New recipe. April 20, 2024

Kaddu with Greens and Shrimp from NYT Cooking. This has layers of great flavors with all the spices, the squash and coconut milk. We give this a 5!

New recipe, April 19, 2024

Migas with Tortillas and Beans from NYT Cooking. This is a pleasant recipe, we give this a 3

New recipe, April 18, 2024

Tuxedo from NYT Cooking. An interesting variant of a martini. We give it a 3.

New recipe, April 17, 2024

Brandy Crusta from NYT Cooking. This is a really nice cocktail, with very well balanced tartness and sweetness. This gets a 4.

New recipe, April 16, 2024

Turmeric Fried Eggs with Tamarind and Pickled Shallots from NYT Cooking. This is a recipe from Yotam Ottolenghi, and like so many of his dishes it has layers and layers of wonderful complementary flavors. It is wonderful! This gets a 5.

New recipe, April 15, 2024

Sweet Breakfast Quinoa from Food and Wine. This surprised us a bit—the flavors of all the ingredients blended nicely with the quinoa without overpowering it. We give this a 4.

New recipe, April 14, 2024

Warm Sausage and Lentil Salad from Food and Wine. This is a dish with a fair amount of mustard, making it a bit monochromatic for us. We give it a 3

New recipe, April 13, 2024

The Gold Rush from NYT Cooking. The use of honey syrup softens this bourbon sour, which we liked a lot. We give this a 4.

New recipe, April 12, 2024

Root Vegetable Minestrone from Food and Wine. The herbal flavors of minestrone are here, but the vegetables are different. We enjoyed this variation, which is very satisfying. It gets a 3.

New recipe, April 11, 2024

Turmeric Chicken Stew from Food and Wine. This has a rich mix of warming spices and lightness from the lime juice. Really enjoyable! This gets a 5.

New recipe, April 10, 2024

Spicy Mushroom and Tofu Mazeman from NYT Cooking. We love the sauce in this—tahini, chili crisp and miso. This gets a 4.

New recipe, April 9, 2024

Hilib Suqaar (Beef and Vegetable Sauté) from NYT Cooking. This is a Somali recipe, and we love the flavors. It has you brown the meat and then cook with some water added for 15 minutes, "til the meat is tender." Stew meat needs a low braise to be tender. We love the flavors but the meat was really tough. We should also have cut the meat much smaller, but we don't think cooking the meat quickly is going to yield a tender dish. As made we give this a 2–great flavors, and we think we could fix the meat by cooking it lower, slower and longer.

New recipe, April 8, 2024

Spicy Kimchi Tofu Stew from Food and Wine. My dad, who served in Korea, never liked kimchi, which does have a pungent aroma (which I love). He would definitely have said no to this! It has a pound of kimchi, but it is interesting how kimchi mellows when it cooks. We really enjoyed this, it gets a 5.

New recipe, April 7, 2024

Chickpeas and Kale with Spicy Pomodoro Sauce from Food and Wine. We aren't vegetarian but we have enjoyed exploring vegetarian dishes like this. It has robust flavors and is very satisfying. It gets a 4.

New recipe, April 6, 2024

Warm Puttanesca Pasta from Food and Wine. I don't like anchovies, but as an ingredient in a sauce like puttanesca it brings a lovely umami to the dish. This is really tasty. We give it a 4.

New recipe, April 5, 2024

We went out to dinner to celebrate the 92nd birthday of Mark's mom, Ann, so the after dinner new drink is the Remember the Maine from the Moody Mixologist. Starts off like a Manhattan but the addition of Cherry Heering and Absinthe makes it unique. We give this a 5!

New recipe, April 4, 2024

Giardiniera with Ham and White Beans. The vegetables are only lightly pickled, and then the pickling liquid is added to the dressing. We were surprised by how well it all came together. We give it a 4.

New recipe, April 3, 2024

Chicken Koftas with Lime Couscous from NYT Cooking. The couscous is nicely flavored with cherries, pine nuts, parsley, and of course lime. The koftas are also nice spiced and with a bit of heat. They combine very nicely. This gets a 4.

