Peckish Sister's Reviews
465 recipes reviewed. Showing 101 to 150Sort by: Book Title 
| Date | Rating | Recipe Title
The Complete America's Test Kitchen TV Show Cookbook
By Editors at America's Test Kitchen
Cook's Illustrated - 2009
These are based on a blonde brownie recipe that contains a substantial amount of butter and brown sugar. To make Congo bars you add carefully toasted unsweetened coconut shreds to chopped pecans, chocolate and white chocolate chips. My son says they are now his favorite cookie.
useful (0)
Using red, yellow and orange peppers makes these stuffed peppers a dish even skeptics really like. I made a triple batch, one regular with no changes, one vegan substituting chopped Portobello mushrooms for the ground chuck, and one batch Paleo using vegan cheese. Allow several hours for prep or have help, worth the effort. I found 4 peppers stayed upright nicely in my large circular, deep pyrex casserole dishes.
useful (0)
Cooking Light
(December, 2010)
This was a delicous dish with a creamy sauce contrasting with the savory-crunchy topping. I doubled this recipe to serve four as a main course, baking it in an 9 X 13" baking dish and adding an extra 10 minutes of baking time. I also substituted a 15 oz can of fresh cut tomatoes for the fresh.
useful (0)
This is a very easy to throw together recipe, but it does take some advance planning as may not be likely to have a bag of frozen gumbo vegetables or a can of crab around. The crab flavor was present, but not strong, and there was some spice, but the overall flavors blended well and were balanced. The picture shows red broth and you think there will be tomatoes in it, but it turns out a lighter color. I recommend it for a nice gumbo without meat.
useful (0)
Cooking Light
(Jan/Feb, 2011)
Very few ingredients, the scallions, goat cheese and crispy bacon made a very delicious filling and it cooked very quickly. This would be a nice dish for company as you could stuff the chicken ahead and cook it rapidly as it finishes in the oven after sauteing. My family would love to have it again.
useful (1)
This chicken breast recipe with a sauce full of mushrooms is great for in the middle of the week. I used a package of sliced mushrooms which really reduced the work. Another ingredient you will need that you may not have on hand is shallots. By a lucky accident I had thawed one package of boneless thighs and one boneless breast meat. After my initial shock wore off, I cooked them both up and the light and dark chicken meat enthusiasts were both quite satisfied and have requested this again.
useful (0)
Cooking with Garlic
By Louis Weber
Publication International, Ltd. - 2005
The flavor of this slow cooker recipe was amazing and we loved the departure from the usual barbeque for shredded meat around here. The size of the beef chunks weren’t specified. My son cut them into 1” chunks and did not trim the fat. This may be why there was so much liquid at the end. The smaller pieces made it difficult to shred, we recommend cutting the beef into the size of beef shreds you would like to have at the end. You may not have everything on hand for this. I had the mustard seeds, but had to pick up the sliced dill pickles. I couldn’t find the 6 oz jar specified, so weighed out the 6 oz to make it easier for my son to put it together in the morning. Our can of chopped tomatoes did not have Italian seasoning, so we added 1 ½ tsp of dried Italian herbs. We served this as recommended on rolls with lettuce, sliced tomatoes and onions and look forward to making it again.
useful (2)
Cook's Country Best Lost Suppers
By Editors of Cook's Country Magazine
Cook's Illustrated - 2009
There was a lot of simmering, but the bright orange juice sauce was worth it. This was a nice variation on pork chops. Noodles would be a nice side dish to help with all that sauce, and greens gave a great color contrast as well. Perhaps it would be best to cook this in the winter. Everthing in the recipe worked well.
useful (3)
Comfort food with porkchops topping cheesy scalloped potatoes and vegetables. Definately a one pot meal. I should have used my mandolin to cut the potatoes. The scalloped vegetables looked perfect until I put the pork chops on top. Dripping meat juices made the potatoes watery. Be sure to cook your pork chops enough before you put them on top, I think I rushed it a little, and you can avoid this pitfall.
useful (1)
Cook's Country Best Potluck Recipes
By Editors at Cook's Country Magazine
America's Test Kitchen - 2010
Delicious carrot cake in a cupcake form. It is not greasy, as oil is replaced with butter. I finely grated the carrots on my box grater as recommended, instead of taking the food processor option and the bright orange color evenly distributed was the reward. I am glad that I went to Whole Foods for currants (my local grocery stores do not stock them) and also used the roasted chopped walnut option. The creamy cream cheese frosting whipped up easily. The only downside is that this recipe makes it way too easy to have perfect carrot cake. As they suggested storing the frosting and cupcakes separately, I have served this as a frost-it-yourself cupcake and everyone had fun with that. This is my new favorite carrot cake recipe; I will not go back to those greasy oil-based recipes!
