Notes about Recipes in this book

• Hummus

  • britt on February 12, 2013

    This is the first homemade hummus I've liked! The flavors are light, and the consistency is fairly loose. I used cooked dried garbanzos instead of canned.

  • louie734 on November 15, 2015

    I keep coming back to this hummus recipe. The home-toasted & ground cumin + coriander seeds sounds fussy, but I love the flavor in this dip. Occasionally I skin some or all of the chickpeas, but usually I just make a double batch and we gobble it up.

• Farro salad with mushrooms and butternut squash

  • toscana48 on January 11, 2012

    I served it warm and added pickled raisins and crumbled feta. pomegranate seeds would be nice too.

• Spaghetti with tuna, capers, and chile flakes

  • Brittania on February 21, 2026

    Good with snap peas added. Fine with shallots, in lieu of onions. Omitted capers.

• Chocolate sour cream bundt cake with chocolate glaze

  • wcassity on July 26, 2015

    I've made this a number of times. Not complicated, and a hit for visitors. Nice and chocolatey, good crumb, not over-the-top.

  • louie734 on November 15, 2015

    Made in new, swirly-topped Bundt pan. This cake was so easy and quick to put together (no softening butter or melting chocolate!). Popped right out of the pan (greased with coconut oil, then floured). Lasted for days on the counter and stayed moist, tastes like hot cocoa. Skipped the glaze; served with cool whip or ice cream, or nothing at all.

  • maryfa on August 11, 2017

    Super easy to make and to clean up. I would definitely make this again. I may try adding espresso powder to the chocolate glaze next time. Super moist, with a little bit of crunch on the outside. Not dense, but light and airy.

  • jzanger on September 01, 2019

    As good as everyone says, reminiscent of a brownie. I omitted the glaze but added about 5 ounces of chopped chocolate to the batter. If you have good cocoa use it here! I love a cake that comes together with just a bowl, a saucepan and a spatula. Next time I’ll add a bit more salt, maybe 1/2tsp to 1tsp more.

  • mamacrumbcake on October 20, 2020

    This was super easy, but we were not wowed by this cake. The texture is soft and light, but we were looking for more oomph in the chocolate flavor. (We used callebaut cocoa powder). I would try it one more time, substituting coffee or espresso for the water. Prepare your pan well so it doesn’t stick!

  • Astrid5555 on December 22, 2020

    This is the quickest chocolate cake I have baked in years. Did not bother with the glaze, just gave the cake a quick dusting with powdered sugar. Very moist crumb, both kids liked a it a lot.

  • chawkins on December 26, 2020

    Super easy, moist and tender cake. Did not make the glaze, don’t really need it, cake is good on its own.

• Grilled Manchego and serrano ham sandwich with membrillo

  • dinnermints on May 09, 2016

    Simple and delicious. I sliced the cheese thinly instead of grating, since I figured the grated cheese would get everywhere but in the sandwich.

• Summer corn and tomato salad

  • Hydrangea on May 27, 2022

    Pg. 80.

• Fennel, blood orange, and avocado salad

  • anya_sf on February 18, 2022

    Lovely, light, fresh-tasting salad. Half the recipe was enough for 3 smaller salads. Unlike many salad recipes where there is way more dressing than needed, this one has just enough.

• Roasted cauliflower and Brussels sprouts with caper lemon butter

  • Jane on April 14, 2013

    I love roasted cauliflower and roasted Brussels sprouts and this combination with the caper lemon butter tips it over the edge to fantastic. I could eat this for dinner on its own.

  • lesliec on April 25, 2020

    I have made this twice. The flavor is good but the recipe's instructions for roasting caused by vegetables to get mushy. I would not make again because of that or would roast using other instructions and only make dressing.

• Pan-seared broccolini

  • wcassity on December 21, 2014

    Super tasty veggie side. I added a teaspoon of Chinese fermented bean paste with the garlic. Spicy, great texture, full flavor.

  • lorloff on September 06, 2020

    This was a fantastic recipe. Thanks to Cassidy for your suggestion of substituting chinese fermented bean paste with the garlic. It worked very well. I added it in addition to the dried chiles and it ended up slightly too spicy for my husband. Substitute Chinese fermented bean paste 1 Tablespoon for the chiles. This was great. The best broccolini recipe I have had in years! The technique was perfect.

  • lorloff on November 27, 2024

    We made this using Mexican chili flakes and it was really a great way of cooking broccolini.

