easy – Page 19 – Simply Delicious: The Cookbook Project

8-11: Sirloin Steak Baked In Foil

Adam Martin Group 08: Beef, Section 2: Main Courses July 20, 2016October 18, 2020beef, beef bouillon, beef broth, black pepper, blanched, boiled, broiled, butter, chopped, deglazed, dinner, easy, egg-free, fairly expensive, foil pouch, garlic, gluten-free, julienned, lunch, mushrooms, pan-fried, paprika, party food, red wine, salt, sautéed, sirloin, steak, untested, vegetables, yellow onions

I have never cooked steak using the method in this recipe, 8-11: Sirloin Steak Baked in Foil, before and I probably would never cook them this way again. I like all the extra garnish, but it is a pain to cut and prepare that many vegetables for people to pick around to get to the main ingredient, the BEEF.

I used the red wine suggestion on the card, but I felt like I should have used beef broth to keep the beef-y flavor. This recipe also keeps a trend going, sticking with the foil pouch cooking method that Jamie used in the previous recipe on here, 6-25: Salmon-Filled Chicken Breasts.

12-18: Mushroom Risotto

Adam Martin Group 12: Pasta & Rice, Section 2: Main Courses July 19, 2016October 28, 2020almonds, basil, boiled, brown rice, canola oil, chicken bouillon, chicken broth, dairy-free, dinner, dried herbs, easy, egg-free, gluten-free, herbs and spices, inexpensive, lunch, mushrooms, olive oil, parsley, pecans, risotto, sautéed, side dish, untested, vegan, vegetable bouillon, vegetable broth, vegetables, vegetarian, walnuts, yellow onions

12-18: Mushroom Risotto is another recipe with a loose definition of risotto. This one didn’t even ask you to cook the rice in wine, just broth. I already had some mushroom broth infused white rice on hand, but the recipe called for brown rice.

This ended up being a dish that tastes very similar to the 12-41: Spaghetti with Green Sauce recipe that I cooked recently. Mushrooms and basil give this dish an earthy flavor.

5-9: Swiss Cheese and Crouton Omelette

Adam Martin Group 05: Eggs & Cheese, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters July 14, 2016October 14, 2020breakfast, butter, cheese, chives, croutons, dinner, easy, eggs, grated, herbs and spices, inexpensive, Jarlsberg, lunch, melted, omelette, paprika, salt, Swiss, toasted, untested, vegetarian, white bread

An old proverb states, “If you’re going to make an omelette, you’re going to have to break a few eggs.” 5-9: Swiss Cheese and Crouton Omelette is another Simply Delicious recipe where I had a reading comprehension fail and had to get creative to fix it. I didn’t notice that I was making up two individual omelettes and accidentally tried to make a giant omelette all at once which didn’t go well.

As the card states, it would be great for our next brunch. We had this dish on a night where we had breakfast for dinner. I made bacon to make it feel more breakfast-y.

12-26: Pasta with Creamy Shrimp

Jamie Martin Group 12: Pasta & Rice, Section 2: Main Courses July 13, 2016July 28, 2020al dente, black pepper, boiled, butter, canola oil, chives, cooked shrimp, creamy, crème fraîche, dinner, easy, fairly inexpensive, fettuccini, grated, herbs and spices, horseradish, lemon juice, linguine, lunch, melted, parsley, pasta/noodles, salt, seafood, shrimp, side dish, sour cream, spaghetti, untested, whipping cream

Here’s a short one that was a solo dish for me (those cream ones always end up being a solo affair) – 12-26: Pasta with Creamy Shrimp. I envisioned it being more like an Alfredo sauce and less like herb-filled whipped cream with shrimp in it, but unfortunately the latter is what I got.

The description on this one is deceiving–it’s honest, yet vague. There is cream, shrimp, and horseradish–and it is easy to prepare. However, the “mouthwatering” and “delicious” descriptors were noticeably maladapt for me.

17-27: Nut Cookies

Adam Martin Group 17: Baked Goods, Section 3: Desserts & Baked Goods June 30, 2016November 8, 2020all-purpose flour, baked goods, brown sugar, butter, cookies, creamed, creamy, easy, eggs, fairly inexpensive, gift ideas, hazelnuts, parchment paper, party food, rye flour, snacks, untested, vegetarian

17-27: Nut Cookies are tremendous. My mother certainly never baked cookies like this. She is into the traditional chocolate chip variety only.

This was my first time baking with rye flour, which we had left over from when Jamie made 17-37: Holiday Cookies.

7-14: Easy-to-Make Pork Casserole

Jamie Martin Group 07: Pork, Section 2: Main Courses June 29, 2016June 18, 20204-92 week, almonds, beef bouillon, beef broth, black pepper, boneless, butter, casserole, celery, chicken, chopped, cubed, dinner, easy, egg-free, fairly inexpensive, ginger, green beans, green onions, ham, herbs and spices, Hutton house, lunch, melted, pork, pork shoulder, revisited, salt, sautéed, scallions, soy sauce, toasted, vegetables, yellow onions

I think Simply Delicious was aimed at the working-mom demographic primarily–a lot of the recipes focus on easy weeknight meals just as much as the fancy dinner party options. 7-14: Easy-to-Make Pork Casserole is a casserole in the sense of a casserole being a bunch of random stuff thrown together in a vessel and then heated.

