too strong on the red wine vinegar. But I added some buttermilk, heavy cream, and fresh herbs and it became sensational! Tasted very similar to my favorite version from a local restaurant. Maybe if I had had Crème Fraîche it would have gotten that way originally. But I’m very happy with where it landed in the end.

• Cardamom panna cotta

  • inflytur on September 15, 2020

    A lovely panna cotta with the bright flavor Of buttermilk. I used white cardamom which gave a subtle flavor. It was a bit softer than I prefer. Next time I’ll try adding an additional ¼ tsp of gelatin.

  • anya_sf on March 06, 2021

    Good cardamom flavor with a brightness from the buttermilk. My panna cottas turned out plenty firm enough to unmold cleanly.

• Green goddess dressing

  • inflytur on August 11, 2021

    I like the addition of avocado. Unless you are using it immediately, add some citric acid to keep the green color for a couple of days. Would that I could find chervil. I used parsley, but less of it.

  • Frenchfoodie on July 22, 2018

    Tasty though I found it a little acidic, next time I’d hold back on the vinegar and add only after tasting.

• Creamy herb dressing

  • averythingcooks on June 18, 2023

    With shallot, garlic & scallions, this is an assertive, delicious dressing. I thinned plain yogurt with a little buttermilk and used a mix of parsley, dill, chives & basil from the garden. We enjoyed this with romaine, red onion & thinly sliced celery, and with a bounty of fresh herbs, greens & alliums coming out of the garden all summer, this will likely be on repeat for a while.

• Lemon vinaigrette

  • averythingcooks on June 26, 2023

    Yes...this is a lemon vinaigrette but it was just too "lemony" for me. I tried a little honey & then end of the buttermilk to soften it. I used this for a salad of mixed garden greens and clearly it's a matter of personal preference because T did like both versions (before & after I tried "fixing it").

  • Tweedles81 on March 02, 2019

    Another great vinaigrette recipe from Samin! I made this to go with a spinach, avocado, and mango salad. I would have made her lime vinaigrette (incredible) but was out of limes and tried this instead. I was very happy with it and will make it again. I think it would go especially well with Italian salads and meals.

• Classic torn croutons

  • averythingcooks on August 16, 2024

    These were the perfect addition to a juicy tomato salad. I used homemade Fresno pepper flakes which provide a lovely, fruity heat. An easy idea worth making again & again.

• Pasta with sausage and broccoli

  • averythingcooks on March 03, 2021

    This was a great inspiration for a "fridge clean out" dinner for 2! I cut the aromatics in 1/2, used the last of the broccoli (around 9 oz) & the meat from 2 medium heat sausages. The last handful of grape tomatoes also went into the pan with the broccoli. The end of some Boursin went in with the pasta water & parm to form the creamy sauce and since we like more "stuff" than pasta, I used around 4 oz of farfalle. Lastly, I made Thug Kitchen's crunchy panko pasta topping and we both agreed - this a definite repeat.

• Smooth: silky sweet corn soup

  • bwhip on August 06, 2017

    Very simple, extremely delicious! A family friend gave us a bunch of fresh corn, and this was a fantastic way to use a bunch of it.

  • anya_sf on July 05, 2020

    Really nice, light, fresh flavor. I scaled the recipe down for 3 ears of corn, serving 3 for lunch. Topped it with a fresh salsa made with tomato, avocado, green onion, mint, and lime.

  • excurvatus on July 26, 2019

    This recipe made me want to make all soup like this - it's incredibly simple, and allows the ingredients to truly shine.

• Tomato vinaigrette

  • bwhip on September 07, 2017

    Used this on a Caprese Salad last night, and it was delightful.

  • apw2020 on June 29, 2022

    Used with the panzanella, A+.

  • amandah2021 on October 10, 2021

    Great with a salad of butter lettuce, Parmesan, and avocado.

• Lori's chocolate midnight cake

  • bwhip on July 03, 2017

    Excellent cake. Great chocolate flavor, and a nice, light crumb from the oil. The vanilla whipped cream was the perfect light counterbalance. Recipe calls for hot water or coffee, we used coffee as I've always found it's great for chocolate cake flavor.

  • Churchim808 on May 14, 2024

    I made this for my son's 18th birthday. He doesn't like icing and prefers just a plain chocolate cake. It was late when I made this and I was exhausted. As I was eating it the next day, it occurred to me that I'd left out the eggs. Everyone thought it tasted great anyway. Although my son is not a fan of coffee I did use strong coffee as the liquid and it only enhanced the flavor of the chocolate. I can't wait to try it with eggs next time!

  • Melissa_427 on November 25, 2021

    So incredibly delicious and moist. Chocolate cake perfection.

  • allie_p on June 13, 2024

    I’ve always wanted a go-to cake that my family requests for celebrations—I never expected to find it in a general cookbook like SFAH, but this is the best cake I have ever made. It’s incredibly moist and flavorful, and a lot easier than most cake recipes I’ve tried. Especially love it with the vanilla cream! I’ve made it as written, but have also tried several modifications, including substituting whole wheat pastry flour, and using coconut sugar instead of white. The cake turns out perfectly every time.

