Peckish Sister's Profile

From: Central, FL USA

Joined: December 11th, 2010

About me: I have always liked to cook, particularly breads, fruits, vegetables, vegetarian, poultry and lamb dishes. After marriage we cooked together progressively more difficult dishes with him doing the meat, grilling and frying, and I did the "dough" and the same type of things I had before. After children we started cooking more simply. After discovering the cause of my frequent migraines was an evolving long list of chemicals and odd ingredients, I began getting back to cooking from basic ingredients, and found I could be well again. I also try to cooking from what I can get in season at the ever present fruit and vegetable stands.

Favorite cookbook: America's Test Kitchen / Cooks Illustrated Books


Latest review:

May 20th, 2020

Manchester Stew from Skinny Instant Pot & Slow Cooker Cookbook

I switched up the vegetables and canned beans to reflect what I had on hand. It was my very first use of the Insta pot and I was skeptical of the 3 minute cooking time since I had increased the amounts... read more >


recipe reviews (465)
book reviews (18)
useful review votes (420)

Peckish Sister's Reviews


Search Reviews:

8 recipe(s) reviewed. Showing 1 to 8Sort by: Title | Date | Rating

Rick Bayless's Mexican Kitchen: Capturing the Vibrant flavors of a World-Class Cuisine

By Rick Bayless
Scribner - 1996

These were outstanding and quick to make. I used two pickeled Jalapenos. I liked that the dressing was vinegar only, no oil. These had everything we like - the corn tortillas, black beans, onion, bacon, cheese, fresh lettuce and tomato. I finished cooking just as we had to run out the door somewhere, so we just put the food on plastic dishes and took them with us.

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I liked that the tomates were drained, not seeded. I also used the griddle method to char the tomatoes and chiles which seemed to take longer that the broiler method. I also used the food processor to grind everything up. This salsa was OK, but our favorite is still the one from the New Moosewood Cookbook.

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29th May 2012

Frontera Grill's Choclate Pecan Pie : page 404

I think it is dangerous to try and improve upon the pecan pie, but this is definitely the way to start! I had no trouble until I thought the pie was browning too fast and covered it with aluminum foil. Part of the topping stuck and it did not turn out so pretty. I like this way of adding chocolate in pieces instead of turning the whole pie chocolate. I also like that it was not too sweet.

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26th May 2012

Great Big Tamal Roll with Chard : page 306

Just Chard, masa, vegetable shortening, baking powder, chicken broth and salsa. I was skeptical, but also delighted to find another use for Swiss chard. I picked up Crisco to use instead of the lard option. Everything went according to the directions. I used the big steamer I have for steaming. My only trouble came when I would check it and it did not unroll nicely, so I would tie it back up and steam longer. I finally just gave up and served it, scrapping it off of the towel and served it. That is why you won't see a picture. I think my two mistakes were: 1 - I probably added extra Swiss chard and so it took longer to cook, and 2 - I used a linen towel instead of cotton and it might have been too bulky. But the flavor was delicious and with his roasted tomato jalapeno, really outstanding flavor.

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29th May 2012

Picadillo-Stuffed Japenos : page 104

A great use of a surplus of Jalapenos from our CSA. With leftover chicken it the refrigerator, it was easy to whip up. The batter was quite unusual, but with freezing the stuffed jalapenos and the thick batter, none of them lost their filling in the frying process. They were enjoyed. For those who like things low fat, I wished I had noticed earlier that if you add vinegar to the boiling liquid in preparing the jalapenos, you don't have to fry them that also saves a lot of time.

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You have to try these if you even considered doing them at all. But before you buy your plantains, read the directions! In the past I have cooked with ripe plantains and many times they weren't ripe enough, so I know to go with the ones that are black and look rotten. No so here, they should be yellow with some black. So luckily I had two like that and chose for the third one, the most firm. I also miscalculated on time, as there is a 45 minute plantain roasting stem, then they have to completely cooled. Pureeing them in the food processor also did not go smoothly as the plantains had become somewhat dried during roasting, but after I added the flour to the food processor, it made the most wonderful smooth dough that was so easy to work with. I had cut the half of the cheese wheel into four wedges, then each wedge into three slices. I did not bother with forming them into the right-sized shape, but crumbled them just before putting them on the dough, and it was easy to put the crumbles into the right shape. I don't have a tortilla press, so just rolled the dough into a rough circle. My husband and older son did a great job of frying, but they did come out a little dark with the riper plantain. However, this is why they were so excellent and sweet. By the time they were done, it was long after dinner time, but they were very popular. I like them with just a little salt and no one bothered with salsa, they were so good plain. The cheese was so much a part of the empanada; you had to look at what you were eating to know it was there. Mine were not much to look at, but for flavor - amazing!

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29th May 2012

Spicy Plantain Pie : page 415

This was very straight forward to make. The pie crust scrank down during the prebaking, so I poured some of the filling into custard cups instead of over flowing the pie crust. I love this pie, I think it beats pumpkin pie. But I agree that you have to eat it up right away. The spices were just perfect, and it was the first time I ground up my allspice instead of using preground.

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26th May 2012

Yucatecan-style Fresh Coconut Pie : page 402

While boiling down the coconut milk, sugar and cream to make the substitute for sweetened condensed milk and taking the box grater challenge (instead of the food processor on the coconut), I did wish for an alternate recipe with the sweetened condensed milk. However, this pies tastes so much like fresh coconut, not at all like the other desserts I have made with dried coconut. It was really worth all that preparation time. The crust of ground toasted almonds, sugar, butter and white bread was crispy and delicious. I love the addition of just enough almonds in the filling to add visual and textural interest. I did not bother with the cream topping, but it was gratifying to see how quickly the pie disappeared, and it was also great to use my removable bottom 9" tart pan.

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