u/mixed-pickles

100/10. Perhaps the best cake I’ve ever had. An impossibly tender and soft crumb despite being all-purpose flour?! The perfect amount of sweetness. Holds its shape perfectly as you eat it without falling apart into dry crumbs like most cakes do. A cake that truly doesn’t even need frosting. Incredible!

My first time growing blueberries! This was all the blueberries I got from a blueberry bush I planted last year.

9/10. The broth has a really beautiful color and flavor from the toasted and long simmered chilis. It’s very spicy, and I love spicy (the recipe calls for 10 hot chili peppers). It’s kind of somewhere in between a pot of beans and a vegetarian chili— not really either one. A bit confusing for how to correctly incorporate it into a menu— a ton of work to be a side dish but not quite satisfying enough by itself to be a main course. A curious but delicious recipe from Something from Nothing.

8/10. Recipe is from her website. The cornbread was good, but not exceptional or amazing. I was skeptical because of the mayonnaise, but I do think it made it nice and moist. Has anyone else made this? What did you think about it?

Delicious! 10/10.

I prefer chunkier texture soup, so I’ll probably just mash a small amount of the potatoes next time. I also don’t like potato skins floating around in soup, so I’ll buy larger size Yukon Gold potatoes next time and peel them.

The flavor of this soup is really nice with the leeks and the tanginess from the sour cream and vinegar.

10/10. Exquisite! I have made this probably 10 times, and I do think there’s an error in the written recipe. The shallots need way longer than 15-20 minutes to caramelize. I cook the shallots for 30 minutes until they’re brown, crispy, and caramelized, before putting anything else in the pan (including the garlic). Total cooking time for this sauce for me is around 45 minutes.

I think when making this pasta, you need to make a decision whether this will be a primarily shallot pasta or an anchovy pasta. I love anchovies, but I prefer the amazing flavor of the caramelized shallots to shine through (that I stood by a pot for 30 minutes to achieve 🤣). I find that the full tin of anchovies dominates the flavor profile and mutes the amazing caramelized shallot flavor, so I usually only use 2-4 anchovies. But if you choose anchovy pasta > shallot pasta, definitely use the whole tin.

Pretty tasty. VERY strongly celery flavored and VERY strongly anchovy flavored. I’d guess anyone who isn’t enthusiastic about *both* anchovies and celery wouldn’t be a fan. I think it’d be a great side dish for a very heavy main course because it’s light, cold, and crisp.

The brisket is a brand new food after I let it sit overnight in the refrigerator soaking up all that delicious liquid. I heated it up for dinner, and it was falling apart, tender and jiggling, total jell-O like AR described in the recipe.

I recommend making it a day ahead and letting it sit overnight if you have time. Makes a shocking difference!!!

Has anyone else made this? I have so many questions after making it tonight.

I’m not going to rate it because I don’t like brisket. My husband loved it, and he’s a tough critic!

My questions for those who have made this before:

1. Was your brisket actually ready at the 3-3.5 hour mark like she says in the recipe? I had a 4.5 lb brisket that needed much longer than that timeframe in the oven at her recommended temperature of 275F.

2. Did your brisket have the jell-O consistency she describes and showed in her Home Movies video when she makes brisket? Mine never had that jell-o jiggly texture like hers did in the video! It was soft and a little jiggly but not nearly as wiggly as hers was when she took it out of the pot. I cooked mine (4.5lbs) at 275F for almost 5 hours.

9/10. I’m not as obsessed with this one as some of her other recipes, but it was good, and I’d make it again.

I love how AR uses vinegar and herbs, two of my favorite flavors.

I thought I had dill, and turns out I didn’t have any dill at all 🤣, so I subbed fennel fronds. It actually was a really nice flavor and went well with the rest of the dish, in case anyone needs a dill substitution.

I think this is a me issue and not a recipe issue, but something about the texture wasn’t quite right for me. I typically makes beans from scratch in the Instant Pot because I prefer their firmer and creamier texture than the slightly mushy texture of canned beans. I think I’ll try this with beans from the Instant Pot next time, although regrettably it adds more time and effort than opening canned beans.

10/10. A truly delicious cake. I don’t even like cake, and I loved this cake. It was light and fluffy, moist, and not overly sweet. The icing is to die for. The cake was easy and fast to make and didn’t require a stand mixer or any fancy tools (major win!).

Excellent! 10/10. I took some creative liberties just based on my personal preferences. Alison Roman has made me become obsessed with caramelized shallots, so I used shallots instead of onions. I caramelized them a lot longer (30-45 minutes) than the recipe specified because I really wanted them caramelized. I also dried out the canned chickpeas a little bit in the oven first while I chopped everything because I really wanted them dry enough to get fried and crispy. Not an essential step (and not in the recipe).

Picture 1 is how I served it (with pearl couscous and the kale). Picture 2 is my attempt to make it look like the cookbook photo 😆.

Edit: I don’t know where the hi in the title came from (I probably was talking to my kids 😂) but Reddit won’t let me edit the title

Really good! 9/10. My only critique is that 1 cup (8 ounces) of ricotta isn’t enough. I’ll add more next time. The ricotta is delicious and the best part of the dish with the garlic and little bit of heavy cream to improve the texture. I love how this dish saves time by not stuffing shells individually but still tastes like stuffed shells.