Christie > Recent Status Updates

Finished the cocktails and apps chapter. My favorite cocktail was frozen Palomas and my favorite apps were the potato galettes and the fig and cheese toast.

Finished the Dessert chapter. My favorite three were the chocolate Chevron cake, fresh fig and ricotta cake, and the panna cotta with fresh raspberry sauce. Most of the desserts were simple.

Finally done with the vegetable and sides chapter, had to wait for items to be in season, and already started on desserts. My top 3 favorites from the Vegetable and Sides chapter were the celery root and chickpea puree, sauteed savoy cabbage with bacon, and warm brown rice and butternut squash.

Finished the dinner chapter. The cioppino, 1770 house lamb & chickpea curry, and roast duck breast with dried cherries & port were my top 3 favorites from the chapter.

Finished the Soup and Salad chapter. Top 3 favorites from the chapter were the chicken & spinach waldorf salad, farro tabbouleh with feta, and pork posole.

I finished the Cocktail chapter, there were 2 cocktails and 7 appetizers. The cocktails were fine. My favorite app was the sausage and mushroom strudels. I did like the sauce for the roasted shrimp cocktail in this book more than the one in the Back to Basics book.

Dinner and vegetable chapters completed. My top 3 from the dinner chapter were: Chicken Bouillabaisse, Niman Ranch Burger, and Wild Mushroom Risotto.

My top 3 from the vegetable chapter were Creamy Cheddar Grits, Chive Risotto Cakes, and Baked Sweet Potato Fries.

The lunch chapter is done, so many good recipes! The top two are the truffled fillet of beef sandwiches and the roasted pears with blue cheese. The carrot salad though was surprisingly good, was not a fan of Chick-fil-a's so my expectation was low, so it has to receive an honorable mention.

Completed the Soup chapter. My favorites were Italian wedding and Pappa al Pomodoro.

Completed the Cocktail Hour chapter. My favorite hors d'oeuvres were the savory palmiers and my favorite cocktail was the pomegranate cosmopolitan.