Recipe Log (Feb 17–Apr 7, 2026)

Note: I track all my recipes in Notion — you can see this week's reviews here, and previous reviews here!

Cookbooks Used

Notes

  1. Spicy Pork Soup with Pasta and Parmesan (Something from Nothing | Alison Roman): This was more pasta than soup, and (this is the first time I’ve ever said this in my life) I wish there had been more soup than pasta! We make a pasta dish that’s noodles, sausage, garlic, kale, and mozzarella — this was that dish in soup form, with parm instead of mozz. I did use kale because I couldn’t find broccoli rabe, and I did do the squeeze of lemon. Easy and delicious, good pantry soup — would make again (with more soup!). (PITA: 4, Outcome: 7)
  2. A Better Garlic Bread (Nothing Fancy | Alison Roman): I royally messed this up and it was STILL so good! The things I messed up: • SCORCHED the garlic (oops) • Used a really poor-quality / nearly stale baguette • Didn’t give the anchovies enough time to fully dissolve / mix with the other ingredients. I ended up with a liquid burnt butter + somewhat-dissolved anchovy mixture that SOMEHOW was still really delicious. I can only imagine how good this will be when I fix all of the things I got wrong! 😂 (PITA: 4, Outcome: 8)
  3. Buttered Salmon with Red Onion and Dill (Nothing Fancy | Alison Roman): My partner said this was his favorite salmon he’s ever had and I might agree! This was SO good — something about the slightly browned butter with just-caramelized red onions and lemon. It was so so good, and the only thing I would change is I’d do a full cut of salmon rather than a few individual fillets. I made this with the anchovy garlic bread, also from Something from Nothing, which was a great pairing. (PITA: 5, Outcome: 7)
  4. A Chili, Because You Asked (Something from Nothing | Alison Roman): I feel so torn on this recipe! It got such a high PITA score because the dried beans WOULD NOT soften, and it really kind of ruined the whole chili. I let it cook for over an hour more than the suggested time and it just wasn’t working. That being said, the flavor was GREAT and I would make this again starting in the early afternoon vs the late afternoon so that the beans have longer to cook. (PITA: 8, Outcome: 8)
  5. Chicken Dan Dan-Inspired Noodles (The Comfortable Kitchen | Alex Snodgrass): Okay, I really hate to say this because I’m generally a Defined Dish fan but I really did not like this recipe. There was a spice that was in it that was so overpowering (maybe the 5 spice?) and so new to me that I couldn’t eat it. My partner, however, really enjoyed this dish, so this is definitely NOT a bad recipe at all and just personal preference. But I couldn’t get over the spice (and also chunks of crushed peppercorn). Just not my vibe! (PITA: 5, Outcome: 3)