New recipes, November 28, 2024

Happy Thanksgiving! The turkey is Sesame ginger Spatchcocked Turkey from Food and Wine. The most flavorful and moist turkey we have ever made! And spatchcocking makes it quick, so we had time to ski before cooking it! This gets a 5.

The salad is Brussels Sprouts Salad with Pomegranate and Pistachio from NYT Cooking. Delicious, and another 5. Nice to have an uncooked salad that is so holiday oriented!

The stuffing is Fruit and Nut Stuffing by Martha Stewart from Food and Wine. Different from any other stuffing we have had and delightful. It gets a 4.

New recipe, November 27, 2024

Sparkling Elderflower Negroni from Food and Wine. We thoroughly enjoy this, and it gets a 4.

New recipe, November 26, 2024

Vegan Chorizo (here with scrambled eggs) from NYT Cooking. Yes, this tastes like chorizo and is fabulous!! It does have a few steps but it's worth it. This gets a 5!

New recipe, November 25, 2024

Shrimp Creole from NYT Cooking. This is not a dish we have made before. This comes together with delicious flavors (obvious why it is a classic!). We give this a 4.

New recipe, November 24, 2024

Lemony Caesar Dense Bean Salad from Food and Wine. This is a pleasant variation on the Caesar Salad. We give it a 3.

New recipe, November 23, 2024

Slow Cooker Turkey breast with Lemon Garlic Gravy from NYT Cooking. We liked this, and give it a 4. Good flavors and moist, the flavors are not unusual

New recipe, November 22, 2024

Cagaar (Spinach Stew) from NYT Cooking. This is a Somali stew. The flavors are not so familiar, but this is delicious! It gets a 4.

New recipe, November 21, 2024

Cauliflower Tinga Tacos from Food and Wine. We live Tinga and this is a wonderful vegetarian version. This gets a 5.

New recipe, November 20, 2024

I am getting good at forgetting pictures. The new recipe today is Steak Mock Frites from NYT Cooking. The potatoes are booked, smashed and roasted with oil, making a lovely mock frites. This is very tasty, we give it a 4.

New recipe, November 29, 1960

The gift cake was delicious, but the new recipe is the Suzie Americano from liquor.com. Suze can be a dominant flavor, and the Carpano Bianco mellows it nicely. This gets a 4.

New recipe, November 18, 2024

No photo, but we made Butternut Tamarind and Coconut Stew from NYT Cooking. This is a fun combination of flavors we don't usually see together and is delicious! It gets a 4.

New recipe, November 17, 2024

Lemony Pasta with Braised White Beans from NYT Cooking. Simple and with a good variety of flavors. This gets a 4.

New recipe, November 16, 2024

Cappelleti Americano from Haus Albenz. Interesting, it gets a 3.

New recipe, November 15, 2024

Missed the photo of Guinan's Negroni from liquor.com. Another Suze recipe. An interesting mix of flavors, another 4.

New recipe, November 14, 2024

Vegetarian Reuben Sandwich from NYT Cooking. We really found we didn't miss that pastrami. This is really tasty and gets a 5.

New recipe, November 13, 2024

La Tour Eiffel from liquor.com. Absinthe, cognac, Cointreau and Suze. They work well together! This gets a 4.

New recipe, November 12, 2024

Roasted Brussels Sprouts Caesar with Tahini from NYT Cooking. This may sound improbable, but the flavors work together nicely, especially the sweetness of the roasted sprouts and the creaminess from the tahini. This gets a 4.

New recipe, November 11, 2024

Caramelized Onion Cranberry and Rosemary Tachin from NYT Cooking. Kind of Persian food meets Thanksgiving flavors. It is a clever idea but we didn't find it outstanding. It gets a 3.

New recipe, November 10, 2024

Khoresh Kadoo Halvaii (Butternut Squash Stew) from NYT Cooking. This has a really interesting combination of flavors. We give this a 4.

New recipe, November 9, 2024

A new breakfast, Çilbir (Turkish Eggs with Yogurt). What makes this great is the Aleppo pepper that is bloomed in the butter. It takes this over the top! It gets a 5.

New recipe, November 8, 2024

Charred Cabbage with Ssamjang Butter from Fiid and Wine. The combination of the charred outer leaves with the tender inner leaves is quite tasty. And the Ssamjang Butter (Ssamjang is a Korean chili paste) is just fabulous. This gets a 5.

New recipe, November 7, 2024

The Greenhorn from Liquor.com. Tequila, Midori and Suze. Delicious! This gets a 5.

New recipe, November 6, 2024

Working on leftovers, so tonight's new recipe is the White Negroni from Liquor.com, which uses Suze as the bitter. This is pleasant—it gets a 3.

New recipe, November 5, 2024

Braised White Beans and Greens with Parmesan from NYT Cooking. The melange of veggies in this bring a richness to it that complements the beans. Nice! This gets a 4.

New recipe, November 4, 2024

We made a similar recipe not long ago, but this is a bit different. Butter Paneer from NYT Cooking. Just delicious. It gets a 4!

New recipe, November 3, 2024

Bun Cha from NYT Cooking. There are several steps to this, but it isn't complicated and the flavors come together nicely. This gets a 4.

New recipe, November 3, 2024

Bun Cha from NYT Cooking. There are several steps to this, but it isn't complicated and the flavors come together nicely. This gets a 4.

New recipe, November 2, 2024

Missed a photo. José Andrés' Apple Salad. This is exquisite! Make it! It gets a 5!

New recipe, November 1, 2024

Roasted Squash with Spiced Onion Gravy from NYT Cooking. This is so simple and so tasty. This gets a 5!