• Torn croutons

  • anya_sf on December 22, 2020

    I appreciated the instructions on how to create torn croutons (you don't have to tear everything). The croutons were quite crisp after 16 minutes. Sprinkled with salt prior to baking. Super delicious.

  • pattyatbryce on February 24, 2022

    Great way to use up leftover bread. Can make with anything (even torn pita that cooks shorter time) I love with a pinch of salt and pepper. Perfect for any salad.

  • apw2020 on June 29, 2022

    Super easy and agree that it takes about 10-15 min.

• Steamy sauté: Indian green beans

  • anya_sf on August 14, 2023

    Method worked well with frozen green beans. A nice, simple side dish.

  • MAF on March 22, 2021

    Delicious, crispy, crunchy, great with curry.

• Citrus panna cotta

  • anya_sf on March 03, 2022

    I used orange zest and equal amounts of heavy cream and buttermilk. Omitted the vanilla bean, but added a bit of fiori di sicilia, although unfortunately a little too much as the floral notes were too strong, but that's my fault. This is a simple, straightforward, reliable panna cotta recipe. However, after 6 hours, the puddings weren't quite completely set (fine as long as they weren't unmolded), so it's best to chill them overnight, if possible. We enjoyed these with diced oranges on top - no need to macerate with extra sugar.

• Mexican-ish herb salsa

  • amandabeck on January 15, 2018

    Delicious! I used pickled jalapenos because it is impossible to get fresh ones where I live-- still turned out wonderful! Added some chopped cabbage as well for a nice crunch. Would have doubled or tripled the recipe if I knew it was going to be so delicious.

  • Dannausc on March 30, 2018

    Good easy; a nice accompaniment for tacos.

  • Ro_ on October 27, 2019

    I think I may have somehow got the proportions wrong, as I found this to be more liquid than I was expecting. The taste was very good though. I can't get jalapeno peppers here, so I used a regular red chilli pepper. I served this with tacos made from the Braised Chilli Pork recipe, the fresh flavours of the salsa complimented the meat very well. I'd be tempted to add finely diced tomato if I made this salsa again.

• Herbed yogurt

  • Dannausc on December 27, 2017

    It was missing a little something/needed some acid, so I sprinkled in some sumac which did the trick.

  • pattyatbryce on March 06, 2019

    This + Persianish Rice + Slow Roasted Salmon = Terrific meal. Easy sauce and adaptable.

• Crispiest spatchcocked chicken

  • Dannausc on December 27, 2017

    Super crispy; quite good

• Tuna confit

  • Dannausc on May 23, 2019

    Good and easy.

• Japanese sesame seed dressing (Goma-ae)

  • Dannausc on December 27, 2017

    Good, but the tahini was a little overpowering.

• Mexi-slaw

  • Dannausc on March 30, 2018

    Good, easy; a nice accompaniment for tacos.

  • aisy on May 06, 2021

    I now know this basic formula well enough to adapt it and go without the recipe. I love the salting cabbage method. I add more lime juice than vinegar now and plenty of extra veggies--whatever's in the fridge.

• Classic egg drop soup

  • patioweather on April 22, 2018

    Couldn't be easier but everyone really enjoyed this. I don't think the cornstarch really contributed that much so it could be omitted.

• Steamy sauté: garlicky green beans

  • Ro_ on October 29, 2019

    A basic recipe for steamed grean beens with a little bit of garlic, but it works well and is worth repeating. Gave a nice fresh texture and taste.

• Beer-battered fish

  • Ro_ on March 05, 2023

    Really light, delicious and crunchy batter. I was scaling down the recipe and I think I ended up using too much vodka and not enough beer, but it didn't seem to matter too much. This was easy and delicious, especially with tartare sauche. Just needed mushy peas to go with...

• Spicy fried chicken

  • Ro_ on March 26, 2023

    The method for frying the chicken was great: it came out crunchy on the outside and juicy and tender on the inside: perfectly cooked. However I found the oil brushed on at the end to bring way too much sweetness: the spiciness and smokiness was lost in the sugar, which was all I could taste in the end. Next time would use less sugar and more paprika/pepper.

• Soy-glazed salmon

  • Ro_ on November 15, 2022

    I used smaller salmon fillets rather than one big piece, and kind of squished them together a bit in the pan. Other than that I followed the recipe, but only cooked for 30-35m since I had less salmon. The glaze was nice - to be honest I've tried a lot of similar Asian-glazed salmon recipes and it is very hard to go wrong with these flavours as long as you don't overcook the salmon, it will basically always be delicious. But I would use this method again when making a large-ish quantity of salmon that it would be more convenient to put in the oven rather than pan frying.

• Basic salsa verde

  • Ro_ on March 20, 2023

    Nice, easy recipe and good to perk up plain grilled chicken.

