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)

Oven-Fried Catfish - America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook

My first review!  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.

The recipe used today is from the America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook (You'll soon realize that I only have a handful of cookbooks so I will be drawing a lot of the recipes from the same book.)  For my particular edition, it is listed on page 270.

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:

Dried Basil - Common, optional ingredient in recipe

Dried Thyme - Common

Eggs - Common

Garlic Powder - Common (Still had to go out and purchase)

Lemon - Common (Used limes as substitute)

Pepper - Common

Salt - Common

Vegetable Oil - Common (Used canola as a substitute)

Catfish - Uncommon (I don't know a lot of folks that keep seafood readily available.  Although the name of the dish dealt with catfish, the comments mentioned that it could be interchangeable with other types of fish, which is encouraging.  I used tilapia for this recipe)

Cayenne Pepper - Uncommon

Dijon Mustard - Uncommon (Mustard in general is common, but when you get specific, you may not have a particular type.  In this case, I went with spicy brown mustard as a substitute)

Melba Toast - Rare (Had to go out and purchase)

I had most of the ingredients available and didn't have to shop for many unique ingredients.  I was definitely heading to the store to get the melba toast.  I could have used something else as a substitute, but I wanted to make an effort to only sub ingredients that are minor in nature and are not the core part of the recipe.  4/5

Ease of Execution (Techniques/Tools used):

Food Processor

Egg Wash

Oven/Baking

Labeled as a "fast dish", can complete in 30 minutes.  My first real time using a food processor, but it wasn't difficult at all.  Just a pain to clean afterwards.  I find egg washes to be a little tricky, only because it gets messy and sometimes the crumbs won't adhere to the meat.  Still, compared to some of my previous egg wash attempts, this was on the easier side.  Once the fish is coated with the melba crumbs, then it goes to the oven on a wire rack hovered over an oven tray.  Pretty simple. 4/5

Taste

I ended up using this recipe for tilapia and for some thin chicken breasts.  I have a sister-in-law that is allergic to fish, but thought the recipe would be a play on fried chicken and would work accordingly.  The recipe suggested that the fish be cooked 12-15 minutes.  I was cooking the chicken at the same time and opted to go the longer time route.  Ended up overcooking he fish a bit, but the results weren't disastrous.  

The recipe calls for salt and pepper prior to the egg wash.  I found that the wash rinsed away or eliminated the seasoning from before.  I didn't add pepper, but I definitely had to add salt to the finished product, as it was rather bland without it.  The melba toast makes the exterior very crispy; I suggested to my wife that this would be a great healthy alternative compared to traditional fried fish or chicken.  The dried herbs were subtle, not overpowering.  Didn't taste the mustard, which might be a consequence of using spicy brown instead of dijon.  The lime wedges to add at the end helped too.  A solid effort.  6/10

Total Score: 14/20 (***1/2)