VERY rich, filling and decadent. it is delicious, but i would tweak it in the following ways. use a whole package of bacon - 4 slices is not even close to being enough. definitely double the rest of the topping mixture, but mix it in all together with the pasta before baking. also, 8 cups total of cheese is a little much - i used about 6, and even that was a lot. i would probably go with 4-5 cups next time, any cheeses of your choice is fine but the asiago has a great flavor and paired surprising well with the bacon. i also added chopped broccoli and shiitake mushrooms to the pasta mixture, which was delicious. i used buttermilk instead of regular milk because it was in my fridge and i had to use it up, and that worked fine too, but probably definitely added to the richness of this dish. next time i will also sprinkle a layer of panko and parsley on the top of the pasta before baking for some added crunch and color.

Reviewed On: Nov. 8, 2009

this is a decent base recipe, but it really needs a lot of doctoring up. i followed some advice below and also added a can of chili beans - i pureed about half of the chili beans and half of the kidney beans, and added the rest of the beans whole. i also added more garlic and more of all the spices, but that's how i like my chili. i also added some frank's red hot, brown sugar and cinnamon, which gave it a really warm, sweet taste (i know it sounds gross, but it's really not! mix and match to your liking). the only thing i would NOT do next time is add 2 cups of water, that seemed to be way too much. even a cup seems like it would be almost too much....add gradually depending on how soupy you want the chili to be. i made cornbread to go with it and it was a very nice meal on a cool fall day.

Reviewed On: Nov. 1, 2009

i would recommend this recipe to anyone, and plan on keeping this one in my reserve forever. i used cortlands instead of grannies, which worked just fine, and followed some of the suggestions that i read in the reviews below - brushed the top of the bottom (store bought) crust with egg white before dumping the apples in, added cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla to the syrup mixture while it was cooking, poured 2/3 of the syrup mixture carefully over the apples before making the lattice top crust, and then drizzled the remainder of the syrup over, and baked for about an hour at 350 degrees the whole time. i have had so-so experience with making pies in the past, but this one came out like i was an expert!

Reviewed On: Oct. 20, 2009