bhnyc's Reviews
218 recipes reviewed. Showing 1 to 50Sort by: Book Title | Date | Rating | Recipe Title 
The Silver Palate Cookbook
By Julee Rosso, Sheila Lukins, Michael McLaughlin
Workman Publishing Company - 1982
This is easy and delicious and makes large loaves. I doubled the recipe and made one loaf with walnuts and one nut-free.
The bread is better the next day, so try to resist it when it comes out of the oven!
useful (2)
Ad Hoc at Home
By Thomas Keller
Artisan - 2009
Yum! Yum! Yum! I chose this recipe because it is one of the easiest in the book. It took about two minutes to prepare and nine minutes to cook. Doesn't get easier than that and it tasted like a dish you would get in a restaurant.
useful (2)
This is another excellent recipe from this cookbook. I am not really sure what made this stand out for me since it uses many of the same ingredients as the other roast chicken recipes I use- like Ina Garten's, but this is just that much better. I loved that the chicken cooked over vegetables. I didn't find them to be too greasy and also thought they weren't fully cooked in the time specified so I had to remove the chicken and let them cook a little longer.
While this just might become my go-to roast chicken recipe from now on, I am not giving up on Ina just yet and will probably use the leftover roasted vegetables to make her Roasted Vegetable Soup.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/roasted-vegetable-soup-recipe2/index.html
useful (0)
Barefoot Contessa Family Style: Easy Ideas and Recipes That Make Everyone Feel Like Family
By Ina Garten
Clarkson Potter - 2002
This is really delicious but very rich. A little bit is all you need to warm up on a cold day. Next time, I might use more milk and less half and half but it really is good the way it is. I love the combination of milk and semi-sweet chocolate. Next time I will make the homemade marshmallows to go with it. It just seems wrong to use store-bought marshmallows in this!
useful (2)
Barefoot in Paris: Easy French Food You Can Make at Home
By Ina Garten
Clarkson Potter - 2004
This is easy enough to prepare- though it takes a bit of time to cook the onions and slice the other vegetables. It's a great way to use up summer veggies. It is impressive out of the oven- all of the beautiful colors! Other tians I have made have used eggplant instead of potatoes. I think I prefer that, but this is really delicious too.
useful (1)
The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook
By Ina Garten, Martha Stewart
Clarkson Potter - 1999
This is so easy since it gets shredded in the food processor. As with so many of Ina's recipes, it makes MUCH more than you plan for. It's nice served with fish and chicken.
useful (1)
Les Petits Macarons: Colorful French Confections to Make at Home
By Kathryn Gordon, Anne E. McBride
Running Press - 2011
Oh wow! This is delicious. I used it as the filling for the Cocoa Macarons. Beware- you will want to eat it by the spoonful.
useful (2)
Barefoot Contessa at Home: Everyday Recipes You'll Make Over and Over Again
By Ina Garten
Clarkson Potter - 2006
These are moist and chewy cookies. They are really good! I suggest doubling the recipe since it only makes 16-20 cookies and you'll probably want more. As Ina suggests, you can also freeze the dough and bake them later.
I'll be serving these with peach ice cream as an ice cream sandwich.
useful (2)
How to Cook Everything (Completely Revised 10th Anniversary Edition): 2,000 Simple Recipes for Great Food
By Mark Bittman
Wiley - 2008
I loved this soup! First you have to make the Dashi and then you add miso paste (I used white miso) to it. That's all it takes to make the broth. I couldn't believe how easy it is.
If you add in a lot of extras, this is a very hearty and healthy soup. I prepared shrimp and veggies ahead of time so everyone could pick and choose what they wanted to add to their soup: carrots, spinach, shiitakes, scallions. Everyone had udon noodles and a poached egg (this was my favorite part!).
So good and so healthy. While this was the first course of our meal, you could easily serve it just with edamame for lunch or a light dinner. I will definitely make this again!
useful (1)
The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook
By Ina Garten, Martha Stewart
Clarkson Potter - 1999
This is such a good meatloaf recipe. However, as with so many of Ina's recipes, the portion suggestions are out of control! Instead of making a 5 pound meatloaf, I start out by making half of the recipe. Then I make two loaves out of that. One I usually bake right away, the other I freeze uncooked. When I want it, I just defrost, add the ketchup glaze (I add in a little hot sauce) and bake.
update:
@sturlington- when I 'halved' the eggs, I actually used one large and one extra large egg. Sorry- I should have written that. My meatloaf was really moist with this substitution.
useful (5)
Food Network
(November, 2010)
This was a great way to use up leftovers from Thanksgiving. I was pretty excited to make this since I usually throw away the carcass and am not so into leftovers. I have to say, though, it took a lot more time to prep than the recipe indicates. In fact, I kept saying that it had better taste good because I felt like it was taking as much time to make this dish as it did to make the original meal. But- that said- it was really good and if you are trying to be economical then this would be the meal to cook. It makes a lot and is pretty inexpensive.
