October 21, 2025

Picking it Back Up

It’s been quite a while since I’ve been back into this project, and a lot has happened in the mean time. Shortly after the last recipe I made, Gemma was officially diagnosed with Celiac. Then in the summer of 2025, Vivian was diagnosed Celiac as well. So now 2/3 of the family is gluten free, which has been quite an adjustment.

It will have its effect on this project – from here on out I am going to try to make each recipe gluten free if at all possible. Some recipes of course will need to be adjusted, and there will be some that I won’t be able to share with the girls. I’m going to try and keep the number of those to a minimum. When there’s a Good Eats recipe that requires ingredients that contain gluten, I may completely stray from AB’s original guidance and just do my best to make a gluten free version of whatever’s being made.

To get back into the swing of things, on Friday night I put some ingredients together into the little 2.5 quart slow cooker for some Overnight Oatmeal. Thankfully Bob’s makes gluten free steel cut oats which were perfect for this.

The show’s recipe called for using dried figs and dried cranberries, but we tried it with dried cherries and dried apricots. The cherries were a great addition, but the apricots really overpowered everything else.

Then on Sunday I decided to make us a dessert treat for later in the evening by putting together two gelatin recipes: Sparkling Gingered Face and Cinnamon Cherry Heart. I had bought these small heart and brain molds to use for this, so instead of a face I used brains for the sparkling ginger gelatin.

I did notice that on the online recipe for the ginger face, there’s a single comment saying it’s all wrong and in the wrong order. I went back to the episode to verify this, and sure enough the comment is right. The real recipe should be more like:

1. Pour 1 cup ginger ale into a bowl
2. Sprinkle 2 packets gelatin over the ginger ale
3. Let bloom for 3-5 minutes
4. Microwave on high, stirring every minute until temperature reaches 150°F (no higher)
5. Slowly pour 1 cup champagne into the warm gelatin mixture, stirring constantly
6. Refrigerate for about 1 hour until it reaches egg-white consistency
7. Pour into mold and refrigerate until set

The gelatin itself came out perfectly – completely clear, very well set. However, the flavor of both was just… gross. We couldn’t figure out why these flavor combinations would be used. We figured maybe this is something like they’d do in the 1940’s or something, but anyway we’ll never make these particular flavors again.

Later that night I put in some oats using only dried cherries for additions. Monday morning we tried it again and still were underwhelmed. The fruit just seems to take over and really detract from the oat’s flavors. I didn’t get a photo of that one.

Monday evening we were planning to do a sausage and root vegetable bake for dinner, so as a little appetizer I decided to make some Squash Soup. The recipe calls for using two large butternut squash, but I only used a single squash and halved the rest of the recipe.

It came out great. A wonderful belly warmer as the weather is starting to get a bit colder this time of year. I think this will be added to my go-to rotation. In my version I only used a pinch of white pepper, and way less than the half a tablespoon of salt that the recipe calls for. I used a couple pinches on the squash itself, and then a couple pinches in the soup. By the way, I think next time I’ll cut the squash up before roasting it – trying to scrape it out of the hot peel was a pain, and I think by cutting it up I’d get a bit more even cooking.

And finally, since the two previous overnight oats attempts were both mediocre, I decided that I’d try one more time, this time without fruit additions. I followed the recipe exactly, just leaving out the fruit, and this time the family did enjoy them. Something about adding the dried fruit was just too reminiscent of fruit cake I guess…

Overnight Oatmeal

• Crowd: 3/5
• Ease: 4/5
• Used both dried cherries and dried apricots. Apricots overpowered it.
• Ultimately landed on no fruit additions being our favorite.

Sparkling Gingered Face

• Crowd: 1/5
• Ease: 4/5
• Used prosecco instead of champagne
• Bloomed in ginger ale, and then microwaved until it got to about 150, then added prosecco

Cinnamon Cherry Heart

• Crowd: 1/5
• Ease: 4/5
• Only used 1 tsp of cinnamon extract. 2 tsp would have been overpowering.

Squash Soup

• Crowd: /5
• Ease: 3/5
• Squash took an hour and 15m to cook (vs recipe saying ~35m)
• Probably would be way easier to peel the squash next time and roast it in chunks
• Used way less salt than the recipe said to, which I am happy I did

May 14, 2024

Mushroom Crepe Cake

Made Mushroom Crepe Cake as a side dish tonight to go along with some salmon and asparagus. It’s a fantastic dinner addition!

It started yesterday when I made a batch of savory crepes. This batch turned out way better than the batch I made for crepes suzette. I followed the savory crepe recipe that goes along with the cake recipe, and I used about 2 teaspoons of dried rosemary for herbs. Also, this time as an experiment I made the crepes gluten free by using a cup of Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Flour, along with a quarter teaspoon of xanthan gum. Each crepe took about 1.5 ounces of batter in my 8-inch nonstick pan. After letting them cool I popped them in fridge overnight.

