Ruth's Pancakes - The Gourmet Cookbook

Page 645 from The Gourmet Cookbook (2004).  Here is how this is going to go down.  I'm going to rate the recipe based on the following criteria:  Execution of recipe, ease of ingredients, taste.  Execution and ingredients will be weighted equally on a scale from 0-5.  Taste will be rated on a scale from 0-10.  0 is the lowest score, 20 is the highest.

Ease of Ingredients: (Availability is ranked based on likelihood that ingredient is already typically stocked in a kitchen.  Ranking is Common/Uncommon/Rare/Very Rare)

Here's the ingredient list:

Milk (Whole) - Common
Eggs - Common

Vegetable Oil - Common

Butter (Unsalted) - Common
All-Purpose Flour - Common

Baking Powder - Common
Sugar - Common

Salt - Common

When I chose this recipe this morning, I already had everything on-hand, which was fortunate enough for me.  I know not everyone carries whole milk or unsalted butter, but I wouldn't hesititate to use 2% milk or salted butter as a substitute.  5/5

Ease of Execution (Techniques/Tools used):

Mix
Cook w/ skillet

Timed as a 30 minute recipe, it's quick and simple.  Add wet ingredients in one bowl, add dry in another, mix together lightly, pour onto hot pan and flip after a couple of minutes.  Not rocket science to make pancakes.  5/5

Taste

This recipe calls for one stick of butter.  If it wasn't courtesy of the editor-and-chief of the cookbook, I'd figure this thing came from Paula Deen.  Either way, that's the first thing I notice.  It's a very buttery pancake.  For me, maybe a little too buttery.  I felt I could take out two tablespoons (use 3/4 stick) and still be good to go.  My wife disagreed, saying the butter was fine just the way it was.  

The pancakes turned out great.  The mix was a little thick, but it would spread and rise and be pillowy while having this crunchy crust all at the same time.  I used maple syrup, but this is a pancake you can likely eat without any extras.  Seriously, no need to add a pad of butter at the end unless you have a fetish for butter.

I typically don't have the time or the desire to put together made-from-scratch pancakes.  I buy the boxed mix, add water or milk or oil and go from there.  These pancakes were easily better than anything I've had out of a box and even if it was a little buttery, it was better than anything I've gotten from the likes of an IHOP or a Cracker Barrel.  It's not like we have pancakes for breakfast all that often, I think we'll stop buying the boxed goods.  8/10

Total Score: 18/20 (****1/2)

Everyday Pimento Cheese - The Gourmet Cookbook

Page 9 from The Gourmet Cookbook (2004).  Here is how this is going to go down.  I'm going to rate the recipe based on the following criteria:  Execution of recipe, ease of ingredients, taste.  Execution and ingredients will be weighted equally on a scale from 0-5.  Taste will be rated on a scale from 0-10.  0 is the lowest score, 20 is the highest.

Ease of Ingredients: (Availability is ranked based on likelihood that ingredient is already typically stocked in a kitchen.  Ranking is Common/Uncommon/Rare/Very Rare)

Here's the ingredient list:

Pepper - Common
Cayenne Pepper - Common

Mayonnaise - Common

Extra-sharp Vermont white cheddar - Uncommon
Extra-sharp New York orange cheddar - Uncommon

Pimientos - Uncommon

I'm not the type of guy who is going to look for cheddar cheese that's specific to a certain state.  If that's your cup of tea, good for you.  I am a sharp cheddar fan, but it's unlikely that I'm sitting on extra sharp versus regular sharp.  Pimientos might be a common staple if you live in the South and do a lot of country cooking; while I may live in the South, I don't do enough country cooking to keep these on hand.  3/5

Ease of Execution (Techniques/Tools used):

Mix

Add ingredients, mix it up, refrigerate to let the flavors blend - yeah, putting this together is simple.  5/5

Taste

Extra-sharp cheese gives the spread a bit more pop.  The pimientos are not too overpowering.  From a recipe standpoint, I was pleased with the ratio of cheese to pimento to mayo.  I did add a pinch of cayenne because I like heat, and it didn't take away from the dish at all.  My wife approved as well.  I recently had a batch of pimento cheese that she made using a different recipe.  Yeah, I liked this one better.  8/10

Total Score: 16/20 (****)

Slow Roasted Beef - America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook

Page 348 from America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook.  Here is how this is going to go down.  I'm going to rate the recipe based on the following criteria:  Execution of recipe, ease of ingredients, taste.  Execution and ingredients will be weighted equally on a scale from 0-5.  Taste will be rated on a scale from 0-10.  0 is the lowest score, 20 is the highest.

