The Ultimate Baking Bucket List
The things everyone should bake before they die
Page 184 I don’t know exactly what the aftertaste is, but it builds up as you eat. The first bite was pretty good but after about 1/2 cup the flavor got a bit off-putting. Leftovers the next day definitely had a bit of an off-taste to it. On top of the aftertaste, a cup of […]
Page 249 Served with Homemade Corn Tortillas. Word of advice, have the butcher trim the pork shoulder if you can. What. A. Mess. Once in the crockpot it’s a breeze to cook and serve but getting it in there was a major hassle. I am not a fan of sweet meat in tacos and the […]
Page 31 Corn – 3.8 stars Okay, these were pretty cool to make but having done it once I doubt I will do it again. For starters, I don’t have a tortilla press so rolled them out using a rolling pin with the dough in a plastic bag – which worked! Secondly, a recipe whose […]
Page 171 What a meal this made! The Steak Taco with the cilantro lime rice made a great combo platter for Tex-Mex night at the Wilson hacienda. The rice is quick, easy, and an awesome accompaniment to any dish with southwestern tones in it. Take care when sautéing the rice so it doesn’t scorch, but […]
Page 248 The real stars of this dish that put it up in the high 4s are not the steak or the seasonings, although the meat is tender and very flavorful mainly due to the fajita seasoning – so be sure you have a good one. What really puts this over the top is the […]
Page 207 Grits only – 4.95 stars mmmmmmmm. Yum-meee. I am not a big fan of seafood so this is probably a 4.9 or better with people who actually like shrimp. If you want me to eat shrimp, cooking it in bacon grease with garlic is the way to do it. The texture is still […]
I love oatmeal so this is easy to get over the 4.0 bar. What’s a bit annoying is the name. The only thing cooked in a skillet on this one is the pecans (pronounce “puh-cons” or we aren’t friends). You can tag it with a fru-fru name but it’s still plain old oatmeal with fruit […]
Page 170 Baking 1/4” strips of sweet potato for 40 minutes at 450 degrees will not just brown them and make them crispy, it makes them inedible. The final picture is roughly halfway through so you can see that another 15 minutes or so would have produced charcoal. Drop the temp and cooking time down […]
Page 259 Unless you already love cabbage rolls this is not going to convert you into a fan. I like cooked cabbage but the tomato juice broth and bland meat filling just don’t work for me. And you will be smelling it for days to remind you how disappointing it was.
Page 137 Me and Brie have an odd relationship. I love the creamy texture and I love how well it pairs with so many other flavors. What I don’t like is the rind. I don’t like the texture at all. But, get past the rind and I am a happy camper. So I was excited […]
Page 231 If you love oregano you are going to love this one. However, it you are like me and think oregano is a bit overrated you are going to be a little overwhelmed by this dish. Between the Greek seasoning and the added oregano, it is an oregano-fest. Upsides to this is, number 1, […]
Page 183 Originally posted 6/1/2020 The Kalamata olives have a distinctive flavor that not everyone likes, but they certainly put the “Greek” in this pasta salad. Fun fact: olives are in fact a fruit, and Kalamata olives are incredibly bitter before they are processed. It makes you wonder who picked one of these way back […]
Page 255 Originally posted 5/31/2020 This has an interesting flavor that reminds me of SOMETHING but I can’t put my finger on it. It’s a decent meal but plan ahead if you are going to make it, there are several stages and the pastry has to thaw as well. It has a lot of onion […]
Page 90 Originally posted 5/31/2020 This is a waste of ingredients and time. It has a chemical flavor and aftertaste that is very unappealing.
Page 61 Originally posted 5/30/2020 Used in French Toast I started off at 4.9 and asked myself, “what would I change to make it a 5?” I couldn’t think of a single thing, so bumped it up to a perfect score. It’s a little (actually, mine was pretty thick) slice (literally) of heaven. Both Mark […]
Page 87 Originally posted 5/31/2020 Uses Cinnamon Swirl Bread (optional) I left the vanilla out of the picture, needed that 2nd cuppa coffee, but it is in there. Overall, the ingredients are well balanced and make for a good flavor for French Toast. I have enough experience making French toast to have expectations for the […]
Page 305 Originally posted 5/30/2020 Move over, Little Debbie, momma’s got a new favorite oatmeal cream pie! We are on a roll with fabulous recipes and I am going to definitely be making these again. I absolutely ADORE oatmeal cream pies and they are at the top of my store-bought snack favorites, right up there […]
Page 145 Originally posted 5/26/2020 Made with Pesto Served with Crostini WOW! More perfect scores! Either my tastebuds are whacked out or I have hit a lucky streak. Just when the casinos are shut down and I can’t test the theory for sure! So I’m going with my gut that I am on a lucky […]
Page 221 Originally posted 5/29/2020 Uses Pesto and Pizza Dough Yeah, I left the chicken on the stove so it isn’t in the ingredients photo. And I didn’t have yellow peppers so subbed green. But the combination of the awesome pesto and the incredible butter-garlic cast iron cooked crust with the chicken, peppers, and two […]
Page 233 Originally posted 5/27/2020 Mmmmmm. If you like sweet and sour chicken you will love this dish. I messed up and did not get chicken thighs, which would be excellent and cheaper, but breast meat works as well. It is a sheet pan meal, which keeps the dirty dish count down, and since you […]