Then tonight I started by dicing up a pound of mushrooms and making the filling as instructed in the recipe. I used shredded mozzarella instead of provolone, because that’s what I could find.

I then stacked crepe-filling combos until I used all of the mushroom mixture. I ended up using 6 crepes total.

Now, the recipe says to throw it all under the broiler, but since the crepes were out of the fridge, I popped it into the 350 degree own alongside the asparagus, giving the cake about 10 minutes to warm through. Topped it with some chives, cut it into 8 pieces and we had an amazing side dish.

This one is delicious, yet involved, and doesn’t yield a crowd-serving portion, so I’ll save this for small gatherings, but definitely do it again some time!

Mushroom Crepe Cake

• Crowd: 4/5
• Ease: 2/5
• For savory crepes, added about 2 teaspoons of dried rosemary
• Used mozzarella cheese
• Took 6 layers of crepes

May 11, 2024

Clam Chowder

I knew going into this one that it wasn’t going to be great chowder. I knew that because I made this Clam Chowder a long time ago while I was creating my own recipe. I did end up using a lot of the ideas from this one in mine, such as steaming whole clams and using the resulting juices in the chowder.

The thing that struck me right away about this one is that it’s very heavy on the potatoes. Six cups is a lot – I only used a bit more than 4 cups and it was still too much.

Even after using the stick blender: too many potatoes in the chowder. I stopped blending when I thought I might be starting to make clam-flavored mashed potatoes.

Also, I forgot to get a photo of the soup in bowls. Anyway, the chowder is fine. It’s passable and we ate the whole batch over the weekend, but I wouldn’t make this recipe again.

Clam Chowder

• Crowd: 3/5
• Ease: 3/5
• Tossed a tablespoon of butter into the rendered salt pork fat
• Recipe used way too many potatoes. I used a little more than four cups, which is 3 medium sized russets. Would recommend no more than 2 russets.
• Ended up probably using 3 cups of milk instead of the two called for in the recipe. Otherwise, there wouldn't have been enough to cook the potatoes.

March 23, 2024

Crepes Suzette

I’ve been looking forward to the crepes recipes in this season, and what better way to begin than to make some Crepes Suzette for Saturday night dessert?

It starts with making up a whole mess of sweet Crepes. This was the first time I’ve ever made them, and there’s definitely a learning curve here. Flipping was the hardest part. I also needed to get a feel for how much batter was the right amount, and when they were done. I landed on: about an ounce and a half of better for my 8-inch pan, and deciding they’re done when there’s just a little bit of browning going on.

When the stacks of crepes were done, it was time to make the sauce and cook them in it. I used Cointreau for the orange liqueur, and a full stick of butter. Together with the sugar it creates a kind of caramel sauce which is delicious but very sweet. I think next time I’ll use half the amount of sugar for the sauce (the recipe called for 2.5 Tb, I think I will try 1Tb).

I topped them with some vanilla ice cream, but it melted really fast so the pictures of the finished product are… pretty bad. Thankfully, the whole thing put together was fantastic. We still have a few left over sweet crepes, which we might just heat up and top with chocolate sauce and whipped cream.

Crepes

• Crowd: 4/5
• Ease: 3/5
• Used about an ounce and half of batter per crepe

Crepes Suzette

• Crowd: 4/5
• Ease: 3/5
• Used Cointreau as the liqueur in the sauce
• Could probably get away with half the sugar for the sauce next time

March 20, 2024

Baba Ghannouj

Spent a couple weeks with the folks in Florida and wanted to get at least one recipe in while we were there. Since we usually start the evening with cocktails and apps, I figured that Baba Ghannouj would be a good one to try.

I started by grilling a medium-sized eggplant, kept on the grill for the full 30 minutes recommended by the recipe.

After that it was a matter of getting everything into the food processor. Instead of a half-bunch of parsley, I used about a handful, and am glad I did – a half bunch would have been overwhelming. Once everything was mixed, I let it hang in the fridge for an hour or so.

It came out great – my parents absolutely loved it. We rated it a 3, because while it was good, I’m not sure we’ll make it again.

Baba Ghannouj

• Crowd: 3/5
• Ease: 3/5
• Used a medium-sized eggplant
• Used only a handful of parsley
• For that sized eggplant, might want to use just one clove of fresh garlic.

March 02, 2024

Pumpkin Muffins

I had meant to do the Pumpkin Bread in the fall when there were plenty of fresh pumpkins around, but things just got way too busy. Now is as good a time as any, so I went for it even though you can’t get pumpkins this time of year.