New recipe, April 2, 2024

Lentils Cacciatore from NYT Cooking. Who would have thought you could do this with the humble lentil? The flavors are delicious. This gets a 5.

New Recipe, April 1, 2024

Stauning Salted Maple Old Fashioned from the Stauning Whisky website. We really like this whisky, so we decided to try this drink, which has maple syrup and olive brine. It was too sweet for us. We give it a 3.

New recipe, March 31, 2024

In the hustle and bustle of Easter dinner, I forgot the photo. Our new recipe was Rosemary Rack Of Lamb with Crushed Potatoes from NYT Cooking. It's a winner! This gets a 5!

New recipe, March 30, 2024

Five Herb Frittata with Prosciutto and Parmesan. This has a nice blend of flavors from all the herbs. We give it a 4.

New recipe, March 29, 2024

Slow Cooker Picadillo from NYT Cooking. Picadillo is a wonderfully flavored Caribbean stew, and this easy version is very good. It gets a 4.

New recipe, March 28, 2024

Microwave Eggplant with Scallion Chili Crisp Oil from Food and Wine. This has an interesting way of cooking the eggplant which we found entirely unsuccessful. Some parts were cooked through, others were raw. This didn't improve with extra cooking. The scallion chili crisp oil was very tasty, but we give this recipe a 2. I would certainly serve the oil on a nicely roasted eggplant.

New recipe, March 27, 2024

Sweet and Sour Tofu with Barberries from NYT Cooking. This has an unexpected combination of flavors and is really nice! This gets a 4.

New recipe, March 26, 2026

Skillet Eggs with Garam Masala and Tomatoes from NYT Cooking. Very simple, but the mix of spices makes it delicious. This gets a 4.

New Recipe, March 25, 2024

I forgot the photo. The recipe is the Chopped Wedge Salad from NYT Cooking. All the flavors of a wedge salad. It is hard to argue with bacon and blue cheese! This gets a 4.

New recipe, March 24, 2024

Red Flannel Hash from NYT Cooking. Another use for leftover corned beef. And quite tasty! The beets with the potatoes and corned beef are a nice combination. We give this a 4.

New recipe, March 23, 2024

It is hard to go wrong with scallops! This is Scallops with Fennel Grenobloise from Food and Wine. It includes butter, lemon and capers, which makes it both rich and lively. We give this a 4.

New recipe, March 22, 2024

West Indian Pepper Pot Soup from NYT Cooking. This is another recipe that uses leftover corned beef, and it is a winner! The broth is infused with habanero, allspice, bay and thyme, and could can taste them all. This is fabulous. It gets a 5!

New recipe, March 21, 2024

Teriyaki Shrimp and Bok Choy Stir Fry. Like any stir fry it is quick, and has nicely balanced flavors. It gets a 4.

New recipe, March 20, 2024

Lemony Asparagus Salad with Shaved Cheese and Nuts from NYT Cooking. This is really delicious, a great combination of flavors. We give it a 4.

New recipe, March 19, 2024

Forgot the photo. The first of several recipes to use leftover corned beef. Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Corned Beef from Food Network. It is simple but quite good. The addition of coriander is a nice touch. This gets a 4.

New recipe, March 18, 2023

Manhattan with Amaro and Cocoa from NYT Cooking. This is delightful. It has some sweetness from the creme de cacao, but excellent balancing bitterness. We give this a 5.

New recipe, March 17, 2024

Slow Cooker Corned Beef and Cabbage from NYT Cooking. Very nice flavors. We used Napa cabbage instead of savoy. Even with rinsing, the corned beef is pretty salty. I think I would try to prep my own corned beef to reduce the sodium. Even so, we found this delicious and give it a 4.

