• Sarah_C on January 14, 2016

  ECWH.

Notes about Recipes in this book

• Mexican rice

  • Moniquelfp on February 20, 2013

    I made this for a wine group dinner with a Mexican theme. The rice was easy and delicious. I have tried multiple mexican rice recipes and I like the pureeing of the veggies (onion, tomato, jalapeno) here. I think it adds great flavor all throughout the dish - vs sometimes when you dice the veggies you can get some pockets of flavor.

• Tortilla soup

  • Allegra on January 20, 2013

    A surprisingly wonderful and filling soup....I loved the tip about baking the tortilla strips w/a touch of oil in place of frying. Will adopt this method in the future for other recipes. Added toasted crumbed pasilla chiles to each bowl upon serving, and charred the tomatoes, onion, garlic and jalapenos on a comal before blending. I prefer using queso fresco instead of monterey jack; the melting cheese becomes too gloppy in the mix. The lime juice added at the table is a must; it really brings all the favours together. Delicious!

• French onion soup

  • jbuchman on July 10, 2017

    Takes some time, but well worth it. Need a good quality Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed stock pot. The depth of flavor is great.

• Sizzling shrimp in garlic sauce

  • Laura on September 16, 2010

    This could not have been simpler to make -- which was why I chose it -- didn't have a lot of time or motivation today. Unfortunately, it wasn't that good either. There are many far better ways to cook shrimp. I would not make this again.

• Tomato tart

  • Analyze on June 06, 2017

    This is a really delicious tart! The Parmesan cheese crust is fantastic, and the layers of ricotta filling and then fresh tomatoes drizzled with garlic and olive oil are just perfect. Highly recommended!

• Hummus

  • Laura on February 05, 2011

    While this may not be the best hummus I've ever had, it's a downright delicious, classic hummus recipe. Two of us consumed the entire quantity in one sitting. It definitely benefits from time in the refrigerator, so don't skip that step.

• Algerian-style fennel, orange, and olive salad

  • Laura on February 04, 2011

    I really did not like this at all. To me, the flavors did not work well together. I think I would prefer this with red onion rather than fennel, as it is in the popular orange salad recipe in Claudia Roden's book, Arabesque.

• West African sweet potato and peanut soup

  • Alowishs on April 02, 2016

    (on page 418) SO GOOD! Loved it. Followed instructions exactly. Ate it with James McNair cornbread. Gave recipe to an acquaintance and her family loved it too. A new go-to that will WOW the crowd.

• Pan-roasted halibut steaks with chermoula

  • Heykellysue on April 08, 2020

    I marinated the fish in a potion of the chermoula sauce for about an hour before I started to cook it - yes that colored the fish green slightly :) and now that I know it colors it green slightly - I can get creative with the color (I posted a pic). With the remaining sauce, I added about a half cup of tzatziki to give it extra creaminess and balance the lemon flavor - maybe I put a little to much lemon juice when I made the sauce (I juiced one whole lemon for the sauce). I topped the cooked fish with the tzatziki chermoula sauce and some diced avocados on a sauteed hash of zucchini, tomato, and peppers. Turned out great. My husband said I need to put this dish on rotation. My 25 year old daughter doesn't like fish but liked this because the fish was not fishy tasting and she liked the sauce. Daughter's boyfriend (who is not a fish eater) ate it and finished it as well. Turned out good. No complaints. Would be a good fish introduction dish for someone squeamish about eating fish.

  • Laura on February 04, 2011

    Love this dish! The chermoula added such wonderful flavor to the halibut and was also great over scrambled eggs the next morning!

• Basic rice pilaf

  • jbuchman on May 28, 2019

    Perfect with chicken tikka masala from the same cookbook. Use authentic Indian basmati rice from an Indian market, if possible.

• Chicken curry

  • mr.paul on February 07, 2015

    Made this, and the flavour was quite nice. As made, it basically has extremely little heat, so if you like it hot you'll need to add something. The sauce is slightly grainy (almost looks broken), so I deducted a little from that. I cooked the thighs to dead on 170 F, but I think a little more cooking to make them a little more fall-apart would improve the texture. Will make this again.

• Tandoori chicken

  • trmarvin on December 24, 2018

    (Sub coconut milk for yogurt)

• Chicken tikka masala

  • Paojava on June 25, 2012

    This is by far my husband's favorite meal. Well worth the effort. He had never tried Indian food before I made this for him. Now, both he and my son ask for it regularly.

  • jbuchman on May 28, 2019

    This is excellent in every respect. Make sure to serve with basmati rice pilaf from the same cookbook.

• Fresh spring rolls

  • Aggie92 on April 21, 2016

    My first time to make spring rolls, so I really appreciated the step-by-step instructions. Flavorful and oh so yummy. We loved them so much that I've already made them twice in less than a week. Only made a few small changes: omitted the peanuts, used the leafy green parts of Romaine lettuce, and added an extra half shrimp to each roll. I would caution that you follow the cooking instructions for your brand of rice vermicelli. Mine only had to soak 3 minutes. If I would have followed the recipe's instructions for a 10 minute soak I would have been left with a pile of mush. Did not make the accompanying hoisin-peanut sauce. Instead I served with a nuoc cham dipping sauce from "Williams Sonoma Essentials of Asian".

• Vietnamese rice noodle salad

  • louie734 on August 03, 2017

    Skipping the protein and using a heavy hand with the veggies makes an easy, delicious cold dinner for when it's too hot to do anything but boil a kettle of water. I halved the dressing and still have some left over.

• Sichuan green beans

  • Allegra on September 07, 2012

    This version of dry-fried green beans, although perhaps questionable in authenticity, is my favourite way to prepare the famous dish. I have converted many a bean-hater with this recipe.