Casseroles are typically defined as the traditional green bean or tuna types that we (by that I mean mostly Americans) associate with that word. This dish is a loose mixing of vegetables and pork cubes, and is honestly much more reminiscent of 7-55: Sunday Pork Stew than of “casserole”. My mom seemed to like it though, when she made it back in April of 1992.

6-43: Cheesy Chicken Cutlets

Jamie Martin Group 06: Poultry & Game, Section 2: Main Courses June 25, 2016June 18, 2020basil, boneless, breasts, butter, canola oil, cheese, chicken, chiffonade, coated, dinner, dried herbs, easy, eggs, fried, fried chicken, gluten-free, grated, herbs and spices, iceberg lettuce, inexpensive, Italian seasoning, lettuce, lukewarm, lunch, marinated, melted, olive oil, oregano, pan-fried, Parmesan, radicchio, red wine vinegar, salads, salt, Silpat, skinless, tomatoes, untested, vegetables, white wine vinegar

Here’s yet another boneless/skinless chicken breast recipe born of the health-conscious 1980s. We ate a LOT of chicken breast when I was growing up, so I’m surprised my mom never busted 6-43: Cheesy Chicken Cutlets out for yet another version.

I’m sorry, but it’s ALWAYS seemed just a bit morbid to dip chicken in egg. I realize it’s often a big part of one of my favorite things (fried chicken), but it still always nags. I’ll leave it there–you do the math if you want to.

1-4: Ham and Cheese Sandwich

Jamie Martin Group 01: Hot & Cold Appetizers, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters June 23, 2016December 24, 2019appetizers, basil, broiled, butter, Cheddar, cheese, cooked chicken, dinner, easy, egg-free, French, fried, Gruyère, inexpensive, lunch, melted, pan-fried, panini, parsley, party food, salt, sandwiches, smoked ham, snacks, tarragon, tomatoes, untested, waffle iron, white bread, yellow mustard

Hope you’ve been enjoying my husband/co-writer Adam’s posts–he’s having fun writing them. I’m a bit behind on my own posting, so this is one I “cooked” a while ago. 1-4: Ham and Cheese Sandwich is exactly what it sounds like, hence the quotations around “cooked”–it’s basically a grilled cheese with ham in it.

As in 2-24: Parisian-Mushroom Salad, this is a French recipe somewhat simplified–the running theme throughout much of Simply Delicious. The croque monsieur is indeed a well-known French recipe, and lots of different takes on it exist out there.

12-16: Risotto with Pastrami

Adam Martin Group 12: Pasta & Rice, Section 2: Main Courses June 22, 2016October 4, 2020beef, boiled, breakfast, brown rice, cayenne pepper, celery, chopped, cilantro, cubed, dairy-free, diced, dinner, easy, eggs, fairly inexpensive, garlic, green bell peppers, Italian, Italian parsley, julienned, long-grain, minced, olive oil, omelette, paprika, pastrami, red bell peppers, rice, risotto, salt, sautéed, side dish, smoked ham, turkey, untested, vegetables, white wine, wild rice, yellow onions

Simply Delicious can give a dish a title that seems a bit of a stretch at times and this is definitely a prime case of this phenomenon: 12-16 Risotto with Pastrami.

Editor’s note: A big HELLO to those of you coming here from search engines–apparently there’s significant demand for pastrami risotto? This is one of those sites where we (my husband and I) are working our way through an old set of cookbooks–learn more about it here. Don’t expect anything like traditional risotto here (neither of us wrote any of the actual recipes)–but maybe stick around for an interesting read or two? Thanks for stopping by!

The card even announces, “(t)his recipe for risotto differs from the traditional one.” I’ve never seen a dish like this, but the flavor profile was the same as a fancy omelette, just deconstructed before that was trendy.

2-24: Parisian Ham-Mushroom Salad

Jamie Martin Group 02: Salads, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters June 10, 2016July 8, 2020appetizers, black pepper, Cheddar, cheese, chopped, Dijon mustard, dinner, dressing, easy, egg-free, French, garlic, Gruyère, ham, herbs and spices, iceberg lettuce, inexpensive, julienned, lettuce, lunch, marinated, minced, mushrooms, olive oil, paprika, party food, red wine vinegar, salads, salt, side dish, sweet peas, tomatoes, untested, vegetables

It’s been a while since we’ve done a salad. This recipe, 2-24: Parisian Ham-Mushroom Salad sounded fancy, and I had found myself with mushrooms, ham, and lettuce. Simply Delicious leans heavily on French cuisine, so it’s not surprising to see them attempt a French salad. But is this an actual French dish, or just something made up for Americans (like the classic “Chinese” example, General Tso’s chicken)?

I Googled a bit to see if there was an actual ham & mushroom salad that was a known part of French cuisine, and I actually was able to track down a somewhat similar recipe from Raymond Blanc, a well-renowned French chef. He published a Gruyere, ham, & mushroom salad recipe in a few of his cookbooks, noting that it came from his French hometown near the Franche-Comté region (not near Paris).