The only changes I made were adding garlic and whole peppercorns to the turkey stock. I even had some extra stock which I froze for future use. Here's the link:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/turkey-dumpling-stew-recipe/index.html
useful (1)
Barefoot Contessa How Easy Is That?: Fabulous Recipes & Easy Tips
By Ina Garten
Clarkson Potter - 2010
This is amazing! The photo doesn't do this justice and looks like it is showing just plain old popcorn. This isn't ordinary popcorn. What a way to elevate an ordinary snack.
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Peter Reinhart's Whole Grain Breads: New Techniques, Extraordinary Flavor
By Peter Reinhart
Ten Speed Press - 2007
There are so many whole grains in here that you feel good eating it! It's relatively easy to make and makes a nice sandwich.
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I am so glad that I read people's comments about the rise time of this on TheFreshLoaf.com. I did, indeed, find that it took soooo much longer to rise than the recipe indicated. Plan accordingly!
I could not effectively knead in all of the raisins by hand so I switched to the Kitchen Aid- I recommend doing so from the start.
All in all, it tasted good (very good?). It's better toasted than plain. Everyone else who ate it, including a 15-month-old and a 3-year-old, loved it more than me. Apparently, it makes a really good peanut butter sandwich!
useful (1)
Barefoot Contessa Family Style: Easy Ideas and Recipes That Make Everyone Feel Like Family
By Ina Garten
Clarkson Potter - 2002
I'm not sure why you would need a recipe for this- and didn't realize until today that this cookbook even had one. Anyway- I pretty much make this daily in the summer. It's amazing. This summer I became addicted to Kumato tomatoes (they are dark purple/black). I can't get enough of them! In a recipe this simple, it's really all about the quality of the ingredients.
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I love this recipe. It marinates overnight so all the work (there's not much to it) is done the day before. The orange juice is really nice with the lime juice and tequila. Simple and delicious. I served it with the Sagaponack Corn Pudding from the same cookbook.
useful (1)
The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook
By Ina Garten, Martha Stewart
Clarkson Potter - 1999
I'm not a fan of sun-dried tomatoes in anything BUT this dip. It is so good. Like with the onion dip, I serve it with vegetables so it isn't so rich.
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Ad Hoc at Home
By Thomas Keller
Artisan - 2009
Delicious! This gratin exceeded my expectations. The one criticism I have is that I found the directions for assembling it to be really confusing. It wasn't until after I realized that there was a photo on the previous page that I was able to put it together properly. It is important to make sure that the vegetables are sliced to the same thickness- I like them on the thinner side. I made this the day before I planned to serve it so it was a nice do-ahead dish. SO good and better than a ratatouille for using all of those summer vegetables.
useful (2)
Barefoot Contessa at Home: Everyday Recipes You'll Make Over and Over Again
By Ina Garten
Clarkson Potter - 2006
How I love this recipe! I love that it is easier than making a pie and I love that you can use any summer fruits that you like. I also love that the recipe makes two doughs- one that you can use right away and one that you can freeze for later use. I usually end up making the summer fruit crostata and then freezing the second dough for the apple crostata (BC Parties!) in the fall. Yum!
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I love this recipe and have made it a number of times. I don't know why, then, I always forget just how much this makes! So much more than the servings suggested. Luckily it freezes well.
The first few times I made this, I made it as directed- with uncooked white rice. Both times, the rice didn't cook all the way through despite cooking for over an hour. I made it again and substituted cooked barley. That was really good. This time I used cooked brown rice, which I liked, but not as much as the barley.
Almost every time I make this, I use half beef and half pork. I like that more than all beef.
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Peter Reinhart's Artisan Breads Every Day
By Peter Reinhart
Ten Speed Press - 2009
This is a great sandwich bread. It is pretty easy to make if you have all the grains on hand: oats, wheat bran, cooked brown rice. To this loaf I added some wheat germ as well. I made extra brown rice, portioned it and froze it in baggies so all I have to do next time is pull some out of the freezer. Having the cooked rice will save about an hour of prep time.
