JustLaura's Profile

From: , CO

Joined: April 25th, 2010

About me: I live in Colorado and cook for my family; my husband, my 20-year-old daughter (who is in college), and my 18-year-old son (a VERY picky eater). I love cookbooks and have quite a collection but am always looking to add more. I have been known to take a cookbook to bed and read it before falling asleep. Lately, I have found myself getting a lot of recipes off the internet and not using my cookbooks much. I would like to change this. I am anxious for this site to take off (and it will) and for the volume of recipe reviews to grow. It is such a great idea!


Latest review:

August 26th, 2012

Skillet Blueberry Cobbler from Weber's Real Grilling

Excellent. We did overcook it slightly on the grill but we just need to get better at grill baking! Served it to a group of 5 and everyone loved it. read more >


recipe reviews (348)
book reviews (95)
useful review votes (95)

JustLaura's Reviews


Search Reviews:

45 recipe(s) reviewed. Showing 1 to 45Sort by: Title | Date | Rating

Website: The Food Network

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26th April 2010

Artichoke Pesto Torta

Very good appetizer. Nice presentation.

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27th April 2010

Baked Beans

I made these for our Superbowl party in the crockpot and everyone seemed to like them - I thought that they were ok. I did use low-sodium everything, as we had a lot of heart patients, that may be why.

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12th July 2011

Baked Chickpeas

These were good. I forgot the cayenne pepper which would make them much better, but these would be a great addition to an appetizer spread. I made these just to snack on.

useful (1)  


6th March 2011

Beer Bread

A great and EASY beer bread. I reduced the sugar to 1/3 cup and that was perfect. I also did not brush the butter on the top since I was cutting it up for fondue. I have made this more than once and it is always a hit!

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A delicious salad. I have even used canned beets (and roasted them) for this and they were wonderful too.

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25th July 2010 (edited: 25th July 2010)

Cabernet Steak and Mushrooms

Outstanding!! Made for a group of 12 and they were a big hit. If there are non-meat eaters in the group just give them one of the mushrooms - they were fabulous!

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6th March 2011

Cheesy Beer Fondue

I have served this at Super Bowl parties and at fondue parties - always a hit. Use a great tasting beer and good cheese and you can't go wrong!

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We used olive oil and no butter and fresh spinach instead of frozen. We loved this!

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My husband and I both loved this version of Chicken Parmesan.

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We loved this! The lime and cumin together were great!

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20th August 2011

Cucumber Salad

Very easy and very good! I made triple the dressing which seemed to much but when I made what the recipe called for it was too little. So I'll double it next time and it should be perfect.

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Beer and bar-b-que. They just go together. We used a Smithwick's beer which worked great. These ribs were tender, fall off the bone, and delicious.

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Oh my. This is delicious!!

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26th April 2010

Fettunta with Proscuitto

I made these for a dinner with 3 couples - everyone loved them. Definitely use the smoked mozzarella it added a lot.

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Wonderful!

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I LOVED this (in fact I'm eating it as I write this)! Great flavor, filling, yet good for you. I used double the green beans and no yellow beans since I couldn't find them. Great!

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26th April 2010

Florentines

Made for Christmas 2007. Liked the taste but the appearance was ugly. Make sure to measure the quantity of nuts carefully or you will get piles of nuts in the middle of your cookie.

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26th April 2010 (edited: 26th April 2010)

Fresh Tomato Tart

Made for a dinner with 3 couples. Everyone loved it! I used puff pastry instead of a pie shell and it worked great!

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26th April 2010

Fried Ravioli

A little bit of work but very worth it!

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These is very worth the effort and delicious. I have made several times and am craving it again right now!

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We have had this a few times and keep going back to it. The salsa is wonderful and full of good bright flavors. The Agave on the salmon caramelizes when grilled and is great!

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Add this to the end of the URL it was too long to fit:

-prosciutto-wrapped-asparagus-recipe/index.html

We made with filet's as we are not veal fans and this was WONDERFUL. I have served this for many dinner parties and it is always a hit. The Wild Mushroom sauce is expensive to make (you need a lot of mushrooms) but we think it is worth it.

