Notes about Recipes in this book

• Crispy black bean cakes with sour cream and avocado

  • jaelsne on February 08, 2012

    This recipe turned out to be delicious!!! The reason I gave it four stars rather than five is that I wouldn't label it quick and easy. I needed to pull out the food processor and dirty a skillet and several bowls. Though the dish itself was fairly easy to pull together, the cleanup was more than I expected for a "quick and easy" dish.

• Horseradish-crusted roast beef

  • Breadcrumbs on October 26, 2015

    p. 155 – The crust was certainly delicious however I’d have much preferred it on a prime rib vs a sirloin tip roast. Against my better judgment I trusted the recipe’s use of the dry heat method and the resulting beef was fairly tough. IMHO a sirloin tip benefits from braise. Nevertheless, when the beef was sliced thinly it had great flavour and was certainly edible, just not as tender as I’d have liked. The crust is a keeper though, delicious! Forgot to take a photo of this one.

• Pork rib roast with balsamic onion marmalade

  • nicolepellegrini on July 23, 2021

    This was a delicious way to prepare a pork rib roast! I loved the balsamic onion marmalade, it was perfect to serve on the side and the meat had a wonderful crispy-sweet crust from the cooking method. Would easily make again.

• Chicken salad with blue cheese and grapes

  • nicolepellegrini on June 11, 2019

    This was quite tasty - a great way to use up some leftover roast chicken. I used pine nuts instead of sunflower seeds. Liked the touch of funk added by the blue cheese - it kept the grapes from making the salad too sweet.

• Braised chicken with olives and sweet peppers

  • nicolepellegrini on November 12, 2019

    Ok, but a little heavy for my taste. Cook the peppers for less time or else they'll be mush.

• Pasta with cauliflower, peppers and walnut pesto

  • nicolepellegrini on June 22, 2021

    This was good, and made for a LOT of food. Getting a good brown on the cauliflower is important to bring together the flavors properly.

• Pan-seared tuna steaks with capers and oregano

  • nicolepellegrini on November 25, 2020

    I liked this one a lot. The sauce had a great, pungent flavor that stood up well with the tuna steaks.

• Pan-fried salmon with citrus vinaigrette

  • nicolepellegrini on July 05, 2014

    This was "just okay" in my opinion; the citrus vinaigrette is a bit sharp and overwhelming for the salmon, but it was nice with the asparagus (I grilled mine instead of boiling them.)

• Salmon in tomato-olive sauce

  • nicolepellegrini on November 29, 2020

    Good fast weeknight dinner. Makes lots of sauce so serve with some crusty bread or perhaps rice to enjoy it all.

• Halibut with grilled ratatouille

  • nicolepellegrini on November 21, 2020

    Easy to pull together. Husband loved the ratatouille especially and said he could make a meal of that with some crusty bread.

• Red snapper with zucchini and black olive tapenade

  • nicolepellegrini on October 30, 2019

    The fish came out nice, but I thought the topping and vegetables in dressing made it all a bit too rich and heavy for me. Usually these are all flavors I love, and in combination, but here it began to be a bit overkill for my tastebuds.

• Pan-fried smoked-trout cakes with lemony salad

  • nicolepellegrini on September 24, 2013

    Very nice, simple to make and the cakes stayed together well for pan-frying with the panko breadcrumb crust. Good with a touch of hot sauce on the side.

• Neopolitan meat loaf with pine nuts and raisins

  • nicolepellegrini on February 20, 2019

    We liked this very much. Made with a mix of ground pork and venison. Noting a comment on the online recipe that it could use a little extra "something" I added some sauteed minced onions, and soaked the raisins in grappa instead of water.

• Quinoa salad with roasted peppers and tomatoes

  • nicolepellegrini on May 20, 2021

    This recipe makes a LOT - we had leftovers for days, but at least it held up well. I used radishes instead of cucumbers.

