"Wow! This was awesome. I had my doubts as this was cooking: it seemed like it was going to fall apart with all of the veggies in the mixture, and the glaze's smell as it was cooking seemed like it might be way overpowering. I should not have doubted Alton. He is brilliant!! This meatloaf was marvelous--my favorite ever. Texture and taste wer""

"Aside from the prepping of the veggies, this was very quick and easy to prepare.

I really liked the flavor and texture of this dish. I agree with others that the sauce wasn't exactly bland; it could just use a little something else. Garlic may do the trick. I noticed that a similar recipe of Emerill's got better reviews. The only real dif""

"This was my first time making or eating these. I used only beef, which may have taken away extra flavor that I think this needs. Next time, I will do a beef/sausage mix and/or add some extra spice. They need some chili powder, cayenne pepper, or maybe just some seasoned diced tomatoes like other reviewers mention. I wanted to try it without these changes the first time around to see for myself. I did add mozzerella and parmesan to the tops while they baked. That was a nice addition."

"I give the meatballs five stars, the sauce one star. I figure I went wrong somewhere since I seem to be the only one who doesn't like this stuff. (I'm not a picky eater in the least.) The sauce didn't taste all that different than if I had just poured the tomato sauce straight from the can onto the pasta. It was like plain crushed tomatoes with a heavy garlic flavor. I really expected this to be awesome since Aunt Raffe makes it in Italy.
On a positive note, the meatballs were great. I agree with Giada about adding ketchup in the meatballs. It does really add a lot to them. "

" I had such high hopes for this dish. With so many rave reviews, I figured it would be great. I wanted to think the negative reviews were due to matters of taste, but I should have listened to those who said this was a greasy mess--it was. The flavor was good, but I didnt get the "fall off the bone" effect, and the chicken ended up in a puddle of beer and fat. Maybe I did something wrong? I thought I was following the recipe exactly.
I won't give up on Claire though. Her tips are always great, and I'm always impressed to see what she can do with so few ingredients. Her blue rosemary potatoes from this show were really good.
"

" This was great. My husband said it was just like his last meal at our local Italian restaurant. I agree that it is a little on the salty side, but it wasn't too salty. I like salt; my husband isn't a huge salt person. He even said the salt level was fine. (I did follow others' advice and skip the extra salt.)
I do suggest enlisting help on stuffing the manicotti shells. That was a little time-consuming, but it was worth it.
I tried to cut down a little on the calories. I used 1% milk and light cream. The sauce was still very rich. I only used 2 and 1/2 cups of pecorino. I just added cheese little by little until it was as thick as I thought it should be--and it was still a little too thick.
I would change anything else. This will be part of our rotation from now on."

"This was a very impressive side dish. I give it 5 stars for flavor but 4 stars for consistency. I agree with another comment that it's a little gooey and could benefit from some added milk. Other than that, I think these are high-end-steakhouse-quality potatoes. The food mill really does make the texture great."