• Alice_Statler on December 03, 2024

  TX714 .T89 2024

Notes about Recipes in this book

• Creamy mustard dressing

  • averythingcooks on November 25, 2024

    We made this dressing for a salad of romaine, red onions & grated carrot. I started with a slightly lighter hand for the mustard & then added more to taste. Oh yes...this will be made again.

  • MollyB on November 26, 2024

    Pretty good dressing, but I like Julia Turshen's other "Creamy mustard dressing" in Small Victories a little more. This version is a bit thinner, smoother, and sweeter.

  • westminstr on January 17, 2025

    I made this to go with the farro bowl. I don’t share Julia’s love for mayo in dressings, but it worked well with the grain bowl. I made a quarter recipe, could have used a little more.

  • anya_sf on February 10, 2025

    Made with a mix of Dijon and grainy mustards and maple syrup, this was delicious on romaine lettuce, and as mentioned would definitely be great with lentil/grain salads. Love how easy it was to scale down.

  • susankay on March 02, 2025

    Excellent dressing! I served it on her “My Usual Chopped Salad”. Perfect combination.

  • Jviney on April 09, 2025

    As a salad dressing, this is a bit tangy for my taste - maybe more salt would help? As a condiment for her ham sandwich, though, fantastic.

  • Soulkitchenjen on May 05, 2025

    This dressing is sooo good and so easy. A nice change of pace from a vinaigrette or ranch. Thinking about other uses for it! Bet it would be killer on a Cobb situation.

• Kimchi dressing

  • Wende on January 11, 2026

    This is so simple and so delicious. I can’t find enough things to put it on. It’s an expanded version of the kimchi-mayo in one of her earlier books

  • averythingcooks on April 22, 2026

    Great for coleslaw!

• Tahini ranch dressing

  • anya_sf on March 05, 2026

    Delicious dressing, more tahini than "ranch" IMO. I skipped the fresh garlic (don't like it too strong) and dill (didn't have). Initially the dressing seemed too thin, but it was perfect after a few hours in the fridge. Really great on a chopped salad with romaine, bacon, hard-boiled egg, feta, avocado, sun-dried tomato, and pepitas.

• Winter chopped salad

  • abrownb1 on January 04, 2025

    Nice salad but could benefit from a hint of sweetness with all the savory flavors. Either a bit of honey in the dressing or a dried cranberry or cherry would be a nice addition. Note if using frozen butternut squash that it won't caramelize and will be a bit softer than fresh. Cook time for frozen was about 10 mins.

  • rpepper on January 18, 2025

    Everyone loved this salad.

• My usual chopped salad

  • gamulholland on November 24, 2024

    This was really tasty and filling and, since we didn’t put the dressing on, it was still good for lunch to bring it work a couple of days later.

  • Lepa on December 14, 2024

    This was really good and I liked the combination of flavors. Perfect for lunch!

  • susankay on March 02, 2025

    Excellent! This will be our usual chopped salad, too. We loved it.

  • Jviney on April 09, 2025

    We enjoyed the flavors that came through in this... smokehouse almonds, I added torn sourdough croutons and that crunch was yummy too.

  • Soulkitchenjen on May 05, 2025

    Absolutely delicious salad. I think I might prefer apples or craisins instead of the raisins, but sooo good. Makes 4 dinner sized portions, so consider that if you’re trying to use it as a side.

  • dafna_8gob0p on June 03, 2026

    I roasted the chickpeas in the oven first and omitted the raisins. Came out great. Roasted almonds was a nice texture and flavor.

• Cucumber & avocado salad

  • anya_sf on January 03, 2025

    Loved this. My kimchi didn't have tons of liquid, plus I didn't want it too spicy, so I only used about 2 Tbsp instead of 3. There was a generous amount of dressing - could reduce.

  • Skamper on February 16, 2025

    Made this for lunch and scaled it down for one person. Used kewpie mayo. I added half a can of tuna for protein - chicken would have been a better choice - but also tasted it without and didn't love it.

• Farro & roasted vegetable salad

  • westminstr on January 17, 2025

    My veg were carrots, parsnips & Brussels sprouts. I also used feta, toasted slivered almonds & parsley. I needed extra mustard dressing. This was solid if not terribly exciting.

• A great carrot salad

  • pattyatbryce on February 02, 2025

    Just so-so. Has some nice flavor, but not a"wow." I had smaller carrots and definitely should have used the shreader of the food processor. Otherwise, takes forever to make the coins with small carrots.

• Roasted broccoli & peanut salad

  • anya_sf on May 12, 2025

    Very good. I omitted the bacon (didn't want to bother) but will definitely try it with bacon sometime. If I make it without bacon again, I will increase the soy sauce to offset the sweetness more.

  • katie_q52s7k on March 04, 2026

    Dressing is pretty runny but the flavors and textures are delish

• A great tuna sandwich

  • anya_sf on February 25, 2025

    Very hearty. 2 Tbsp mayo was plenty for me. It was more mustard and lemon than I'd normally use, but I enjoyed the extra tang. Used sour cream & onion potato chips for even more flavor.