The dough was a little firmer than I had expected. It was a little thicker during the stretch and folds than some other types of bread. I don't know if I added more flour than is necessary but I don't think so. But I guess it doesn't matter because the end result is really good. The sesame and poppy seeds on top were a hit.
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Barefoot Contessa Parties! Ideas and Recipes for Easy Parties That Are Really Fun
By Ina Garten
Clarkson Potter - 2001
This is one of my favorite cakes and a Mother's Day tradition in my family. It is easy to make and I love that it makes two cakes at once so you can freeze one for later use.
While the recipe calls for a pint of strawberries and 1 cup of cream for the whipped cream, I actually double both. I haven't tried it with other berries or a combination of berries but I bet that would be delicious.
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Barefoot Contessa How Easy Is That?: Fabulous Recipes & Easy Tips
By Ina Garten
Clarkson Potter - 2010
These are really, really good and very easy to make. I didn't have Stilton on hand so I used Maytag Blue instead. I love how peppery they are and the cheese and walnuts are so nice together. These are fabulous with a glass of red wine.
When I went to rotate the pan halfway through baking, I am glad that I peeked at the underside of the crackers. I found it necessary to actually flip each cracker over to make sure they baked evenly. Keep an eye on these.
useful (1)
These were really good. My six-year-old niece proclaimed them the best turkey meatballs ever. We didn't find them too spicy- they were fine. You could definitely taste the sausage but I'm not sure the prosciutto was entirely necessary.
The recipe makes a lot- 30 meatballs. I cooked what I needed and froze the rest (uncooked) on a cookie sheet and then placed the frozen meatballs in a Ziploc bag. They'll make an easy dinner another night.
I did not use store bought tomato sauce. I made the sauce that Ina uses for her Real Meatballs and Spaghetti from Barefoot Contessa Family Style.
useful (1)
Everyday Food
(Mar/Apr, 2003)
I searched this site looking for a turkey meatball recipe and made this based on the other review. It did not disappoint. In fact, these are the best turkey meatballs I have ever had- maybe even the best meatballs period- and they were prepared and cooked in no time. (I had homemade sauce on hand already.) I do not own this magazine but the recipe is available at marthastewart.com
I usually hate when reviewers say they made the recipe but changed all of these different things...but...I actually did just that. I sauteed the onions (with some minced garlic) in some olive oil first because I wasn't sure they would completely cook in the turkey in just eight minutes. I also used panko instead of fresh breadcrumbs.
The meatballs are light and flavorful. You can really taste the onions, cheese and parsley. I did as the other reviewer suggested and froze uncooked meatballs for future use. Great idea.
useful (0)
Everyday Italian: 125 Simple and Delicious Recipes
By Giada De Laurentiis
Clarkson Potter - 2005
This is a very nice, classic clam sauce. It took no time at all. The sauce is done in the time it takes to boil the pasta. I thought it needed red pepper flakes and was glad that I added them. Delicious and easy.
useful (1)
Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics: Fabulous Flavor from Simple Ingredients
By Ina Garten
Clarkson Potter - 2008
Yum! These are quick to make and are really delicious. I loved the remoulade but don't think it is necessary to spread it on both sides of the roll. I think it overpowered the crab. I also loved the pecan coating on the crabs but think it might be wasted in the sandwich. I would definitely make the crabs again with the coating and serve them without rolls.
I recommend serving this with the matchstick potatoes from Barefoot in Paris.
I see why the cookbook doesn't have a photo of this recipe. While it tastes good- it doesn't photograph so well!
useful (3)
Peter Reinhart's Artisan Breads Every Day
By Peter Reinhart
Ten Speed Press - 2009
This is a super easy dough to make and it smells so good. I divided it up and at one time made twelve butterflake rolls and nine knotted rolls. The rest of the dough is still in the refrigerator while I decide what to do with it.
I liked the technique used to make the butterflake rolls- rolling out the dough, stacking the pieces, cutting them and placing them on their side in the cupcake tin. The rolls look really pretty and taste extra buttery. However, I found them a little dense.
Even though the dough is the same, I actually preferred the taste and texture of the knotted rolls. They came out much lighter and fluffier than the butterflake rolls. I thought these look great too. It was necessary to let the rolled out strands rest for quite a while before they could roll out to ten inches.
useful (0)
These are REALLY good! The dough was easy to portion and made about 17 2-ounce pretzels. I found that I had to let the dough rest for quite a bit while rolling it out in order to get the 17 inch strands that the book suggests. I rolled out some, let them rest, started others and then went back to the first ones. I am glad I did. The strands that were longer and thinner made pretzels that had better-defined holes in them. Otherwise, they baked up into a mass with no holes. They still tasted good but didn't have the thinner pretzel look which I like.
useful (1)
This is delicious! Everyone loved it. My six-year-old niece said it was, "The best bread in the whole world." The house smells so good while it is cooking. I used chives and a combination of cheddar, asiago and a little parmesan. I made one batard and one Kranz style in a loaf pan.
