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This is quite yummy and a little bit different from the usual meatball supper - which I love, but this changes things up. I'm serving with couscous which seems to go well with the flavors that to me, are more Moroccan than Italian. I think a handful or two of wilted baby spinach might work quite well in this too actually, which round out this meal.

By JoCook | 

November 4, 2009

There is no denying that is tasty enough and for a weeknight supper, it is a good fit. But I'm not sure I'm going to rush back to this recipe. The good news is that the touch of sweetness means my kids should eat it as well as us grown ups! I put my pot in the oven at 300 degrees for an hour and a half, instead of cooking the lamb on the stove. I find, that this method, is more reliable for a tenderized meat in a stew.

By JoCook | 

November 1, 2009

Very tasty! I used lemon sole tonight. I agree with the other posters in that any white fish would be great. The creamy guac. worked really well. I liked the fact that a really good portion of veggies was being worked into this. Good solid fare for a mid-week.

By JoCook | 

October 7, 2009

This is incredible. Ooh yum! But what isn't when it's loaded with marsala and heavy cream? I'm actually making the wild mushroom soup that uses this ragout as a base, but quite frankly, I'm tempted to throw this with some homemade egg fettucine instead, pour a large glass of red wine and lie down and go to heaven! Fantastic. Seriously good enough for dinner guests too.

By JoCook | 

October 6, 2009

Very tasty and perfect for a cool Fall evening. It was worth the effort of browning, simmering. Even the kids all loved it! No complaints at all, even from the Picky One. I did make my own parpadelle, but this would be just as good with any fresh or dried pasta. I'm going to freeze the leftovers.

By JoCook | 

October 3, 2009

I made this last night for dinner. I must confess, I do not own a pizza stone or any of the accompaniments as I am sure many people do not. So I used the 'baking tray method' discussed in the recipe. Firstly, pre-heating the baking sheet was a great tip as my pizza turned out with a yummy crispy bottom to it. However, my pizza did take about 12-14 minutes to cook so the cheese melted and the dough had cooked through. As a result the lamb was a little dry in places, but still very passable. I will confess I did not use Truffled Pecorino, not least because I wouldn't know where sells it, but I'm not a fan of truffles. Perhaps it was that, but I felt it was missing something in terms of flavor. If I do this again, I may throw some herbs in the mix. I think that may make a big difference in lieu of truffles. Great tip for a crunchy base though.

By JoCook | 

September 30, 2009

I made these, actually this time last year for the first time a pre-dinner snack before going out to some Halloween-type festivities. They warmed us to face the chill of the early evening and kept us sated until we made it back for late supper. I since made them for lunch, served alongside a green salad and they featured in a Winter Vegetable Cooking evening I hosted. They're easy and a big hit.

By JoCook | 

September 30, 2009

Last night I made asparagus and ricotta toasts as a precursor to a meal I prepared for a friend. Today, I used up the leftover ricotta and asparagus in this soup. It tastes fabulous and took me less than 10 minutes! Nice and creamy, with plenty of asparagus flavor and I was glad to find a use for the ingredient surplus.

By JoCook | 

September 16, 2009

I took Michael Kramer's advice on this and made them for a picnic. When we pulled these out of the basket, I felt the stares of envy from around us! They were really good. Not soggy at all and easy to eat. I'd made smaller ones for the kids. There was not a crumb left. I did pack them between parchment paper and had them further away from the ice packs to try and simulate room temperature in the picnic bag.

By JoCook | 

September 13, 2009

This is a perfect recipe to use when rhubarb is in season and the call is for something spring-like, but yet still comforting. The problem was that it was difficult to resist eating all the rice pudding straight out of the pan!

By JoCook | 

September 13, 2009

This gets points for being quick and easy and something that makes for a last minute dessert as I always have frozen puff pastry in the freezer. A family pleaser when I'm pushed for time.

By JoCook | 

September 13, 2009

This was simply delightful. I must confess I am a huge fan of veal shanks, and other such similar cuts, and the mashed potato goodness that tends to accompany such dishes. I did make this for a true Italian friend of mine, who is also a cook, and so I was praying I could pull it off without too much critique. We were all equally delighted. The citrus gremolata was what frosting is to cake. Not to be missed.

By JoCook | 

September 12, 2009

I must confess I was a little disappointed with what sounded like a really interesting take on succotash with this recipe. I felt it lacked flavor and texture. The sweetness of the peach matched well with the duck, but I can think of better pairings.

By JoCook | 

September 12, 2009

This packs enough punch without being too hot. I combined it with salad leaves to bulk it out for a midweek supper. It was good. I would definitely consider it as dinner party fare, perhaps making smaller portions and serving it appetizer style.

By JoCook | 

September 12, 2009

This was good and I must confess I was surprised, given that I hadn't 'creamed' my corn for a while in heavy cream. It was incredibly satisfying and super tasty with the poblanos and the onion. I did reheat the leftovers the following day for lunch in the m'wave....they were still pretty good - good enough for lunch for one anyway.

By JoCook | 

September 2, 2009

This has become such an easy go-to canape for me, I have the ingredients memorized. So tasty and refreshing, plus I always seem to have spare ricotta, which goes off very quickly (and I hate to ditch it) and so I love to find different ways of using it up!

By JoCook | 

September 2, 2009

I made this tonight as a speedy weeknight supper. I too suffered from a little curdling with the greek yoghurt into the melted butter....I grabbed half a lemon from the fridge and that solved that. It also made for a nice flavor. I felt it was a little bland - my husband thought it was delicious. I must confess, that some really good eggy homemade pasta squares would seal this dish as with a 'yum factor', opposed to the store bought type. But, given that I was not churning pasta through the machine tonight, this still wins points for speed of prep.

By JoCook | 

September 2, 2009

This was just delicious. I would definitely do again. This would also make a lovely side dish to chicken or steak I feel. I mostly halved the ingredients as I was only cooking for two people generously. I did note the other reviewer mentioned that their dish was a little dry and perhaps mine would have been too, except that I used three vine ripened tomatoes (as those were what I had), so about 11/2 pounds, with the half quantities of zucchini and eggplant. The vine ripened tomatoes tend to produce more juice. I also kept the 3oz of feta, so effectively doubling the proportion of cheese. I should note that I tend to prefer sheeps milk feta for a milder taste which is perhaps why my dish wasn't overwhelmed with the feta flavor.

By JoCook | 

September 1, 2009