Triple-Chocolate Mousse Cake

Layer 1 Prep: 28 minutes
Bake Time: 18 minutes
Cool Time: 1 hours
Layer 2 Prep: 20 minutes
Layer 3 Prep: 15 minutes
Chill Time:2-3 hours

Grade: A+

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Cook's Illustrated (December 2009)

I made this for Thanksgiving dinner and it was liked by all the adults. The kids didn't love it - maybe because it wasn't super sweet. I give this one an A+ after only making it one time for these reasons:
~ can be made ahead of time
~ very pretty with the 3 layers
~ tastes great
~ the leftovers still tasted good a few days later
~ although it takes a while to make, it really is not too hard

The hardest part for me making this is chopping all the chocolate. I hate chopping chocolate in the winter - it generates a lot of static electricity and I get little chocolate dust everywhere. I did it all in the beginning for the entire recipe. Everything else is fairly easy. I maybe didn't whip the last layers cream enough - it kind of poured into the pan. But the gelatin kept it stable enough so it wasn't a problem when slicing the cake.

I actually worried that my pan was too small (9" x 2.5"), so I made a mini cake at the same time. But I still had space at the top, so I shouldn't have worried. (Although I enjoyed getting to try my mini cake the night before.) Next time I may try to cut this one in half and use in my 7" pan, because I won't be as worried about the size. This one does make a large cake.

Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie

Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 9-14 minutes per pan

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Cook's Illustrated (May 2009)

I did make these once when the recipe came out, but didn't get to post about it. I almost didn't try it. How many different ways can you make chocolate chip cookies? And CI had already perfected the recipe, I thought.

However, this is a little different. You need to brown your butter first. And then the mixing is done in stages, letting the wet ingredients sit for a bit in between beatings. That does make it take longer. But it is easy work, and I have said before, I like to have those breaks for cleaning my kitchen, so I didn't mind the extra time. Another difference is using dark brown sugar, and more salt than normal. Some might not like the saltiness - these have a hint of the sweet-salty thing going for them when you use the full teaspoon. I used a very scant teaspoon myself - maybe closer to 3/4 t.

I chose to make these smaller. The recipe makes 16 large cookies, but I made 32 regular sized cookies instead. They are quite rich. Not that I didn't eat more than one when I made them!

The flavor does end up quite good. The browned butter adds a richness (and the fact that there is a lot of it!) These are more adult chocolate chip cookies, but I've served them to kids and they liked them too.

Oven Fries

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Cook's Illustrated (April 2007, Originally Jan 2004)

This recipe was originally developed for the magazine in Jan 2004, but they "lightened" it up a bit for the Best Light Recipe book. BUT, not really. All they did was use 1 teaspoon of oil instead of 1 Tablespoon of oil for tossing the potatoes with, but they still put 1/4 c. of oil on the pan.

Anyway, I lightened these up even more, by only using 1.5 Tablespoons of oil on the pan. I put the pan in the oven for a quick minute to warm the oil, making it easier to spread around the pan, so it was enough oil to keep the potatoes from sticking, and also enough to keep these potatoes quite tasty.

So this is still not a "low fat" recipe, but it is definitely lighter, and probably better than fries. And since I hate frying things this recipe is a great alternative to make when I'm having burgers or sandwiches. Since the fries bake for a while it is easy to make a quick burger or sandwich while these are baking for an easy dinner.

Even the prep time is easy, since 10 minutes of that time is spent with the potatoes soaking in water. So, a very easy recipe for a good amount of taste, makes this one an "A" for me.

Baked Penne with Chicken and Sun Dried Tomatoes

Prep Time: 38 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes

Grade: A-

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Everyday Food (March 2009)

This is a "make enough for two pans and freeze one for later" recipe, which I like when I'm busy (which seems to be a permanent state for me now.) I modified the recipe quite a bit, because I wanted to lighten it up, and also because I am very much in a use up what I have mode in an effort to be frugal.

My modifications:
~ no mushrooms (don't like)
~ used 5c. 2% milk instead of 6c. of whole milk
~ 3T of butter instead of 6T
~ used 1/2 c. of mozzarella cheese instead of 1.5c of provolone since it's all I had.
~ used a little less Parmesan

I usually don't like these dishes to be too saucy, so I knew using less of the sauce ingredients would be OK. The recipe didn't specifically say to cook sauce enough to thicken, but I cooked it longer than called for so it would thicken, since I knew it wasn't going to have as much cheese. The lighter ingredients and amounts for the sauce worked perfectly and I'll do it that way again.