• Japanese spiced eggplants

  • hillsboroks on August 19, 2021

    Delicious doesn't even begin to describe this dish! I stumbled upon this recipe doing a search for something to make with the togarashi seasoning I had on hand. It is an amazingly simple, fast recipe with huge flavor rewards. Our bumper crop of Japanese eggplants will keep me making this recipe all summer long.

• Pumpkin-gingersnap tiramisù

  • hillsboroks on December 10, 2019

    This was disappointing. With all the wonderful ingredients I thought it would be spectacular as a holiday dessert but instead it turned out a bit ho hum. My guests mostly passed it up for a spiced pear bundt cake I had also made. I won't bother with this again.

• Mixed-berry spoon cake

  • danibattle on March 05, 2015

    http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/mixed-berry-spoon-cake

• Classic Belgian waffles

  • lawrencecharcuterie on January 30, 2022

    Straightforward recipe. When it says it makes four, for my small waffle maker I would say for pears for a total of eight. I skipped the vanilla when making for a savory recipe

• Creamy ricotta

  • lawrencecharcuterie on March 19, 2021

    This is our go-to ricotta recipe. Very flexible with the types of milk used. Any combo of milk, half and half, cream or buttermilk will work great. Good way to use up milk products nearing their expiration dates.

  • pattyatbryce on January 03, 2022

    So easy that you will wonder why you ever buy ricotta.

• Circassian chicken salad

  • sosayi on January 16, 2019

    https://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/circassian-chicken-salad

• Sauvignon blanc-steamed mussels with garlic toasts

  • mooo42 on June 15, 2019

    The sake steamed mussels with ginger and miso variation

• Salmon with oyster mushrooms and peppers

  • wkhull on October 05, 2022

    This was tasty. I think it would marry well work well with a miso glazed type salmon preparation too.

• Grilled sour cream-marinated shrimp

  • wkhull on October 27, 2022

    I broiled instead of grilled and drizzled the butter on the shrimp instead of brushing, so as not to remove any marinade. These turned out really well, and I ended up using the left over marinade for a salmon fillet the next day. Page 196.

• Honey-glazed duck with Savoy cabbage

  • wkhull on February 16, 2023

    The orange glaze was very tasty. I used mandarins and it came out great. I did not strain the glaze, but just picked out the cinnamon stick and thyme sprigs.

• Sweet potato, chipotle and apple soup

  • wkhull on October 03, 2022

    I found this really spicy with the smallest can of chipotle in adobo. I had to throw in some cream to tame the spice.

• Roasted eggplant-and-lentil soup

  • wkhull on July 30, 2020

    I gave this recipe a four star rating: Five stars for health. Three stars for taste since it came out bland. I used 2% milk instead of 1%. I think cooking the lentils in chicken stock and adding some sauteed cumin and garlic would go along way to giving this more depth. It did taste much better reheated the next day. If you love eggplant and lentils you should make this recipe.

• Orange-cardamon date bars with a nutty crust

  • wkhull on February 18, 2021

    p. 357

• Crisp tomato, zucchini and eggplant bread gratin

  • MarciK on August 21, 2019

    I used this as a base recipe but made some changes. Instead of the bottom layer of bread, I mixed in some breadcrumbs and topped with a mix of bread crumbs, parmesan & romano cheese which I added halfway through baking. I also used rosemary and oregano instead of basil and thyme. Where I had difficulty with the recipe was with salt. It tells you how much to add to strain some of the liquid from the eggplant and zucchini, but leaves it to you to salt to taste when assembling the recipe. The problem is that there is not a way to taste and adjust, and having already added some salt, I had no idea how much more to use. It left me guessing, and the final dish was a little too salty for my taste, although it may have been perfect to some. I would have preferred actual measurements of salt throughout the dish based on what the recipe writer tested to be the best level.

• White bean and chicken soup

  • Maryalicem on March 24, 2020

    This is a delicious soup - easy and loved by all.