New recipe, March 16, 2024

Miso Glazed Maitake Mushroom Burgers from Epicurious, and Extra Crispy Parmesan Crusted Roasted Potatoes from NYT Cooking. Both get a 3. The burgers have good flavor, but most hamburgers shine because of what is added on top. These have onion and plain arugula, leaving a kind of monochromatic feel. We are think dressing the arugula, perhaps with a Dijon vinaigrette would add interest without hiding the mushrooms. And the potatoes have good flavor but seem dry. That could be because our pieces were 1 inch at most, not 1-2 inches, and we used Yukon gold instead of russets. We will try this again with russets and bigger pieces.

New recipe, March 15, 2024

It's the Ides of March! Today's recipe is the Black Rock Chiller from NYT Cooking. It is a pleasant cocktail designed not to need ice. We give it a 4.

New recipe, March 14, 2024

Happy Pi Day. Not quite a pie, this French Onion Tart from Bon Appetít is wonderful. It captures many of the flavors in French onion soup, and the Dijon takes it up a notch. This gets a 5!

New recipe, March 13, 2024

Lemon Pepper Chicken Salad from Bon Appetít. Delicious! There are 2 dressings, and together they make this really tasty! This gets a 5.

New recipe, March 12, 2024

Miso Leeks with White Beans from NYT Cooking. The mustard miso dressing and the leeks make a wonderful combination on the white beans. This is delicious! It gets a 5

New recipe, March 11, 2024

Adas Polo Ba Khorma (Persian Lentil Rice with Dates) from NYT Cooking. A recipe in honor of Nowruz. It is quite tasty—dates and caramelized onions are an unexpected combination that is great. We give this a 4.

New recipe, March 10, 2024

Dirty Martini Pork Chops with Olive Brine and Gin Pan Sauce from Food and Wine. This is fun and really quite nice. We give this a 5.

New recipe, March 9, 2024

Cauliflower Pea Cashew and Coconut Curry from NYT Cooking. This has good flavors, but we would prefer they be more robust. We would double the curry elements—the ginger garlic and green pepper, as well as the spices. As made we give it a 3.

New recipe, March 8, 2024

The New Career from NYT Cooking. Very tasty. The rosemary is a nice counterpoint to the chartreuse and absinthe. We like this, it gets a 4.

New recipe, March 7, 2024

Çilbir (Turkish Eggs with Yogurt) from NYT Cooking. This is simple, elegant, with delicious sophisticated flavors. Yum! We give this a 5.

New recipe, March 6, 2024

Bacon Egg and Brussels Sprouts Salad from NYT Cooking. A fun variation on the warm bacon salad. This gets a 4.

New recipe, March 5, 2024

Miso Mushroom Barley Soup from NYT Cooking. This is a soup, nice and thick. Lots of delicious umami with brightness from the lime. We give this a 4.

New recipe, March 4, 2024

Caldo Verde (Potato and Greens Soup with Sausage) from NYT Cooking. This is a comforting soup. We give this a 3.

New recipe, March 3, 2024

Creamy One Pot Pasta with Chicken and Mushrooms from NYT Cooking. This is interesting—the pasta is cooked like a risotto. Very enjoyable, we give this a 4.

New recipe, March 2, 2024

Tofu and Mushroom Jorim (Soy Braised Tofu) from NYT Cooking. This is simple, vegetarian, and very tasty. We give this a 5. Yum!

New recipe, March 1, 2024

Crop Top Cocktail from The Cocktail Codex. Very tasty, we give this a 5.

New recipe, February 29, 2024

I keep forgetting the photo. Today's dish is Chicken Saltimbocca from NYT Cooking. We skipped the fontina cheese—just didn't seem necessary. We enjoyed the flavors and give this a 4.

New recipe, February 28, 2024

Pasta alla Norma from NYT Cooking. This has good flavors but it takes a huge amount of olive oil that just made it seem very heavy. It gets a 3.

New recipe, February 27, 2024

The Margarita from the Aviary Cocktail Book. It is an excellent Margarita to begin with, but the magic is the Fresno ice cube, made from juiced Fresno peppers and water. Fantastic! This gets a 5!