Notes about Recipes in this book

• Basil pesto

  • averythingcooks on May 10, 2026

    As I find myself preferring basil pesto with added lemon zest, I think this is a great version.

• Croque monsieur

  • averythingcooks on January 08, 2026

    The recipe is written to serve 2 so I made 1/2 the sauce for 1 sandwich & while it might depend on the size of the bread slices (although my sandwich seemed pretty big!) I would have been fine taking it to 1/3 . Regardless (& not surprisingly :) I had a delicious, knife & fork sandwich which was perfect beside a little salad with a very sharp hit of acid in the dressing. Oh yes...I did turn the broiler on at the end of the bake for a more browned/bubbly top.

• Sausage & spinach-stuffed shells in mushroom cheese sauce

  • averythingcooks on February 02, 2026

    I made these shells with 2/3rd's of the sausage (a mix of hot & mild), using 6 right away baked in marinara, topped with mozzarella + parmesan and froze the remaining "unsauced" shells to be used at a later date. I topped up the spinach with fresh herbs (basil & oregano) and added some beaten egg for moisture. It's a nice change to have shells with a hearty (and tasty!) filling surrounded by a meatless sauce.

• Provençal beef stew (Bœuf en daube)

  • averythingcooks on January 13, 2026

    A nice pot of stew. She provides some options so I used the suggested rosemary in place of the juniper berries + 1/2'd grape tomatoes in place of dicing larger ones. I will say that I am now convinced that we now vastly prefer roasting the carrots separately & then serving them on top of a finished stew. We enjoyed this over mashed potatoes.

• Cheddar cornbread muffins

  • averythingcooks on February 15, 2026

    Very nice and still moist on day 2. Great warm with butter and perhaps even greater with little dollops of tomato jam added here & there :)

• Hasselback potato gratin

  • averythingcooks on March 08, 2026

    I used 4 medium Yukon golds with 1/2 the sauce...perhaps a bit too saucy?? but oooohhhh so good. I had some gruyere to finish up so it went into the sauce & I seasoned with a rosemary infused salt. I also gave it a final sprinkle of reggiano, perhaps gilding the lily but again, these were delicious and it was a good idea to eat these with just a green salad on the plate. Because the hasselbacked potatoes are 1st roasted without the sauce (but with clarified butter + S & P) and then finished with the sauce, the potatoes were cooked perfectly.

• Cottage cabbage coleslaw

  • averythingcooks on March 31, 2026

    The question I am now asking myself is why I have not made coleslaw dressing with Montreal steak spice & maple syrup until now? I added pickled carrots, sliced red onion + a little beet chutney to the cabbage & green onions and we loved this beside some saucy BBQ chicken.