Christopher & Me: Part I

• Great Roasted Carrots (2010)
• Pasta With Mushrooms (2003)
• Simplifying Sauteed Green Beans (2008) 

In many ways, this is a classic set of CI recipes. They begin with the standard set-up, of destruction, woe, and agony, before the heroes of the Test Kitchen come to our rescue, and deliver onto us a perfect recipe "But most of the time when I roast carrots, they come out dry, shriveled and jerkylike." Or, "Mushrooms easily turn out slippery, pale and watery." Or "Parboiling, shocking, drying, sauteeing-do you really need a four-step process?"

After thirty pounds of mushrooms and innumerable experiments, we reap our rewards: tender, creamy and deeply sweet carrots; woodsy creamy sauce quick; and tender, lighting browned, fresh-tasting green beans ... in just one pan.

The pasta is good, but not amazing, and I'm not sure if the pound of shiitake mushrooms are really necessary. I was not a fan of the carrots: I thought they were too soft, and wanted more caramel flavors. The green beans were quite good, and will probably be my new standard prep. However, chopping them into 2" long sections was maybe more effort than I wanted.

Overall, the food was basically a solid B. There were no revelations, and the prep was a little more involved than I might have wanted. But, the company (PD, CAP, JB, CM) was pretty amazing, so I give it an A.