Notes about Recipes in this book

• Drunken beans

  • louie734 on November 12, 2014

    These beans are just awesome. A small amount of beer somehow makes the beans and their liquid much tastier. I've made it with fancy Rancho Gordos, and supermarket pintos.

• Penne alla vodka

  • louie734 on November 12, 2014

    It's been a long time since I made this recipe. Comfort food to the max!

• Sweet and spicy pickled onions

  • louie734 on November 12, 2014

    I've made these onions so many times that I have the recipe memorized. A staple in our fridge; if the jar is getting low, I'll make a new batch before it's gone. So addictive: sweet-spicy, vinegary and crunchy, perfect on all tacos or rice bowls, great in a sandwich, we even use the liquid to dress cabbage on taco night. I never discard the vinegar as the recipe calls for - I stuff the onion slices in a jar, pour the boiled liquid with chiles over it, lid then fridge. They keep forever, if they last that long.

• Slow-roasted beef

  • louie734 on November 12, 2014

    This beef is so good that we serve it for Christmas dinner. Nobody knows it's cheap eye of round; the slow roasting and the overnight salting are the perfect treatments. We roast the night before because it's so much easier to slice once cooled; if you keep it on the rare side and reheat very gently, in its juices, it stays tender. The only down side of this is the meat doesn't stay pink once reheated, even if it's not overcooked.

  • louie734 on January 01, 2015

    Made this stunner again for Christmas dinner - for 14, we made two 3-lb roasts side-by-side in a roasting rack. These are perfect and so easy; the hardest thing is slicing (use a serrated knife). This year instead of making ahead, cooked the day of, and the meat was beautiful. Made the horseradish cream sauce this year, and didn't sweat it that there wasn't any gravy. Also makes the best leftover sandwiches.

• Horseradish cream sauce

  • louie734 on January 01, 2015

    Really good alongside the beef. Really, really easy. Would be good as a mustard cream sauce with some strong Dijon whisked in.

  • Skamper on December 27, 2020

    Delicious with our Christmas prime rib. A half batch was more than enough for 2 with leftovers. Used prepared horseradish.

• Cincinnati chili

  • louie734 on March 10, 2014

    We love this twist on chili-mac. Tastes just like Skyline Chili, but the beef isn't quite as fine in the sauce. The recipe is easy, too… note that it does have to simmer for an hour. There's a skillet recipe in CI's Cover & Bake, but I prefer the spaghetti cooked separately, and they're virtually the same otherwise: in this recipe the meat is blanched, removed, and added back to the sauce; in the skillet recipe, it's browned, removed, and returned.

• Foolproof double-crust pie dough

  • louie734 on November 12, 2014

    This really is the easiest pie dough to work with. I always use the food processor method. Last time I ran out of vegetable shortening and used some coconut oil to make up the difference (by weight) with success.

• Make-ahead mashed potatoes

  • louie734 on November 12, 2014

    These worked very well for Christmas dinner last year. It was a pain, though, scraping out the contents of all the baked potato skins. (For dinner we ate the skins!)

  • louie734 on January 01, 2015

    Made this recipe again for Christmas - we thought 8 lbs would serve 14 with leftovers, but 5-6 would've been fine. Since this was the only recipe we were making ahead, I was less irritated by scraping out all the skins. Plus, they turn out amazing - rich, so smooth, nobody knows they're day-before. Used really good Snowville cream and Kerrygold butter which made a difference in this few-ingredient gem. PS we skipped making gravy this year and didn't miss it.

• Spicy whipped feta

  • TAvallone on March 06, 2010

    This recipe is ridiculously easy for the level of swooning that results when people eat it. For a pretty presentation, layer it with roasted red pepper puree in a clear serving dish. It might require a little extra lemon juice and olive oil to make get it to the appropriate spreading consistency.

• Roasted green beans

  • lisachile on August 28, 2011

    I made these and they were awful. Not sure if I did something wrong or this is just a bad recipe. Chewy tasteless green beans.

• Yeasted waffles

  • spharo00 on April 01, 2013

    These waffles crisped up nicely on the outside and were soft and pillowy on the inside. I added some vital wheat gluten to the batter when mixing because I had some on hand. I'm not sure of the difference it made, but I do know that the batter rose quite generously before I made the waffles the next morning. This is a great make-ahead recipe since the batter has to be mixed the night before.