• Tartar sauce

  • Ro_ on January 25, 2023

    Delicious! I must admit I used bought mayo and not all of the herbs were fresh, but the overall result was great.

• Persian herb and cucumber yogurt

  • purrviciouz on September 21, 2020

    I could eat this by the spoonful. While a nice accompaniment to a savory dish, it's delicious on its own as well.

• Summer panzanella (tomato, basil, and cucumber)

  • Jviney on August 21, 2021

    This was fine, I didn't feel it was outstanding. My balsamic vinegar wasn't quite up to snuff and that may have made a difference. Perfectly serviceable but not a showstopper.

  • apw2020 on June 29, 2022

    I thought this was amazing! Really good if you marinate the onions and shallots for the right amount of time (I added a little extra balsamic, for a 1:1 ratio with the red wine vinegar). Also important to use good country bread!

  • pomegranate on June 12, 2022

    Easy and so good!

• Lime vinaigrette

  • hbakke on May 01, 2019

    I used the juice of one whole lime as the ratio of oil to lime juice was not to my liking. After adding another clove of garlic, more lime juice, and additional salt I think this vinaigrette turned out well.

• Persian Shirazi salad

  • excurvatus on July 26, 2019

    The prep for this isn't minimal, but it's so worth it. what a way to take delight in tomatoes and herbs.

• Shaved carrot salad with ginger and lime

  • excurvatus on July 26, 2019

    This is such a delicious salad. It has amazing zing, along with a little heat, and sweetness. It's perfectly balanced and kept pretty well in the fridge for a few days.

• Sausage ragù

  • Beebopalulu on January 16, 2020

    Too greasy.

• Sage- and honey-smoked chicken

  • Melissa_427 on November 25, 2021

    Subbed a whole pheasant and was not disappointed

• All-butter pie dough

  • LittleLemon on November 01, 2022

    Made this to use on top of the Chicken Pot Pie recipe. It was so flaky and delicious! I did not freeze the ingredients and bowl as she suggests, since I did not have room in the freezer.

  • Ishie1013 on October 25, 2022

    I've been intimidated by doing pie crust from scratch, and this made it very approachable with a great, if not pretty, delicious and flaky result.

• Spring panzanella (asparagus and feta with mint)

  • Ishie1013 on May 05, 2022

    I overcooked the torn croutons a little, but this was still wonderful! The whole "tastes like a summer sea" philosophy of hers led to this being the most perfectly salted asparagus I've ever made.

• Peanut-lime dressing

  • pomegranate on March 14, 2023

    This is great. I thinned the dressing with coconut milk instead of water. Used on a chopped salad with salmon and cabbage slaw.

• Persian roast chicken

  • Thegirlwho on October 14, 2022

    Very flavorful and moist. Used Greek yogurt, didn’t have lemon. Still turned out great.

• Kitchn

  ...through simple illustrations and warm recipes she reveals how to balance salt, fat, acid, and heat — because once someone understands those fundamentals, they’re going to cook everything better.

  Full review

• Kitchn

  8 Cooks on Why “Salt Fat Acid Heat” Is Such a Special, Unlikely Hit

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• Kitchn

  Picked for the first Kitchn Cookbook Club.

  Full review

• Kitchn

  I love to cook, but I’m not big into recipes all the time unless I’m baking. Her book gives me the freedom to taste and test and have fun. It’s a must in the kitchen.

  Full review

• Stonesoup

  Always good to revisit the basics and Samin is an excellent guide. So much to learn! There aren’t any photos though so if you like your images this might not be the best book for you.

  Full review

• Kitchn

  ...an in-the-know show's originating text, full of wise advice for learning the intuitive elements of cooking.

  Full review

• Kitchn by Faith Durand

  This award-winning cookbook is becoming a must-watch new Netflix show.

  Full review

• Food52

  Nosrat takes on a completely different mission, which is, in the span of one volume, to provide a universal culinary education.

  Full review

• Food52

  Samin offers a simple, straightforward, often funny, totally complete education in food and cooking. She presents these lessons in a manner that is easy to digest...

  Full review

• Eat the Love

  Samin’s book not only breaks down the mystique of cooking food, but also shows you that you can make fantastic food from some of the most basic ingredients.

  Full review

• Simply Recipes

  ...is edifying and engaging—you have a cooking teacher in the room with you who goes deep into the details. And as we all know, that’s where the devil resides, especially in cooking.

  Full review

• Food52

  What Food52 members are saying about this book.

  Full review

• Food52

  Picked for Food52's September 2017 Cookbook Club.

  Full review

• Joy the Baker

  Simplicity and knowledge and beautiful drawings. This book is approachable and inspiring and lays a strong, strong foundation.

  Full review

• Food52

  ...we’re really excited about the book...it’s full of ...I can’t believe I never thought of that tips...it prioritizes a love of learning as much as a love of cooking.

  Full review