Notes about Recipes in this book

• Chicken and corn stir-fry

  • Astrid5555 on August 22, 2022

    Big hit with the family, could have made double and they would have finished everything as well. Will go into summer dinner rotation.

  • anya_sf on August 23, 2021

    Quick and easy, tasty but could use something extra to boost the flavor (lime juice? fish sauce?). Chicken breast worked fine. I added green beans for more veg and subbed mint for cilantro - the mint helped perk up the taste.

  • hbakke on August 02, 2021

    Nice, easy dinner. The oyster sauce added a different flavor that worked well with the sweet corn. We both liked this with a bit more pepper flake (I used gochugaru instead of Aleppo pepper). I would make this again.

  • breakthroughc on August 18, 2021

    This was a tasty dinner, but not quite good enough to make again. It does need a bit of heat.

• Grilled pineapple drumsticks

  • meggan on August 02, 2021

    These really ripped up and were quite ugly after being stuck to my dirty grill but they still tasted good.

• Corn, plum, and farro salad with nuoc cham dressing

  • meggan on August 07, 2021

    Highly successful even without the chiles. I also didn't grill the corn.

  • anya_sf on September 11, 2021

    I used pearl barley instead of farro, a Fresno chile instead of Thai chiles, and cilantro. My plums weren't that sweet, which worked well here. The dressing and herbs gave this salad a super fresh, bright flavor - just delicious. Leftovers were good as well. This was a nice accompaniment to grilled pork tenderloin.

• Spicy braised eggplant noodles

  • anya_sf on October 02, 2021

    I browned the eggplant in a cast iron skillet and was able to use less oil. To finish the dish, I used a nonstick wok, so there was plenty of room and the noodles didn't stick, although it dirtied an extra pan. Despite soaking the noodles quite al dente, once the sauce was added, they got rather mushy, especially since I had to add extra cooking liquid. The flavor of the sauce was good with the initial 1/2 cup liquid, but got diluted since I had to add more, so unfortunately the overall dish was bland (with mild gochujang) and soft. The peanuts were an essential contrast; I added extra. Cooked green beans were also a good addition. Overall, though, this was a nice idea that didn't quite pan out.

• Tomato Caesar

  • anya_sf on September 02, 2021

    My family liked this a lot, made with in-season heirloom tomatoes. I used a bit of anchovy paste instead of anchovies and mixed the dressing by hand. There was plenty of dressing for many more tomatoes.

• Cheesy charred green beans

  • anya_sf on September 11, 2021

    I just made the beans, not the cheese, using some of the leftover spice mix on pork tenderloins. In the spice rub I used half the cayenne and only had 1 tsp garlic powder (ran out), but it was still tasty with just a hint of heat. The beans were tricky to grill - especially turn - as I had to use a makeshift grilling rack. Next time I'll just use a stovetop grill pan or cast iron skillet. They were really good.

• Cucumber, tomato, and green bean salad

  • Dannausc on August 18, 2021

    It’s a good way to use up produce. Pretty decent but is pretty tame. It good use more heat, sour and funk. Next time I’d up the chiles, lime juice and fish sauce, prob by double.

  • breakthroughc on August 25, 2021

    We really liked this salad and green beans, cucumbers and cherry tomatoes are all coming out of the garden at the same time. I used a whole jalapeño from the garden instead of the Serrano pepper and it had a nice spice level. I will make this again. I thought it had the right balance of flavors.