Easy to make, everyone should try it!
useful (0)
Ad Hoc at Home
By Thomas Keller
Artisan - 2009
The soffritto is used in the Peperonata Rustica. I must not have read the recipe carefully because I missed the fact that between prepping and cooking this takes more than five hours to make. I halved the recipe so I would have only enough for the Peperonata Rustica. After spending so long cooking this, I wish I had at least made the whole thing so there would be more for something else! This can be stored for up to a week. It tastes delicious on its own- almost like caponata. I am planning on making the PR in a few days and this better really add to the flavor of it given how long it takes to make! (As I mentioned in a different post, if you don't have a diffuser, place the saucepan on a skillet and you should be fine.) I loved the trick of grating the plum tomatoes on a box grater. All you are left with is the skin. Very clever!
useful (0)
Barefoot Contessa How Easy Is That?: Fabulous Recipes & Easy Tips
By Ina Garten
Clarkson Potter - 2010
These are very, very good. While I was slicing each and every pea in half lengthwise, I kept thinking, "No, this really isn't easy, and it's taking forever." However, the dish looks stunning because of this detail. It's a hit with guests. I love that it can be served at room temperature so it's easy to make ahead.
useful (1)
Ad Hoc at Home
By Thomas Keller
Artisan - 2009
Delicious! These potatoes took no time at all. The longest part of the recipe was making the garlic confit but that was easy to do. These were fabulous with the pan-roasted halibut.
useful (1)
Barefoot in Paris: Easy French Food You Can Make at Home
By Ina Garten
Clarkson Potter - 2004
Delicious! Simple and easy to make. Dinner is done in minutes.
useful (1)
Ad Hoc at Home
By Thomas Keller
Artisan - 2009
These are very good and super easy to make. I followed the advice of the other reviewers and didn't use the entire amount of salt called for. However, mine actually weren't salted enough.
We decided to have this as a main course so I made a stock out of the shrimp shells (and thyme, bay leaf and peppercorns) and used that to cook rice in. We had asparagus with it too. Easy weeknight meal!
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Flavorful, simple and delicious. This was a really easy weekday meal. It took minutes to prep and to cook. It was especially good with the summer vegetable gratin- the tomatoes in the gratin were really delicious with the chicken. I could make and eat this every night.
useful (1)
Everyday Italian: 125 Simple and Delicious Recipes
By Giada De Laurentiis
Clarkson Potter - 2005
This is one of my favorite ways to serve (and eat!) broccoli rabe. It's easy to make and tastes delicious.
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Ad Hoc at Home
By Thomas Keller
Artisan - 2009
This is delicious. Instead of broccoli rabe I used broccolette. It was quick and easy to make.
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The Zuni Cafe Cookbook: A Compendium of Recipes and Cooking Lessons from San Francisco's Beloved Restaurant
By Judy Rodgers, Gerald Asher
W.W. Norton & Co. - 2002
This was nice on oysters. I liked that it is made with champagne vinegar instead of red wine vinegar. Maybe my oysters weren't so briny, but I felt like the sauce could have used a little salt.
useful (1)
How to Cook Everything (Completely Revised 10th Anniversary Edition): 2,000 Simple Recipes for Great Food
By Mark Bittman
Wiley - 2008
It's hard for me to rate this one because I had to make it twice in order for it to come out right. Of the five ways to make this, I chose the oatmeal honey wheat bread.
Following the recipe exactly didn't work! It calls for using a food processor and doesn't say to proof the yeast. Other bakers on line commented that it took a while to rise. I knew my yeast was fine because I had used it the day before and making this time allowance, it never rose. I decided to bake it anyway and got a brick. Very disappointing. I needed to figure out why this didn't work.
I tried it again but in a mixer instead of a processor and proofed the yeast first. These two things did the trick. I got a really nice loaf of well-risen bread that made a great sandwich.
So- the taste and consistency of this bread are fine if you follow my directions and not the ones in the book!
useful (3)
Peter Reinhart's Artisan Breads Every Day
By Peter Reinhart
Ten Speed Press - 2009
Like the other reviewers, I made this using the starter I created following Reinhart's directions. I made this sourdough bread twice.