• Cold roast chicken sandwich

  • Lepa on December 12, 2024

    This is okay, nothing special.

• Gingery baby bok choy

  • anya_sf on February 01, 2025

    I used this method for broccoli florets, stirring more frequently, but still getting some char. It worked well and the flavor and texture were good. The sauce is thin and I'd consider thickening it slightly with a cornstarch slurry.

  • Skamper on May 02, 2025

    Used half bok choy and half sliced carrots. my "baby" bok choy was on the larger side so I let it steam a bit longer and regret it. The carrots were my favorite part.

  • Brittania on February 17, 2026

    Quick and easy, except for the ginger matchsticks!

• Roasted squash agrodolce

  • gamulholland on November 24, 2024

    Easy and delicious. We needed 2 pans to spread them all out so they roasted properly.

  • fultre on November 03, 2025

    Simple tasty recipe; hardest part is slicing the squash. Made again for Tday 2025 and was well received. I tripled recipe and cooked in 2 batches of 2 pans, slightly increased honey and vinegar. Made the day before and served room temp.

  • westminstr on March 15, 2026

    For some reason my squash got really soft but not very brown. It was probably the squash. I’d think about adding the dressing sooner to encourage browning. Check squash after 15 minutes if using delicata.

• Roasted Brussels sprouts with sherry vinaigrette & Manchego

  • gamulholland on November 25, 2024

    This was tasty, a little extra over the usual roasted sprouts.

  • thefritschkitchen on November 29, 2024

    Fantastic. Doubled and served at thanksgiving. Taste your vinaigrette before tossing in the sprouts, I thought more vinegar was needed, but I like extra acid!

  • westminstr on March 15, 2026

    This was pretty easy to put together & made the sprouts a little more special. Not life changing but still good. Mine were very brown after 20 minutes at 425.

• Roasted broccoli with carrot-miso dressing

  • averythingcooks on November 06, 2024

    This was a tasty way to serve broccoli but I had 2 issues. I followed her air fryer instructions...perhaps my florets were cut too small but if I hadn't checked (very) early they would have been completely burnt. They were still pretty charred but the carrot miso dressing drizzled over solved that problem pretty effectively. Also, what is meant by "medium carrot" is a mystery....I googled for a target mass and every carrot I had (including the smallest ones) came in much higher than the predicted LARGE mass. I guessed & although my smoothie maker didn't get it perfectly smooth, it is a delicious dressing. The rest will be used for salad dressing. I will repeat this idea but use the oven.

  • Lottabooks on March 11, 2025

    We enjoyed this dish as a side to a New York Times cold silken tofu recipe and rice. Very pretty with the dressing drizzled in "strips" on the broccoli placed on platter. For two, I used 1 lb. broccoli florets. Be sure to add all the ginger, and blend thoroughly. Even in my Vitamix, I had to put the dressing back into blender and blend some more to get it close to smooth. Per her suggestion, made the full amount of dressing and will use leftovers on salad. Used nonstick foil on the sheet pan and for better coverage, tossed the oil, broccoli and salt in a bowl before turning onto sheet pan.

  • anya_sf on August 06, 2025

    Really good. Roasted 2 lbs broccoli florets in the oven and the amount of dressing was just right. Like the other reviewers, the dressing did not get totally smooth even after 2 min in the Vitamix, but it was fine.

• Twice-baked cacio e pepe potatoes

  • averythingcooks on November 12, 2024

    We thought these were really good. We liked the filling as written (other than T requesting another good grind of pepper) but then a fridge raid had me adding green onions & chopped coppa di parma ham. I made them early & they baked perfectly as directed...great that the stuffed tomatoes I also made from the same book baked same temp/timing.

  • thefritschkitchen on November 13, 2024

    Tasty, although my kids were not fans. Lighter than typical twice baked potatoes, but delicious with the extra black pepper and cheese

  • Arlene0814 on December 21, 2024

    I used the cacio e pepe butter from Josh McFadden’s Six Seasons in place of butter, pepper & most of the cheese. It worked very well. Also added some blanched chopped broccoli & grated extra cheese on top. It was delicious!

• Mushrooms Rockefeller

  • NJChicaa on December 12, 2024

    Very disappointing. I made them and brought to a family party and I was pretty much the only one who ate them because they taste like. . . nothing other than mushrooms. If I ever made them again I would use way more cheese and fresh lemon juice. But I don't think I'd make them again.

• Tomatoes Casino

  • averythingcooks on November 12, 2024

    These were tasty but note that I did add feta to the filling (she suggests blue or goat cheese), some basil with the parsley + a spoonful of cherry tomato chipotle relish for some more moisture & an extra bump of flavour. I think my tomatoes were smaller than hers as I had enough filling for 4 rather than the 2 I intended...no matter, we easily ate 2 each :) Next time I might consider adding the panko slowly/not using the full amt.

