Simply Delicious: The Cookbook Project – Page 10 – A recipe-by-recipe adventure working our way through a treasured set of 1980s subscription-based cookbooks.

2-19: Country Bean Salad

Jamie Martin Group 02: Salads, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters September 27, 2020November 14, 2020beets, black olives, country-style, dairy-free, dried herbs, easy, egg-free, French, garlic, gluten-free, green beans, herbes de Provence, herbs and spices, inexpensive, julienned, lemon juice, lunch, minced, olive oil, parsley, salads, string beans, untested, vegan, vegetarian, yellow onions

I had intended on using the entry for 2-19: Country Bean Salad to make the tired joke about how no one likes bean salad or the person who brings it to a party. And to point out how it was always a skip for me at the salad bar (RIP salad bars/buffets, I will REALLY miss you).

But there’s got to be a reason why “bean salad” is still a thing. Someone must still like it, for it still to exist. And not just in an ironic hipster “I like it specifically because it’s uncool” way. Maybe the vegans? I eat mostly vegan, and it’s still a no-go for me.

Simply Delicious says that this particular variation of bean salad is “typically French”, but I can’t find too many references online that specifically corroborate that claim. I did find a fancy version of this dish done by one of the Top Chefs that might be worth looking at, if you’re interested in bringing this recipe into the 21st century.

Apparently it was part of a particularly infamous (red) wedding meal in Game of Thrones as well. I watched GoT, but the food on the table wasn’t exactly the focus of that scene, so I must have missed it.

Even if it’s been on TV, it’s still not that appetizing to me. But again: someone must be into this stuff, so if it’s you, read on.

13-15: Vegetarian Lasagna

Jamie Martin Group 13: Vegetarian Dishes, Section 2: Main Courses September 22, 2020September 22, 2020basil, black olives, blender, canola oil, cheese, chili sauce, chopped, cottage cheese, dinner, dried herbs, Feta, food processor, frozen, herbs and spices, lasagna, layers, lunch, meal prep, melted, Mozzarella, olive oil, pasta/noodles, peeled, Ricotta, sautéed, shredded, spinach, tomatoes, twice-baked, untested, vegetable bouillon, vegetable broth, vegetable oil, vegetables, vegetarian, yellow onions

We’ve covered lasagna dishes on this site before, and 13-15: Vegetarian Lasagna introduces yet another variation of the traditional dish by eschewing tomatoes completely. This version is similar to the Stouffer’s Vegetable Lasagna that my aunt used to bring to dinners all the time as a “homemade dish”. This has no tomato sauce, instead going for cheese and spinach layered between lasagna noodles.

There’s also onions and olives in there as well (I LOVE olives), as well as…chili sauce? I’m not sure why they thought chili sauce was a good addition to this recipe, but at least you can adjust it based on preference.

1-31: Crab Cocktail

Jamie Martin Group 01: Hot & Cold Appetizers, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters August 23, 2020August 23, 2020appetizers, avocados, chili sauce, chilled, cocktail, crab, cubed, dairy-free, diced, dill, dressing, easy, egg-free, emulsion, fairly expensive, flaked, gluten-free, granulated sugar, grated, hors d'oeuvres, horseradish, iceberg lettuce, krab, lettuce, lunch, mushrooms, olive oil, parsley, peeled, red wine vinegar, salads, seafood, shellfish, sliced, spicy, sunflower oil, tomatoes, untested

Feeling a bit of déjà vu? Maybe you’ve seen 1-31: Crab Cocktail before, or maybe you haven’t. I was doing some recent experimentation on the backend of my website, and long story short: I needed to do a rollback to an earlier version and this one got deleted. So I’m reposting/rewriting it again–however, you’ll miss whatever witty remarks I included with the first version.

I remember saying something about this being a good option for a meal instead of an appetizer (since there’s no parties allowed), and that you should picture yourself eating it near the coast with the breeze in your hair, since between COVID and wildfires, I don’t know if we’re ever getting to leave the house again.

