Penne Pasta with Spinach and Bacon

Reviewed: Oct. 13, 2008

EXCELLENT dish! I was trying to find a way to use up my fresh baby spinach before it went bad, and this was perfect. I made a few substitutions to make it work for us, like whole wheat pasta, and three diced, fresh tomatoes, uncured, nitrate-free bacon, and added 2 green onions to the sautee. The green onion added an excellent extra dimmension of flavor, without being over-powering. I also sauteed the spinach with the bacon/tomato mixture, to avoid a gritty texture often found in wilted spinach. We also added a sprinkle of parmesean and romano cheese over each serving. SO good! Even my 21-month-old loved it!

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Megan L

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Watkins Glen, New York, USA

Living In: Ithaca, New York, USA

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Ciabatta Bread

Reviewed: Jul. 28, 2008

What a fantastic, simple recipe! The first time I made it, I followed the recipe exactly. It really wasn't runny our soupy like many people have said and the recipe predicted, but the texture turned out perfectly, so I'm not worried. Instead of two large loaves, I split the dough into 6 equal loaves, which ended up being PERFECT for sandiches. I've since begun substituting 1.5 cups of whole wheat flour to give a little extra 'healthy,' and making the total amount of flour 3 1/2 cups (and extra 1/4 cup). Still turns out excellent, and doesn't change the texture a bit!

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Megan L

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Watkins Glen, New York, USA

Living In: Ithaca, New York, USA

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One Egg Lemon Pound Cake

Reviewed: Jul. 13, 2008

The best pound cake I've ever made or even eaten! I nixed the milk and lemon extract, and substituted fresh-squeezed lemon juice (same amount as milk), and zested the lemons used. I've made it twice already, and gotten raves each time- once from my uber-picky brother-in-law, and again from my impossible-to-please mother-in-law. Lemony, light and delicious!

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Megan L

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Watkins Glen, New York, USA

Living In: Ithaca, New York, USA

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My Crab Cakes

Reviewed: Jul. 13, 2008

These were fantastic! To make them more flavorful without adding salt (we eat low-sodium), I used 2x the crab meat and green onions, nixed the salt and pepper, and a little extra Old Bay. Savory and delish! Also, after sauteeing the green onions I just dumped everything together in the food processor. It made very smooth cakes that held together well because there were no lumps, so nothing fell apart in the pan. We're definitely making these again!

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Megan L

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Watkins Glen, New York, USA

Living In: Ithaca, New York, USA

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Truly Key Lime Pie Ice Cream

Reviewed: Jul. 10, 2008

Just like frozen key lime pie!! I used key lime juice and omitted the grahm crackers, just sprinkled them over the top. Next time I will try chunks of precooked grahm cracker crust.

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Elizabeth

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Ithaca, New York, USA

Living In: Rock Hill, South Carolina, USA

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Naan

Reviewed: Jun. 7, 2008

These were nothing like traditional Indian naan bread. Even though it didn't taste like the naan at the Indian restaurant, it was really good. I didn't have a grill, so I used a frying pan, which worked just fine. The thinner you roll it, the crispier it will be. The recipe made 18 pretty big pieces, so I will make half next time. Also, this is NOT a quick and easy recipe, so plan accordingly.

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Jasmine

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Living In: Ithaca, New York, USA

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Tiramisu Layer Cake

Reviewed: May 30, 2008

This was delicious! I used Kahlua for the coffee liqueur, and I added a little bit more than the recipe called for. This cake could have gotten me drunk if I hadn't already drank half the bottle while I was making it. I will definitely be making this again. One piece of advice: cut this cake into fairly small pieces, because it's hard to finish a big piece.

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Jasmine

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Living In: Ithaca, New York, USA

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Banana Crumb Muffins

Reviewed: May 14, 2008

These were the best banana muffins I've ever had! I followed the recipe exactly except that I used vegetable oil instead of butter, and I added a little bit of brown sugar to the crumb topping. It made 12 medium sized muffins, and they were perfectly done in 18 minutes. I'm about to go buy more bananas and make another batch. Yum!

