This recipe was decent, but needs a little tweaking. The amount of salt called for makes it VERY bland - I doubled it and it still wasn't enough. I would use 1 tsp next time. I ended up salting the outside before grilling and it made all the difference in bringing out the flavor of the other spices. I also think I will skip the step of squeezing the liquid out of the onions next time since most of the flavor is in the juices. If you aren't going to leave the juices in, there isn't much point in using the onion at all, and that probably contributed to the blandness. Also agree that grilling the meat before serving is a must. It also cut more cleanly after being in the fridge overnight, so I would make this a day ahead next time. Overall a good recipe, just needs a few adjustments.

Reviewed On: Sep. 5, 2009

This pie is amazing, and so simple. I did as other reviewers did and used 2 14-oz cans of sweetened condensed milk. I used the amount of lime juice called for and thought it was perfect, I did hand squeeze key limes - it took a while but I don't think it would be quite right with bottled lime juice. My only complaint about the recipe is the cook time, it really took more like 10-15 minutes to get the pinholes.

Reviewed On: Aug. 28, 2009

This is a great recipe for a nice thick minestrone! I think the recipe would be good as-is, but I did make a few changes that I will keep the next time I make this. I doubled the celery and tomato paste because the amounts seemed small, and I was happy with the results. I also used ditalini pasta instead of elbow macaroni because I had some in the cupboard, and it was perfect with this soup. I did find that the cooking times were a little off, although that could have something to do with how small you slice and dice the veggies. I found they were tender in about 40 minutes, and the pasta only took another 10 minutes to cook. So just be aware it may not take the full hour and a half of simmering the recipe calls for.

Reviewed On: Jul. 27, 2009