Strawberry Mousse

Prep Time: 8 minutes
Wait Time: 45 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Chill Time: 4 hours

Grade: A-

Make Again: Maybe 

Recipe Source: Cook's Illustrated (May 2014)

This was a very nice and refreshing dessert that doesn't need perfect strawberries. I did have Farmer's Market berries to use, but they were actually not any better than grocery store berries this time. (Usually they are much better!)

The end result still had a very nice strawberry flavor, but I'm not sure I would make again, just because it was a little more work than I wanted for a nice but not amazing dessert.

Chocolate Cream Cupcakes

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Bake Time: 18-22 minutes
Filling Prep Time: 10 minutes
Chill Time: 30 minutes
Frost/Assemble Time: 20 minutes

Grade: A

Make Again: Maybe

Recipe Source: Cook's Country (February 2010)

These were very good, and fun to make. But cake is not my favorite dessert so I probably won't make again. I would if someone wanted me to though. They were not too difficult. Definitely more steps than a normal cake since you have to fill the cupcakes and decorate the top, but it wasn't too bad.

Actually I already have made them twice, the first time about 4 months ago. Unfortunately, the first time I forgot to add sugar to the batter, making them inedible. So I really wanted to make again to see if they actually good, and they were.

The filling is made with butter, gelatin and marshmallow fluff and turns out pretty good. You use it to decorate the top as well.

Overall, these are a better tasting reproduction of Hostess cupcakes.

Meatballs for a Crowd (or your freezer)

Prep Time: 50 minutes
Cook Time: 60 minutes

Grade: A+

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Cook's Illustrated (November 2010)
Recipe Source: ATK TV (Season 12)
Recipe Source: Pasta Revolution

These are possibly the best meatballs I have ever had. They are a bit of work, but the recipe makes a huge amount of sauce and meatballs. I got 39 medium sized (less than 2") meatballs from the recipe.

I came very close to making these just ok meatballs, when I almost didn't add the proscuitto. I had to go to Trader Joe's to buy it and I didn't want to. But decided if I didn't, the salt would be off, and I didn't want to mess with the original recipe that much. I'm so glad I got it, because it really added a lot to the recipe.

My least favorite part of making these was grating the onion (1.25 cups). I might use the food processor for that next time. The tears were pouring out of me.

The meatballs are baked instead of pan-fried which is nice, because a lot of the fat renders out and it is a bit easier with so many. The sauce and meatballs are finished in the oven. They use 6 cups of tomato juice because supposedly the sauce cooks down. I only used 4 cups, and even took the cover off the last half hour, but still felt the sauce was a little thin. I would use less next time. but I like a thick sauce.

As I said, this made a lot. I have a lot of leftovers in the freezer, which makes me very happy. I will definitely use this recipe again, but not that often, since it makes so much. !

Glazed All-Beef Meatloaf

Prep Time: 34 minutes
Cook Time: 55 minutes
Glaze Time: 10 minutes
Rest Time: 20 minutes

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Cook's Illustrated (January 2006)

Any previous meatloaf recipe from CI called for Meatloaf mix (pork, veal and beef). I never used it, and always just used beef. This recipe was specifically created to only using beef. I would say it is better than their regular version (if you only use beef, that is.) However, it does call for two types of beef - a pound of ground sirloin and a pound of ground chuck.

It also calls for quite a lot of other ingredients: gelatin (to replace missing quality from veal), crushed saltines, paprika, celery, onion, soy sauce, tomato juice and more. Then there is a tasty glaze on top.

It was really a little bit more work than I want to do for a meatloaf, however, the flavor and texture was very good. Since it wasn't a terrible amount of work, I probably will make this version again.

Lemon Yogurt Mousse

Prep Time: 43 minutes
Cool Time: 6-24 hours 
Grade: A

Make Again: Yes
Recipe Source: The Best of America's Test Kitchen 2011


I was kind of disappointed with the best of 2011 book when I first looked at it after borrowing it from the library last week. There are several recipes from the Light & Healthy 2010 in there, and it seemed like there were other repeats in there. The only CI books I get anymore are these yearly annuals, so I expect to not have repeats.

It seems like a strange assortment of recipes, and I'm not sure how many I will try. However, this Lemon Yogurt Mousse looked good to me, so I decided to try it first. This one recipe may be enough to convince me to buy the book. I don't think it is on-line anywhere. I am guessing the recipe comes from this book but I don't know for sure.

It is a perfect summer recipe. Light, and refreshing. There is a berry sauce at the bottom of the dish, which is a nice little addition and complements the lemon nicely. (Strawberry, blueberry or raspberry - I used strawberries.)

After making the sauce, you make the mousse with egg whites, sugar, greek yogurt, lemon and some heavy cream. I was previously annoyed at having to purchase heavy cream for a light recipe earlier, so I was happy to be able to use some up with this recipe.

The most difficult part of the recipe is whipping the whites and sugar by hand while the bowl is over simmering water to get the eggs to 160 degrees. That takes almost 10 minutes. Otherwise the rest of the recipe is not too bad.

This one is really good. I will definitely make again. It would be good for summer entertaining, because it is a cold dessert and can be made ahead.

Best Beef Stew

Prep Time: 45 minutes
Cook Time: 2.5 hours

Grade: A

Make Again: Yes

Recipe Source: Cook's Illustrated (January 2010)

Between Cook's Illustrated, Cook's Country, the ATK tv show and all the cookbooks, I'm sure ATK has a LOT of stew recipes. They are all good, if you like beef stew. I really liked this one also. It was rich tasting and perfect comfort food for a very cold day.

It does take a while to make, of course, but I love dishes where you can get all the work done early and don't have to do much work after that. There is a tiny bit of work in the last 15 minutes, but it is pretty negligible, so I don't even count it in my time.

I did make a few substitutions. I used some frozen wine, and it was probably a Merlot, instead of Pinot Noir. I also used a tiny bit of anchovy paste instead of chopping anchovies (yuck!) I skipped the pearl onions. The biggest sub was to just put a few rinsed off pieces of bacon in the stew instead of the salt pork. I just didn't feel like trying to find it, and wanted to use the ingredients I had on hand. It worked fine, but I didn't use 4oz. I think it added a little taste in a good way.

This one got a thumbs up from the somewhat picky eater in my life, so I will definitely be making this one again.

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)
Recipe Source: America's Test Kitchen (Season 10)

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.

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.

Strawberry Pretzel Bars

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Assemble: 1 hour (with chilling of gelatin)
Chill Time: 4 hours

Grade: A-

Make Again: Maybe

Recipe Source: Cook's Country (June 2005)

Some of the times above can be overlapped. This is kind of similar to a jello recipe that uses crushed pretzels. I liked it, but my crust was too crumbly. Maybe I measured the butter wrong or didn't cook enough. I have never used plain gelatin before and like it. I like the idea of making my own with my own flavors. For the grape juice, I used extra juice from Trader Joe's peaches, which worked well. I used a little more water and less juice than called for because the juice seems a bit reduced to me. It worked out OK.