I do feel like the dish could use a little more spice or flavor, which is why I give it a "-". I don't feel that this had anything to do with my lightening up the fats in the ingredients, but rather a lack of herbs or spices in the recipe. I would probably use more sun-dried tomatoes, or try adding some oregano or fresh basil next time. It wasn't completely bland, just could of used a touch more flavor, I think.

I wrapped up the second pan of this and look forward to having a no-cook meal ready for the oven sometime in the next month or two when I'm busy. I'll try to remember to update this page with how the frozen one tasted.

Chicken and Dumplings

Prep Time: 40 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Assemble Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Cook's Illustrated (Jan 2005)

Yes, this takes awhile to make. And actually, I used chicken breasts (not recommended by CI, but recommended by me!) so it was quicker. The hardest part for me is pulling the skin off the chicken (after browning) and then pulling the chicken off the bone after cooking. However, it is necessary to do this steps to get the non-greasy, yet full-flavored broth. And I think it is worth it (every once in a while) for such a yummy recipe.

I made a little bit lighter, by using half the fats call for in the recipe (less oil for the chicken, less butter in the stew, less fat in the dumplings.) Using breasts makes is lighter also. But the dish was still very rich and delicious.

I have made this once before and froze the leftovers, and I remember they were still good. I will do that again, which is nice allowing for a quick delicious meal another evening without any work.

Spaghetti Pie

Prep Time: 40 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Cook's Country (February 2006)

This one is really easy to put together. The prep isn't quick because you have to make the "crust" first after boiling the pasta, and then make the filling, but there is plenty of downtime and not much cutting going on with this one.

I did skip the ricotta layer, because I didn't have any on hand, and just used more ground beef in the sauce. It was really good, and a nice change of pace from regular pasta with sauce. An easy recipe for something a little different that still gives you traditional Italian flavors.

White Chicken Chili

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes

Grade: B+

Make Again: Maybe

Recipe Source: America's Test Kitchen (TV Show)

I like this, but the overwhelming flavor in the dish is the peppers, and I didn't even use as much as called for. It feels more like a "Green" chili than a white chili. (And looks that way too.) The chilies used are all mostly mild, with jalapeno being the hottest, so there is very little spice to this chili.

The cooking time can overlap the prep time some, but I find it less stressful to prep before I start, so I did that. It isn't hard to make, but does mess up a few dishes. I think for something that uses whole chicken breasts (as opposed to boneless skinless), I want the final dish to be a little richer with more chicken flavor. So I probably will stick to regular chili in the future, but could possibly make again someday.

Gingered Oatmeal Muffins

Prep Time: 18 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes

Grade: B

Make Again: Probably not

Recipe Source:Whole Grain Baking

Wow, it's been a very long time! My life has been turned upside-down this past year, and it left me with less time for cooking, and I've been sticking to my old standby favorite recipes, so there wasn't anything to try. I finally got the desire to bake again recently, so tried these muffins.

They taste very good, but they are very squat, which I don't like. The batter was very soupy. Also, they take a little longer because of chopping the crystallized ginger and making some oat flour (just by using my food processor.) For these reasons, I probably won't make again, but I do like how they taste. There are just too many good muffin recipes, so I stick to my absolute favorites when I reuse a recipe.

Empanadas

Prep Time: 35 minutes
Rest Time: 20 minutes
Assemble Time:15 minutes
Bake Time: 30-45 minutes

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Everyday Food (April 2004)

I often make these with ground turkey so I add some more spice to it - usually some cumin. These are very good. A little time consuming to make, but since you can freeze them for later, it is worth it.

I usually make the dough a little thinner, so I can get more out of the recipe. This requires more care when you are forming them so the dough doesn't stretch, but it usually works ok. I want a slightly higher meat to dough ratio, so this works for me.

Fudge Brownies

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 40-45 minutes

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Baker's Banter (King Arthur Flour)

I've already reviewed many brownie recipes (that I love) but I'm always willing to try a new one! This one is very good. There is a little bit more work than some because you heat the butter and dissolve the sugar in it, but still fairly easy. I like a fudgy brownie, so this is a recipe I will definitely use again.

Baked Pasta with Spinach Ricotta and Prosciutto

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes

Grade: B+

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Everyday Food (2004)

This isn't my favorite baked pasta dish, and it can get a little dry if you aren't careful. However, I do make it occasionally for two reasons. 1) It uses up milk, which I often have too much of, and 2) it is very, very simple to make. The only real prep needed is to cook the pasta, grate the parm and dice the proscuitto. Other than that it is just mixing everything up and putting in the pan to bake.

