new book – Page 2 – Simply Delicious: The Cookbook Project

4-5: Potatoes O’Brien

Jamie Martin Group 04: Potatoes & Vegetables, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters December 26, 2021December 24, 2021black pepper, bread crumbs, breakfast, Cheddar, cheese, chopped, cooked potatoes, diced, dried herbs, easy, egg-free, green bell peppers, green chiles, half-and-half, inexpensive, lunch, milk, new book, potatoes, salt, shredded, thyme, untested, vegetarian, whipping cream, white bread, yellow onions

It’s been a while since I’ve covered anything breakfast-related, so let’s dig into 4-5: Potatoes O’Brien to change that. I’ve heard of Potatoes O’Brien before (and you may have as well)–you can even buy them frozen from the grocery store. Here’s how to make them at home on your own, since takeout/delivery/eating in can be a bit hit-or-miss these days.

I suppose eggs might fall under the category of meat or poultry, but it seems to be the go-to accompaniment for this dish. As you can see from the header image, I served mine with a homemade breakfast sandwich which also made a good option. Who needs those big breakfast guys anyway?

9-11: Stuffed Peppers

Jamie Martin Group 09: Ground Meat & Sausage, Section 2: Main Courses December 23, 2021December 22, 2021basted, beef bouillon, beef broth, black pepper, bread crumbs, cheese, chicken bouillon, chicken broth, chopped, cooked rice, dinner, easy, egg yolks, eggs, grated, green bell peppers, ground beef, ground chicken, ground lamb, ground meat, ground pork, ground turkey, ground veal, inexpensive, lunch, milk, new book, panade, peeled, red bell peppers, rice, salt, stuffed, tomato juice, untested, vegetable bouillon, vegetable broth, white onions, white pepper, yellow bell peppers, yellow onions

Stuffed peppers were not a big thing in my household growing up–neither my mom or I are big fans of bell peppers (sorry dad). However, that may not be the case for you–9-11: Stuffed Peppers might be something you’re more than familiar with. Since this was a “new book” recipe, I didn’t even know Simply Delicious had a stuffed peppers recipe…until now.

I had written a while ago (in 9-23: Fruity Sausage Kebabs) that I had at that point covered all the Chapter 09 recipes that I possess…and then I found the new book and had a few more to cover. Well, I’ve reached that point again–this is (again) the last recipe I have for this chapter. Unless more recipes turn up somewhere (don’t send them to me, I’m not trying to be the online library for this book), this is it for Ground Meat and Sausage.

13-1: Broccoli with Cheese Sauce

Jamie Martin Group 13: Vegetarian Dishes, Section 2: Main Courses December 21, 2021December 20, 2021all-purpose flour, blanched, blue cheese, broccoli, broiled, butter, Cheddar, cheese, cheese sauce, chopped, cream cheese, dinner, easy, egg-free, fairly inexpensive, Jarlsberg, melted, milk, new book, pimento, roux, salt, sautéed, shredded, side dish, Swiss, tender-crisp, untested, vegetables, vegetarian, yellow onions

I’ve been eating a diet that’s easiest to classify as pescetarian for about 4 years now, and one of the biggest trends I’ve noticed in “vegetarian” dishes and cooking is to take a vegetable, smother it in cream and cheese, and call it a meal. Don’t get me wrong–I love cheese (more so than most–I chalk it up to being half Swedish/French), but it’s not exactly the healthiest thing for you. 13-1: Broccoli with Cheese Sauce is indeed vegetarian, but it is NOT healthy.

Sure, you could have stopped at steaming the broccoli (actually blanching, if you read the recipe after the jump)–maybe even sprinkle a little cheese on top to keep it interesting. But this feels more like, “would you like some broccoli with your cheese?” more so than “would you like some cheese with your broccoli?”

Man, I never thought I’d be complaining about there being TOO much cheese and not enough vegetables. That’s how you KNOW you’re getting old, kids.

