Reader Recipes Are Back! (And I Would Really, Really Like Yours)

March 19, 2018

Me cooking and blogging, a looooong time ago in the old apartment

Since I’m busy reminiscing about cooking today: Those of you who’ve been reading here since way back when may remember that I used to make reader-submitted recipes on a fairly regular basis. They were a big part of the process of me figuring out how to cook, since they usually felt more accessible to me than recipes in cookbooks and such (and since I could just email the person who sent the recipe in if I had a question), and a few of them are still in regular rotation at our house, because they were just that good. (Most of them, obviously, are pasta.)

So: If you have a family-friendly – read: easy and non-fussy – dinner recipe that you particularly love and think I need to make…help a girl out? It doesn’t have to be your personal recipe; just one that you love.

(And just for fun, below is a rundown of my all-time favorite reader recipes. Be warned: Some of them date back to 2010 and include some seeeeeriously spectacular food photography fails.)

1/6

"Crack Pasta"

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This recipe has evolved a bit over the years (I put peas in now for no especially good reason apart from that I like peas in my pasta), but the original is always worth a re-visit. It is, per its name, addictive.

2/6

Fettuccine with Saffron, Shrimp & Peas

Get The Recipe

When my son first tried this dish, this is how the conversation went:

“What’s that.”

“Shrimp.”

“I don’t like shrimp.”

“You’ve never eaten shrimp.”

“I don’t like it.”

“Try one bite.”

[Bite.]

…And then he ate them all.

I’m serious. ALL OF THEM.

3/6

Caprese Pasta

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Excellent when served warm and drippy…but even better the next day, cold and eaten straight from the refrigerator.

4/6

Chicken Vesuvio

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Even when I think, “ehhh, not in the mood for chicken”…I am always in the mood for this. It’s that good.

5/6

Twisty Lemon Linguine

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This is another one of those eat-cold-straight-out-of-the-refrigerator pasta dishes, and is so perfect for a summery lunch. Not that it’s summer. But you know.

(Image via Eat In My Kitchen because I couldn’t bear to post my own, even though you’ll see it if you click through the link.)