The most important ingredient is the proscuitto. It is what flavors the dish, so if you like that, you may like this too.

Apple Cake

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Bake Time: 60-70 minutes

Grade: B

Make Again: Maybe with changes

Recipe Source: The Italian Country Table

Oh boy, I had a lot of trouble with this one. I was really intrigued by this recipe, because it cuts butter into some flour and sugar, then makes a very thin crust in springform pan with some of it. Then you take the rest of that mixture and mix in eggs, milk, etc, and then the apples. So you end up with a buttery crust for the cake.

The trouble began when the crumbs didn't really stick together well, but I did my best to press them into the pan. I made the cake and put it in. However, about 30 minutes into the bake, I noticed a smell. I looked in the oven and noticed pools of butter in the bottom of my oven. It was leaking out of the spring form pan. :-( I worried that it might catch on fire, so I decided to sop it up with a paper towel and tongs. Which, unfortunately, touched the electric coil, and proceeded to catch on fire! I turned the water on in my sink, and was able to get it under control, thankfully.

I turned the oven off, and let it cool a bit, then tried again. So, there was about 10 minutes where the cake was out of the oven. I turned it back on and tried to finish it. I think it mostly baked through OK.

In the end, it wasn't bad, but not exactly my favorite. I love spicy apple cakes, and this doesn't really have any spice, so I guess it disappointed me a little. I did like the crusty part though. So I might have to try it again with some spices and possibly a more tart apple. It is a unique idea, and I'm not ready to give up on it yet.

I should mention, you are supposed to add a meringue topping, but I decided to skip that part.

Turkey Sloppy Joes

Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes

Grade: A-

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Everyday Food (Month 2004)

At first bite, the carrots in these distract just a little. It wasn't the sloppy joe texture I was expecting. But really, once you get past that, they taste very good. And it is nice to get your veggies in with a sandwich, because the recipe calls for 4 shredded carrots and a large can on crushed tomatoes.

Christmas Menu

Roasted Tomatoes and Roasted Peppers

Grilled Polenta

Herbed Goat Cheese and Smoked Mozzarella

Ciabatta Rolls (par-baked from Trader Joe's)

Salad

Lasagna Carnivale

Chocolate Peppermint Cake

I've wanted to post this menu ever since Christmas, since it worked out so well. It was by far the most stress-free meal I've ever served a group of people. That was because most of it was done the day before.

Schedule:

2 Days Before:
~ Shopping
~ Prep lasagna ingredients (Sauce, Shred Cheese, meatballs)

1 Day Before:
~ Roast Tomatoes
~ Make Polenta (can be done at same time as tomatoes.)
~ Bake meatballs
~ Assemble lasagna
~ Bake Cake

Day of:
~ Glaze Cake
~ Cut and grill/broil polenta
~ Assemble appetizer tray (tomatoes, cheeses, bread slices, polenta)
~ Bake Lasagna
~ Prepare salad
~ Bake par-baked bread, while lasagna is sitting

Serve and enjoy!

Oven-Roasted Canned Tomatoes

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 2+ hours

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: The Italian Country Table

This is another great simple recipe from The Italian Country Table. It makes a delicious spread or something nice to put on pasta. It takes a long time to cook, but there is very little hands on time here.

Polenta

Total Time: 90-120 minutes

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: The Italian Country Table

This recipe is very simple, but takes a while to make. You make the polenta in a double broiler, so it cooks slowly and doesn't need as much attention. You just have to stir it every 20 minutes (although more often the first 20 minutes).

It is good soft, but I love to put it into a pan and let it solidify first (you can use a sheet pan or a loaf pan - both work). Then I cut it into pieces, brush with a little oil and either grill or broil. It gets crunchy on the outside and soft and creamy on the inside.

I love to have this with roasted peppers or tomatoes and it makes a nice appetizer for an italian meal.

The Italian Country Table

I don't have a lot of cookbooks, and 80% of those that I own come from America's Test Kitchen (Cook's Illustrated). But Lynne Rossetto Kasper's The Italian Country Table is one that I have kept. Part of the reason is that it is a fun read, talking about different country areas of Italy. There are a few recipes in here that are really great and simple and this will remain a keeper for me.

Whole-Wheat Pasta with Kale and Fontina

Total Time: 28 minutes
Cook Time: minutes

Grade: A-

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Everyday Food (October 2003)

If you like kale, then this is a good recipe. I love that it is so quick, and the ingredients in here really do taste well with the whole-wheat pasta (although, technically, my pasta is not 100% whole-wheat - Ronzoni.) I had some extra fontina left from the Baked Pasta dish last week, and this was perfect way to use up the extra, because it just calls for a little bit.