9-8: Mushroom Beef Patties

Jamie Martin Group 09: Ground Meat & Sausage, Section 2: Main Courses November 29, 2021December 30, 2021all-purpose flour, beef, black pepper, burgers, butter, chopped, cornstarch, dinner, easy, eggs, fairly inexpensive, garnish, green onions, ground beef, ground meat, half-and-half, lunch, meal prep, melted, mushrooms, new book, parsley, roux, salt, sautéed, sliced, untested, yellow onions

I’ve done quite a few recipes lately that include mushrooms, and now we’re doing one that expressly features them: 9-8: Mushroom Beef Patties. Simply Delicious also has several “patty” recipes, and now here’s one with mushrooms. I know–really pushing the culinary envelope here with both mushrooms AND beef patties.

I had mentioned in my last Group 09 entry (9-23: Fruity Sausage Kebabs) that I believed that I had run out of recipes for this section. HOWEVER, after I obtained the NEW book, I was able to squeeze out at least one more for you. There’s still another one hanging out in the queue (9-11: Stuffed Peppers), so we’re not quite done with it yet.

11-17: Sole Fillets in White Wine Sauce

Jamie Martin Group 11: Fish & Seafood, Section 2: Main Courses November 4, 2021November 3, 2021black pepper, boiled, butter, chopped, crab, dill, dinner, expensive, fairly easy, fish, fish bouillon, fish filets, fish stock, garnish, lemon juice, lemons, lobster, mounted, mushrooms, new book, party food, reduced, salt, sautéed, seafood, shallots, shellfish, shrimp, sole, steamed, untested, whipping cream, white wine, whitefish, yellow onions

Simply Delicious likes to try to mix it up with the types of fish recipes they offer, but a lot of them can actually use the same types of fish interchangeably. I made 11-25: Best Ever Sole Au Gratin with the recommended sole, but I also made 11-13: Flounder with Sauteed Vegetables with sole as well. 11-17: Sole Fillets with White Wine Sauce is a new one to add to the list (it’s even from the NEW book), and looks just as fantastically 1980s as the rest of them.

Simply Delicious claims this “elegant and luscious fish dish” could be the makings of a global phenomenon–big, if true. Wouldn’t be the first time something ocean-related took the world by storm.

13-22: Green Bean Pilaf

Jamie Martin Group 13: Vegetarian Dishes, Section 2: Main Courses October 28, 2021November 29, 2021black pepper, blanched, brown rice, butter, chicken bouillon, chicken broth, chopped, dairy-free, dinner, dried herbs, easy, egg-free, fairly inexpensive, folded, gluten-free, green beans, mushrooms, new book, pilaf, rice, salt, sautéed, side dish, simmered, tarragon, tender-crisp, untested, vegan, vegetable bouillon, vegetable broth, vegetables, vegetarian, yellow onions

Well, hello there. So it’s been a while, and my first recipe back is…rice with green beans? No wonder it took me so long to get back into this.

13-22: Green Bean Pilaf is exactly what it sounds like–a rice side dish with green beans that you could serve next to some sort of (presumably meat-based) main dish. It’s advertised as being vegetarian, but I feel that’s just by “default” since there’s no chunks of visible meat in it.

Man, does Simply Delicious enjoy their tarragon. It doesn’t seem like tarragon is super popular in modern dishes–is that because it’s not useful or because we don’t think of it as a relevant ingredient? Deep herb-related thoughts to consider on this Thursday afternoon. 🤔

3-6: Minestrone

Jamie Martin Group 03: Soups, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters August 31, 2021August 31, 2021al dente, basil, beef bouillon, beef broth, black pepper, carrots, celery, cheese, chicken bouillon, chicken broth, diced, dinner, easy, frozen, garlic, herbs and spices, inexpensive, Italian, julienned, leeks, lunch, minced, new book, olive oil, pan-fried, parboiled, Parmesan, pasta/noodles, peeled, pork, potatoes, rice, salt, sautéed, simmered, smoked ham, soups, sweet peas, tomato bouillon, tomato paste, tomatoes, untested, vegetable bouillon, vegetable broth, vegetables, yellow onions

Minestrone soup has a few specific memories for me: I remember there always being cans of it in our pantry when I was a kid, and all of my favorite Italian restaurants growing up still have it on the menu. My dad was a big minestrone fan–both of those memories are tied pretty closely to him.

