The Ultimate Baking Bucket List
The things everyone should bake before they die
Page 295 I first had creme Brulee in 2001 at Ruth’s Chris while working on a project in New Jersey. It. Was. Amazing. At those prices, it has to be. Almost 20 years later I finally have found a recipe that I can whip out and make whenever I want to. This is so simple […]
Page 115 I love a good French Onion soup, especially in cold weather, but I will eat a bowl any day, any temp if it is well made. The flavor of this one is really good but… the thyme sprigs need to be taken out. The directions have you pull the bay leaves out but […]
Page 181 It’s arm night again – risotto is an upper arm workout if you do it right. The local stores have a really limited variety of mushrooms, so I used baby portobellos because I like them (when cooked the way I like) and they were available. Their earthy flavor overpowers this a bit; and […]
Page 263 Served with Coleslaw and Dinner Rolls At $10 a pound you need a pretty darn good brisket recipe to make it worth it. This one isn’t terrible but isn’t nearly as good as my recipe. It isn’t smokey, and the Worcestershire sauce and teriyaki give it an odd flavor. The recipe also refers […]
Page 47 Here is another winning bread recipe that is going to be my new go-to dinner roll recipe. It makes enough for even our big family so you can feed a tribe with it. Which also means you have enough to eat them with just about anything you want for days after making them […]
Page 264 Served with Pulled Brisket Like potato salad, if you like this stuff you probably have a recipe you use religiously and anything that doesn’t taste like your recipe is just a bit “off”. I have a recipe that closely approximates the KFC slaw, which is really wet and a bit sweet. So something […]
Page 177 Holy cow, these are soooooooo good! But like the seaweed soup, it is totally subjective because as much as I love these Mark dislikes them. Luckily, my score is the one that matters. Black-eyed peas cooked with pork is a common way to cook them, and adding a little pepper juice is also […]
Page 97 While not bad, this omelet still needs a few things to get it over the 4 star bar. It’s filling with bulk provided by the potatoes, but the flavor is a little bland. Surprisingly enough, I can honestly say it needs more salt. A significant issue is the amount of cooking time on […]
Page 299 There goes my diet. Cream filled and ganache coated, these little chocolate hockey pucks are very tasty. Well, when you use a WHOLE POUND OF BUTTER it’s hard not to end up with a tasty treat. In fact, it’s just a little too rich and sweet. Mark and I split 1 and that […]
Page 241 Here’s a fun and tasty way to sneak veggies into your diet. They are hidden beneath layers of cheese and noodles and cheese. Did I mention there is an insane amount of cheese in this? Let me count the cheeses in this … Parmesan – mixed into the filling has a salty bite […]
Page 185 It’s arm night! Making polenta is a lot like making risotto as both require constant stirring during cooking. Fifteen minutes of constantly stirring a pot gives you a pretty good upper-body workout when you are stirring something as thick as polenta. I love grits and this is very similar to grits. The recipe […]
Page 121 The smell of cooking seaweed reminds me of the beach – but not the sunny fun part, just the smelly dead sea life part. And that pretty much sums up the overriding flavor of this dish – dead fish. If you like sushi, you will probably love this soup. Where I come from, […]
Page 67 Brown sugar cinnamon pull apart bread. ‘Nuff said. But this is a blog, so of course I have more to say. It is yummy, sweet, cinnamony, all you could ask for in a pull apart bread. There are, however, two things that could be done to improve the recipe. First, the “caramel” is […]
Page 109 Soup in July, I hear you ask. Yes. It was a rainy day today so soup was on the menu. And this is a tasty soup for a weeknight as it only takes about 30 minutes if you take it seriously. Well, that and it tastes fabulous! This would likely get a higher […]
Page 285 I have a much better recipe for peanut butter balls than this one. We make a batch or two every Christmas but leave a bald spot when we dip them which makes the Buckeye Balls. Those are sweet and creamy and I highly recommend making them a family tradition. These you can pass […]
Page 247 The corn “relish” (that’s my term, not hers) is really good and has a unique flavor that pairs well with the chicken. The sweetness of the corn, blend of spices, and cojito cheese is kicked up a notch by the pickled red onions and it all comes together with the chicken for a […]
Page 34 Welp. That was a lot of work. When you don’t have a potato ricer you find the next closet thing to do the job. In my kitchen, that is a garlic press. Any idea how long it takes to run 4 baked potatoes through a garlic press? A long time … like 20 […]
Page 36 Used with Homemade Gnocchi. Fried sage. That’s what this basically is and that is just weird as a sauce. And do you eat the leaves? Because no where does it say what to do with them after you fry them. I opted not to eat the leaves because that would be just a […]
Page 239 Ribs! Beef, not pork, but they are awesome. The long cooking time in liquid make these incredibly tender. You need either a slotted spoon or wide tongs to get these babies out of the pot. They fall to pieces and melt in your mouth like beefy flavored butter. The vegetable, herb, and wine […]
Page 165 This is completely subjective, so you may like it. I probably would, too, if it didn’t look like a bowl full of tapeworms with a texture that I suspect also closely resembles tapeworms. Second thing to not like about this is the smell of the dressing. I made it last night and I […]
Page 71 I have started to develop a taste for Scones. Perhaps part of it comes from watching the entire Downton Abby series about 10 times and seeing Mrs. Patmore making dough at that incredible kitchen work table with the wooden egg bin that holds about 4 dozen eggs. But most of it comes from […]
Page 172 I think labeling this as “Southwestern” corn casserole would be more accurate, but what’s in a name? Corn casserole by any other name is still delicious. And this is an excellent corn casserole. The two magic ingredients are cheese and chilies. Wooo-doggies, do they make this yummy! It’s very simple to make – […]
Page 43 It’s bread, butter, and garlic … what’s not to love? The basic recipe is pretty sound but on any bread recipe it’s helpful if they stipulate what to do if the consistency is not what the recipe indicates it should be. The dough was not as soft as it probably should have been […]
Page 93 Mark gives this a 3.8, so consider my score as being a bit tainted by personal bias. I hate runny eggs yolks. I also hate black beans, so I left them out which keeps it from being under 2 for me. The runny yolks aside, this still doesn’t get a good score for […]
Page 289 I so wanted this to work. I love cherry cordials and was hoping this would be the same flavor without the sticky mess. I spent 2 days getting this worked out to at least be able to judge the flavor of the cherry filling, which is delicious and hits the mark, but the […]
Page 275 The peach stand on Rt 160 has opened with fresh peaches from just up the road so we pulled in when we saw that and grabbed a small box to give this recipe a try. I’ve never made a cobbler this way before so was pleasantly surprised when it actually worked! I was […]
Page 209 If I were just scoring the chicken for flavor it would get above a 4. I made the dish for dinner and then had the leftovers with some pasta the next night and the chicken was still excellent. I don’t give it a higher score for a couple of reasons. The first step […]
Page 69 I love coffee cake. What I don’t love is the crumbs from the streusel topping that go everywhere when you eat it. The perfect coffee cake in my opinion would be one where the topping stayed on the cake until you got it into your mouth – that would get it a 5 […]
84 recipes down, 66 to go I had a question on my Facebook page asking which book I preferred. That’s a really tough question. Each book has some really good recipes I would not want to give up. Magnolia 1 has Jalapeño Drip Jam, Baked Bruschetta, and Lemon Pie. Magnolia 2 has Blueberry Sweet Rolls, […]
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, […]
