Notes about Recipes in this book

• Lemon marinade with Greek flavorings

  • mfto on May 30, 2011

    I use this marinade for our Easter lamb kebabs. Just right.

• Fresh peach ice cream

  • hillsboroks on July 21, 2021

    The technique may seem involved but it really works to give you an ice cream with good peach flavor plus chunks of peach that aren't ice cubes. I have made this too many times to count over the years and my family loves it.

  • ashallen on October 06, 2019

    Very good peach ice cream - some fresh peach flavor persists and contrasts really nicely with the creamy ice cream base. I cut the peaches in 1/2-inch chunks and found that to be a bit too big for me - they were also a bit icy in spots. I'll cut them smaller next time. [Cross-post for Annual Edition/Magazine/Cook's Ill. Cookbook.]

• Roast potatoes with garlic and rosemary

  • katenolan on September 17, 2018

    Served these with beef stew so we could have crispy potatoes to dip into the sauce. Highly recommended. Pro-tip: If you're finishing up and need these to hold: turn off the oven, toss the potatoes in the garlic, and then return them to the pan and keep them in the oven. You get some excellent crispy garlic that way!

• Perfect lemon bars

  • ashallen on November 26, 2019

    These are excellent lemon bars - great tangy lemon flavor, great filling texture, and a buttery, tender crust. [Cross-post for Annual Edition/Magazine/Cook's Ill. Cookbook.]

• Classic spaghetti and meatballs

  • ashallen on November 08, 2019

    Excellent, classic spaghetti and meatballs. Meatballs are tender and flavorful with a great browned exterior. Their richness balances really well with the tomato sauce. My husband likes them so much that he happily eats them without the sauce! The pork+beef mixture as specified in the recipe is great - I also frequently make these with all beef. I use less oil than specified in the recipe to brown the meatballs - basically enough to film the pan. They're a bit less luscious but still plenty rich. Making each meatball a bit smaller than specified in the recipe for a total of anywhere from 14-21, cooked in two batches, works fine. We like more tomato sauce than specified in the recipe so I usually make 1.5-2x the specified quantity. Freezes well. [Cross-post for Annual Edition/Magazine/Cook's Ill. Cookbook.]

• Browned and braised cauliflower with garlic, ginger, and soy

  • ashallen on December 11, 2019

    I'm not fond of the flavor of cauliflower. However, I really like this dish because once you finish cooking the cauliflower in all that delicious sesame oil, garlic, ginger, and soy, it tastes mostly like those ingredients and not so much like cauliflower! Yum! [Cross-post for Annual Edition/Magazine/Cook's Ill. Cookbook.]

• Master recipe for chicken and rice with tomatoes, white wine, and parsley

  • ashallen on October 25, 2019

    Good recipe - both rice and chicken are moist and have very good flavor. Recipe specifies 3-4 pounds of chicken - I used 3 pounds and found the rice to be very moist and rich from the chicken juices - 4 pounds would be over the top for me! I substituted red bell pepper for green since we're not fond of the latter in a dish like this - worked well. Substituting slivered carrots for bell pepper also works well, as does adding some additional yellow onion. I've fiddled with the original cooking technique in this recipe to get the rice/chicken textures I prefer. I now cook the dish in a covered 8-quart Le Creuset dutch oven in the oven vs. simmering on the stovetop - I find that the rice and chicken cook more evenly that way. The Le Creuset pot has not needed any additional sealing (e.g., with foil) - in fact, I've cut back a bit on the amount of liquid added because the rice was coming out a bit too moist for my taste. [Cross-post for Annual Edition/Magazine/Cook's Ill. Cookbook.]