useful (2)
This crunchy cucumber salad has a surprising bite of vinegar and just the right amount of dill. The beautiful juxtaposition of the red onion, pale cucumber, bright green flecks of fresh dill in a white creamy sour cream base is very refreshing. This recipe solves the problem of running or salty cucumber salads. The salted pressed cucumbers exude an amazing amount of liquid and I was delighted not to have to rinse off the cucumbers. I doubled this recipe by doing the mandolin slicing, salting and pressing twice. It made a large bowlful. Since I was making the salad the day before and you were supposed to serve it within 8 hours of making it, I held the pressed cucumbers overnight. In the morning I drained again and then added the dressing and chilled for 5 hours. It tasted very fresh.
useful (1)
Deep chocolate flavor in a very moist cake. It whips up very quickly similar to a brownie and bakes in a short period of time. The roasted pecans lying on top of the icing make it as pretty as it is delicious. The directions worked perfectly and it was very popular, disappearing quickly.
useful (1)
This is an amazing main dish salad for summer. I doubled this recipe and it make the perfect amount for a crowd. It is beautiful as well as tasty with fresh corn (sauteed in olive oil), scallions, avocados, tomatoes, and black beans with just the right amount of heat from the spices. I hope to make it again soon.
useful (0)
The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook: 2,000 Recipes from 20 Years of America's Most Trusted Cooking Magazine
By Editors at Cook's Illustrated Magazine
Cook's Illustrated - 2011
The base recipe is the the Blondie (brownie) recipe with lots of brown sugar, toasted pecans (for which I substituted walnuts), chocolate and white chocolate chips. To make it a Congo bar, you add carefully toasted coconut. My son in college has declared this his most favorite cookie (to receive in a care package). This recipe makes a 9 X 13" pan of these very rich thick cookies.
useful (2)
The batter of this bread was very beautiful with the contrast of the grated zucchini and the dried cranberries. However after baking it became very dark and harder to see. I used the toasted pecans and the larger sized loaf pan (they did not recommend). I am not sure the batter would have fit in a smaller pan. I used the yogurt option over the milk but it still did not help with the Florida factor and I had to bake it 20 minutes more (instead of 5 minutes less). Very good flavor, texture and the fruit and nuts remained in suspension. A nice use of a pound of zucchini.
useful (2)
This family favorite is the only way I have been able to eat eggplant, perhaps because it it salted, any excess moisture squeezed out and then roasted at a high temperature. If I am in a real hurry I use canned tomatoes and dried herbs. Last night I made it using fresh herbs and fresh tomatoes. We also love it because it does not come out soupy. It is well worth the time for all of the washing, chopping, sauteing and roasting. A great way to eat a lot of vegetables!
useful (0)
Parsley, olive oil, pecans and garlic. I enjoyed toasting the garlic on top of my new gas range until it was brown and soft. Be careful as two of the cloves burst open with a splatter. Don't be over generous with the parsley and pecans as I was, as the amounts listed keep those ingredients from over powering. It was too bitter, but with a small amount of fresh lemon juice tasted rich and balanced. I used it to flavor the cooked acorn squash halves before adding other components. The rest of the parsley pesto we will have over angel hair and gluten-free ramen noodle pastas. Making this pesto was a fun way to help use up a surprise ingredient of parsley in our Fruit/Vegetable box, and also give a different flavor to winter squash.
useful (0)
Website: cooks.com
www.cooks.com/rec/doc/0,1745,159186-246195,00.html
My kids beg for this for holidays. The canned green beans and cream of mushroom soup are too much soup and too little vegetable. With the fried onions on top, it can't be that healthy. I have found a recipe to replace this one and do not intend to make it again.
useful (1)
Website: cooks.com
www.cooks.com/rec/doc/0,1745,159186-246195,00.html
This is my favorite tasting brownie recipe. As much as I love trying new brownie recipes, I always come back to this one. I do not think the 1 cup of nuts is optional and walnuts make the best brownies. I always try to keep an 8 square package of unsweetened chocolate around as I can get up early in the morning if needed and make a pan of brownies to go to any function in a hurry if needed. These are fine plain, but to make them extra special, I make marshmallow brownies as my Mom did for neighborhood functions. Take out the brownies when they are almost done and cover with marshmallows. You can cut big marshmallows in half with greased scissors, but it is easier to just sprinkle on mini-marshmallows. Return to the oven until just starting to melt together. Cool and then cover with chocolate frosting. I use a batch of Baker's One Bowl Frosting with the remaining 4 squares of unsweetened chocolate. You will want to carefully cut these into reasonably-sized squares, otherwise people will want to take huge pieces and they are so rich they will not be able to eat it all. At one potluck I repeated saw the spouse helping finish uneaten portions. This time that I made them for my boys, I did not move fast enough to take a picture before they all disappeared, maybe next time!