• Heirloom carrot ribbons with pine nuts and golden raisins

  • BabsPennington on November 02, 2018

    Used chopped toasted pecans instead of pine nuts. Easier to eat if the carrot ribbons are cut to make them easier to eat.

• Seared wild salmon with late spring succotash

  • Jane on July 16, 2017

    A very quick and easy dinner. I used basil rather than tarragon. As mentioned in the recipe this will work with any combinations of summer veg such as tomatoes, zucchini and corn. I can't see how the quantity of vegetables would serve 4 people - 3 small carrots, 9 asparagus spears and I cup peas. I got 2 servings.

  • anya_sf on May 09, 2021

    Simple and delicious when made with fresh, seasonal vegetables and fish. I was happy to find spring onions and green garlic at the market, and doubled the asparagus to have enough veg for 3 people. I did use frozen peas and chicken broth instead of vegetable.

• Watermelon agua fresca with mint

  • anya_sf on September 09, 2023

    My watermelon was already cut, with rind removed, so I guessed at the weight, using 2 lbs. The whole batch fit in my Vitamix. I used the optional mint and enjoyed the flavor. The agua fresca was very well balanced and I didn't need to adjust the sugar or lime. Refreshing on its own and also tasty with vodka.

• Plum-almond cake

  • anya_sf on September 02, 2021

    Very moist, delicious cake with more plums than I've ever squeezed into a cake before. Bleached all-purpose flour worked instead of cake flour. The cake was done a few minutes early. Great with a cup of tea, for dessert, or even an indulgent breakfast.

• Nectarine buttermilk upside-down cake

  • Cheri on August 04, 2013

    This is SOOO good! The brown sugar/butter caramelizes about the fruit slices, the cake has a fabulous crumb. Ice cream or whipped cream isn't necessary, and may take it over the top, for my money excellent as written. Serve warm if you can.

  • wcassity on August 19, 2013

    Really great summer dessert. The fruit and brown sugar/butter almost melt together. The cake is sweet but not too sweet. The recipe is easy to follow. We enjoyed it both with and without vanilla ice cream. Still tasty a couple of days later.

  • anya_sf on August 21, 2021

    Fairly standard but very good upside-down cake recipe. I managed to fit 4 large nectarines (1.75 lbs). Recipe doesn't say to grease or line the pan at all; I did grease the sides just in case. The cake unmolded with no problem. My cake was done in 55 min. We enjoyed it both for dessert and breakfast.

• Savory pear chutney with dried cherries and ginger

  • tarae1204 on October 19, 2021

    Works as written. Makes a good quantity to lasts for a few pork roasts.

• Apple, pear, and spinach salad with walnuts and blue cheese

  • TrishaCP on January 01, 2020

    A wonderful version of a classic salad. A tiny bit skimpy on the dressing, in my opinion (but I didn’t carefully portion out the spinach). I used a Stilton for the blue cheese.

  • wcassity on May 25, 2020

    Amazing! Maybe the tastiest spinach salad I’ve made. Used apple only, pecans, Danish blue cheese.

  • anya_sf on November 17, 2021

    I doubled the spinach and dressing - was happy with the spinach quantity, but there was slightly too much dressing. The dressing was fairly sharp, a good contrast with the sweet fruit, but I'll reduce the vinegar a tad next time. Very nice autumn salad.

• Cocoa-cumin beef roast

  • wcassity on July 26, 2015

    Delicious. Was able to find the tri-tip at Whole Foods. Good option when you want tasty beef without having to braise all day or heat up the grill.

• Sumac-roasted chicken du Monde

  • Cheri on May 19, 2013

    Wow! Was this ever good. I only brined for 6 hours, roasted for 50 minutes. It was perfectly done and quite flavorful. Don't skip the onions, they really add to the dish. Served with rustic bread to mop up the juices, and some simply sautéed zucchini. This is a repeat, when I have time to plan ahead.

• Pescado Veracruzano

  • anya_sf on December 19, 2021

    Great way to make rockfish moist and flavorful. Dried herbs worked fine. Maybe my fish was too cold initially, but it took 15 min extra to cook through.

• Rock cod chowder in saffron-tomato broth

  • anya_sf on August 13, 2021

    The tomato seeding method was rather clever, although I can't see myself ever doing this for more than one can of tomatoes (can't imagine they use that method at Bi-Rite). Ling cod was a good substitute for rock cod. The mock aioli mentioned in the head note should really be part of the recipe, as it transformed a ho-hum soup into something really tasty.

• Cornmeal biscotti with cranberries and pistachios

  • jumali on November 30, 2012

    These had a nice texture but I thought they were far too sweet for biscotti.

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