• Spiced chickpea squash bowls

  • westminstr on January 17, 2025

    I needed a hearty veggie dish. I was shocked but I had all the ingredients on hand. It was really easy to put together & turned out fine. I don’t know if I’d rush to make it again, but I was glad to make it tonight. I had carnival squash which I didn’t love (acorn or delicata would have worked better).

• Minestrone-ish

  • hbakke on October 28, 2024

    Page 118. Nice soup. I used tiny farfalle for the pasta. We both enjoyed this soup with the beans and bits of cabbage.

  • averythingcooks on December 08, 2024

    I made this as written and while good (other than being a bit heavy on the carrot- maybe a 50:50 mix of carrot & celery next time?), we felt it needed a little more...something. I raided my fridge/freezer for a few scoops of homemade chili sauce, some pesto, a spoonful of mixed pepper relish & some frozen spinach. It was a hearty & filling dinner beside some warm, buttered beer bread.

• Haley's savory sprinkles

  • hbakke on October 28, 2024

    Tasty sprinkle I used for the minestrone soup in this book.

• Any-bean soup

  • molly17659 on February 02, 2026

    This had no business being as good as it was. I added a parmesan rind (of course) and it really enhanced the flavor. I've been searching for an easy way to use up a bunch of dried beans i have-this is perfect!

• Frozen-fish chowder

  • Brittania on February 17, 2026

    Really good! Can add Boursin, in lieu of cream - so tasty.

• Roasted squash soup

  • MollyB on October 22, 2024

    Delicious and easy soup, though you need to start ahead of time to roast and cool the squash. I love the technique of roasting the squash whole, but make sure it's fully cooked before you take it out. Mine took over the time specified. Toasted pumpkin seeds were a nice garnish, and I added a bit of creme fraiche rather than sour cream.

  • Lepa on November 19, 2024

    I'm sometimes on the fence about squash soup but this some savory notes so I liked it. I especially liked it with the pepitas and sour cream.

  • Brittania on February 17, 2026

    Easy, vegan. Easier to peel off skin with hands than scoop out flesh with a spoon.

• Red curry corn soup

  • hmckimmey on January 14, 2026

    Picture isn’t pretty but this soup is amazing! I cut the red curry paste down to palatable for my spice intolerant children and squeezed some lime juice over it. (Also only had gold potatoes so I used two of them.) this took maybe thirty five minutes start to finish and makes a great tasting bowl of soup!

  • Brittania on February 17, 2026

    Easy, delicious and reheats well. :)

• Mushroom cacciatore

  • NJChicaa on May 18, 2025

    Very good and easy to make!

  • kari500 on July 30, 2025

    Easy, delicious meal. Careful about salting. Used crushed instead of whole tomatoes. Served over mezza rigatoni, would also work over polenta or with garlic bread.

• Jennie's curried chicken & potatoes

  • cheffreddie on November 04, 2024

    We lovvved this dish! Couldn't find Jamaican curry powder at my local grocery stores, so I used some S&B curry powder I had on hand which has similar ingredients, and added some allspice and cinnamon. Also used boneless skinless thighs out of laziness. Because of this swap, I was able to reduce the cooking time to a little over an hour instead of the 1.5 she states in the recipe. The potatoes broke down a bit as they cooked and added nice body to the stew, and the chicken was fall-apart tender. This would be a great alternative to Japanese curry rice if you didn't have any roux packages on hand. I bet it'll be even more delicious with the extra flavor from the bone-in, skin-on chicken she calls for too.

  • Anniefro21 on February 06, 2025

    My family loved this recipe! I did make some minor changes. I used boneless skinless chicken thighs. I still used the full amount of seasoning and browned the chicken. I did however cut the overall cooking time because of this. After adding the rest of the ingredients, I cooked the whole dish for about an 50 minutes. I also substituted chicken broth for the water, and used a cornstarch slurry to slightly thicken the rich flavorful stew. I served it over rice. I would definitely make this again. I did have to add more salt to the final dish.

  • Lepa on February 26, 2025

    I made this with bone-in breasts, which my kids complained about, but I thought it was terrific. Very comforting since some of us are under the weather. I ordered the Jamaican curry powder that was recommended and it was delicious!

  • kari500 on April 01, 2025

    I also used boneless skinless thighs, and cut them into 3 pieces each. Sauteed briefly with onions, then added chicken broth instead of water and the potatoes and carrots (doing it this way meant it was ready in about 30-40 minutes). Even with these shortcuts this was absolutely delicious. Neither of us love carrots, but this was absolutely great way to get us to eat them. Bonus: enough leftover for a second meal!

  • anya_sf on April 04, 2025

    I made 1/2 recipe with 3 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, simmered for the full 1.5 hrs since I had time - not completely necessary, but I imagine the end goal is for everything to be falling-apart tender. I used S&B curry powder with a little allspice added, and chicken broth instead of water. I had to add another cup of liquid with the potatoes and carrots, so it was good the potatoes started to break down to thicken the sauce. Added frozen peas at the end. Quite good for such a simple dish.