2-3: Salad Niçoise

Jamie Martin Group 02: Salads, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters July 27, 2020November 24, 2020anchovies, black olives, black pepper, capers, chilled, dairy-free, dressing, eggs, emulsion, fish, flaked, French, garlic, garnish, gluten-free, green beans, minced, olive oil, peeled, potatoes, Romaine lettuce, salads, salt, seafood, sliced, summer, tuna, vinegar, white wine vinegar

Salads are usually a good choice when it’s hot out, and since we’re currently in the middle of summer (here in the U.S.), 2-3: Salad Niçoise (pronounced nee-swah) might be a good choice for an upcoming meal. Plus, it primarily uses readily-available canned/jarred ingredients, which can be helpful for both budgets and pandemic shopping.

Salade niçoise is a well-known dish (like the last recipe I covered, 14-8: Baked Alaska), and there are many different versions of it out there. Even Simply Delicious alludes to the different variations in their blurb above– although what they insist as a “must” (eggs, tuna, olives) seems to be up to interpretation.

14-8: Baked Alaska

Jamie Martin Group 14: Hot Desserts, Section 3: Desserts & Baked Goods July 4, 2020July 27, 20201998 dinner, 4th of July, American, blackberries, blueberries, boysenberries, cake pan, cakes, cognac, cooking class, dessert, egg whites, eggs, fairly easy, favorites, folded, granulated sugar, hot desserts, Hutton house, ice cream, inexpensive, jam/jelly/preserves, layers, liqueur, liquor, meringue, pastry bag, piped, raspberries, revisited, rum, stiff peaks, strawberries, summer, the sims, vegetarian

Today is Independence Day here in the U.S., so let’s do one of my favorite desserts and recipes from this book, 14-8: Baked Alaska. Obviously Simply Delicious didn’t invent this dish–it’s an American dessert that’s existed since Civil War times and is so well known you can even make it as a Sim.

I have a history with this particular version of the dish, however. I first made it as my “showstopper” dessert for a big family dinner I cooked as a teenager (along with a similarly-aged family friend) many years ago.

I also taught about 200 K-8 kids (ages 5-13ish) how to make this recipe and several others as part of an after-school cooking class program that was one of my first teaching-related jobs. I’ve been waiting YEARS to write this one, so now it’s your turn with it.

2-21: Shrimp Salad

Jamie Martin Group 02: Salads, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters July 1, 2020July 2, 20201980s, avocados, chilled, chives, chopped, cooked shrimp, crème fraîche, dressing, easy, eggs, fairly expensive, garlic, gluten-free, grated, hard-boiled, horseradish, lemon juice, lettuce, lunch, mayonnaise, minced, peeled, saffron, salad shrimp, salads, seafood, shellfish, shrimp, sliced, sour cream, stiff peaks, summer, untested, whipped, whipping cream

Summer 2020 has been quite the disappointment so far, and still being stuck at home is tough. If you’re looking for something to lift your spirits, 2-21: Shrimp Salad probably isn’t going to do it. However, if you close your eyes while you’re eating it, maybe you can pretend you’re on the beach instead of your couch.

This salad features not one but TWO cream-based dressings, so you know it’s fancy. I recently covered 2-5: Caribbean Seafood Salad which also features a shrimp-based salad. However, that one includes apples, bananas, and asparagus, so this one might be a safer choice.

8-37: Roast Beef in Puff Pastry

Jamie Martin Group 08: Beef, Section 2: Main Courses June 3, 2020June 3, 2020beef, brushed, butter, Cheddar, cheese, chilled, cooked beef, cooked chicken, cooked shrimp, eggs, fairly expensive, fairly hard, garlic, green onions, leeks, lunch, minced, Monterey Jack, mushrooms, puff pastry, roast beef, sautéed, sliced, slit, snacks, turnovers, untested

I’ve already covered various types of turnovers (beef/spinach/crab), and 8-37: Roast Beef in Puff Pastry can now be added to that list, even if it’s not officially referred to by Simply Delicious as a turnover.

