Notes about Recipes in this book

• 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 :)

• Coconut-red curry sauce

  • ashallen on October 05, 2019

    This recipe makes a delicious sauce with complex flavors and a nice thickness - great for serving with mild-flavored fish. Relatively short and simple cooking process. Worked well with the Thai Kitchen red curry paste sold in most supermarkets - I used 4 tsp as suggested by the recipe for "those who like assertive flavors."(!) I grated vs. minced the ginger for a slightly smoother texture. The sauce was too sour for me when it first came off the stove, but was easily balanced out by stirring in a bit more sugar. I'm thinking the sauce would also be great with chicken and rice, though I haven't tried those combinations yet. [Cross-post for Annual Edition/Magazine/Cook's Ill. Cookbook.]

• Penne with cherry tomatoes, garlic, and basil

  • anya_sf on June 13, 2025

    I neglected to halve the tomatoes, but the recipe still worked. Some shallot slices that fell off the tomatoes burned on the pan, so try to make sure they're on the tomatoes. When the tomatoes and pasta were initially combined, they didn't seem to meld, but did after I stirred them longer and the tomatoes broke down more, for a very tasty sauce. We liked twice as much basil.

• Beef braised in Barolo

  • ashallen on September 27, 2020

    A great pot roast-style dish with very tender beef and a thick, flavorful sauce. The tomatoes and large amount of wine added a tart edge to the sauce which differed from some other braised beef dishes I've made where earthier flavors (e.g., mushrooms) dominated. Delicious with egg noodles. Actually, I thought the sauce was a bit too tart once first reduced, but it adjusted well with some honey and soy sauce. It also mellowed further during storage overnight. I used a tart Cabernet Sauvignon instead of Barolo which might explain the tartness! Butcher was out of chuck eye roast, but since we were eating the dish with pasta, we didn't care so much about getting coherent meat slices, so regular chuck roast worked fine. I cut it into chunks for trimming and didn't bother to tie it back together in roast form. [Cross-post Cook's Ill. Magazine/ Cook's Ill. 2005 Annual Edition/ Cook's Ill. Cookbook/ Leite's Culinaria website]

• Corn and black bean quesadillas with pepper Jack cheese

  • dbuhler on February 24, 2024

    These are delicious and so easy to make. I’ve been making these for over 15 years and we still haven’t gotten tired of them! I like the way these are prepared by toasting the tortillas and then filling and then lightly frying. Yum!

• Dark chocolate cupcakes

  • ashallen on October 13, 2019

    Good cupcakes that pair very well with frosting (as cupcakes should!). Be careful not to overbake - they dry out quickly. I've also tried baking the batter as an 8x8-inch cake and it wasn't as successful because the edges seemed dry by the time the center was done - might try it again sometime and take it from the oven sooner. [Cross-post for Annual Edition/Magazine.]

• Easy vanilla bean buttercream

  • ashallen on September 21, 2019

    Solid recipe for a basic, easy-method vanilla buttercream - not sensational, but definitely solid. [Cross-post for Annual Edition/Magazine.]