This calls for just a little bit of bacon which really adds to the flavor. I always freeze my bacon that I buy on sale in one and two piece portions so I always have some on hand. (A bonus: it is really easy to cut frozen bacon.)

Melting Mint Brownies

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Bake Time: 20 minutes
Cool Time: 1 hour
Icing Time: 10 minutes

Grade: A-

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: King Arthur's Flour Baker's Banter Blog

These are pretty good, but I give them a "-" because the brownie itself is nothing great. The icing is what makes these good, I think. It is an all-cocoa brownie, and I usually like recipes that use melted chocolate, and those that are a little fudgier. But the icing/glaze has some butter in it, and is really rich and with the mint adds more flavor. They are pretty too, without much effort, so I liked that aspect of these.

Baked Pasta with Chicken Sausage

Prep Time: 38 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Everyday Food

This may not look that appetizing, but it is a very delicious baked pasta dish. The recipe makes two casseroles, one for eating tonight, and one for freezing, which is nice. It does use a little cream, which adds a nice richness, but overall, this is not a very heavy dish, considering it is a baked pasta dish.

I like that is included spinach, but I would probably chop it up a little first, because it got a little bit stringy. Otherwise, this works great as is.

Vanilla Biscotti

Total Time: 90 minutes

Grade: B+

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: King Arthur's Flour Baker's Banter

This is a nice simple recipe that only takes a while because you are baking twice (as you would with any Biscotti recipe.) It is very good. The recipe is very flexible and you can add other flavors or add-ins to the dough.

30-Minute Meatloaves

Prep Time: 27 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes

Grade: B+

Make Again: Maybe

Recipe Source: Cook's Country (Septebmer 2006)

I didn't exactly make these in 30 minutes. Not sure why I was slow. But they are quick and fairly easy. I did like these more as leftovers than originally. I think when I first ate it, it was too hot. But they did taste good and I may make these again, but first I will be trying the other ATK meatloaf recipes, and there are quite a few.

7 Layer Bars

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes

Grade: B+

Make Again: Maybe w/ changes

Recipe Source: Cook's Country (February 2007)

These are a little bit different than the easy recipe from on the can of the sweetened condensed milk. The recipe adds toffee bits to the crust (good change), toasts the nuts and coconut (good), adds milk chocolate and rice krispies (fine, but couldn't tell the diff) and also used twice as much condensed milk (maybe not such a good change). I felt like these were just a little bit too gooey. And while I didn't mind the extra chocolate, I'm not sure it added much, so I might skip that step along with the cereal. Of course they tasted good, but just not sure all the updates are necessary.

Chocolate Peppermint Cake

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Bake Time: 45-60 minutes
Cool Time: 1 hour
Glaze Time: 10 minutes
Rest Time: 1 hour

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Everyday Food (December 2004)

I made this for desert on Christmas Eve, and it went over very well. Even my 3 year old neice said "this is very good!" The mint is only in the frosting, so it could be skipped. The cake is very moist and dense, almost like a brownie. I didn't do a good job with the glaze, I don't think I really got the boiled cream to the chocolate fast enough, and it wasn't super smooth. Then I went back and tried to even out a part, which made it look even less smooth. It can be very pretty and shiny when done correctly.

English Muffin Bread

Prep Time: 13 minutes
Rise Time: 45-60 minutes
Bake Time: 22 minutes


Grade: A-

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Baker's Banter Blog

I've been wanting to try real English Muffins for a while now, but haven't done it yet. Then I saw this recipe and had to try it since it seemed to be so quick and easy. It was quick and easy. No kneading, and a fast rise. The only remotely hard part was getting the dough level in the pan.

I do really like this, but I will try regular english muffins before I do this again. The bread is very good toasted with butter or peanut butter. I don't think it is great untoasted (just like an english muffin wouldn't be great.) This is nice recipe to have on hand.

Lasagna Carnivale

Prep Time: 65 minutes
Cook Time: 20-25 minutes
Rest Time: 5 minutes
Grade: A-

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Best International Recipe

This recipe calls for making tiny meatballs (with a scant teaspoon of meat.) The first time I made this, I made the meatballs a little too big, which made the structure of the lasagna a little bit of a problem. I also felt like there wasn't enough tomato sauce. Overall, though, I loved it, so I decided to make this again for Christmas Eve dinner with my family.