• Chicken and rice with Indian spices

  • ashallen on October 18, 2019

    This is one of several variations Cook's Illustrated suggested for their basic Chicken and Rice recipe. Basic chicken and rice can be a mild-tasting (though luscious) dish, so I really liked the extra flavors from the spices in this version. I've fiddled with the original cooking technique in this recipe to get the rice/chicken textures I prefer. I now cook the dish in a covered 8-quart Le Creuset dutch oven in the oven vs. simmering on the stovetop - I find that the rice and chicken cook more evenly that way. The Le Creuset pot has not needed any additional sealing (e.g., with foil) - in fact, I've cut back a bit on the amount of liquid added because the rice was coming out a bit too moist for my taste. [Cross-post for Annual Edition/Magazine/Cook's Ill. Cookbook.]

• The best banana bread

  • ashallen on September 06, 2019

    This is the banana bread base I like to use when making banana chocolate chip/chunk bread (not one of the variations in Cook's Illustrated) - its flavor and texture works great with the chocolate. I've found the recipe to be sensitive to excess moisture - sometimes I've had extra-large eggs or a little extra yogurt or banana and have thrown them in only to end up with a overly heavy/rubbery bread. I now use 1 1/4-1 1/3 c banana (vs. 1.5 c as called for in the recipe), 3/4 c chocolate chips/chunks, and a strong flour like King Arthur all purpose. I also make sure everything's at room temperature. Salt gets bumped up to 3/4 tsp for the chocolate chip/chunk version. [Cross-post for Annual Edition/Magazine.]

• Big, super-nutty peanut butter cookies

  • ashallen on September 14, 2019

    My current favorite peanut butter cookies. Deep peanut flavor, moist center, moderately chewy. Instead of white sugar + dark brown sugar as called for in the recipe, I usually use a bit less light brown sugar + 1 tbsp unsulfured molasses. The molasses adds some additional complexity to the flavor and makes the cookies a bit moister and chewier. The recipe's worked with either chunky or creamy peanut butter and with or without chopped peanuts (though they can seem a bit sweet without the peanuts). [Cross-post for Annual Edition/Magazine/Cook's Ill. Cookbook.]

  • DavidandValerie on February 25, 2021

    David's favorite. Add 3/4 tsp table salt to butter if using unsalted butter. Used Jif smooth and no extra nuts. each cookie about 4 tbsp dough. bake 12 min for soft sort of chewy cookies.

• Master recipe for bread stuffing with sage and thyme

  • ashallen on September 25, 2019

    We love this stuffing recipe - it's "the" recipe for us. Classic onion-herb flavor, delicious, not overbearingly rich, and happy-medium moisture level. Recipe suggests a couple methods for drying the bread - one sets it to dry on counter for a couple days, the other "rush" method dries it in the oven - we prefer the fresher flavor from the latter. We love the sage/thyme/marjoram flavors - I usually use fresh and double the quantities specified in the recipe. Oregano subs well for marjoram. For extra savoriness, I sometimes sub fat rendered from chicken roasted with onions+carrots for some/all of the butter and cook the onions+celery low-and-slow until golden. We like the stuffing on the moister side and so I've upped the chicken stock to 3 cups. I don't find that reserving 2 tbsp melted butter to drizzle over top before baking adds much and now skip that step. Bakes well on top oven rack (above turkey!) as well as by itself. Freezes well. [Cross-post for Annual Edition/Magazine.]

• Pecan or walnut crescent cookies

  • ashallen on April 08, 2022

    Great cookies - nutty, buttery, sandy, and tender. I sometimes skip rolling these in powdered sugar and increase the amount of the sugar in the dough by a few tablespoons instead. I also prefer all of the nuts to be very finely chopped (instead of only half).

• Almond or hazelnut crescent cookies

  • ashallen on April 08, 2022

    Great cookies - nutty, buttery, sandy, and tender. I sometimes skip rolling these in powdered sugar and increase the amount of the sugar in the dough by a few tablespoons instead. I also prefer all of the nuts to be very finely chopped (instead of only half).

• Master recipe for classic minestrone

  • ashallen on December 07, 2019

    Very good minestrone/vegetable soup recipe - it has many ingredients, but the flavors among all of them are very well balanced. [Cross-post for Annual Edition/Magazine.]