• Eat Your Books

  See Susie's review of this cookbook in her round-up of the best summer 2010 cookbooks at NPR plus two sample recipes.

Notes about Recipes in this book

• Stir-fried baby bok choy with golden garlic and silky sauce

  • lorloff on July 08, 2022

    This worked really well. I had a lot of bok choy of mixed sizes it took two batches to cook the bok choy in my large french pan. I removed the golden garlic from the pan after the oil was fully flavored and added it back at the end. Used Megachef oyster sauce —- fantastic.

  • chawkins on April 24, 2014

    Good basic stir-fried greens. I used baby Shanghai bok choy. Instead of mixing the oyster sauce with the cornstarch slurry, I added the oyster sauce directly to the bok choy then added the slurry. That is the way I normally do stir-fried greens.

  • lkgrover on February 24, 2022

    Terrific. I used baby bok choy, made as written. Served with jasmine rice.

• Bacon and rosemary sautéed Brussels sprouts and baby bellas

  • lorloff on June 21, 2020

    This was very delicious. Next time I would brown the bacon a bit in the dry pan to release more of its flavorful fat. I would add half the butter at the end and we used vegan butter Miyokos the flavor worked well since we have a milk allergy in our house. I would also start next time with less oil next time. Will definitely make again. It worked really well because it cooks away in the pan with little attending after everything is chopped. Might increase the rosemary slightly next time. Very recommended.

  • wkhull on January 10, 2023

    Brussels were overcooked and mushy at 28 minutes. I did have to kick the heat up half-way through to get any kind of browning. I prefer bacon crunchy, so should have sauteed first, allowing for draining of some of the bacon fat, and then added it back in at the end. There were some beautiful browned bits in the pan so I deglazed whatever browned bits were left with water, added cream, reduced it to a sauce, and dumped it over the dish. (Page 111)

• Warm Parmesan fava beans with shallots and mint

  • LaPomme on May 19, 2011

    Page 130. Used a citrus vinegar instead of sherry vinegar, and it turned out well.

• Stir-fried carrots with ginger, lime, and cilantro

  • eliza on January 17, 2016

    This was very good and the basic recipe worked well, was easy to make, and tasty. It would be a good side dish with salmon or barbecued meats. I held back on some of the lime juice until I tasted it, and I would recommend doing that since carrots vary in sweetness. I also cooked the garlic a little longer than 30 seconds, but other than that followed the recipe. This has nice toasty flavours and has become a staple.

• Japanese dipping sauce

  • eliza on January 23, 2018

    This homemade ponzu sauce was very good; a reasonable substitute if you don't have the real thing. Excellent with the roasted broccoli.

• Roasted broccoli florets with two dipping sauces

  • eliza on January 23, 2018

    This came together easily and was delicious with the dipping sauce. I didn't make the garlic butter this time. Cooking time was about 16 minutes 450 convection.

• Sautéed asparagus with pancetta and Parmigiano for two

  • eliza on May 25, 2016

    I liked this dish and it was very easy to make. I used apple smoked bacon instead of pancetta and served with scrambled eggs. I liked the balsamic vinegar at the end. A nice way to enjoy asparagus from the garden. This recipe should be classified under "cooking for 1 or 2”.

• Gingery sweet potato and apple sauté with toasted almonds

  • vhopcroft on May 19, 2011

    Too sweet

  • tui on January 03, 2015

    I used a much tarter apple than a Golden Delicious.

• Corn sauté with chile and lime

  • vhopcroft on May 30, 2011

    fantastic

• Double-lemon ginger carrot salad

  • vhopcroft on May 19, 2011

    Fantastic. I used local, organic carrots (really best with fresh carrots) and canola in lieu of peanut oil. My toddler ate this up.

  • melissa8800 on January 01, 2013

    I love the genius of this recipe, carrots and ginger. I love my mom's carrot salad but no longer want all the mayo. This one is flavorful and filling. I made this recipe but wanted more ginger flavor. This recipe ended up to be the starting point for my favorite carrot salad. If you are interested, this is how I make it now: In large bowl, make vinaigrette of juice of orange, juice of lemon, lemon rind, salt, pepper, fresh grated ginger, stevia, honey, little olive oil, chopped cilantro (sometimes), and finely chopped red onion (sometimes). Make sure the dressing is very flavorful. Pour raisins into the vinaigrette to soak while you prepare the carrots. Add lots of grated carrots to the bowl. Thoroughly mix the dressing and carrots. Eat now or let sit to marry flavors. Also great the next day.