I made one with beef and one with Turkey. I also made more sauce (50% more.) I made the meatballs a little smaller, althouth probably still a tiny bit bigger than a teaspoon. No doubt, it is tedious to roll the meatballs, but this is a great dish to make ahead, so it was done the day before the dinner, when I was less stressed. (I had some help with this, thankfully.)

The beef version was better than the turkey. The first time I did this, I used turkey and liked it, but this time I used Trader Joe's Turkey, instead of Jenni-O. I'm not sure why, but I just didn't love the flavor of the TJ turkey in this. I had added some oregano and red pepper to the turkey the first time, and forgot that this time, so maybe that was my problem.

In the end, this is a keeper recipe for me, since lasagna can be made ahead of time, and makes great leftovers.

Chocolate Snowcaps

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cool Time: 45 minutes
Roll Time:10-15 minutes
Bake Time: 12-14 minutes per sheet

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Everyday Food (December 2003)

I like these cookies, but they are messy to eat sometimes. There is a strong chocolate flavor with both cocoa and melted chocolate. These are supposed to be Espresso Snowcaps, but I cut the espresso powder by 75% so I use just enough to enhance the chocolate flavor, but not taste like it.

Beer Batter Cheese Bread

Prep Time: 12 minutes
Cook Time: 45-50 minutes

Grade: B

Make Again: Maybe

Recipe Source: Cook's Country (December 2007)

Quick breads are supposed to be quick, and this one is super-quick. The only effort you have to put in is dicing and shredding the cheese and melting the butter. I only used 2 T of butter (instead of 4) and I think that was fine, since you just pour it on top. It still tasted buttery.

I had two minor problems. 1) The crust was hard to cut and 2) it was hard to get out of the pan, because there was a bit of cheese on the bottom, and it ripped a little. Also, sometimes I feel like quick breads baked in my larger 9x5 pans don't cook perfectly through the middle of the pan. For that reason, I think that I might prefer to stick with muffins. The Savory Cheese Muffins I tried last year might be a better option in the future. (I did enjoy just pouring in an old bottle of beer in here though, since I had some to use up.)

Turkey Tetrazzini

Prep Time: 45 minutes
Cook Time: minutes

Grade: A-

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Cook's Illustrated (November 1998)

This is, of course, a leftover recipe for after Thanksgiving. It isn't super quick, but it is fairly easy, and I really find it to be good comfort food that froze fine, so I will make this again next time I have turkey leftovers.

(I skipped the mushrooms, used less butter and lemon, as I often do.) Oh, and I also used Panko instead of fresh breadcrumbs. I used a technique from The Best Light Recipe and browned them in a little butter on the stove which works well.

Pumpkin Cheesecake (Mini)

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Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Cool Time: 7-8 hours total

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Cook's Illustrated (Nov 2003)

Recipe Source: Baking Illustrated

I made this recipe when it was first published and really liked it, but I haven't made it again since. It was for Thanksgiving dessert this year, and dinner was just for two. So, I made a half recipe and used my (previously unused) mini-cheesecake pan. Using the mini pan was a great timesaver, because the cakes cooked and cooled faster. They were done in under 25 minutes instead of the 90 minutes it would have taken in a 9" pan.

The only problem I had was that a half recipe can fill the 12 mini pans with crust, but there was a lot of extra filling after filling all 12. The crust amount was probably perfect, although I only filled 9, because I wanted a really thick crust. I filled all 12 with filling and still had another cup of filling at least. I ended up saving and making a bar cookie out of it (which was not that great) because I didn't like the idea of throwing it away. Next time I would probably make a 1/3 of the filling and 1/2 of the crust. (Or more crust and 1/2 filling.) I have some 4" pans also, so I could maybe do one mini pan and one 4".

Beef and Vegetable Soup

Prep Time: 40 minutes
Cook Time: 30-35 minutes

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Cook's Illustrated (Sept 2007)

No, that picture doesn't have that much to do with my soup. But I couldn't get a good pic and I have to talk about mushrooms, so I thought of this one (taken at Acadia in Maine). I don't like mushrooms. I like the flavor, but I don't like their sliminess. Sometimes, when they are mixed in with things they are are ok, if cut fairly small. This recipe says that the mushrooms are important for contributing to the meaty flavor of the broth, and allows the soup to be prepared quickly.

So, I didn't want to skip them. I tried using less, and also did something dumb. The recipe called for cutting the mushrooms in quarters, but I chopped them really small, hoping they would disappear more into the soup. All that did was make the mushrooms harder to pick out, because I did find them rather unappetizing.

