The Ultimate Baking Bucket List
The things everyone should bake before they die
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 177 Originally posted May 20, 2020 Pretty good but not the best tater salad I have had. Cannot believe I am saying this, but … it needs more salt. And the yellow mustard is a bit heavy in this one. However, it’s still a good potato salad recipe and when paired with a nice […]
Page 187 I was hoping for better flavor because I really liked the idea of this dish, but the reality was disappointing. It is bland and grainy-textured. If that’s your thing then go for it, but it’s not mine. You may notice that the picture of the finished product was not taken on the kitchen […]
Page 191 Its hard to screw up sweet potato casserole but this comes pretty close. I love everything about it but the cornflakes. Apparently, Tony the Tiger has an aversion to sweet potatoes, because the corn flakes in the topping pretty much ruin the effect. They are hard and sticky at the same time and […]
Page 163 This one has potential but just misses the mark. The sherry vinegar brings in a little tang but it needs more. The cranberries bring in a little tartness but it needs more. In short, it just needs more of everything except cauliflower. I waited to post on this one so I could try […]
Page 173 I had high hopes for this one. I love broccoli, rice, and cheese so I figured this was an easy 4 or better score. Alas, it was not to be. The key to this may be the rice you use. That was definitely the component that dragged the score down. I used a […]
Page 179 I like zucchini sautéed with garlic or battered and fried, and I used to grow or every year in my garden back on the Massachusetts homestead. Squash, on the other hand, has to be fried just right and never mushy. Mushy squash goes in the trash and not in my mouth. This casserole […]
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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 189 Originally posted 4/24/2020 Full disclosure – I do not like green bean casserole. I make it for Mark at Thanksgiving because I love him but can do without it myself. So comparing this to the mushroom soup recipe, this one wins hands down. But it’s still green bean casserole. And it takes a […]
Page 169 Originally posted 4/21/2020 Meh. Given the choice I would much rather have Kahlua carrots as a side dish. The ends on these get scorched and the herbs are a so-so tasting combination. I think mine look better than the picture in the book, which I do not find appetizing at all. And compared […]
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 […]
