Onion Rings with Spicey Ranch Dressing – 4.25 stars

Page 175 Originally posted 4/10/2020 And we’re off! Originally posted with Brick Paninis The onion rings were very tasty. Me and the oil temp were struggling for a bit, but when done and dipped in the ranch, which is soooooo gooooood, I could make a meal of them. Okay, the concept of the brick panini […]

Strawberry Shortcake – 3 stars

Page 285 Originally posted 4/22/2019 Okay, there just isn’t a good spin I can put on this. It just doesn’t work with biscuits. They are too substantial. This needs a sponge to work for me. I did them side-by-side and the sponge kicked biscuit’s butt. However, with enough fresh whipped cream it gets to a […]

Lemon Bundt Cake – 4.4 stars

Age 301 Originally posted 4/18/2019 Last one This is not Aunt Verna’s Wake Cake, but it is a pretty good cake. The cake itself is a great texture, not too dry, and solid lemon flavor, not just hints of lemon. The glaze goes beyond solid lemon flavor to great tangy sweetness that perfectly compliments the […]

Pop’s Strawberry Jam – 4.2 stars

4/17/2019 The Massachusetts farmstead provided lots of fruits with which to make jelly – cherries!, grapes, apples, raspberries, blackberries – so I canned a LOT of jelly, but not a lot of jam. It’s a texture preference thing. That said, this is a good jam and if you don’t have a garden you can hit […]

Chocolate-Cola Cake – 4.5 stars

Page 295 Originally posted 4/14/2019 With Chocolate-Cola Buttercream (which Mark gives 4.7) I have heard of this cake for years and never had one so I cannot compare it to a benchmark, but this is a good chocolate cake with a REALLY good frosting. Warning – the urge to drop your face down and eat […]

Fried Green Tomatoes – 4.0 stars

Page 186 Originally posted 4/14/2019 With Quick Remoulade Sauce I barely remember either my mom or grandma (or maybe both) making these at the end of the summer when the first frost is predicted and there was a mad dash to gather the remaining unripe tomatoes. They went on a window ledge to ripen in […]

Bevie’s Chocolate Roll – 4.8 stars

Page 297 Originally posted 4/6/2019 Served with Hot Fudge Sauce I am down to the last few recipes and had not tackled this one sooner because it looked difficult and time consuming. Her description , and the accompanying pictures of the process, didn’t lesson my trepidation. I finally got up the gumption to take it […]

Mom’s Bulgogi – 4.7 stars

Page 240 Originally posted 4/6/2019 With Cucumber Kimchi Salad Last one in the dinner section! I opted for the beef tenderloin so about .5 of the score is due to the cut. This is really tasty and is really simple. Don’t be intimidated by the length of the instructions. Most of it is for the […]

Grilled Salmon – 4.2 stars

Page 231 Originally posted 4/4/2019 With Creamy Cucumber Salad Okay, last fish recipe done and only one more to go in the dinner section! I LOVE the creamy dressing for the cucumber. So I am going with Mark’s high score because if I didn’t like cucumbers I would love this. Also going with the high […]

Layered Arugula Salad with Pear Vinaigrette – 4.8 stars

Page 121 Originally posted 4/2/2019 Served with Buttered Walnuts I cannot believe I am giving something with blue cheese this high of a score! I hate the smell, would rather sniff an old shoe, but the vinaigrette completely neutralizes the stank. She says this is 15 minutes prep but it took me that long just […]

Fried Chicken – 4.0 stars

Page 223 Originally posted 4/1/2019 Served with Sticky Poppy Seed Jam I love fried chicken, I just hate to cook it. Grease gets splattered everywhere. And a good piece of fried chicken is hard to achieve. Alas, I shamed my mama tonight by failing to get it right and had some over-browned skin, but even […]

Jo’s Fatayar – 4 stars

Page 244 Originally posted 3/30/2019 Lebanese Salad – 4 stars The fatayar is good but dry and needs some kind of sauce. This is one you can change up the filling to suit your family’s particular favorite flavor combos if you so desire. Mark Wilson graded the salad because I don’t like cucumbers so I […]

Mina’s Lemon Bars- 4.6 stars

Page 309 Originally posted 3/30/2019 Almost as good as the lemon pie for overall flavor, this is much more tart. The crust bottom comes out beautifully but the outer edge of the lemon curd topping gets verrrrry chewy and really needs to be cut away. Once trimmed, it was very popular with everyone – we […]