Other than that though, the soup was delicious. The broth was delicious. The meat was delicious. But I had to pick through every spoonful to remove mushrooms. That was not fun. I also should mention I didn't feel like the celery added that much.

I did not add the optional potatoes (since they weren't listed as an ingredient, and I forgot them.) I wish I had. The soup wasn't quite hearty enough for me. In the end, I scooped up all the meat and carrots (picking out the mushrooms) and some broth for leftovers. Then I strained the remaining broth and froze it for later. [Update: I have used the broth again. I basically cooked the meat in the soy sauce, added chopped carrots and potato (slightly precooked in microwave), then added the defrosted broth. I cooked this about 20 minutes then added some frozen peas. This was delicious and mushroom free!

But if I make again, I have a mushroom issue to deal with. I'm not quite sure how I would handle it. Definitely not cut them up tiny though.

Skillet Baked Pasta

Total Time: 40 minutes

Grade: A-

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Cook's Country (December 2007)

I have enough skillet pasta recipes, so I'm not sure why I tried this one too. Probably just because there was a pretty picture of it in the Best of 2009 book. It was pretty good. The only reason it gets a "-" is that the skillet pastas don't make great leftovers. The other reason is that it requires a non-stick pan that can handle being under the broiler.

Otherwise, this is a nice quick and tasty recipe, that took about 20 minutes of work, and then just some stirring. I love it when the end of the recipe doesn't require much work and it is possible to clean up, or get other things done while the meal finished.

Sesame Noodles with Shredded Chicken

Total Time: 45 minutes

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Cook's Illustrated (September 2001)

Since I opened up some chunky peanut butter for the PBJ bars, I decided to make this also. I think it is really good. The important thing is to get sauce thin enough so it doesn't get clumpy. Even my leftovers are good (and they don't need to be reheated.) I've been making this one for years now, and I still like it.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 60 minutes

Grade: B-

Make Again: No

Recipe Source: Best of America's Test Kitchen 2009

I am guessing this recipe is in the Baking Book from ATK, but I don't know, because they don't tell you in the 2009 Best of edition. For this reason, and also because there are not as many pictures, I am slightly disappointed in the book. It is OK, I still think buying this book is smarter for me, then buying all of their new books, since they have so much overlap. However, it just is not as nice as the 2007 and 2008 editions.

I'm really surprised at how underwhelmed I was by this recipe. I was sure I would love it. To be fair, the jam I used is not that flavorful (an Organic strawberry jam from Trader Joe's.) It probably would have been better with a sweeter jam. I really found the unbaked dough (which, yes, I did try) to be very tasty, so I assumed the cookie would be too. I almost wonder if I should try again with a better jam, but then I think - I have so many recipes to try, I probably won't. There are other PB cookies I like, so I will probably pass on this one. I do think part of my problem was the chopped peanuts, since I don't love nuts in baked goods.

Chicken Pot Pie (Lighter)

Prep Time: 60 minutes ???
Cook Time: 20 minutes

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: The Best Light Recipe

You would probably be surprised if you tasted this, that it was considered light. It has a very rich taste to it, and the biscuits on top taste buttery. They are made with 4 T of butter and buttermilk and it is enough to make them still taste great.

I'm not sure about my prep time. I believe I got most of the prep work done for everything including the biscuit ingredients done in 35 minutes. However, the cooking of the chicken always takes a long time. I finally cut the breasts into smaller pieces. But the waiting, shredding and moving pieces around while I tried to get it all cooked probably took me more than half an hour. I believe that if the chicken cooked faster, the entire thing would have been put together quicker. I'd say 35 minutes, plut 10-15 cooking time, plus another 10 to shred the chicken, thicken the sauce, and assemple the dish.

Anyway, this is a good one and I will probably compare to the original (non-light version) this summer. But I will make this again, for sure.

P.S. I forgot to take a picture, so the above is leftovers (which is why the peas looks dingy!) The leftovers are still really good, the biscuit is just not as crispy on top.

Tomato and Sausage Risotto

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Everyday Food

This was good comfort food for our first real cold spell. I liked the flavor of this a lot, and although it did require stirring, otherwise is a very easy recipe. I made lighter, by using only 1 t. oil and 1 T of butter, and using Turkey sausage (and only 2 links, instead of 3). Overall, a pretty healthy and nice one-pot meal, since you get vegetables, protein and rice combined.

I happened to make this with rice that said "best by March 2005". But it was fine. I will probably make this again, if I can remember to do so.

