Chipotle & Rosemary Roasted Nuts Pg 35

We really enjoyed these nuts. They are sweet, salty and spicy - a very good combination. They were very easy to make. The hardest part was chopping up the rosemary. They would be great to whip up for the Super Bowl, or any other get-together. Also, they would make nice Christmas gifts. I only used half of the salt called for in the recipe. The recipe calls for unsalted cashews, the ones I had were salted. If you're not a lover of hot and spicy, just cut back on the chipotle, or replace it with chili powder. The recipe says to serve them warm or cool completely and store in an airtight container. When warm, they are soft and kind of mushy, so we liked them better cooled which made them a little more crunchy.

I took some of the nuts to work to share with co-workers and while having lunch I added some to my salad. This turned out to be another good use for these tasty morsels.

Roasted Vegetable Frittata Pg 90

This dish is very light, fluffy and tasty. I would definitely make this again. The vegetables are so much more flavorful when they're roasted. You could change the vegetables and the cheese for some variety, or just to use what you have on hand. The next time I will cut the recipe in half, which would be plenty for two or three people. Pull this one out the next time you have a brunch.

Panko-Crusted Salmon p.153

This was very good.  There was just the right amount of lemon peel in the crust and I liked the faint taste of the mustard with the fish.  Because there is no oil in the crust you should only use panko and not bread crumbs in the crust.  The panko is what gives it it's crunch.
There are several things I would do differently the next time I make this dish, not because it needs it but because I love playing with recipes and this is an easy recipe to play with.  I would not brown the bottom of the salmon, I would just put it in the oven and add 3-4 minutes to the baking time.  We don't eat the skin and I don't see a need to brown it.  I would also add a little olive oil and parmesan cheese to the topping.  I think that might give even more crunch to the topping.
I will definitely make this again.  It just may be my new favorite way to make salmon.

Kathy M.

Scalloped Tomatoes p. 170

This dish was delicious.  I would not change a thing.  Ina has you cook the tomatoes in a pan and then again in the oven.  Doing this took bland winter tomatoes, it concentrated the flavor, and gave you a brightly flavored tomato dish.   You'd never know that I started with pale plum tomatoes.  
Kathy M. 

Tarragon Potato Salad p.112

I love tarragon so I was looking forward to this dish.  It was a good potato salad but not the best I've ever had.  You need to use all the tarragon and dill this dish calls for.  Most of the flavor comes from those herbs.  I have a recipe very similar to this dish that I like much better.  The recipe is the same as this except you also add 1/4 c. chopped parsley, 2 tablespoons mustard, and 1/4 tsp. powdered garlic.  
Kathy M.

Chicken with shallots p.124

I had the same problem with this chicken dish I had with the chicken with lemon dish.  I couldn't find boneless, skin on chicken breast.  I went to two different stores without success so I deboned the breast myself.  The up side of this is that I'm getting really good at deboning chicken breast.  The chicken was very good cooked this way.  It was moist and perfectly cooked.  The sauce was way too sour.  I served the sauce on the side and am glad I did.  We ended up throwing the sauce away.
I would prepare chicken breast this way again but I would not use this sauce.  Ina must like things tart.
Kathy M.

Red Velvet Cupcakes Page 218

I baked these before work this morning & had a glitch with the frosting so I didn't finish them until after work this evening---maybe that is why they seemed to take forever.
The instructions were clear until Ina's suggestion to use a 2-1/4" ice cream scoop which seemed better suited to "Texas-sized" cupcakes. That amount filled my standard size muffin tins almost to the top---they puffed up but didn't overflow as they baked. Ina knows her scoops.
Next came the frosting fiasco. When I finished mixing the frosting it was full of tiny lumps. I'd followed the steps---ingredients at room temp,sift the powdered sugar, don't whip--etc. Then I looked closer at my cream cheese wrapper and saw that it was "Fat Free" cream cheese. Apparently when it met up with the butter it went into shock and CURDLED...down the garbage disposal with that mess! This evening I came home with regular Philly, made the frosting with no problems. In fact the frosting was my favorite thing about this recipe. I found the cake just so-so, kind of heavy textured and not the "rich chocolate" cake as Ina mentions in her introduction. I'm thinking 1/4 cup of cocoa,( even our good cocoa) just isn't enough. So would I make it again? I think the frosting is a keeper but I'll pass on the cake.