• Turkey & green chile chili

  • averythingcooks on November 09, 2024

    I started out following this other than adding a mix of diced peppers (sweet & hot) with the onions & using roasted Anaheims from my freezer. As she suggest serving this with corn, I stirred some in with the beans. With no juice from canned chiles to include, I added pickled jalapeno brine. BUT I have come to the conclusion that chili that uses smoked paprika (even my hottest one) and NO other ground chiles (eg ancho, New Mexico, chipotle) or even a chili powder blend just doesn't taste like chili to me. It was easy to fix and we enjoyed this with pickled onions & grated cheddar.

  • thefritschkitchen on April 03, 2025

    This is a fine recipe - not much heat to it and I find it to be too tomato-y (although my diced tomatoes were quite large). For 1.5 lbs meat, I stuck with only 28 oz diced toms. Served with avocado, sour cream and cornbread. Comes together quickly, but not something I'm excited to make again

  • anya_sf on April 24, 2025

    I agree with the other reviewers - kind of bland, no heat, and didn't really taste like chili. Using fire-roasted tomatoes maybe helped a little. I added diced zucchini and corn for more veg. Some acid (such as averythingcooks' suggestion of picked jalapeno brine) would have been good. Still, it was easy to throw together and we enjoyed it topped with cilantro, cheese, sour cream, avocado, and lots of Cholula.

• Tomato, white bean & fennel stew

  • kari500 on July 18, 2025

    Added a few shrimp and scallops. Used lobster better than bouillon instead of water, and added a small glug of white wine. Perfectly pleasant but nothing beyond that. Nice enough pantry meal.

  • julia_un405k on March 31, 2026

    I really like this recipe. I’ve made it a few times with cod. I add some more seasonings to amp it up: fish sauce, sun-dried tomato powder (awesome product from burlap and barrel), tomato paste, mushroom powder, chili flake, oregano, lemon juice

• Braised eggplant with tomatoes & golden raisins

  • Brittania on February 17, 2026

    I browned the eggplant in the air fryer.

• Soy-braised tofu with scallions

  • kari500 on May 08, 2025

    This simple and easy dish is surprisingly delicious.

  • westminstr on May 05, 2026

    This was pretty easy & tasty. Definitely use two bunches of scallions bc they cook down a lot. Also it does not feed 4 on its own.

• Chorizo & sofrito rice

  • Lepa on February 12, 2025

    This rice a delicious and very easy weeknight dinner (if you have a food processor).

• Chickpea & spinach rice

  • anya_sf on June 26, 2025

    Very flavorful rice dish, went well with the springtime chicken meatballs. It was a little wet (maybe use slightly less liquid, especially if increasing the spinach), but texture was still pleasant when made with basmati rice.

• Chicken & kimchi rice

  • Lepa on December 10, 2024

    This recipe is absolutely genius. It is easy, satisfying and completely delicious. We served as suggested, with some cheese and a fried egg on top, and it was easily one of my favorite meals in recent memory. Highly recommend this recipe for busy weeknights! Note: we have a tween and a teen and they also loved this and didn't find it too hot (but they are adventurous and can handle a little bit of spice).

  • kari500 on August 01, 2025

    Certainly easy, but I thought it got a bit same-y pretty quickly. And that’s even with having added the cheese and fried egg. Luckily my husband was a fan, so the leftovers are all his. Not bad, just not great.

• Mushroom Swiss burger rice

  • NJChicaa on December 03, 2024

    This is easy to make, filling, and edible. It isn't anything special though and I won't make it again.

• Spicy chicken with lime & cashews

  • Lepa on October 17, 2024

    This was so easy and delicious! Highly recommend this recipe for a quick weeknight dinner. With rice and a side of broccoli it was enough for a light meal for four even though the recipe says it "serves two generously".

  • luluinphilly on November 04, 2024

    Delicious, flavorful and quick. I served it with the bok choy as suggested. If you live near trader joes, it is worth getting the chili lime cashews as suggested.

  • westminstr on March 21, 2025

    This quick meal went over well. I made one as written and a second batch with tofu & maitake mushrooms. Both worked! Served w rice & cabbage slaw

  • kari500 on July 17, 2025

    Quick and delicious. Definitely going into rotation.

  • averythingcooks on February 13, 2025

    I cut this in 1/2 (for 2 of us), adding sliced red onions & sweet peppers to the pan with the chicken. I did cut the fish sauce back a bit (personal preference for us) and we thought this was really good....as T would say "there's good flavourful heat and then there's just stupid heat for heat's sake" and this is definitely the good kind.

  • anya_sf on February 01, 2025

    Really delicious. I used TJ's chili lime cashews, which I'd never tried before, and now I'm hooked.