  • barbarajane on August 23, 2014

    I have to add my approval of this salad. It is terrific just as it is.

• Peas with lemon, mint, and scallions

  • bloomcds on June 24, 2011

    Use the lime and coconut milk variation and serve with new potatoes

  • Tweedles81 on April 30, 2020

    Quick and easy! Will make again if all ingredients on hand. I doubled the recipe and cooked peas for 3.5 min. They were a little more al dente then I would have liked but perfectly edible!

• Stir-fried broccoli, mushrooms, and onions with tasty sauce

  • Evie on May 06, 2014

    Added about 10 oz shrimp to the recipe. Also doubled the sauce ingredients.

  • lkgrover on June 03, 2023

    Excellent broccoli stir-fry side dish. I increased the sauce, as suggested by stepharama1 & Evie. Served with cashew chicken stir-fry and rice.

  • stepharama1 on May 18, 2023

    Definitely double the sauce as Evie suggested in her note. Although the technique for stir frying is different than the traditional, the recipe produces a very tasty dish with a little char to the veggies. I also added some jalapenos to add a little spice. This is a nice midweek dinner.

• Stir-fried bok choy and napa cabbage with black bean sauce

  • BookishMa on November 27, 2011

    I followed the recipe to the letter (rare for me) and used weighted measurements when I could. It turned out remarkably well, the sauce interesting and a good foil to the cabbage. I would probably omit the bean sprouts next time I make this and could see sprinkling it with chopped toasted walnuts. Best eaten same day, the leftovers weren't quite as sparkling in flavor or texture.

• Cider-braised baby bok choy and golden apples

  • BookishMa on December 04, 2011

    Butter. It's key. I wasn't as fastidious as directions asked--sauteed apples/cabbage (chunks of grown up bok choy & napa) then stirred it all rather than rearranging the apples. Maybe it wasn't pretty but yum. I had plenty of cider so I didn't use chicken broth, just cider & soy sauce. My 10 year old daughter near licked the bowl! We'll have this again.

• Harvest gratin of butternut squash, corn, and leeks

  • BookishMa on January 31, 2013

    I wouldn't change a thing to this recipe. Bright flavors, deeply satisfying, my idea of the perfect comfort food for a chilly day.

  • bching on January 17, 2016

    Really delicious but labor intensive: chopping, peeling, several bowls and pans. I wanted a vegetarian main so I used pumpkin seeds and walnuts for topping instead of bread crumbs.

• Provençal kale with chorizo, pimentón, and honey

  • tui on June 23, 2016

    I made this without the chorizo as I wanted to serve it with pork chops, and it was still delicious.

  • wkhull on January 24, 2024

    This was one of those dishes that I thought would be mediocre, but was incredible. I think you could easily use half the chorizo and still have good results. I reduced the salt and diced the kale so it would fork out better. The kale cooks way down, so you'll need to make more if you're serving more than 2 people. (Page 128)

• Stir-fried Swiss chard with pine nuts and balsamic butter

  • tui on September 08, 2014

    I used chard with brilliant red stems and the final dish looked fantastic and tasted wonderful. I served it with a roasted chicken and some roasted smashed potatoes.

• Caramelized plum tomatoes in an olive oil bath

  • barbarajane on August 23, 2014

    These are wonderful and I am sure I will be trying them all sorts of ways. I did slice some into ribbons and put in a grilled cheddar sandwich and that was great. Tonight a few will be in the salad.

• Vanilla and cardamom glazed acorn squash rings

  • barbarajane on August 23, 2014

    this recipe is a favorite. The flavors are fabulous! Tried it with halved squash, but like it much better if the squash is sliced as described.

• Foundation recipe for hands-on sautéing

  • Laurag29 on June 02, 2024

    Made with julienned zucchini and red onions. Absolutely fantastic transformation of a simple veg. Bring on summer.

• Fine Cooking

  If you’re a vegetable lover, you won’t want to miss this new book... Choose your technique, choose your vegetable, and get cooking.

  Full review