That’s OK though – the comments on the recipe page were full of folks that used canned pumpkin as a substitute (note: NOT pumpkin pie filling, just pure unsweetened pumpkin puree). People also mentioned that including the pumpkin seeds was gross, so I left those out as well.

The recipe was easy and the muffins came our great! Some people in the comments also said they added a little nutmeg so I added a pinch or so. Also, the recipe says 30 minutes for muffins but it took these about 45 to cook through. Now that I have this under my belt I’ll make a point to get a pumpkin in the fall and make these again with the fresh shredded pumpkin.

Pumpkin Bread

• Crowd: 4/5
• Ease: 3/5
• Used one can of pumpkin instead of the fresh shredded
• Added a pinch (maybe 1/4 tsp) of nutmeg
• Left out the pumpkin seeds, might try adding pecans or walnuts next time
• Made one dozen muffins
• Baking time was about 45 minutes

February 15, 2024

Back at it!

After a long hiatus, I’m back at it on the Good Eats project.

The project has been on hold while we moved and other projects have taken precedence as we’ve settled into the new place.

When I finally got the time and attention to return to cooking Good Eats, I decided that Tuesday’s snow day would be a good chance for use to try some Stove Top Mac-n-Cheese for lunch.

The family thought it was delicious, even Vivian who claims not to like mac & cheese gobbled it up. One point they made was that it tasted a little “too cheddary” – this is probably due to the sharp cheddar I used. Maybe next time I’ll try a less sharp cheddar. One thing to note about this mac & cheese – it’s very calorie dense at 65 calories per ounce. The recipe makes 40 ounces, so assuming even 5 servings means we’re looking at more than 500 calories per serving.

Then on Wednesday night, I made Panna Cotta Brain with Cranberry Glaze as a special Valentine’s Day dessert. Only, in my version I left out the brain and used ramekins instead.

I made a half-batch, and since some of the amounts in the original recipe are weird to half (since they’re used in various places) here are the proportions I used for the panna cotta itself:

• 18oz evaporated milk (1.5 cans) – use half a can to bloom gelatin
• 2 packs of gelatin (I used Gelatine brand)
• 3/4 Cup heavy cream
• 6 Tablespoons of sugar
• Half of a vanilla bean, split
• 0.5 teaspoon salt

I served it by inverting it onto a plate, covering with chocolate sauce, and topping with whipped cream.

Everyone loved it. It kind of tastes like a cross between ice cream and Jello. It’s a super easy dessert that’s also very rich and elegant.

By the way, I did make the cranberry glaze, but it never really set up before it was time to eat. We did try it on the panna cotta though, and it’s a really good combination – the tartness is a great contrast with the sweetness/richness of the pudding. Perhaps next time I’ll make the cranberry way earlier and let it hang at room temp to set.

Stove Top Mac-n-Cheese

• Crowd: 4/5
• Ease: 3/5
• Family said it was a bit "too cheddary" -- might try a less sharp cheddar next time

Panna Cotta Brain with Cranberry Glaze

• Crowd: 4/5
• Ease: 4/5
• Might try reducing the amount of gelatin by ~25% next time
• Cranberry glaze took a long time to set up -- do it early, keep it at room temp
• Could probably put some plastic wrap on top while it sets to help avoid "skin"

May 30, 2023

Beware of parmesan

A couple of recent updates for some Season 5 recipes. Not a ton to say about each, hence why they didn’t warrant their own posts.

Last week I made some Leftover Baked Potato Soup for dinner.

I found it to be quite tasty, but I used a particular brand of parmesan cheese high in butyric acid which some folks react harshly too, causing Gemma to be physically unable to eat it. So, this might be one to try again some other time.

Then last night I made Eggplant Steaks as a side dish for grilled burgers.

Again, these were quite tasty, but even though I used a different brand of parmesan for the topping, Gemma found them hard to eat. Needless to say, the ratings for these two recipes are just my own. Next time I need to make sure to remember that when I make stuff with cooked parmesan that I should do some with and some without!

Leftover Baked Potato Soup

• Crowd: 3/5
• Ease: 3/5
• Used about 3 pounds of potatoes for this

Eggplant Steaks

• Crowd: 3/5
• Ease: 3/5
• Next time I need to put foil down on the sheet pan to catch drippings so they don't burn on the bottom of the pan

April 29, 2023

Potato Salad

Vivian’s family birthday celebration was Saturday and we held a little cookout for it. Along with hot dogs, grilled chicken, and sausages I decided to make Cold-Fashioned Potato Salad as a side dish.

It was great, and some people went back for seconds and thirds. It was a bit of a pain to make though – there’s a ton of ingredients and you need to do the potatoes the night before. It’s delicious though, so if there’s another occasion to make a fancy potato salad, this will be my go-to.