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Jasmine

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Living In: Ithaca, New York, USA

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Chicken with Chipotle

Reviewed: May 3, 2008

This recipe is a good start, but I had to make some changes. I used boneless chicken breasts instead of drumsticks, and I cooked them with some of the adobo sauce, and white wine. I also thought the sauce was really watery, so I used just a splash of milk, instead of the 1 1/2 cups it says to use. I also added some garlic powder. This recipe is really good served with rice.

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Jasmine

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Living In: Ithaca, New York, USA

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Bananas Foster II

Reviewed: Apr. 17, 2008

This was delicious and so easy! I cut the bananas into round slices instead of cutting them lengthwise. I spooned them over ice cream, and it was wonderful. I will definitely make this again.

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Jasmine

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Living In: Ithaca, New York, USA

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Sweet Potato Biscuits

Reviewed: Apr. 16, 2008

Awesome

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Meg

Cooking Level: Beginning

Home Town: Batavia, Illinois, USA

Living In: Ithaca, New York, USA

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Bread Pudding II

Reviewed: Mar. 22, 2008

I made "cinimmon raisin bread I" to use with this recipe. Instead of raisins, I used craisins in the bread and didn't put any additional craisins in the bread pudding. I also used half and half instead of milk for extra richness. I had never made bread pudding before and it came out great! Tasted like a piece of french toast!

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Elizabeth

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Ithaca, New York, USA

Living In: Rock Hill, South Carolina, USA

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Grandma Johnson's Scones

Reviewed: Mar. 9, 2008

Great recipe. My friends that don't like scones loved them!

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Reviewer:

Elizabeth

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Ithaca, New York, USA

Living In: Rock Hill, South Carolina, USA

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Pull-Apart Garlic Buns

Reviewed: Mar. 8, 2008

These were good, but I had to make a few changes for the recipe to be right. First, the recipe did not have enough flour, so the dough was very very sticky. Second, they did not have enough flavor. I added garlic powder to the dough and on top, and it still needed more. I made mine in a round cake pan, so I wouldn't have to stack them. I will probably make these again, but not the way the recipe calls for.

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Reviewer:

Jasmine

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Living In: Ithaca, New York, USA

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Cornbread Muffins II

Reviewed: Mar. 4, 2008

This recipe was pretty good. We like a sweet cornbread, and after reading the other reviews, I did some tweaking. I used 1/2 cup sugar, added 1 tsp vanilla extract, and put a pinch of shredded cheddar cheese on top of each muffin before baking. They came out very nicely, and went well with the chili I made to accompany.

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Megan L

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Watkins Glen, New York, USA

Living In: Ithaca, New York, USA

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Crispy and Creamy Doughnuts

Reviewed: Feb. 29, 2008

Awesome! I used more flour than called for and should not have! They tasted great but where a bit dense (my fault). I will be making this again tomorrow with the called for flour, I am sure they will be gone by then!! Thanks for the recipe!

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Reviewer:

HWOODIS

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Ithaca, New York, USA

Living In: Wiesbaden, Hessen, Germany

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Chocolate Trifle

Reviewed: Jan. 18, 2008

This was delicious, and I will definitely make it again, but with a few changes. There was not enough pudding to cover the brownies, so I will use two packages next time. I also added some fresh sliced strawberries to the cool whip. Definitely a keeper!

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Jasmine

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Living In: Ithaca, New York, USA

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Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies I

Reviewed: Jan. 16, 2008

This is a good recipe. I modified it a little bit to make it low-fat and safe for my toddler with soy and peanut allergies. I replaced equal amounts of organic all-natural applesauce for the shortening, and 1 cup raisins & 1 cup coconut for the 2 cups of chocolate chips. They came out sweet, fluffy and sooooo yummy. Next time I'll use 1/2 cup less sugar because of the natural sweetness of the sugar, though.

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