The first time, I should have added more flour to the dough because in hindsight it was too wet and didn't keep its shape after I took it out of the mold. The second time I made it, I really made sure that the dough was not too sticky, which meant that I had to keep adding a little flour at a time as I mixed it by hand. It took quite a bit more flour to get to the right texture. This time the bread came out of the brotform and really kept its shape.
I made both the purist version and the version with the added yeast. Both tasted great but I preferred the rise on the one with yeast.
useful (0)
Everyday Italian: 125 Simple and Delicious Recipes
By Giada De Laurentiis
Clarkson Potter - 2005
This is a very good version of Amatriciana. I prefer it with guanciale, but used pancetta as instructed. I also prefer serving it with pericatelli or bucatini. Pasta is best when it is coated in a thin layer of sauce before serving. Too much sauce overpowers it. Add lots of fresh pepper and extra pecorino.
useful (1)
Barefoot Contessa Family Style: Easy Ideas and Recipes That Make Everyone Feel Like Family
By Ina Garten
Clarkson Potter - 2002
Oh, this is really good! Creamy and delicious. I love it with the Tequila Lime Chicken since the acid in that balances the creaminess of the pudding.
useful (2)
Ad Hoc at Home
By Thomas Keller
Artisan - 2009
I used this for the Catalan Stew. Since only potatoes were cooked in it, I didn't see the need to use cheesecloth. When I drained the potatoes I just discarded the herbs. The potatoes had only a very mild flavor from this. Given how highly seasoned the Catalan Stew is, I am not so sure that this step is really necessary for imparting additional flavor to that particular dish.
useful (1)
Barefoot Contessa Parties! Ideas and Recipes for Easy Parties That Are Really Fun
By Ina Garten
Clarkson Potter - 2001
These are delicious and easy to make. I doubled the recipe and made half as instructed- with raisins and walnuts. The other batch I made using toasted pecans and dried cranberries. I put the cinnamon sugar mixture on the raisin batch and wish I had used it on the cranberry cookies too. Either way, though, they were really good!
useful (2)
How to Bake: Complete Guide to Perfect Cakes, Cookies, Pies, Tarts, Breads, Pizzas, Muffins,
By Nick Malgieri
William Morrow Cookbooks - 1995
I chose to make this a day ahead and retard the dough in the refrigerator overnight. This is a very easy dough to work with and rises beautifully. I would recommend baking this to less than the recommended 210 degrees. I used a thermometer and removed the bread at 200 degrees and it was too overcooked- very dry and disappointing after putting all the effort into making it. Reinhart's challah recipe (which I baked the next day and is much better) calls for an internal temp of 190 degrees. This produced a perfectly baked loaf. I suggest that recipe over this one.
useful (1)
The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook
By Ina Garten, Martha Stewart
Clarkson Potter - 1999
This is good and simple. I agree with the other reviewer that it makes a lot of soup. I froze it and it was fine.
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The King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion: The All-Purpose Baking Cookbook
By King Arthur Flour
Countryman Press - 2003
I think I've become a bread snob now that most of what I bake is from Peter Reinhart's books, so this seemed a little simple to me. It uses all-purpose flour instead of bread flour and it can be made in one day as opposed to a long retardation. Because of these factors, the flavor is not as developed as a Reinhart bread is.
I actually bought the sourdough starter from King Arthur because mine died. It didn't have much of a sour taste but was good anyway- maybe it is too new. I divided the dough in half and made one boule as instructed. The other half I used to make the fougasse. Both were good.
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How to Bake: Complete Guide to Perfect Cakes, Cookies, Pies, Tarts, Breads, Pizzas, Muffins,
By Nick Malgieri
William Morrow Cookbooks - 1995
This is a nice and easy focaccia to make when you decide you want it the same day. If you want one with more flavor, use Peter Reinhart's recipe in Artisan Bread Every Day.
I made half of it plain (with sea salt) and half with rosemary. Both were good. I suggest you use MUCH more olive oil than the recipe calls for. In fact, I took a baking class with Nick Malgieri years ago and we made this. He definitely used more than is indicated in this recipe (a shocking amount, actually) and it really does make a difference.
useful (0)
Barefoot in Paris: Easy French Food You Can Make at Home
By Ina Garten
Clarkson Potter - 2004
These are like crack. Beware.
Though the recipe says to serve this warm, I think it's better at room temperature the day after it's made. Be warned...once you start eating them, you won't be able to stop.
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