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)
Recipe: America's Test Kitchen TV Show (Season 9)

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.