Ease of Ingredients: (Availability is ranked based on likelihood that ingredient is already typically stocked in a kitchen.  Ranking is Common/Uncommon/Rare/Very Rare)

Here's the ingredient list:

Boneless Beef Roast - Common
Pepper - Common

Salt - Common
Vegetable Oil - Common

If you have the meat in the freezer, you're pretty much set.  I do enjoy the fact that this particular book understands that beef is quite tasty in itself and doesn't need a lot of stuff added to it to make it better.  I noticed other recipes in the book that calls for some salt, pepper, and oil and that's it.  No complaints here.  5/5

Ease of Execution (Techniques/Tools used):

Pan-Sear
Oven-Roasting

Baker's twine is recommended to keep the roast a uniform size and thickness.  I didn't have baker's twine, went without it, did just fine.  Aside from that, give the beef a pan sear, put it in the oven, then tent with foil for twenty minutes after it's done in the oven to let the juices soak in.  The recommended times were just right, The beef finished a beautiful medium temp, nice and red all over.  5/5

Taste

The beef was surprisingly tender.  I'm spoiled by the tenderness of a good ribeye or NY strip steak and have low regard for roasts.  I remarked to the wife that the roast was just as tender and flavorful as a steak, more tender than a recent sirloin I enjoyed from the restaurant.  The beef flavor shined through, since there wasn't any other ingredient to try and mask the beef flavor.  I love beef, it tastes excellent on its own.  Only complaint was that the salt and pepper didn't adhere to the steak as well from the sear.  9/10

Total Score: 19/20 (****3/4)

Oven-roasted Spareribs - America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook

Page 374 from America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook.  Here is how this is going to go down.  I'm going to rate the recipe based on the following criteria:  Execution of recipe, ease of ingredients, taste.  Execution and ingredients will be weighted equally on a scale from 0-5.  Taste will be rated on a scale from 0-10.  0 is the lowest score, 20 is the highest.

Ease of Ingredients: (Availability is ranked based on likelihood that ingredient is already typically stocked in a kitchen.  Ranking is Common/Uncommon/Rare/Very Rare)

Here's the ingredient list:

Brown Sugar - Common
Chili Powder - Common
Cider Vinegar - Common
Garlic - Common
Ketchup - Common
Onion - Common

Pepper - Common

Salt - Common
Tabasco - Common
Vegetable Oil - Common
Worcestershire - Common
Cayenne Pepper - Uncommon
Dijon Mustard - Uncommon
Molasses (Light or Dark) - Uncommon
Pork Spareribs - Uncommon

I had pretty much everything to make the recipe, but there was one exception.  This recipe called for the ribs, plus a basic BBQ rub, which had its own list of ingredients, plus a basic BBQ sauce, which had its own as well.  I made the BBQ rub but not the sauce, opting to go the "easy" route and use a ready-made bottle (I was pressed for time).  So therefore, I omitted the need for cider vinegar, garlic, ketchup, onion, tabasco, vegetable oil, worcestershire, dijon mustard, and molasses.  Most ingredients will be readily available, only a handful to pick up.  4/5

Ease of Execution (Techniques/Tools used):

Make Dry Rub

Make BBQ Sauce
Oven-Roasting

The dry rub is easy to put together, just add the ingredients and shake it up.  BBQ sauce is a little messier, but the same concept.  Add the ingredients and simmer.  The trick to these ribs are that you're supposed to cook them low and slow, with a couple of tricks done during the cooking process.  To start, you have to tent the ribs in foil.  To finish, you should put the ribs in a paper bag.  Seems a little excessive for the ribs, plus with all the other recipe making that went with it, the ribs took more work than expected.  I decided to skip the paper bag portion of the cooking process, opting to put it in the microwave where the heat wouldn't let out so easy.  3/5

Taste

The ribs turned out salty.  I followed the directions for the dry rub and it gave the ribs a salty bark that could be a little overpowering, even with the bbq sauce slathered over the top.  I used a mix of a hot BBQ sauce and a sweet BBQ sauce from Weber's for the sauce.  The meat turned out to be really tender, but I absolutely needed some potatoes or some other side to help temper the fact that these ribs were salty.  I would suggest cutting down on the salt amount for the dry rub.  Do that, and this recipe will be much more palatable.  Otherwise, I'd recommend using the cooking process provided here, but doing your own rub and sauce.  5/10

Total Score: 12/20 (***)

Mashed Potatoes - America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook

Page 140 from America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook.  Here is how this is going to go down.  I'm going to rate the recipe based on the following criteria:  Execution of recipe, ease of ingredients, taste.  Execution and ingredients will be weighted equally on a scale from 0-5.  Taste will be rated on a scale from 0-10.  0 is the lowest score, 20 is the highest.

Ease of Ingredients: (Availability is ranked based on likelihood that ingredient is already typically stocked in a kitchen.  Ranking is Common/Uncommon/Rare/Very Rare)

Here's the ingredient list:

Russet Potatoes - Common

Butter (Unsalted) - Common

Pepper - Common

Salt - Common
Half-and-half - Uncommon

The recipe is pretty simplistic with the ingredients.  Most of the ingredients will be on hand, although you may not have the right type of potato, although russet to me would be the most common.  If you are a coffee lover, you will have half-and-half.  If you are not, it's likely you'll need to make a grocery trip.  My wife, when she drinks coffee, doesn't drink coffee.  She drinks coffee flavored half-and half.  5/5

Ease of Execution (Techniques/Tools used):