I wasn’t able to pinpoint when ready-to-bake puff pastry was first available in stores–my guess would be somewhere around the 1960s-70s, but I could be totally wrong.

Think of this recipe as a fancy Hot Pocket, because that’s essentially what it is. Look at you, all sophisticated with your fancy Hot Pocket.

2-31: Smoked Chicken Salad

Jamie Martin Group 02: Salads, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters May 27, 2020December 16, 2020basil, breasts, canola oil, cheese, cherry tomatoes, chicken, dinner, dressing, dried herbs, dry mustard, easy, fairly inexpensive, granulated sugar, herbs and spices, lunch, Mozzarella, oregano, parsley, Provolone, rolls, salads, salt, sandwiches, sliced, smoked chicken, smoked turkey, spinach, sunflower oil, thyme, tomatoes, turkey, untested, vegetable oil, white wine vinegar

Given the header picture, I suppose it’s not much of a secret that I’ve made some adaptations to 2-31: Smoked Chicken Salad. Namely, that I’ve changed it from a salad to a sandwich. Here’s the thing–it’s a sad salad as written, but can be made into a pretty decent sandwich that doesn’t require anything different than what’s already required/recommended.

See those rolls in the back of the picture (the ones suggested in the blurb above)? Here’s the quick and dirty: cut one open, take the (very few) salad ingredients, stack inside, eat. Not much more to it than that, but if you’d like to see how that went for me in greater detail, please continue reading.

7-31: Lime Cayenne Pork Chops

Jamie Martin Group 07: Pork, Section 2: Main Courses May 26, 2020June 16, 2020black pepper, boneless, cayenne pepper, chopped, cilantro, citrus, deglazed, diced, dinner, fairly easy, fairly inexpensive, fruit, garnish, grated, green onions, grill pan, grilled, Hutton house, lime juice, limes, lunch, marinated, meal prep, oranges, parsley, pork, pork chops, relish, revisited, salsa, salt, Southwestern, summer, supreme, tomatoes, vegetable oil, zested

In these trying times (are you tired of hearing that yet?), it’s important to make the food you have go as far as you can, and to reduce the amount of food being wasted. Even before “the Rona“, I’ve been spending many a Saturday (or Sunday) meal-prepping for the upcoming week, which has brought down our grocery bills (and our waistlines, but apparently not as quickly).

7-31: Lime Cayenne Pork Chops was part of a “pork chop” meal-prep week, prepared in tandem with 7-53: Cider-Braised Pork Chops and served with some mixed roasted potatoes courtesy of the CSA box. It’s “meat and potatoes”, but maybe with a healthier twist?

My mom apparently made this back in November 1993, and it was “good” and “easy”. I’m not sure who ranked it as such (since she doesn’t eat pork), but we’ll go with that recommendation.

2-5: Caribbean Seafood Salad

Jamie Martin Group 02: Salads, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters May 11, 2020February 18, 2024apple cider vinegar, apples, asparagus, bananas, Belgian endive, black pepper, blanched, Boston lettuce, Caribbean, chicory lettuce, chilled, cooked shrimp, cucumbers, curly endive, Dijon mustard, dressing, easy, fairly expensive, fruit, garnish, gluten-free, iceberg lettuce, lemons, lettuce, mayonnaise, peeled, Romaine lettuce, salads, salt, seafood, shellfish, shrimp, sliced, sour cream, tarragon, tender-crisp, untested, West Indian

Every so often throughout this project, I run into entries that make no sense, culinarily. I’ll admit–my knowledge of Caribbean cuisine is probably more limited compared to other types. However, I find it hard to believe that 2-5: Caribbean Seafood Salad is an “authentic” representation of a real Caribbean dish.

The other similar recipes I’ve found for “Caribbean seafood salad” include pineapple, papaya, and/or mango, and all look much better than this apple/banana/asparagus mess. Keep that in mind–there’s better ways to use these ingredients (and to make a “Caribbean seafood salad”) than what they’re out here trying to do.