Apple and Chicken Sausage Salad

Total Time: 25 minutes

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Best Light Recipe

I only make this about once a year, but it is really, really good. It was one of the completely brand new (as far as I know) recipes from the Best Light Recipe. (Many of the recipes were reworked from original CI recipes.)

I used an Apple Chicken sausage from Trader Joes with a little bit of maple flavoring and they worked really well with this salad. I skipped the walnuts, because I don't like them, and there was plenty of flavor, crunch and interest in this salad without them.

Popovers (again)

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Rest Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30-40 minutes

Grade: A-

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: King Arthur's Flour

Yes, I did just make popovers last week, but I still have extra milk to get rid of, so I tried this recipe. It is similar, but makes larger popovers. The recipe is a little better than Julia's because the cooking time was more realistic, the popovers popped up more, and were prettier. But I felt like the flavor was missing a little bit. I actually like to eat popovers plain, but these didn't taste as good as last time. I think it needed more salt. I did put in the salt, but comparing the recipes, both called for 1/2 t, where the ingredients in this recipe were otherwise about 50% more in volume. So maybe I should try 3/4 t. instead. I would probably look to this recipe next time instead of the one in Julia's book, just because I like them bigger and the 20 minutes time at 450 works in my oven instead of 25.

Next up for popovers, I hope to try the whole wheat recipe in Whole Grain Baking.

Magic in the Middle Cookies

Prep Time: 45 minutes
Cook Time: 7 minutes

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: King Arthur's Flour

I can't pass up a good peanut butter and chocolate recipe, so I tried this one from the most recent blog entry at Baker's Banter. These were really delicious. I think they will be better warm, so I froze them after cooled and will defrost in the microwave when I want one.

I don't have the KA scoops, so I had to guess. I do have a cookie scoop, but I don't know the number. I do know it holds exactly 1 Tablespoon of water, but I gather this is not really what the recipe is referring to when it says to use a Tablespoon scoop. (Looking at the scoops for sale, it says that they hold more than 1T and more than 1t.

So I used a real teaspoon to measure my filling. I could tell early on I was going to get a lot more than 26 balls, so I started to allow the teaspooon to be heaping. I assumed I might have the same issue with the Tablespoon scoop, so I didn't level those off, I had them heap too. That worked, I got a similar # of balls from the filling and dough, even though I didn't level as the recipe called for. I ended up with enough for 31-32 cookies, instead of the 26.

These are more work than many cookies, because of the rolling the two balls together then rolling in sugar. But they are very good and I will definitely make these again because they are different than the usual cookies most people make.

Pork Tenderloin Roast

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes

Grade: A-

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Cook's Country (???? 2008

I am pretty sure this recipe came from Cook's Country, but not positive, because I could not find it on their site. However, the Best of 2009 book made it appear it was from the magazine. Maybe it hasn't been published there yet.

It was good and easy. You butterfly two pork tenderloins, spread with filling and roll them up together. The filling was flavorful with mustard, butter, and herbs. I used less butter and that was fine, because some of it did leak out anyway.

Banana Bread

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 65-70 minutes

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: King Arthur's Flour

I really don't need another banana bread recipe. The ones I have tried are always great. But I recently started reading KA's baking blog (Baker's Banter) which had a recipe that was a little different (with the inclusion of honey and apricot jam.) And I also have just about 1000 frozen bananas waiting to be baked with, so I thought I would try this. I used half whole wheat flour which was good.

Like all quick breads this was easy, and it tasted good. I'm not sure which banana bread recipe I prefer of all the ones I've used, but I will probably use this one again, if I have the apricot jam on hand.

One thing that I liked about this bread, is that it cut very nicely. Sometimes I have some trouble with the bread falling apart when I try to make thin slices. This came out really clean and even.

Caldo Verde

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes

Grade: A-

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Best of America's Test Kitchen 2009

I really don't know where this recipe can be found. I just got the lastest Best of book, and this version does not give the original source of the recipe. I assumed it came from the International cookbook, but I don't see it in there. There was a somewhat similar recipe in the Best 30 minute cookbook, but more streamlined.

Regardless of the source, I know I liked it, although the final product was a bordering on being too salty. Probably from the sausage. I acutally used half the called for chorizo, which works fine, IMO since it is so flavorful. Anyway, this is a simple soup, with chorizo, kale and potatoes and nice to have on a cold day. I will make this again when I find the chorizo on sale.

The only time consuming thing here is that you need to peel the potoates. Mine were small so it added to the time. Otherwise, a simple recipe.

