Cook With Me by Alex Guarnaschelli
Some of my favorite cookbooks are the ones in which people share their personal and most treasured recipes – the ones they make for their family and friends or the ones they grew up with. Cook with Me by Alex G is this kind of book. There is everything from her mom’s homemade barbeque chicken to …
There were several “stand out” recipes in this book that I would like to share with you. The 5-minute Arugula Salad is a perfect example of how a few good quality, fresh ingredients can come together to create something super delicious. What’s crazy about this recipe is that you thinly slice ?? lemons and squeeze out the juice, THEN you cut up the rind and put it in the salad. YES, you read it right, you PUT THE WHOLE RIND IN THE SALAD. I was skeptical but Alex is an iron chef and knows her away around the kitchen, so I trusted and wow!!!! I have already made this salad 3 times and enjoy it because not only is it easy and healthy.
We are moving on from lemons to talking about limes – better yet key lime pie. This recipe comes together easily and tastes SOOO good. I love eating key lime pie and order if frequently at restaurants, but I have never made one. After I did, I decided that this light and tangy dessert is a perfect to serve or bring to any spring or summer gathering.
Another fantastic dish great for the family is the Sheet Pan Blackened Salmon with Garlicky Kale This is a healthy flavor packed dish that you can make in less than 30 minutes. Better yet it is made on a sheet pan which I have said this before, means less dishes. This my friends is the pinnacle of food world, delicious, healthy, easy and less dishes to boot…
Alex has a solid book with so many recipes to share. Love that Cook with Me is a heartfelt book full of nostalgia. There is so much to offer so please check it out. Wishing I had the time to try more but happy to share some of my favorites with you. Don’t forget to see all of my tips and notes on the recipes I tried below.
| Recipe | Category | Rating | Page | Difficulty | Notes |
| Slow Cooker Brownies | Tarts, Pies and Desserts “A LA MODE” | 8 | 112,113 | medium | Cook time was longer than stated in book |
| Charred Eggplant Dip | Snakcs and Dips | 4 | 40 | easy | poor appearance – End result would of better if eggplant was cubed and roasted instead of whole (excessive liquid) |
| Blueberry Muffins | Baking For Breakfast | 4 | 240 | easy | Very oily – Use a lot less olive oil |
| Chicken Paprikash’s Tomatoey Cousin | Take a Chicken.. | 7 | 84 | easy | Needed much longer cooking time for chicken. |
| Key Lime Pie | Tarts, Pies and Desserts “A LA MODE” | 10 | easy | Served with whipped cream from book. Used bottled key lime juice which made it faster & easier | |
| Spatchcock Chicken | Take a Chicken.. | 96 | easy | delicious | |
| 5 Minute Arugula Salad | Luttuce Show You How Good A Salad Can Be | 9 | 183 | super easy | Few ingredients, quick and unique taste. |
| Brown butter Chocolate Chip Cookies | Cookies and Such | 9 | 271 | easy | Brown butter does make a difference tried with 100 Cookies too. I only used 10oz bag of chips intest of 11 oz. and there were almost too many |
| Sheet Pan Prok chops & brussle sprouts | One & Done | 8 | 72 | easy | Pumpkin pie spices adds a lot to brussle sprouts. Pork chops needed to cook much longer than recipe stated. |
| Tomatoe Sauce | Red Sauce Recipes | 7 | 137 | easy | A lot of onions – could reduce |
| Stuffed Shells | Red Sauce Recipes | 8 | easy | Omitted thyme step. Filling very creamy. | |
| My Mothers Chicken | Take a Chicken.. | 8 | 88 | medium | I really liked the bbq sauce which I made ahead. Chicken was easy. |
| Sheet Plan blackened Salmon | One & Done | 10 | 62 | easy | great flavor and very easy |
| Shrimp Scampi | Fish dishes You Really Want to Make | 8 | 216 | easy | Fast – with pantry items |
| omlette | Egg Dishes for All Moments | 8 | 116 | medium | interested to have the sage crispy – herbs add great flavor to this dish |
| Goodfellas spaghetti and Meatballs | Red Sauce Recipes | 8 | 139,140 | medium | Really liked the chunks of sausage that added loads of flavor. Both the sauce and meatballs were fairly simple but the meatballs just a bit time consuming. |
| Godfather spaghetti and meatballs | Red Sauce Recipes | 7 | 141,142 | medium | Both the sauce and meatballs were fairly simple but the meatballs just a bit time consuming. |
