Another attempt to cook cover to cover, this time with Sam Sifton’s new cookbook titled “No-Recipe Recipes.” As the title suggests, this is quite an unconventional cookbook. There are no specific measurements for the ingredients, and Sifton is encouraging the homecook to improvise and get back to simply having fun in the kitchen. The recipes look doable and the ingredients are not as complicated. Excited to let loose and get cookin’.
Strawberry Sundae with Hot Fudge
This is more about the pre-bought strawberry ice cream than the hot fudge. It’s a great dessert option when you have people over, all you need to make is the hot fudge and the combination, obviously, is a winner.
Smothered Porkchops
Basically these are porkchops drowning in onion gravy. Apparently it’s a famous dish in South United States. It’s a little too much gravy in my opinion. But make no mistake, it’s a heft, tasty dish.
Roasted Salmon with Soy Sauce and Lemon
A very simple recipe but definitely not short on flavor. Who knew just soy sauce and salmon could make these salmon steaks taste like an expensive dinner out?
Speedy Sunday Gravy Pasta
Simple red sauce pasta with carrots and sausage. Not much to add to that.
Soft Boiled Eggs with Anchovy Toast
This reminds me of Pan de Manila’s garlic flavored butter. A decadent breakfast toast!
Roasted Cauliflower Soup
I am not a fan of this soup. It tasted like baby food and has barely any dimension to its flavor. It was one-note blended cauliflower. Salty. That’s it.
Skillet Chicken with Vegetables and Wine
One of my favorite recipes in this cookbook. I love how simple and tasty this dish is. All you need are carrots and onions and some leftover wine, roast a lightly breaded chicken and voila! Lunch is served. I was surprised how delicious braised chicken and wine tastes like.
Kielbasa with Onions and Bell Pepper
This roasted sausage on a bed of yellow bell pepper and red onion is one hell of a savory dish. I thought I’d need ketchup or mustard with the sausage but nope. All you need are those caramelized onions and bell peppers. Delicious!
Zucchini with Yogurt
The I-can’t-believe-I-never-thought-of-that recipe. Zucchini mixed with yogurt, lemon, salt, and pepper — so refreshing!
Steamed Mussels with Tomatoes and Chorizo
This was not good! Maybe it’s because I bought useless mussels — barely had any meat to them. The chorizo overpowered this dish, made me wonder if it was a seafood dish to begin with. Blech!
Roasted Salmon with Butter and Soy
Salmon is very hard to fuck up. This is a simple combination of butter and soy sauce. It was interesting to me that the recipe calls for salt and pepper only after the dish had been roasted. Still delicious!
Roasted Broccoli with Soy Sauce, Balsamic Vinegar, and Maple Syrup
We get the combination — sweet, sour, and salty. I guess it’s missing the spicy for me, but it’s all good. Chrissy Teigen had a similar recipe, but that one I remember better. It was delicious.
Tomato Sandwich
Another classic, straightforward sandwich. It’s not that inventive but there’s no way you’ll regret making this sandwich. I’m going to make this again tomorrow.
Teriyaki Salmon with Greens
This recipe asks you to make teriyaki sauce from scratch. I should have made more as this dish could use a lot more sauce. All that said it’s delicious!
French Toast Hash
Heart attack on a plate. It’s a sinful, and obviously very tasty, breakfast feast of sausages, french toast, and apples lathered in butter and maple syrup. You have to go for a run after eating this dish.
Rotisserie Chicken Salad
Buy pre-made roasted chicken, rummage your fridge for some greens, avocado, and herbs, toss altogether with lemon and olive oil, voila—effortless hump day salad!
Brown Butter Tomato Salad
Not sure if this is even a recipe. It’s basically tomatoes swimming in melted butter, salt, and pepper. It’s delicious but I needed more, maybe a side of bacon, ham, or cheese on the side?
Ketchup and Kimchi Fried Rice
It’s kimchi fried rice. I don’t know what else to say about it.
Vegan Banana Ice Cream
Initially dismissed this as “fake ice cream” but it’s quite interesting to achieve a faux ice cream texture by simply freezing bananas and blending them in a food processor or blender. No guilt-feelings, just pure banana goodness.
Pasta Puttanesca
As someone who eats (and cooks) a lot of pasta, I’m not sure why I haven’t cooked puttanesca before. All this time I thought it was one of those complicated pasta recipes I would rather just eat in a restaurant than cook at home. Boy was I wrong. This is a very tasty pasta recipe and very simple too! It’s basically an olives + capers + anchovies sauce. Add some heat and this is me in a dish.
Roasted Mushrooms with Buttered Baguette
Next time we’re allowed to have dinner parties, I will serve this dish. It’s hassle-free, just pop the mushrooms in the oven (already seasoned with salt, pepper, and A LOT of olive oil) and roast. Buy a good baguette and lather some butter on it, top with the mushrooms and it’s sinfully addictive. Now I miss dinner parties.
Speedy Fish Chowder
This is my first chowder. First time to cook it and first time to eat it. It’s a homey kind of dish, one you’d like to eat on a rainy day. It’s basically a fish stew with potatoes and carrots. It’s a good dish, not extraordinary but good.
Ham & Brie Sandwich
Supposed to be a ham and brie sandwich, but turns out I had no ham on hand so I used sausage instead. I think it would have been better if I stuck with the recipe in this case. The sausage tasted wonky with the brie and apple. Next time I’ll make it with ham.
Chicken with Caramelized Onions and Croutons
Delicious! Why haven’t I thought of combining caramelized onions with roasted chicken?! This is very easy to assemble (I mean you could even skip the greens and croutons but go ahead and add them, they’re great) with very satisfying results.
Pasta with Ricotta and Mint
I hated this dish. There I said it. It’s so bland, it’s a waste of ricotta. I don’t know what I did wrong, or maybe we’re not just meant to be. I like a more strong flavor for my pasta. It’s sad because there’s nothing I like more than simple recipes, but they have to taste great too, you know.
Yogurt with Chilled Oranges and Mint
The breakfast food I never knew I wanted. Who knew chilled oranges could be so special? This is a delicious, healthy-ish breakfast option that needs zero effort. I mean is refrigeration a recipe step?
Weeknight Fried Rice
This is a good but basic fried rice recipe. It’s very adaptable, a kind of clean-your-fridge dish. You can add whatever leftover meats you have, some carrots and peas, and spicy paste of your choice (in this case: gojuchang).
Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Brie and Honey
I love the combination of honey and brie. Sweet and salty, turns out, is my jam. I will make this sandwich again.
Braised Kale with Paprika
We have this dish in the Philippines, we call this “adobong kangkong.” Obviously in this recipe, instead of kangkong, it’s kale (which is a lot more expensive here in PH). They taste the same. I like kangkong better because it has a milder after taste than kale. Kale is really not my favorite, I wish it was.
Peanut Butter Smoothie
Bananas check, peanut butter check, milk check! This is quick, simple, and delicious.
sweets & sundries 