New recipe, October 32, 2024

Persian Split Pea and Rice Soup with Lamb Meatballs from Food and Wine. Like some other Persian dishes, this has absurd amounts of herbs, and it is quite delicious. Tasted good after 2500 trick or treaters! This gets a 5.

New recipe, October 30, 2024

Sambuca 75 from Food and Wine. Sambuca plays quite nicely with citrus juice. This gets a 4.

New recipe, October 29, 2024

Sambuca Summer from Food and Wine. The Sambuca works nicely with lime juice and tequila this gets a 4.

New recipe, October 28, 2024

Mushroom Poblano Tacos from NYT Cooking. Delicious, with an added twist using sazón seasoning. This gets a 5.

New recipe, October 27, 2024

French Onion Grilled Cheese from NYT Cooking. And here is an awesome hack—Caramelized Onions from NYT Cooking, which uses a slow cooker to effortlessly caramelize the onions in 12 hours. Set it and go! The onions get a 5 for the sheer convenience of perfect caramelized onions with no work. And the sandwich is delicious. Two 5s!

New recipe, October 26, 2024

Sambuca Sazerac from Food and Wine. Sambuca and Bourbon are an Interesting combination, fairly assertive. This gets a 3.

New recipe, October 25, 2024

DuPont Cocktail from The Spruce Eats. This was reportedly Queen Elizabeth's favorite cocktail. It is very good, a bit more strongly flavored (from the Dubonnet) than I might have expected. It gets a 4.

New recipe, October 24, 2024

Slow Cooker Lasagna from NYT Cooking. This is a pleasant surprise, and is really good! It gets a 4.

New recipe, October 23, 2024


Chickpea Potato Chaat from Epicurious. This has 3 distinct sauces. Might sound like overkill, but stunning together! This gets a 5!

New recipes, October 22, 2024

I have been having trouble remembering to take a photo! Today's dishes are s Strip Steak with Dijon Sauce, and Roasted Delicata Squash and Mushrooms with Whipped Ricotta, both from NYT Cooking. Both are tasty and they complement one another. They get 4s.

New recipe, October 21, 2024

Brown Butter Lentil and Sweet Potato Salad from NYT Cooking. The dressing makes this dish. It gets a 4.

New recipe, October 20, 2024

Mexico City Shrimp with Chipotle Mojo from Fiid and Wine. The garlic is supposed to confit in the oven til tender. It may be because we used a convection oven but our garlic came out crunchy and could not be mashed as desired. The flavors were still pleasant, but it didn't come out as expected. This gets a 3.

New recipe, October 19, 2024

White Bean and Mushroom Cassoulet from Fiid and Wine. This definitely tastes like a cassoulet, and we enjoyed it a lot. It is a bit salty as made—we'd cut the salt back by 1/2 tbsp. They do say to bake it until most liquid has evaporated, but be careful to leave a little—our was just a bit dry. It still gets a 4!

New recipe, October 18, 2024

Palaver Punch from Epicurious. This is a fun mix of gin, vermouth, grapefruit and lemon juice, Demerara syrup, and Alldoice Dram with orange bitters. It tastes rather sophisticated and we give it a 4.

New recipe, October 17, 2024

Mississippi Roast from NYT Cooking. Who doesn't love a delicious meal slowly filling the house with its aroma in a slow cooker? Adding pepperoncini and homemade ranch brings this up a notch. We really like it—it gets a 5.

New recipe, October 16, 2024

Sweet Potato Hash with Tofu from NYT Cooking. This is easy, using sheet pans to cook everything, but it ends up with a riot of flavors when it is assembled. This gets a 5.

New recipe, October 15, 2024

Maraq Misir (Red Lentil Soup) from NYT Cooking. A very simple recipe, but the xawaash spice mix gives it a lot of interest. This gets a 4.

New recipe, October 14, 2024

Spicy Sticky Tempeh from NYT Cooking. This has nice flavors, but doesn't really stand out overall. This gets a 3.

New recipe, October 13, 2024

Miso Braised Eggs with Shallots from Food and Wine. This does have a number of steps but the result is delicious! This gets a 5!

New recipe, October 12, 2024

Butternut Squash Soup from NYT Cooking. This is a simple soup but has strategic quantities of sauteed onion and garlic. It has small amounts of spices and a bit of rice wine vinegar in the finish. And you can taste all of the components. The drizzle of olive oil to finish blends with all the other flavors. We give this a 5.

New recipe, October 11, 2024

Lentil Tomato Soup from NYT Cooking. This is a creamy tomato flavored soup. It gets a 3.

New recipe, October 10, 2024

Tea Brined Duck Breast from Food and Wine. The flavors are delicious, and the cooking process (cooking with the skin side down on low for 15 mins) ensures a perfectly cooked duck breast. The brine has a lot of salt (3 tbsp) so it comes out a bit salty. We would reduce the salt to 1 1/2 to 2 tbsp. It gets a 4, would be a 5 if a bit less salty.

New recipe, October 9, 2024

Indian Spiced Tomato and Egg Casserole from NYT Cooking. This is another variation on shakshuka. We love the Indian spices and the potatoes. This gets a 5!

New recipe, October 8, 2024

Between the Sheets from Food and Wine. The rum, cognac and triple sec balance nicely against the lemon juice, so this is tart but not too much. We give this a 4.

New recipe, October 7, 2024

Quick Lamb Ragu with Artichokes from NYT Cooking. We really enjoyed these flavors. The lamb works nicely here. We give it a 4.

New recipe, October 6, 2024

Chicken Au Poivre from NYT Cooking. The creamy sauce is nice, the pepper seemed rather subdued. Overall, we give this a 3.