Cold-Fashioned Potato Salad

• Crowd: 4/5
• Ease: 2/5
• Left out the mustard powder because I thought I had some and didn't
• Used baby kosher dills instead of cornichons

April 22, 2023

Oats & Cocoa

Saturday morning was a perfect time to make Steel Cut Oatmeal for breakfast, since weekends are when you can afford to spend 40 minutes on breakfast.

I was a bit nervous about not stirring for 25 minutes, but in the end it worked out well and the cinnamon and brown sugar was a great addition!

In the evening I made up some Hot Cocoa mix, and we tried it out with hot water, which was good but not great. On Sunday we made some more for dessert, this time mixing it with hot milk, and that was amazing. Milk is definitely the way to go for this.

I think I might mix up a whole bunch of this around Christmas and give it away.

Steel Cut Oatmeal

• Crowd: 4/5
• Ease: 3/5
• Used full fat buttermilk

Hot Cocoa

• Crowd: 4/5
• Ease: 4/5
• Tried with both water and with milk -- milk by far is better

April 16, 2023

Sunday Snacks

While Gemma is laid-up on the couch recovering from foot surgery, I thought it would be a good day to just crank out a bunch of snacks from season five.

Since we did the baked mac and cheese the previous day, it was only natural to start with some Next Day Mac and Cheese “Toast”. Deep frying is a bit of a production, so I started by getting my fry station going.

The recipe didn’t have much info as to how long to fry them, so I checked and poked them periodically until I felt they were done. The smaller pieces took about 2 minutes, and the larger pieces took 30-60 seconds more.

In the end they were absolutely amazing. We ate them with a little jarred marinara we had left over in the fridge. I’m glad I only made half a dozen or so because we could have eaten these all day non stop.

Later in the afternoon I set out to make Granola, which is something I’ve always wanted to try out. It couldn’t have been easier to just mix a bunch of stuff together and pop it in the oven.

The comments online suggested not to stir it as often as the recipe says, and that way you’ll end up with more chunks. So I only stirred it three or four times while it cooked.

This made a TON of granola. So much that I bagged up a bunch and gave it away to everyone I saw that day. It is really, really good. We ate it by itself and on yogurt. Will definitely be making this again some day.

The final snack of the day was Radonsky for the New Millenium, which I sort of think of as “easier clams casino” maybe? It’s weird because a Google search for “Radonsky” brings up basically nothing, and Alton didn’t even say this recipe’s name in the episode. Anyway, I started out by opening a dozen clams and sprinkling them with the “stuffing” mix. Then I got some bacon grease hot and popped them face-down into the pan to cook.

We served them up with a little parsley and some malt vinegar and they were delicious.

These were really easy and delicious – I can see doing this for company as a classy appetizer.

Next Day Mac and Cheese "Toast"

• Crowd: 5/5
• Ease: 2/5
• Fried the smaller pieces for about 2 minutes, and the larger pieces for about 2.5 minutes
• Served up with some heated up marinara sauce

Granola

• Crowd: 5/5
• Ease: 4/5
• Didn't stir as much as the recipe said to -- only stirred 3 times or so over the course of the hour and a half cooking time
• This makes a TON of granola

Radonsky for the New Millenium

• Crowd: 4/5
• Ease: 3/5
• Would salt them a little more next time

April 15, 2023

Season Five Kickoff

It took me a while to start on Season 5, but this weekend I got things going. For dinner I began with the Baked Macaroni and Cheese.

This is definitely a “grown up” mac n cheese – the onion and bay give it a real savory background of flavor that works really well. I didn’t have any mustard powder so I left it out of the recipe, but would really like to give it a try next time.

For dessert we went with brownie sundaes, so into the oven went a batch of Cocoa Brownies.

To go with the brownies I made up some Cocoa Syrup, and put it all together with some ice cream.

The brownies were alright, but not that much better than boxed mix ones. They were very fudgy, with a dark chocolate flavor, and not overly sweet. The syrup was good as well, also not overly sweet.

Baked Macaroni and Cheese

• Crowd: 4/5
• Ease: 3/5
• Used cheap-ish Cabot sharp cheddar.
• Left out the mustard because I didn't have any, and it was still great. Would love to try it with the mustard next time.

Cocoa Brownies

• Crowd: 3/5
• Ease: 3/5
• Used parchment in the pan like in the episode, rather than buttering the pan like in the online recipe -- might want to try the butter next time

Cocoa Syrup

• Crowd: 3/5
• Ease: 3/5
• Halved the recipe on the site and still ended up with a ton of chocolate sauce
• Used this as chocolate sauce on an ice cream sundae