• Potstickers

  • Paojava on June 20, 2012

    This made 50 potstickers using the basic square won ton wrappers. I had a lot of leftover filling (thinking i will use it in lo mien?). Very good!

  • TBus on November 20, 2021

    Pg 27

• Soy-ginger sauce with scallion

  • Analyze on February 13, 2019

    This recipe is delicious! The sauce is great, as is the cauliflower cooking method. Have made it 2x now and it was a hit both times.

• Pan-roasted asparagus with toasted garlic and Parmesan

  • Analyze on March 12, 2019

    This is a delicious recipe! I've made it four times and we've loved it every time. My husband doesn't care for the garlic, so I get it all :)

• Applesauce snack cake

  • Analyze on March 12, 2019

    This is SO good! The base cake has a wonderful apple flavor and a great texture. I tried both this recipe, and the Oat-Nut Streusel variation. My husband, who doesn't normally like oat streusel or sweet quick breads, loved the streusel variation. I actually preferred this original version with the cinnamon-sugar topping, as in my opinion it complements the apple flavor in the cake better, and actually makes the cake taste more apple-y. You can't go wrong with either version, or try half and half like I did :) I already have several apple cake recipes that I love, and didn't think I needed another, but I did! I'm excited to try the ginger-cardamom version next. Personally, we had it for breakfast, but this would be great with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream too.

• Applesauce snack cake with oat-nut streusel

  • Analyze on March 12, 2019

    This is SO good! The base cake has a wonderful apple flavor and a great texture. I tried both this recipe, and the original (no streusel). My husband, who doesn't normally like oat streusel or sweet quick breads, loved the streusel variation. I actually preferred this original version with the cinnamon-sugar topping, as in my opinion it complements the apple flavor in the cake better, and actually makes the cake taste more apple-y. You can't go wrong with either version, or try half and half like I did :) I already have several apple cake recipes that I love, and didn't think I needed another, but I did! I'm excited to try the ginger-cardamom version next. Personally, we had it for breakfast, but this would be great with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream too. P.S. A tip I read online and am eager to try next time: Leave the applesauce in the fridge. Instead of waiting for the dried apple & cider mixture to cool, blend them at once, to bring both to room temperature sooner.

• Fish tacos

  • SACarlson on September 17, 2017

    I substituted sour cream for the mayonnaise, as I prefer that flavour profile and texture. That also worked extremely well.

• Triple-ginger pear crisp

  • joyous on April 29, 2016

    Such a great combination of flavors. My go-to dessert recipe when pears are in season.

• Blueberry swirl muffins

  • Tweedles81 on June 14, 2020

    These are definitely a bit more work than a typical blueberry muffin recipe, but they are SOO worth it! We only added 5 oz of sugar to the batter, as we like things less sweet. We also put less sugar in the sugar lemon topping than called for. It was kind of hard to swirl the jam in, so ours looked a little messy. The muffins had many different layers of flavor. Even my blueberry muffin-hating daughter loved them!

• Tandoori chicken

  • Skamper on October 02, 2019

    Very good and easy. Used all split breasts, cut in half, and probably had slightly more than 3 lbs but used directed amounts of everything else. Served with the cilantro mint chutney on p 445.

• Chicken biryani

  • Beebopalulu on January 21, 2020

    Relatively simple. Nice, though not especially complex flavour. Too much rice to chicken ratio.

• Swedish meatballs

  • Beebopalulu on December 02, 2019

    Meatballs were good but not spectacular, which they should have been given the amount of fussing. Really liked the sauce. Might simplify the meatball recipe next time.

• Swedish pickled cucumbers

  • Beebopalulu on December 02, 2019

    Delicious. Good basic quick pickle recipe.

• Sautéed green beans with smoked paprika and almonds

  • Beebopalulu on December 02, 2019

    Like the technique. Flavours are nice, but not out-of-this world.

• Oven-ready French toast casserole

  • Beebopalulu on December 02, 2019

    This is delectable - basically a dessert you can eat for breakfast. Good make-ahead potential for a crowd.