Boiling

The recipe is timed for 40 minutes.  Most of the time spent is for boiling water and then adding the potatoes.  The potatoes need to be peeled and quartered, and as long as you add the butter before adding the milk and you have something decent to mash potatoes with, you're set.  If you add both at the same time, the potatoes will come out more gummy and the texture not as appealing.  5/5

Taste

The cookbook comes with variation to build from this mashed potatoes recipe base.  It would probably give the potatoes more punch.  Still, if you want a standard mashed potatoes recipe, this one is solid.  Before I used this recipe, I didn't make very good mashed potatoes.  This is good for what it is, and with the simplistic ingredient list, one that I can pull off easily and without a lot of added cost.  6/10

Total Score: 16/20 (****)

Chicken Piccata - America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook

Page 290 from America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook.  Here is how this is going to go down.  I'm going to rate the recipe based on the following criteria:  Execution of recipe, ease of ingredients, taste.  Execution and ingredients will be weighted equally on a scale from 0-5.  Taste will be rated on a scale from 0-10.  0 is the lowest score, 20 is the highest.

Ease of Ingredients: (Availability is ranked based on likelihood that ingredient is already typically stocked in a kitchen.  Ranking is Common/Uncommon/Rare/Very Rare)

Here's the ingredient list:

All Purpose Flour - Common

Butter (Unsalted) - Common
Garlic - Common
Lemon (Juice & Slices) - Common

Pepper - Common

Salt - Common
Vegetable Oil - Common
Capers - Uncommon
Chicken Breast Cutlets - Uncommon
Chicken Broth (Low Sodium) - Uncommon
Parsley - Uncommon
Shallot - Uncommon
Proscuitto - Rare (Optional ingredient)

The book showed a trick to convert chicken breasts to chicken breast cutlets,  If you were to look for just the cutlets, you likely wouldn't have them available.  I keep a jar of bouillon to add to water to get the stock, but if they're going to get specific about low sodium, it's likely that you won't carry it.  Capers and shallots, while not likely to be normally stocked, are easy to find at the grocery store.  Proscuitto is easy too, but it is also pricey and you're likely to not have it on hand.  I substituted bacon for this particular recipe.  To make the dish, I had to pick up the lemons and parsley from the grocery store.  4/5

Ease of Execution (Techniques/Tools used):

Pan Frying

The recipe is timed for 40 minutes.  There's a little bit of prep work with mincing and slicing, basic kitchen stuff.  It does require a little bit of effort to get the dish together, with several steps involved, but nothing that was too complex.  4/5

Taste

The test kitchen tip in the book for this recipe suggested that it needed lots of lemon, which is why the recipe called for 1/4 cup of juice and some lemon slices while cooking to really bring the flavor together.  I approve.  This dish was so much better with the proscuitto (bacon).  I'm convinced that everything tastes better with bacon, but that's true with most cases.  If I had went without the bacon, I would not have been as impressed.  The lemon flavor could overpower any other subtle flavors that could be there..granted, based on the ingredient list, it looks like the lemon is supposed to be the star I know I cooked the chicken a little longer than expected, but the cutlets came out juicy and tender.  A quick and easy recipe that I would gladly use again.    7/10

Total Score: 15/20 (***3/4)

Broiled Asparagus - America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook

Another recipe from America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook, listed on Page 121.  Here is how this is going to go down.  I'm going to rate the recipe based on the following criteria:  Execution of recipe, ease of ingredients, taste.  Execution and ingredients will be weighted equally on a scale from 0-5.  Taste will be rated on a scale from 0-10.  0 is the lowest score, 20 is the highest.

Ease of Ingredients: (Availability is ranked based on likelihood that ingredient is already typically stocked in a kitchen.  Ranking is Common/Uncommon/Rare/Very Rare)

Here's the ingredient list:

Extra Virgin Olive Oil - Common

Lemon - Common, optional ingredient in recipe

Pepper - Common

Salt - Common
Asparagus - Uncommon

I had the asparagus, I just happened to look through the cookbook to see if they had anything related to asparagus.  Everything else I already had on hand.  Only slight change is that I had some flavored extra virgin olive oil, some Tuscan Herb infusion that came from Isabella's.  Thought something like this would be appropriate to use some of the higher priced goodness.  Either way, getting these ingredients together is a piece of cake.  5/5

Ease of Execution (Techniques/Tools used):

Asparagus Prep

Oven Broiling

Labeled as a "fast dish", can complete in 15 minutes.  To prep the asparagus, I used the "snap" method (bend until it breaks) to get them ready.  Toss them in a bowl with the oil, lay them out on a cookie sheet and set the oven to broil and put on top rack.  Shake the pan a couple times while it cooks.  Easy.  5/5

Taste

I usually don't broil asparagus, I tend to pan grill to get my results.  I found the broiler to be easier to use (I already had the oven on for some baked potatoes, so consolidating the oven for multiple uses made using the broiler worth my time.  The asparagus was flavorful and tasty, easily the best asparagus I've ever made.  Only nitpick is that my asparagus seemed just a touch overdone, which I won't attribute to human error because I used the ten minutes as described in the recipe and was running off of a timer.  Still, a simple but great recipe, this one is a keeper for me.  8/10

Total Score: 18/20 (****1/2)