Popovers

Prep Time: 8 minutes
Bake Time: 40-50 minutes

Grade: A-

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Baking with Julia

I love popovers, because they are super easy to make and delicious. This recipe didn't work perfectly for me though, because they get too crispy and lose some of the eggy middle that I love. My oven has trouble getting to 450, so I used the Speed baking (air - sort of like convection), since the temp was only a little over 400. Also, I thought it would be good since I was using a muffin tin which doesn't allow as much air circulation. By 20 minutes (instead of called for 25) they were too brown really. (For the record, I had this trouble with the recipe before in a different oven without the air.) So, I need to remember to check these early.

But they were still delicious. I think they freeze well and even just heating up in the microwave works pretty well. (The oven would probably be better.)

Simple Bagels

Prep Time: 10 minutes (plus overnight starter)
Rise Time: 2 hours (3 times)
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Bake Time: 25 minutes

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: King Arthur Flour

Like any bread, there is a lot of time that needs to pass while making these, but bagels were easier to make than I thought they would be. I really liked these. My one complaint with the recipe was that it said to put the seeds on after baking 15 minutes. This was a big failure. The 2nd time I dipped my bagels right from the water bath into a bowl with poppy seeds. That worked much better.

There are really good and since the recipe doesn't require any special ingredients, I will continue to use it.

Miraculous Spinach Quiche

Prep Time: 21 minutes
Cook Time: 45-55 minutes
Rest Time: 10-20 minutes

Grade: A-

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Baker's Banter Blog

This is supposed to be like one of those recipes where you mix everything together, but the crust ends up on the bottom. This did not happen for me, and I didn't expect it too. The mixture was too thick for this to happen. But it didn't really matter. It still was easy to slice and serve. It was filling and good, so I would probably make again.

I didn't put the topping on, and I used a 16 oz bag of frozen spinach instead of a 10oz box. That worked well, and I think it was better that way.

Skillet Spaghetti and Meatballs

Total Time: 43 minutes

Grade: A-

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Best 30-Minute Recipes

This was very good. The only reason it gets a "-" is because these skillet recipes end up with pasta that really, really soaks up the sauce, and becomes overgrown. It makes the leftovers not quite a good. 8 oz of pasta ended up feeling like a pound becuase it grew so much. I used 85% beef for this and it worked fine, instead of meatloaf mix. I also used less olive which was also fine. The only trouble I had was with the bread not mashing easily enough. Maybe I didn't cut enough of the crumbs off. I might just use fresh breadcrumbs next time. Getting out the food processor would add time, but maybe not, since I struggled with the bread pieces and that slowed me down.

Milk and Honey Corn Muffins

Prep Time: 12 minutes
Bake Time: 12-23 minutes

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Whole Grain Baking

My bake times have a wide range, because I made these muffins in a muffin-top pan, and they baked very quickly.

I almost didn't make these, because I don't often like corn muffins, unless filled with lots of fat. But the "milk and honey" drew me in, and I'm glad I tried them. These are very, very good, with a little sweetness, but not too much. And you would never know they were made with whole wheat. I will definitely use this recipe again to go with soups.

Whole Grain Banana Muffins

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 23-25 minutes

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Whole Grain Baking

The prep time included 10 minutes of resting time before baking. This recipe is different than most muffin recipes I've tried because it calls for using the mixer and creaming the butter and sugar. But not much harder. This are richer than the other banana muffins I've made before - but not too rich. It looked like the bananas caramelized, but maybe that was the honey. I've never had that happen before, so I'm not sure.

Spicy Stir-Fried Sesame Chicken with Green Beans

Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Cook's Illustrated (May 2004)

This is very, very good. The sauce was spicy but not too hot and very flavorful. The recipe uses the technique of velveting the chicken which makes it extra good. It almost tastes like like it was fried, but is not greasy, because of the cornstarch mixture. And it keeps the chicken very moist.

I skipped the mushrooms, and used extra green beans and some scallions instead. I will definitely be making this again soon, since it is easy and I get great beans at the farmers market.

Roasted Sesame Green Beans

Prep Time: 8 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes

Grade: A-

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Cook's Illustrated (November 2005)

I didn't love these as much as I loved the Maple Mustard version, but they were still good and I will make them again probably. I might like just a bit more honey on them.

One thing I need to remember is that the garlic mixture started to overcook after a few minutes, so I didn't need to continue roasting for the recommended 10-12 minutes. I was using pretty fresh beans, and not winter grocery store beans, and they didn't need all that roasting anyway. If I was doing this with tougher beans, I would wait to put the garlic mixture on later.