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27th April 2010 (edited: 5th May 2010)

Grown-up Mac and Cheese

Excellent!! Skipped the bacon and it was fine.

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27th April 2010

Herbed Polenta

Made for a dinner party and everyone loved it!

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25th November 2011

Homemade Gravy

An excellent basic gravy. Very good and very easy to make. I used the turkey drippings instead of the butter to cook the onions in and used turkey stock instead of chicken stock.

useful (1)  


This was very unusual for us but we all loved it. Next time I would add a lot more vegetables but it had good flavor and was easy to make.

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This was wonderful! The entire family loved it. The smell of the sauce bubbling on the stove while the pork tenderloin was grilling was divine!

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15th August 2010

Mushroom Risotto

Excellent risotto!! Worth every minute of preparation. I didn't want to pay the money for the 1 oz of dried Porcini's so I used a lb of shitake's. I also used vegetable stock as I didn't have enough chicken stock. We loved this!

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This was a hit - even with my picky high schooler!

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26th April 2010

Parmesan Popovers

I have made a lot of popovers but I couldn't make these. They never turned out.

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9th September 2011

Parmesan-Crusted Pork Chops

Made for a weeknight dinner for my (picky) son and I and we both loved them. Super easy and very yummy. I did find that the pork chops browned quickly (maybe the egg?) so I would cook on a lower temp next time. They also cooked for a lot longer than 6 mins per side.

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23rd November 2011

pecorino and bean salad

So easy to make and so delicious to eat - that is my kind of recipe. The warming of the garlic and rosemary is probably the key. The whole thing was easy from start to finish and then I could just set it aside while I finished the rest of our meal and serve it room temp.

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These were so easy to make and were delicious. I used Black Mission Figs (as specified) and Maytag Blue Cheese (the only hunk blue cheese I could find at the time). And they were great - I'm sure you could vary either of these and it wouldn't matter one bit.

Even those you are unused to eating fresh figs loved this. I will definitely be making it again!

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This was a WONDERFUL dessert that required an awful lot of work. I have to say that our crowd of 12 all enjoyed it so I would probably make it again but I would do it over a few days time (as I did this time). Make the pumpkin bread and pudding ahead of time. We also used melted frozen yogurt instead of the Creme Anglaise and I don't think anyone missed it.

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27th April 2010

Quinoa Mediterraneana

I have made this two times and really love it. Both times I made it I thought that there was too much quinoa for the other goodies. Next time I will reduce quinoa to 1 - 1 1/2 cups.

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3rd January 2012

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

A very easy recipe, yet very good.

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16th September 2010

Roasted Fingerling Potatoes

Great! Easy! Tasty! My go to recipe for fingerlings on a week night.

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Did not care for these at all. Neither did any of my 12 guests that I served them to. Would not make again.

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The whole family liked this. I would consider fresh apples instead of dried next time but I wonder if they would break down too much.

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26th April 2010

Spicy Italian Cornbread

Even though it is made with a Jiffy Corn Bread mix this was very good. I would make it again!

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I made this with 1 lb rotini instead of tortellini because I wanted it a little bit lighter. It would have been good with a few ounces of cheese as it was missing that a little. I added some parmesan shavings which helped it a lot. Very light summery dressing, Very good!

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22nd August 2011

Stuffed Baby Peppers

These were great! I made 1/2 of mine with pancetta and half without - both were good! I did not think that they were hard to stuff at all - I just used a grapefruit spoon.I took them to a friend's house for a dinner party and everyone loved them.

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26th April 2010

Thyme Popovers

Wonderful! Reheated nicely after being frozen.

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27th April 2010

Turkey Gravy

We have been on a quest for a few years to find a turkey gravy that will work. We did make this for Thanksgiving last year and it was very good!

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20th May 2010 (edited: 20th May 2010)

Tyler Florence's Macaroni and Cheese

Very cheesy and good. Both of my kids loved it and had seconds. I made it pretty much to recipe. I used skim milk as that is all we had and it was fine. I would definitely make this again. There is a lot of clean up though.

useful (1)