• Black bean & cheddar cornbread pie

  • Lepa on October 23, 2024

    This was a huge hit with my family. It was really easy and DELICIOUS. Keep this in mind for a dinner party when you have vegetarian guests because it is an easy casserole that goes into the oven and makes a complete meal. This could easily feed 6-8 people.

  • KCKB on October 31, 2024

    Lepa is right - this is a delicious and easy dish, great for feeding a group. I added a little chili powder to the mix, and I could see dicing and sautéing some sweet potato along with the black beans.

  • thefritschkitchen on November 04, 2024

    Great recipe - This is a delicious meal that is quickly thrown together with pantry ingredients. My only note is that the filling to cornbread topping is a bit off, I wish there was a bit more to the base. I make something similar with cornmeal drop biscuits on top, which my family informs me that they like more, but it is important to note that they are wrong :) Highly recommend and I will definitely be making it again, regardless of what my children think... Just think how annoyed they will be when I add in some chopped kale to the base!

  • pattyatbryce on September 13, 2025

    Very easy recipe that can be adjusted to suit your favorite flavors. I added some cayenne and upped the paprika to give it more oomph. Not the best cornbread that I've made, but simple enough and I liked the one pan idea. Overall a great vegetarian weeknight dinner.

• Caesar spaghetti

  • Lepa on October 25, 2024

    We love the Mark Bittman spaghetti with eggs recipe and this is a tasty version with lots of anchovies for umami and parsley for freshness. We liked it. I might cut the water a bit at the end - maybe 3/4 cup instead of 1 cup?

  • meginyeg on January 13, 2026

    This was ok. Not amazing but decent. Would make again if I had all the ingredients and no other plan.

• Italian sausage & ricotta meatballs

  • KCKB on October 27, 2024

    My partner made this for the meat-eating subset of our family - it went over well! We paired it with pasta and Marcella’s tomato-butter-onion sauce. Oven-baking meatballs on a sheet pan is a different approach than my partner’s family recipe (using beef and breadcrumbs, cooking them directly in the sauce or broth) but we plan to do it again, maybe trying the suggested ground pork variation next time.

  • thefritschkitchen on February 25, 2026

    Nice meatballs. The mixture is quite wet

• Raspberry & chocolate cobbler

  • thefritschkitchen on October 28, 2024

    This was amazing - very rich, very decadent. I would say this is more of a grown up dessert, not so much for kids. It was fantastic served still warm, gooey and delicious. Leftovers were ok - a bit more dry. I would definitely serve with just barely sweet whipped cream. Not the prettiest dessert, but one you will remember

  • luluinphilly on November 04, 2024

    Agree with the other review-- this is decadent and rich. So easy to pull together in bowl with ingredients I have on hand in pantry and freezer.

  • anya_sf on January 20, 2025

    Not a looker, but very tasty. Half the recipe served 4 generously. It took 45 min to bake until completely firm on top, and next time I'd underbake it slightly for more of a pudding cake. I'd also increase the raspberries.

  • lily_o1t41p on March 07, 2026

    Next time I might underbake so it’s more gooey! But so so good.

• Turkey meatballs with gochujang glaze

  • thefritschkitchen on October 28, 2024

    Fine meatball recipe - the mixture was extremely wet, not sure if it was the recipe or my ground turkey. I wanted more from the sauce, although it seems to be about the same as her sauce for the ribs in Small Victories, which I adore, so I'm not sure what didn't add up for me here. Will probably make again, they were fast and easy, but won't be in heavy rotation.

  • MmeFleiss on August 06, 2025

    I normally love her recipes but this was a total miss. The texture and flavor of the meatballs was like something you’d get premade from the freezer aisle and the sauce was really meh.

• Rice & lentil bowl with all the toppings

  • MollyB on October 28, 2024

    This was pretty good, but I'm not sure it was quite good enough to warrant the amount of work to prepare all the different components. I really liked the lentil/rice preparation as the base of the bowl and it was nice with halloumi, and I'll probably make that again as the starting point of a bowl, adding some roasted or grilled vegetable plus some sauce or dressing.

  • melanie_tszu70 on January 05, 2026

    This was a lot of work and while individual components were good, they did not blend well together.

  • zoe_fzh8d1 on March 27, 2026

    I love this dish and cook it often. I leave out the pomegranate seeds for budgetary reasons but else wise use all the same ingredients. Would love to try adding some rosemary beans sometime (inspired by my favorite dish at a local restaurant)

• Sticky pork with broccoli

  • MollyB on October 29, 2024

    Made this with chicken thighs instead of pork (per the headnote that says you can substitute chicken or tofu), and it was great and easy. I used a scant tablespoon chile-garlic sauce and wish I had used a little more. I did 1.5 times the recipe and that made enough for four servings. Be warned that the sauce may bake onto your sheet pan! I recommend lining with parchment or foil.

