Gourmet Everyday

Curried Zucchini soup
Ratatouille with Butternut Squash
James's Beard's Chicken with 40 cloves of garlic
Center-ring strip steak marinated in scotch whiskey
Maida Heatter's Cuban Black beans and rice

ALL Essential NYT Cookbook

The curried zucchini soup called for 1.5 teaspoon of curry and 0.5 teaspoon of dry mustard. That is way too strong for Dr. A. We best adjust next time around. Probably decrease all spices by 2/3.

The word "ratatouille" always seems to make you want to sing it instead of say it. But until now, I have never met a ratatouille dish that really deserves that kind of treatment. This recipe was so amazing, we ate every last little morsel of it.

We were amazed by how good the chicken was. This is probably the third or fourth "40 cloves of garlic" recipe I have tried. Last time was the one from Joy of Cooking. But this one...the vermouth gave the sauce an extra fragrance...and the dish was really extremely easy...just toss everything into the dutch oven and bake...

Used skirt steak instead of strip, turned out well because I did not have as much time to marinade it as the recipe called for. Also, used Jamaican rum instead of whiskey. All turned out amazing. Big boost to general self-esteem. Bin Laden killed. World peace achieved.

The black beans and rice turned out really really yummy too. The problem is that it does require a fair amount of time and work, and it causes undesirable GI results in some audience members. At the end, Joyce was the one who ate most of it. Still, with certain types of crowds. This dish is one that must be re-visited. Oh, and IGNORE the rice instructions. Just cook it in the rice cooker. Also, the instructions for the onions for the rice, and the onions as a side are a little confusing. Yes, there are two different portions of onions, not one.