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.

The Cooky Book: Jam Bars

The Recipe: Jam Bars from Betty Crocker's The Cooky Book

The Substitutions: Per usual, I used butter for shortening. I also used the jam version rather than the original Date Bars, which was just not going to fly around here.

The Verdict: I really like this oatmeal/fruit kind of treats for the kids school/babysitting snacks. But I will say, I have had better versions. More hippie versions, should I say? This one is pretty yummy, as far as your classic fruit sandwiched between layers of oatmeal squares go, but man, is it ever sweet. Like pow! Henry, of course, can't get enough of these things. But I couldn't even finish one off because it was like spooning brown sugar directly into my mouth. So yes, this one is a hit, but I'm unable to congratulate myself for making the kids a wholesome snack. And is there any other reason to bake with oatmeal?

The Cooky Book: Butterscotch Brownies

The Recipe: Butterscotch Brownies from Betty Crocker's The Cooky Book.

The Substitutions: Omitted nuts and made the coconut version.

The Verdict: After months of bland drop cookies, these were a real treat to make. They were so easy -- I mixed them with a spoon and then just poured them into the pan. So easy. And they're actually pretty good. Everyone in the family agreed that chocolate brownies would have been preferable (what is with Betty Crocker's aversion to chocolate?), but the children have been eating them up with glee. And the best part about bars (or as they call them in these parts, squares) is that the batch is small, so I can move onto something else sooner rather than later.

Stuffed Shells

The Recipe: Stuffed Shells from the November 2010 issue of Martha Stewart Living.

The Substitutions: I used red cabbage rather than radicchio.

The Verdict: This was in the "Confident Cook" section of MSL, and it's really fussy, so I'm sort of shocked I made it at all. But I'm glad I did. These shells are stuffed with cabbage and prosciutto, plus the obligatory cheeses. Simple, but kind of time-consuming. Still, I found it kind of meditative to stuff those pasta shells by hand.

Thankfully, they were appreciated by all. These would be really easy to make vegetarian, but I must say, the prosciutto gives them a great flavour and is probably my favourite part of the whole thing. Either way, I was glad to have taken on a classic and not had it end in disaster.

Cocoa Croissant Pudding

The Recipe: Croissant Pudding from the Martha Stewart website.

The Substitutions: I dumped in a few tablespoons of cocoa powder to give it a chocolate taste. I also used whole wheat croissants.

The Verdict: I had some stale croissants staring me in the face, so I went online to find a croissant pudding recipe that called for ingredients I had in my kitchen (i.e. no heavy cream). This one is simple, easy, and really delicious. If I hadn't added cocoa I might have thrown in some cinnamon, because it could have run kind of bland. But this was just perfect, especially when served with some Moose Tracks ice cream.