  • averythingcooks on November 26, 2024

    I used a 12 oz pork tenderloin, around 5 oz of broccoli & scaled the sauce to 3/4...the perfect amt for the 2 of us. I also used the suggested sambal for the heat. I did slightly overcook the pork while waiting for the sauce to get thicker/"glazier" (I will add it earlier next time) but regardless, this was very tasty beside some crispy smashed potatoes drizzled with a bright herb sauce. Thanks to MollyB re: lining the pan with foil...very happy that I followed her tip.

  • thefritschkitchen on January 14, 2025

    Very good, nice week night meal. I started the broccoli, then made rice and chopped the pork. I like broccoli a bit more roasted

  • Lepa on January 15, 2025

    This was really quick and easy - perfect for a busy school night! The sauce was great and the broccoli was delicious but the pork I used was too chewy. I will definitely make this again but probably use chicken, as recommended in the head note, next time. I also appreciate the note recommending a pan liner, as even with my Silpat this made a bit of a mess (but well worth it).

  • westminstr on January 29, 2025

    I made a double batch, one with chicken & broccoli, one w tofu, broccoli, and frozen “California” mix. I also forgot the corn starch in the chicken version & added the marinade from the beginning by mistake. It didn’t burn though. For the chicken version I had ample thin sauce & tofu had little sauce. Effort to reward ratio was pretty good.

  • Anniefro21 on February 06, 2025

    I thought this was quick and easy. Was it fantastic? No. Was it good enough? Yes. This recipe really came through in a way when I really had no energy to make dinner. Will I keep this recipe in my back pocket for when I am low energy but need to put a meal on the table? Definitely. I always keep pork tenderloins in my freezer purely for the fact of the quick thaw. I served this with white rice and felt like I had a whole wholesome meal with little effort.

  • Soulkitchenjen on May 12, 2025

    This was absolutely not life changing. The sauce didn’t get sticky for me. Was it pretty darn tasty for all of 20 minutes effort? Heck yeah. Everyone was nourished, nobody was sad. Winning all around.

• Chicken fajitas with poblanos & onions

  • hbakke on October 31, 2024

    I served this on top of a lime and salt seasoned cabbage slaw with diced avocado and a dollop of sour cream and salsa. Husband went the taco route. Quite simple and tasty. I added some roasted corn to the leftovers and liked that combined with greens for an easy lunch salad. I would make this again.

  • MollyB on July 01, 2025

    Delicious and pretty easy recipe, served s tacos with flour tortillas. It worked nicely cooked in a cast iron skillet on our gas grill outside. I used pork loin in place of chicken, and would recommend that as a variation.

  • Lepa on February 03, 2025

    I just love Julia's recipes! This was easy to throw together and delicious. My family wants to add this to our regular rotation. We ate it with sour cream, avocado and tortillas. My husband thinks more peppers would be good here- maybe add one more? Also, this makes a lot. I have two hungry teen boys and there were lots of leftovers.

• BBQ tofu & sweet potato fries

  • MollyB on November 01, 2024

    Very good, and very easy. A lot of the flavor comes from the barbecue sauce, so pay attention to what you use. I used some leftover homemade sauce I had in the fridge, and it would have been better with a more assertive sauce. (Next time I'll use the chipotle BBQ sauce from Michael Ruhlman's Charcuterie cookbook.)

  • skvalentine on November 18, 2024

    Loved this! So easy and made a perfect lunch for a couple of days. I'll enjoy trying this with different BBQ sauces.

  • westminstr on April 26, 2026

    I found the tofu part of this to be on the dry and bland side. I think frying the tofu before adding the sauce would probably improve it. However the sweet potato fries were shockingly good!

  • emilycaj on January 16, 2026

    The flavors here are delicious and this is such a quick, easy weeknight dinner. However, I generally freeze all of my tofu before using because I prefer the chewier texture that creates. That does NOT work for this recipe. The tofu was extremely dry and burned around the edges by the time the sweet potatoes were done. I assume from the other positive reviews that this isn't happening with non-frozen tofu, so I will try it again.

• Beef, spinach & feta meatballs

  • cheffreddie on November 04, 2024

    These were seriously much more delicious than I expected. I added 1/2 cup panko and one egg, because I think meatballs are always way yummier with some kind of breadcrumb in the mix. Otherwise followed the recipe exactly. A great way to sneak some extra spinach into your meal too!

• Braised spiced lamb meatballs

  • MollyB on November 04, 2024

    Quite good and easy, but I thought the sauce was a little too sweet for my taste (though others in the family liked it). There are other lamb meatball recipes I like more, where the lamb is more of a focus.