Page 49 Originally posted 5/26/2020 Originally posted with Pesto Buratta with Roasted Tomatoes Served with Pesto WOW! More perfect scores! Either my tastebuds are whacked out or I have hit a lucky streak. Just when the casinos are shut down and I can’t test the theory for sure! So I’m going with my gut that […]
Page 37 Originally posted 5/26/2020 Originally posted with Pesto Buratta with Roasted Tomatoes Served with Crostini Used in Basil Pesto Chicken Pizza WOW! More perfect scores! Either my tastebuds are whacked out or I have hit a lucky streak. Just when the casinos are shut down and I can’t test the theory for sure! So […]
Page 303 Originally posted 5/25/2020 And….. we have another perfect score! Perfection. It’s simple to make, tastes DIVINE, and has a velvety smooth texture. The hardest part was juicing the limes and you can get actual key lime juice in a bottle if you want to avoid that step. The “double crust” of cinnamon Graham’s […]
Page 243 Originally posted 5/24/2020 I made a half batch and it is plenty for the 2 of us. It’s got the expected ricotta filling, twist is it also has cream cheese in that layer which works well. Side bar – debate on whether cottage cheese instead of ricotta is acceptable rages in some circles. […]
Page 125 Originally posted 5/24/2020 I don’t like poppy seeds, generally speaking. And as peviously mentioned I am not a big salad eater. And now I am having my second salad in a week. Not a record, but definitely noteworthy. I have recently read about “massaging” kale and it truly makes a difference. This was […]
Page 293 Originally posted 5/24/2020 Nailed it! OMG! This is too funny. Just look at the final result and have as good a laugh as I did. The only thing I can think of that I did wrong was not beating the eggs and sugar long enough. The cake is so dense it is downright […]
Page 59 Originally posted 5/23/2020 With pan-drippings gravy – 4.7 stars It’s a cheddar-bacon biscuit with 2 kinds of cheddar… and almost a pound of butter! And it uses buttermilk which was inadvertently left out of the picture. So it’s a cheddar-bacon-buttermilk biscuit. You know before you bite into this whether or not you are […]
Page 215 Originally posted 5/21/2020 It’s Italian night in our house! I subbed rotisserie chicken for grilled because I had meetings until 6pm so opted for precooked chicken to get dinner on the table by 7. Not disappointed with the chicken. The pasta “sauce” is basically nonexistent, with the cheese and pepper being the only […]
Page 219 Originally posted 5/21/2020 Uses Pizza Dough Bias alert – you could not get below a 4.5 on this one with me because this is my absolute favorite flavor combo on … the … planet. That said, 1/4 cup olive oil is a bit much. The dough is, as always, awesome and has some […]
Page 167 Originally posted 5/20/2020 You know what would bump this up to a solid 4.8? More cheese and more herbs. And maybe pouring the pan juices into a bowl to dip into or pour it onto the taters. They are pretty easy to make, look really neat, and taste pretty good – a winning […]
Page 123 Originally posted 5/27/2020 I don’t eat a lot of salad for the simple reason that lettuce has almost no flavor. To make it fun to eat you have to add a ton of stuff to it and usually add a calorie-laden dressing from a bottle. Not so with this one. Lots of fresh […]
Page 129 Originally posted 5/19/2020 Here is another one where Mark Wilson and I disagree on how good it is. He gives this a 4.8 and I can only give it a 3. For starters, there is too much cumin in it. I like cumin but this needed about half what the recipes calls for. […]
Page 113 Originally posted 5/17/2020 We had a pretty wide range of opinions on this one. Mark gave it the lowest review and Andrew gave it the highest, mostly due to the addition of cheese and spiced croutons (which are not called for in the recipe so his vote can’t actually count). I give it […]
Page 261 Originally posted 5/28/2020 Anything over a 2 is a really good score for seafood from me. But then what isn’t made delicious with butter, wine, and garlic? I have to admit that shrimp is my second least detested fishy food (crappie cooked by Mary Davis is my favorite fish, by far). But if […]
Page Originally posted 5/17/2020 I love quiche. And I love mushrooms sautéed in butter. And I love cheese. So here is a good combo to start the day that brings them all together. The bit of a disappointment was the lemon zest. It was just a bit out of place and kept this dish from […]
Originally posted 5/16/2020 One month in, 45 recipes down. That leaves 105 still to go. Between the organizing I did during cookbook 1 and doing the new year organization challenge, my kitchen is prepared to handle just about anything thrown at it. Brick panini? No problem. Cast iron pizza stone? Piece of cake. I either […]
Page Originally posted 5/15/2020 Served with Pretzels. Okay, this pretty much only works with the salty pretzels, but it works fairly well. It isn’t the movie theater processed cheese goo you may be used to, which is a good thing in my book. But stand alone as a dip it isn’t anything to rave about. […]
Page 55 Originally posted 5/15/2020 Served with Cheese Dip. These are pretty easy to make and are fantastic! Chewy on the outside, soft on the inside. I love these! The bread section is my favorite one so far. I am dying to get to the braided loaf. Note to self … put the boiling water […]
Page Originally posted 5/15/2020 So this one is a definite … no. Texture is weird. Taste is unpleasant – I blame the black beans. There is not enough cheddar to make this better. Save yourself the trouble and pass on this one.
Page Originally posted 5/13/2020 Okay, so I have been really afraid to try this. You hear so many horror stories about fallen soufflés. So getting not 1 but 8 of them out of the oven, in all their risen glory, is a major accomplishment! These are not too sweet and are a creamy, dreamy chocolate […]
