great recipe, and the top reviews really make it shine. To have crisper pickles, use LOTS of ice and keep replenishing, but ALSO weigh the pickles down in the sink with something heavy. this will ensure that they don't float, which is a big cause of soft pickles since they don't benefit from the cold bath as much.

Like others, i had lost this recipe and was so happy to find it here. mine differs slightly, in that i use a bit of flour to thicken the sauce, and i use brown mustard seeds (great colour), and light brown sugar instead of white. I also use a bit less sugar as others suggested. a real keeper.

this is a great recipe, and even better with real clams. Use ~ 1 lb. per person, and soak the clams in cold water sprinkled with cornmeal. The clams will 'eat' the cornmeal and spit out any sand, so you are cleaning the clams and also adding a built-in thickener to your sauce.

this was fantastic. I didn't have dried tarragon, but had fresh, so i substituted a few tablespoons of the fresh tarragon, and added a splash or two of red wine so that it was a marinade rather than a rub. It was amazing! next time, i will use real garlic and ginger..i think it will improve this already wonderful recipe.

my son, who is very fussy, loves this. I sometimes cheat and use instant mashed potatoes (the ones from real flakes) since it saves time. I also add some creamed corn to the potatoes for extra nutrition, which is good for moms who need to 'hide the vegetables"!

This recipe is outstanding. Like another reviewer, I cut the sugar to 1 and 1/2 cups, and used half white and half brown sugar, and half all-purpose and half whole wheat flour. I also used a 15 oz. can of pumpkin and reduced the water to 1/4 c. Most importantly, I changed the walnuts to pecans, and told my son that these were 'pumpkin pie' muffins and that if he ate them, 'he would have eaten his vegetable for the day'. I need not have worried, they were so good he wanted seconds!

This was an outstanding recipe, well worth the trouble of shelling the beans, and very healthy too!

Like others, I cut the salt but added another twist. Making fresh breadcrumbs is a pain, and the store-bought crumbs are tasteless. Since breadcrumbs add no nutritional value, I substituted for cornmeal, and it was a real hit, and healthy too. Make sure to use fine or medium cornmeal, not too coarse or it will be too crunchy.

I followed the advice of another reviewer and used pecans instead of walnuts and it was perfect. Use organic bananas since regular bananas are one of the worst sources of pesticides.

I had a 25 lb turkey for Xmas and made this soup AND my stand-by turkey soup out of the carcass, splitting the stock from the carcass into 2 pots after skimming off the fat after it had sat in a cold place. This soup won out over my old stand-by in spades. I followed a combination of other reviewers by adding 2 cloves of garlic and cumin but added chili pepper and hot sauce rather than taco seasoning. I also added more beans (a mix of romano and black beans worked great), and two cans of corn, one sweet and one creamed corn. I used Tostito nacho chips with lime, and served it with chopped green onions and cilantro and lime wedges. Folks seemed to prefer adding their own avocado and sour cream on top. This one was a real crowd pleaser!

This is similar to a family recipe I make every year, but here are a few tips: the combination of peaches and oranges should not exceed 4 cups or it won't set, as someone already found out (their peaches were too big, i bet). Also, add some grated orange zest and 1/4 slivered almonds and you get more of a marmalade that can't be beat.

excellent recipe and reviews. DOn't forget to rinse the capers and olives to get rid of the briny taste. i served this with seared diver scallops, a rice pilaf and some french bread. Magnifique!

I loved this easy recipe that sassed up a nice steak dinner for company. I had very hard blue cheese so heated it up with the butter for 15 secs in the microwave to soften in up and make it easier to combine. I also BBQ'd my steaks instead of broiling, and used elongated ramekin dishes to put the steaks in before adding the sauce, after the steaks were almost-but-not-quite done. I then added the croutons on top first, then added the blue cheese mixture on top of the croutons and broiled them for a few minutes. Voila! A wonderful presentation that looked harder than it was.

I found this recipe in a magazine years ago and had lost it, only to find it again here! I was thrilled to see how many freat reviews it had. It is also my fave bread. I scaled this recipe to 18 servings for a 1.5 loaf in a breadmachine, which was perfect on medium crust with one package of yeast (2 1/4 tsp). A new tip to give this great recipe some variety: try different kinds of honey (buckwheat honey for a more molasses taste, orange blossom honey for a sweet fragrant taste, etc), which really gives a personal touch. I also use a variety of nuts like other reviewers have suggested, and toasting them is great. if you toast them, however, make sure they are cool before you add them or that they do not touch the yeast or you will fry the yeast and end up with no rise.