  • Lottabooks on July 01, 2025

    Made as written. Meatball tricks: (1) in advance, soak the panko in a little whole milk but not too much; (2) chill the meat before shaping (meatballs were pretty soft); and (3) before shaping meatballs make a little "trial" meatball and fry it up in olive oil to see if seasoned correctly. I made these pretty large and got 13 of them. I found the meatballs were perfectly seasoned, but the sauce needed salt. Also, I used fire-roasted crushed tomatoes and I think San Marzano would have been better. I wish I had seen the recommendation to serve with the chickpea & spinach rice (p. 169). I think this would have been a good pairing. This makes a lot of sauce and the dish could have easily served 5 (will freeze the rest in the sauce as per recipe). We enjoyed this, but I may gravitate toward the Ottolenghi recipe for lamb/pistachio patties instead (his Simple cookbook).

• Biscuits & gravy pie

  • skvalentine on November 14, 2024

    The gravy was delicious, but next time I would bake the biscuits separately and serve with the gravy. Baking biscuits on top of the gravy resulted in very soggy biscuits for me.

  • averythingcooks on December 24, 2024

    Neither of us grew up eating sausage gravy on biscuits and this was a great place to start. I made my own biscuits ahead of time and used a mix of sweet + hot peppers (fresh & from the freezer). Based on skvalentine’s comment, I finished the gravy on the stove and spooned it over the baked biscuits and we really enjoyed this.

• Kinda Sicilian spaghetti

  • gamulholland on November 25, 2024

    My husband said this was something like his (Italian) great-aunt Mary used to make. But I’m not sure I’d make it again unless asked — the carbs with carbs thing was pretty heavy. I’d also wait to add any of the cheese until the end because it melted and caught the capers and pine nuts and raisins so that they didn’t distribute throughout the pasta that well, so the spaghetti with breadcrumbs was the main impression.

• Stir-fried hoisin chicken & broccoli

  • MollyB on December 22, 2024

    A good, quick, easy meal. Not the most complex or exciting stir-fry I've made, but it could be made from things I had in the freezer and was a fairly healthy, tasty meal for two.

  • Lepa on July 09, 2025

    This was dreadful. Maybe it was my fault because I used fresh broccoli instead of frozen. By the time the broccoli was cooked the chicken was tough as shoe leather. The sauce never cooked down and thickened sufficiently despite boiling it over high heat for more than five minutes. I did appreciate @anya_sf's suggestion to use chili crisp as that improved the flavor tremendously. This was a very rare fail for this book, and this author, who is one of my favorite recipe writers.

  • anya_sf on April 13, 2025

    Great freezer meal. I had slightly more chicken and 16 oz broccoli, so increased the sauce by 50%. It was a little thin, but not so much that I bothered thickening it. We liked the flavor as written, but loved it with some chili crisp.

• White bean, roasted tomato & polenta pie

  • averythingcooks on January 08, 2025

    This recipe inspired me to thaw some olive oil rst'd cherry tomatoes that I made/froze in late summer. I poured some of that oil into a pan to cook mild Italian sausage meat with the garlic, some red onion and a mix of sweet & hot peppers. The tomatoes, navy beans (also from the freezer) , oregano & lots of fresh basil then went in until everything was heated through (skipping the olives this time). This was served over a bed of creamy mozzarella polenta with more basil & the parmesan. Not exactly what she wrote but the big ideas/flavours were there, we really liked it (and I think the author would approve :)

  • julia_un405k on March 31, 2026

    Love this recipe! A great vegetarian entree that comes together quickly with pantry ingredients and is super adaptable

• Eggplant Parm heroes

  • rpepper on January 18, 2025

    Loved this. For the garlic bread, I used a thick 9x13-inch focaccia, split and broiled with the garlic butter. The eggplant parm went on half of the focaccia. Some of us ate it open-face, with the extra garlic bread on the side, and others turned it into sandwiches. Served 5 hungry people. Note a slight error in the recipe. The ingredient list calls for the butter to be at room temperature, but the instructions assume that the butter has been melted. I melted the butter.

• Roasted fish & cauliflower with Sicilian tomato salad

  • westminstr on November 17, 2025

    Great dish. Made as written except the basil (didn’t have). The tomato salad is really good! & works well with everything else.

  • susankay on March 18, 2025

    Fantastic! So fresh-tasting, and a variety of textures going on. I used a bit less oil, but otherwise followed the recipe.

  • Clumsykristel on February 14, 2025

    Made this, skipping the olives and basil. It was quite nice - all the punch comes from the tomato salad, the fish and cauliflower are pretty neutral in flavour. I'd eat it again.

• Farmers' lunch pasta

  • westminstr on April 30, 2026

    I’m not a farmer so I left out the pasta. Chopped kale, dressed as recommended, warm beans, parsley & ricotta made a really good lunch salad!

  • Brittania on February 17, 2026

    Yummy with ricotta! Slices of roasted delicata squash added a pop of sweetness.

• Roasted chicken pot pie

  • dianev on July 13, 2025

    Excellent and easy recipe. A bit too salty for me as written. Maybe my chicken was large, but the next time I made this two of us had a meal from the chicken, and there was plenty left over to make the pie.

  • gallucci on May 14, 2026

    delicious, and pretty easy. Used GF puff pastry as crust and roasted our own chicken, otherwise followed the recipe. Will def make again.

