A bunch of recipe reviews below – some hits and some that require another few more tries to get right.
The hits / recipe repeats
A great recipe that I adapted in several ways without compromising on excellent flavors – a true one pot filling meal. However, for two of us, I should have halved this recipe – it was a lot of soup! I added some wheat ramen noodles to the leftovers for an even more filling meal.
Modifications included:
- Substituted yellow curry paste for red curry paste
- One shallot and part of a yellow onion
- 2 chopped roma tomatoes instead of cherry tomatoes
- I added soy sauce, herbs (cilantro and basil) into soup itself. No scallions, squeeze of lime.
Homesick Texan’s Ranchero Beans
Wonderfully rich flavors from the spices and tomatoes in this blended refried pinto bean recipe. My husband thought the consistency was more like a dip than side dish, so maybe I’ll serve it with shredded cheese and cilantro on top for a party? The beans could also be a good topping to nachos as well.
- I halved the recipe and used 1/4 tsp. cumin seeds because I was out of ground cumin and 1/2 tsp. of Indian chile powder because I was afraid the beans might otherwise be too spicy
- Used an immersion blender on the stovetop to puree the beans instead of transferring to a blender
America’s Test Kitchen Double Chocolate Banana Bread
A rich banana bread that even my husband – who dislikes bananas in baked goods – liked!
- I thawed 4 frozen bananas in the fridge overnight, but it wasn’t enough for 2 cups so added another semi-ripe banana to get the right quantity
- Substituted light brown sugar for dark
- Added 1/2 tsp of espresso powder
- I used one of the recipe review tips to avoid a “blowout” in the oven by making 3 small muffins to not overfill the bread tin. The tin was about 7/8 full, and baked up in 1 hr 15/20 minutes – more than the recipe called for. The muffins were baked in about 20 minutes or so.
I once heard Hetty McKinnon say on podcast that she uses frozen spinach in her saag curries. Since then, I have been intrigued to try frozen again after a few mishaps. I decided to use Priya Krishna’s well-spiced feta saag recipe as a base for this first re-attempt and it worked pretty well. The color was noticeably darker than when I used blanched fresh spinach, but otherwise was fine. Modifications below
- 10oz frozen chopped spinach, which I heated up in the microwave and squeezed dry before adding to the pan
- Used an immersion blender
- Substituted lemon juice for lime
- Used 4 oz. feta in brine
Milk Street Rigatoni with Tomato, Kale, and Fontina
I used the Milk Street Noodles cookbook, which I had checked out from the library, to prepare this savory, sweet, and flavorful dish. It calls for more specialized ingredients than I usually have on hand (lacinto kale, tomato paste, and rosemary) but it was very simple to put together while the pasta was boiling. I’d make again, even for a small dinner party.
- Only had 4.6 tube of tomato paste
- 6oz kale, which I supplemented with a bit more spinach
- I couldn’t really taste the fennel and rosemary while the pasta was hot, but once the dish cooled a bit, those flavors came out in a lovely way
Frittata for a Crowd – Base from America’s Test Kitchen
We were hosting a brunch for 5 and I wanted to anchor the meal on a frittata. I couldn’t find the flavor combinations I wanted on some go-to recipe sites, so decided to make my own version with shallot, red bell pepper, garlic, herbed chèvre cheese, lemon zest / juice, and garlic.
As the base for the recipe, I used America’s Test Kitchen formulation for 12 eggs. I slightly undercooked the eggs on the stovetop (should have had larger curds before putting into the oven), but that was user error on this otherwise good approach for homemade frittatas for a crowd.
Recipes that need work – or I just won’t repeat in the future
King Arthur Flour’s Rye Chocolate Chip Cookies
I have had a lot of King Arthur Flour rye flour I need to use up, and tried the above linked recipe to not only make something sweet, but also hopefully something to rival the great Milk Street Rye Chocolate Chip cookies I made several years ago.
While these cookies came out fine – not too sweet, deeper earthier flavor – I probably wouldn’t make the recipe again. The dough was a little “stodgy” or think, and the resulting cookie was also denser than I would like. I modified the recipe by using only about 1/2 as many chocolate chips, as is my preference, and I sprinkled some Maldon sea salt on top.
Hetty McKinnon’s Hoison Garlic Noodles
A rare, almost miss by Hetty McKinnon. Note though that I followed the #1 “most helpful” user comment by Todd to omit the additional honey / maple syrup sweetener, and instead add some Chinkiang vinegar and Shaoxing cooking wine for flavor complexity.
While the sweet and salty flavors were fairly good, it was pretty bland and not really worth the effort.
I used spaghetti, and served the dish with tofu and kale.
Indian Crisped Brussels Sprouts
I really liked the idea of this dish – a roasted and crisp vegetable, but ultimately found it pretty bland. I couldn’t find my ajwain (maybe I don’t have it anymore?) and used coriander, following my personal preference.
Other “ok” recipe. I halved the recipe, and used linguine. In hindsight, there are some technique changes I should have made – grated the parm more finely, added into in chunks instead of all at one time, and turned off the heat as soon as the cheese went into the pot, but regardless of those changes, the miso flavor was very subtle.
Maybe I’ll increase it by 50% next time to get a bit more “oomph.”