3-6: Minestrone comes from the new book, and it’s not surprising that Simply Delicious had a recipe for it–they tend to have their own versions of most of the “classics”.

I’m not sure I’d suggest serving this in what look like miniature barrels in the picture above (imagine trying to clean those). However, the colder weather is coming soon, and this recipe is a good (and cheap) way to meal-prep, eat your veggies, and stay warm all at the same time.

16-13: Lemon Meringue Pie

Jamie Martin Group 16: Pies & Cakes, Section 3: Desserts & Baked Goods January 3, 2021January 3, 2021all-purpose flour, butter, chilled, cornstarch, curd, cut in, dessert, dough, egg whites, egg yolks, eggs, fairly easy, favorites, filling, flaky, flute, fruit, gift ideas, granulated sugar, grated, inexpensive, lemon juice, lemon peel, lemons, meringue, new book, party food, pie crust, pies, salt, stiff peaks, untested, vegetarian

It’s citrus time where I live, which means that everyone has buckets of oranges, lemons, limes, and grapefruits that they can’t give away fast enough. I myself have an orange tree, but I’m often given lemons from friends and family as well–16-13: Lemon Meringue Pie is a good recipe to use up some of that winter citrus. You can also check out 15-29: Raspberry-Lemon Parfait or 17-42: Luscious Lemon Bars if you have a LOT of lemons to use up.

This is a NEW book recipe, so I never even knew until recently that Simply Delicious even had a lemon meringue pie recipe. If I had known, I guarantee I would have attempted it much earlier than now.

I LOVE lemon meringue pie–it conjures recipes of slowly rotating cake and pie displays in coffee shops. Man, do I miss eating in a restaurant.

2-7: Coleslaw

Jamie Martin Group 02: Salads, Section 1: Appetizers & Starters January 1, 2021December 28, 2020apple cider vinegar, apples, barbecue, black pepper, cabbage, canola oil, carrots, celery salt, chilled, crushed, diced, dinner, dressing, fail, grated, lunch, marinated, new book, olive oil, party food, picnic, pineapple, red cabbage, red wine vinegar, salads, shredded, side dish, soaked, sunflower oil, untested, vegan, vegetable oil, vegetables, vegetarian, vinegar, white onions, white wine vinegar, yellow onions

Happy New Year! I recently posted about finding a NEW (to me) Simply Delicious book at a local thrift store, so we’ll start this new year off with the first recipe I’m going to cover from that batch of new recipes, 2-7: Coleslaw. A lot of these recipes fill “gaps” in the collection I already had, and this one is no exception. Coleslaw is a pretty well-known dish, and it’s probably one of the only instances where I enjoy cabbage.

Simply Delicious suggests you can eat coleslaw with just about anything, and they may not be too far off with that claim. Not only can you eat it with a sandwich, you can even put it IN the sandwich.

The NEW Book

Jamie Martin Miscellaneous December 28, 2020December 28, 2020administrative, cookbook project, new book

One year ago today, we went for a casual stroll through a local Goodwill, like many other Saturdays before it. Been through that Goodwill many times, but THIS time, there was something special waiting for me, and I found it.

Another Simply Delicious book. With a different style of cover and everything.

I’ve waited a year to tell you that I’ve found more recipes. This seemingly never-ending project just got longer.

I have stated at other times that I didn’t feel like I wanted to add any more to what I considered my personal “canon”–the original set my mom gave me long ago. But when I saw it, there was no question that it was coming home with me. There wasn’t a LOT of new content, but there were quite a few that I’d never seen before.