  • sarah_jla6vs on May 22, 2026

    Easy to make and freezes well. Definitely don’t be shy with the salt, as she recommends.

• Best tuna mac salad

  • NJChicaa on May 18, 2025

    I skipped the olives because I don't like them but followed the rest of the recipe. Delicious!

• Olive oil & buttermilk loaf

  • thefritschkitchen on April 03, 2025

    This loaf took all of 5 minutes to throw together and get in the over. It was my first time using Fiori di Sicilia and I love this flavor! Great on its own, toasted, or topped with roasted berry sauce and whipped cream. A very grown up flavor profile, but a great vehicle that comes together super fast!

  • gallucci on May 14, 2026

    Absolutely delicious! As a celiac, I had to sub in KA Gluten free flour. Made one with Yuzu zest and another with almond extract. Both were fantastic.

  • Jviney on April 14, 2025

    So quick to put together and a really lovely cake. I used the recommended 1 tsp of Fior di Sicilia and would cut it back to 1/2 tsp for personal taste as it felt overpowering. Definitely a repeat though.

• Apple & cranberry crisp

  • gallucci on May 14, 2026

    Easy and delicious!

  • anya_sf on November 15, 2025

    Made 1/2 recipe fruit but just 1/3 recipe topping and was happy with that ratio. I wasn't sure about leaving the peel on the apple but it wasn't too noticeable, although next time I would halve the apple slices crosswise. Loved the flavor and the topping had a nice texture.

• Everything-bagel salmon & smashed potatoes

  • averythingcooks on June 11, 2025

    I came here for the crispy smashed potatoes & this method worked really well. The seasoning was simple (and I was also generous with the salt & garlic powder) but I believe Ina Garten said something along the lines of too many big flavours hitting you on the head = headache (clearly a paraphrase but I'm too lazy to go look on my bookshelf :) With a lovely marinade on our grilled steak & a really nice blue cheese wedge salad, these fit beautifully on our plates.

  • anya_sf on June 06, 2025

    Tasty combination, well received by my family. I had 1.5 lbs potatoes, so used 2 sheet pans. Increased the salt and garlic powder by 50%, which seemed like too much, but was good in the end (a lot of it ended up on the parchment). I used slightly less mustard, just enough to coat the salmon.

• Springtime chicken meatballs

  • anya_sf on June 26, 2025

    I only had 12 oz zucchini and used parsley instead of mint. Using an ice cream scoop, I got 15 meatballs. My family liked them a lot and would have liked more sauce.

• Chicken with artichokes, sun-dried tomatoes & feta

  • Skamper on December 19, 2025

    The flavor to effort ratio is very high! I had a bit more than 1 b of chicken so rounded up the spices (used about half smoked paprika and half regular) and added a few handfuls of chopped fresh spinach and 2 tomatoes, chopped, that needed using. I served over quinoa. Would also be good with chicken thighs.

  • jenburkholder on July 20, 2025

    This was good and oh-so-easy! My sundried tomatoes were not in oil, so I briefly plumped them in hot water then added to the artichoke brine for a couple hours to pick up some flavor. I also tossed in a handful of halved grape tomatoes that needed to be used up. We're not normally white meat people but it worked here. Served with brown rice and would repeat happily.

  • Soulkitchenjen on May 08, 2025

    The flavor payoff of this recipe that takes all of 10 minutes is incredible. I served over farro dressed with lemon vinaigrette.

• Morning glory muffins

  • anya_sf on March 16, 2025

    I used all (white) whole wheat flour and the muffins were not too heavy, with the batter mixed the night before baking. My 2 carrots were pretty large and I got 14 muffins. Despite having less sugar than usual, the muffins were plenty sweet, probably from the pineapple. Really good!

• Chocolate espresso wake-up cake

  • anya_sf on September 22, 2025

    Very simple to make, although not mix-in-an-ungreased-pan simple like the wacky chocolate cake it's based on. My cake took 5 extra minutes to bake and sank slightly in the center as it cooled (but the frosting covered that). The cake itself had a light chocolate flavor, but the frosting was super chocolatey. I'm not usually affected by coffee in baked goods, but this one was a little strong for me late in the evening, so next time I will use decaf.

  • hanorwick on January 19, 2026

    Delicious and so easy!

• Pineapple upside-down cake (a cobbler, inverted)

  • pattyatbryce on September 14, 2025

    Easy to pull together and has a wow-factor of the pineapples and cherries on top after flipping. We very much enjoyed it.

  • anya_sf on May 27, 2026

    #pudcbakeoff I used 2 extra slices of pineapple and cherries to cover a 9"x13" pan. The cake layer was thin; baking time was 35 min. Cooled about 15 min before unmolding relatively cleanly. The cake was tender, although the flavor wasn't quite as good as butter cakes. But I'd make it again as it was quick and easy, no mixer required, and not as sweet as most.