Waldorf Salad

The Recipe: Waldorf Salad from Jamie Oliver's Jamie's America

The Substitutions: I didn't have an apple on hand, so I skipped it.

The Verdict: Pretty darn good. I love a Waldorf salad, if only for the sheer volume of goodies. Sure, I could always eat a handful of grapes or walnuts, but they just seem so much more decadent when they're hiding in a green salad. Sad, I know.

As far as Waldorfs go, this one probably won't pass muster with full-on purists, but it fit my purposes quite nicely. Here's the thing: I'm a weird freak who can not stomach mayonnaise. I'm sure I happily eat things with mayo in them all the time, but if I make it myself and I know that there's mayo in there, I get squeamish. This salad does not contain mayo. Instead, Jamie throws in some yogurt, which is another substance I can't handle on it's own, but I'm less grossed out by it when it's mixed with other things. Like I said, I'm a weirdo.

So, as a result, this salad isn't nearly as creamy as a real Waldorf salad. The dressing ends up like more of a vinaigrette than a creamy dressing, which is fine by my books. It was easy, tasty, a little more low-cal than the real thing. In other words: delicious.

Fennel and Apple Meatloaf

The Recipe: Fennel and Apple Meatloaf from the November 2010 issue of Everyday Food.

The Substitutions: None, though I will note that I made it with a combo or turkey and bulk sausage.

The Verdict: This is one of those change-em-up recipes, where they offer two or three meatloaf variations, each more delicious looking than the next. I'm a sucker for fennel, so this one called my name. And man, is it ever delicious. Like, super delicious. Adding sausage keeps the turkey from getting too dry, but I think all the veg in there help out too. I'm definitely going to try the other variations, but this one is so fresh and tasty it might become a dinner standard in our house.

Oven Roasted Potatoes

The Recipe: Oven Roasted Potatoes from AllRecipes. Recipe found here.

The Substitutions: None.

The Verdict: Pretty darn good. This is simple, simple, simple, but simple with spice, if that makes sense. You need to have a fairly well-stocked spice rack to pull this one off, but if you're missing a spice or two you probably can just skip it. My crew find regular roasted potatoes too bland (I know, they're crazy), so these were very well received.

Coconut Key-Lime Pie

The Recipe: Coconut Key-Lime Pie from the November 2010 issue of Everyday Food. Recipe online here.

Substitutions: None.

The Verdict: I'm kind of speechless over this one. First off, you should not know what goes into key lime pie. It's essentially an egg yolk omelet rounded off by loads of condensed milk and topped with whipped cream. Hello, heart attack. But if you can ignore that, this pie is unbelievable. Creamy, coconuty and even better the next day (especially if you eat it directly out of the fridge by the spoonful). My husband actually said it's the best thing I've ever made. I'm not sure I disagree.

Peanut Brittle

The Recipe: Peanut Brittle from the December 2010 issue of Everyday Food.

The Substitutions: nada

The Verdict: Easy peasy. It's peanut brittle -- there's not much to say. Hard, stuck in your teeth, crunchy, peanut brittle. My only word of caution: you cook the sugar for 20 minutes -- when you're getting close to the end of that 20 minutes, WATCH THE STOVE. I burned the first batch and not only did it stink up the house, but I suddenly had all of this molten blackened sugar and didn't know what to do with it. I was afraid of pouring it into a bowl because I knew once it hardened, I'd never be able to get it out. I also knew that pouring it down the sink could result in a hefty plumbing bill. I ended up pouring it into a paper plate after it had cooled slightly and then threw the plate out when it was hard as a rock. On the upside, it all washed out of the pot in the dishwasher, which was a pleasant surprise.

Oh, and it tastes delicious. Not the burnt stuff, batch #2.

The Cooky Book: Lemon Squares

The Recipe: Lemon Squares from the Betty Crocker Cooky Book

The Substitutions: none.

The Verdict: Severe disappointment. There are a million recipes for lemon squares. Everyone has their favourite specifications: the right crust, the right amount of filling, and the right balance between sweet and sour. When I was making this recipe I said to myself "there is not enough lemon juice in here. I should up the lemon juice." But did I do it? Not really.

Last year's lemon bars (and I can't remember what recipe I used for the life of me) were too tart, so I was a bit gun-shy about going off-recipe and adding a bunch of extra lemon. The recipe only calls for two tablespoons. I juiced a small lemon and it yielded about three tablespoons and I put all of it in. Still, not nearly tart enough. Not even close. The lemon flavor is faint, at best. I also think that there is generally not enough filling or, alternately, the crust is too thick. I also baked this for the minimum time (and with my oven I usually have to bake for the max), and it was too brown in the middle in too chewy around the edges.

So is this a flawed recipe? Perhaps. Or perhaps those of you who don't like anything that's too tart would love it. But why would you make lemon squares if you don't like things that are tart? Anyway, it'll be back to the drawing board next Christmas, but for now these are happily hanging out in the freezer, ready to hit my holiday cookie plate. Because while they're not perfect, they're still lemon squares, which is worth something.

The recipe: Chicken and Sausage Gumbo from the Canadian Living Slow Cooker cookbook. Recipe online here

Substitutions: None. I took the chorizo option and opted out of adding white wine.

Verdict: Not bad. This was another slow cooker recipe that required a lot of prep, which is kind of a pain. The taste was yummy, but I'm doubting very authentic. I went with chorizo rather than sweet Italian sausages and while it was a little spicy for the kids, I'm glad because otherwise the sauce/broth (depending on whether you consider gumbo a soup or not) would have been a little bland. Still, a nice warmer-upper on a freezing cold winter night.