I was looking for something special to whip up for breakfast. This looked a little intensive, but encouraged by AHJ12475’s review I plunged in. Without a stand mixer (Yes, I think this is finally on my wish list), it took me 1 hour of prep time and she had good directions on how to do it by hand. But I must admit, as I peeled, cut and dried the apples, grated the cheddar (I used orange) and shaped these coffee-shop worthy giant scones (the rolling pin abandoned as I lovingly patted these into the right shape). I was shocked that this recipe only made 6 scones! We enjoyed these by themselves so we could savor their buttery tenderness, concentrated apple flavor and bits of sharp cheddar. Although white cheddar was called for, the orange cheddar color enhanced the golden color of the scones. The sugar topping did not clash with the cheese but added some welcome extra sweetness.

This really satisfies. If you have all of the ingredients on hand, you must make this! My only deviation from the recipe was to use dried tarragon (I am not a fan). It was very easy and quick to make. I also added lemon juice at the end and it was just the right touch. I was hesitant about adding much of the pasta water back in at the end, but next time I will be more bold; the sauce was very thick, and I think with more pasta water would have been creamier. It did look just like the picture and there were no leftovers!

This was a fun, fast, simple and fresh tasting pasta dish. My cherry tomatoes were quite acidic and this was not really cut by the bread crumb topping. It would taste even better with the grape tomatoes we usually have available. I would not really call it a sauce; it was more like pasta topped with miniature baked tomatoes.

This was very reminiscent of Vegetarian Epicure’s Russian Vegetable Pie, but less fussy to make. I could not bear the thought of another very buttery crust, especially when the original recipe she mentioned called for a yeast version. I was able to find that recipe: http://www.publicradio.org/columns/splendid-table/recipes/bread_thanksgiving.html
I successfully used resuscitated dried mushrooms for the 4 ounces of fresh. I made this again the same way and even remembered the outstanding and simple horseradish sauce, it added a lot. I did not brush the outside of the galette with egg this time, but would the next time, it makes it more substantial and also looks even more beautiful.

I choose this recipe as it had very few ingredients. I baked them for 30 minutes as indicated and after letting them cool for the 3 hours, I could cut the edges into squares without them falling apart, but not the central section. The honey was the only binding ingredient, so this was not the best choice for cutting into small squares and taking into serve at a meeting. It would have been better to serve them in cupcake cups as they were explosively crumbly. Even with tight wrapping by the second day, they had turned into granola. The taste was very good, but this recipe did not work in my humid environment. The next time I will try her other granola bar recipe.

The sourness of the rice wine vinegar and lime juice was not countered by the sweetness of the mango. I am not familiar with Napa cabbage, and had a very large regular cabbage in my refrigerator, so used that. I did read later that it is sweet and so this dressing may have been perfect with the right cabbage. I loved all the other components and it was strikingly beautiful. Don’t use regular cabbage, you will regret it!

This was a great fruity dessert and would be perfect in the autumn. I enjoyed cooking with a whole vanilla bean and filling the kitchen with its aroma. I did not care for the sand-like consistency of the topping; I would have liked it better if it had stuck together into clumps. I used Bartlett pears (my favorite) and had German pear brandy on hand, but substituted pecans for the almonds. I made 4 individual crisps (instead of 6) and they turned out perfectly, even baking just right in the allotted time! Each of the 4 was really 2 servings however.

If you are hungry for cooked tomatoes and eggs, this is good as part of a meal. A grapefruit spoon made quick work of removing the tomato innards. The pesto was interesting, visually appealing and the flavor was OK. I added a few cilantro leaves in with the parsley. I like that you can whip up a batch of pesto without having a great amount of basil on hand. I would like to try it with substituting basil for the parsley – an economical version of the classic. My tomatoes had nice flat bottoms and I had no fear of them tipping over. But I tried her suggestion of taking a sliver off the bottom of one tomato, and the juices that came out burned and that tomato deflated a little and I did not like that result. This is a great dish to use up large tomatoes. I liked this dish just fine, but probably will not make it again.

The fresh sweet corn flavor really predominates this creamy spoon bread. If you like creamed corn (which I hate), this dish will probably make you swoon. I made it in a nine inch square pan (one of the options) instead of a soufflé dish and it was done in the suggested time and came out very nice with lots of the crispy bits against the side of the pan. This delicious dish is easily a half day project (even with all her labor saving steps). I poured the hot cornmeal mixture into another bowl to speed the cooling process as suggested, but even that step took longer than stated even with frequent mixing. Because of the time needed to make this dish, I will probably not attempt it again.

This pie bursting with fresh tomato and corn and a contrasting crispy flaky crust tasted delicious. The smell of the fresh corn was noticeable while baking. I did skin and seed the tomatoes throwing in a third as my tomatoes were only medium large. I still had trouble with a watery bottom; parts of the bottom crust seemed to have dissolved. One possible solution would be to sprinkle flour with the tomatoes and corn, but that might take away from the freshness of the tomatoes and corn and hide somewhat the lovely bursts of flavor from the cheddar and lemon mayonnaise. I would probably opt to roll the top crust thicker and skip the bottom crust altogether.