• Eat Your Books

  2003 James Beard Award Nominee

• cookerT on November 13, 2011

  Pasta with goat cheese and slow-roasted cherry tomatoes is divine. Also love the burritos with sweet potatoes and black beans

Notes about Recipes in this book

• Blasted chicken

  • louie734 on August 25, 2012

    My standard recipe for chicken.

• Basil chicken salad with bacon, lettuce, and tomato

  • louie734 on February 27, 2010

    I've used this recipe's instructions for poached chicken breasts many times.

• Jean Anderson's oven-fried chicken

  • Cheri on November 07, 2010

    This is TOO good

• Roasted butternut squash lasagne

  • debrakp on July 30, 2014

    Although the prep is a bit involved, the results are delicious.

• Sweet potato and black bean burrito

  • Lindalib on June 06, 2014

    We liked this a lot. I boiled the sweet potatoes rather than roasting them as they recipe calls for, but as they just get mashed in the end, I don't think it made any difference. I also substituted chicken broth for the vegetable broth only because I had a bit left from a previous recipe I wanted to use up.Will make this recipe again.

  • captious on July 29, 2013

    This recipe is a long-time favorite. It's not super-exciting, but it's a solid recipe that's always tasty and satisfying. The nutmeg is an unusual but nice addition to an otherwise Mexican-flavored burrito. We often make these burritos for company. We serve them with salsa and a salad and sometimes guacamole. It makes a great autumn or winter meal. The first time I made the recipe I found the beans a bit underseasoned, so now I use extra cumin and chili powder and add a fresh jalepeno. I use the juice that the black beans cooked in rather than the vegetable broth. Instead of monterey jack I use sharp cheddar. You definitely need to serve the burritos with salsa, as without some sort of sauce they're a bit dry.

  • tarae1204 on April 25, 2021

    Solid recipe, very mild, healthy and and family friendly. Important to have lots of toppings: sour cream, salsa, plus anything else that you’d like in a burrito or burrito bowl.

• Baked acorn squash with mustard and honey

  • Lindalib on November 10, 2012

    This was ok. Definetly better the next day.

• Butternut squash soup with Gruyère pesto

  • eyepaint on December 09, 2013

    This is where I first found this wonderful dish. It paid for Sara's book many times over. The pesto takes a merely great soup to total greatness.

• Spanish-style white bean, kale, and chorizo soup

  • eyepaint on February 02, 2014

    Spanish chorizo not Mexican

• Veal scaloppine with pesto

  • Toppermom on May 20, 2012

    Wonderful variation on traditional veal scaloppine with tomato sauce. Easy to construct, especially if you have pesto on hand (which I keep in my freezer from my summer bounty of basil). Served this with leftover risotto with zucchini and zucchini blossoms and salads of Tomato, arugula, and ricotta salata (from "1000 Italian Recipes") and Raw zucchini salad (from "Twenty"). My husband loved it. Will definitely do this menu again. With a glass of dry white wine, this made a great spring dinner.

• Ants in a tree

  • PytnPlace on August 01, 2020

    Family loves this! I usually add more veggies. Julienned red pepper and snow peas is a good kind of addition. I also use a whole small head of Napa cabbage.

  • Zosia on January 10, 2018

    My family loves this pork and noodle dish. It's written to be kid-friendly with minimal heat but that's easily adjusted with extra chile paste.

• Black-eyed pea cakes with salsa mayonnaise

  • Zosia on January 14, 2018

    Crispy, cornmeal-crusted, little cakes with a creamy centre, flavoured with sautéed onion, garlic, red pepper and jalapeño. They were easy to make and held together quite well during cooking after a brief chill in the fridge. I omitted the mayonnaise from the salsa so it was a bright and fresh tasting complement to the patties.

• Roasted ratatouille crepes with goat cheese

  • Zosia on November 17, 2013

    A dish that doesn't leave non-vegetarians looking for the meat. The ratatouille filling had great flavour, especially the tomato-roasted garlic sauce, but next time, I won't chop the vegetables as finely. The cheese topped crepes needed only 20 minutes baking time.

• Baked striped bass with sherry vinaigrette, olives, and capers

  • Zosia on March 22, 2015

    Flavourful baked fish dish suitable for a quick weeknight meal. Apart from a little chopping at the start, the time required is mainly hands off time. Don't forget to serve it with good bread to sop up the lovely dressing. I used skinless cod.

• Slow-roasted spiced baby back ribs

  • Zosia on January 10, 2018

    These were very good. The meat was tender and very flavourful thanks to the combination of dry rub and BBQ sauce. The chile powder available here is quite tame so I went with the hot paprika option in the rub; it brought the heat while Rick's BBQ sauce added a little sweetness and tang.

• Turkey burgers with tomato corn salsa

  • Zosia on June 25, 2015

    My favourite turkey burgers. Flavoured with creole spice mix (I use the recipe on page 348), sauteed vegetables and the little bit of oil that comes with them keep them moist and succulent. The salsa is a cooling accompaniment.

• Sauteed spinach with garlic chips

  • Zosia on January 14, 2018

    Good, basic recipe/cooking method that works.

• Creole spice mix

  • Zosia on June 25, 2015

    Versatile spice blend that matches well with all proteins. I omit the salt and add it separately to whatever dish I'm making so I have a little more control over it.

• Basic crepe recipes

  • Zosia on November 17, 2013

    Good, basic crepe recipe that produced thin, tender crepes that were easy to handle. Even the first one off the pan was usable! Just a little too buttery for me. I used them to make the roasted ratatouille filled crepes.

• Rick's barbecue sauce

  • Zosia on January 10, 2018

    Fairly quick to put together, it had a nice balance of sweet and tanginess but very little heat. I used it on the slow-roasted ribs from the same book and it complemented the spicy rub nicely.

• Creamed finnan haddie

  • bching on March 07, 2019

    Edible but I would not cook this again. Poorly written recipe--I don't understand why the initial cooking was done in so much cream--and bland flavor.

• Moroccan spiced leg of lamb with preserved lemon relish

  • tarae1204 on April 25, 2021

    Broiled a butterflied and marinated entire leg of lamb in 16 minutes and served after a 10 minute rest with a quick preserved lemon relish. Great recipe!!! Easy, well written, flavorful, and I can’t think of anything better for a special meal for a crowd.