useful (1)
Website: cooks.com
www.cooks.com/rec/doc/0,1745,159186-246195,00.html
A great monkey bread recipe that nicely fills a Bundt pan. I substituted light brown sugar for the white sugar mixed with cinnamon to roll the dough balls in. The amount of melted butter to use was not specified, but I used about 6 TBLS to dip the dough balls in, but found I used less butter if I had the small butter pan on an angle and could just dip part of the dough and then roll the ball around the higher pan surface to spread the butter. Instead of mixing the pecans into the sugar mixture, I sprinkled them in the bottom of the pan and between layers of the dough balls. It baked up perfectly and was a very sticky and rich monkey bread.
useful (1)
Website: cooks.com
www.cooks.com/rec/doc/0,1745,159186-246195,00.html
I liked this version of the recipe as it allayed by fears as to what type of peanut butter to use. I loved that there was no butter to soften, nothing to separate or chop, etc. I had too soft a batter to roll into balls, so just dropped it. I was able to use a fork and sugar to make that important peanut butter cookie cross hatch pattern on top. They turned out better looking than I thought. I missed the taste of the flour. But I was able to give them to 3 different gluten intolerant people in addition to my son who said he was eating them like potato chips. A great recipe to have in the repertoire.
useful (0)
Couscous and Other Good Food from Morocco
By Paula Wolfert
William Morrow Cookbooks - 1987
I was most interesting in learning the proper way of preparing couscous. So instead of investing in a tagine, I bought a largish pot with a top steamer for vegetables. This recipe is a lot of cooking of different components. Don’t try this without assistance! I cooked for hours and felt that the vegetables were cooked more than we would have liked, although the lamb was divine. The onion-raisin mixture was not too popular and there was lots of it leftover. I had as much or more steam leakage with the foil collar as without (the second time I tried steaming couscous). Don’t stick your finger in the couscous to see if it is really cooking – it was every time I checked and my finger did not appreciate it. I really did not feel that this was worth the effort, but I am going to try some of the other couscous recipes.
useful (2)
This simple bread was great with soup. I do not care for anise, but love seeds in bread and was delighted by the fragrance and extra flavor that the aniseeds gave to this bread. I cut the second loaf into slices and it was great toasted. This bread dried out incredibly fast and if you do not eat it immediately, cut into pieces and freeze so you have easy access to it and every piece tastes fresh.
useful (1)
This soup was so savory and satisfying. I usually am a "the wooden spoon has to stand up thick soup girl", but this thin soup was irresistable. I was surprised to find a chicken back at the store, and the way that package and the two small packages of lamb worked out, I had more lamb and less chicken than directed. I also made my life easier with a two pound can of very good tomatoes. I was not sure what "fine soup noodles" were, so I broke long angel hair pasta into pieces. The lentils added just the right amount of heartiness. You miust try this!
useful (1)
I wanted to cook this recipe as is listed as one of her favorites. I halved the recipe and used only one chicken (her chickens are about 3 pounds, mine about 5 lb). This was my first experience cooking with preserved lemon (purchased). (These lemons are really small, so if you make your own from commercial standard-sized lemons, you may want to use ¼ of a lemon for each lemon in the recipe.) After the chicken is cooked and very tender, beaten eggs mixed with chopped preserved lemon and olives are poured over the top and baked. She has you scrub the chicken with a garlic salt paste which is a bit of a laborious procedure. The taste of the olive-preserved lemon cooked eggs served with the chicken may well be an acquired taste. I thought this was an interesting dish and I am glad that I tried it, but feel no need to make it again.
useful (1)
This was a refreshing simple salad. I was worried about my carrots being a little old, but they tasted great in the salad. The strong taste of the cinnamon and other ingredients probably helped. This was my first experience with orange water and it did add another dimension without overpowering. I agree with the other reviewers that this salad is not meant to stand on its own, but is best teamed with a rich or spicy dish.
useful (1)
I made this delightfully savory tagine with beef stew meat. I used one head of cauliflower and did not weigh the cauliflowerets, so I made have been a little short there. I did the final baking step in individual casseroles as everyone ate at different times and that turned out brilliantly. I agree with Wester that without fat or some of the gravy on top the cauliflower can’t brown very well. I will make this again.
useful (2)
I used the ground lamb option for these relatively quick and delicious meatballs in a savory sauce. However the contrast between these hard meatballs and the oh-so tender Ukrainian horseradish stuffed pork-beef meatballs I had cooked a month or so earlier was startling. Like Wester, I did not bother to regrind the already finely ground lamb I used. This was one of the most straight forward main dish recipes of Ms Wolfert that I have cooked.
useful (2)
Craig Claiborne's New New York Times Cookbook
By Pierre Franey, Craig Claiborne
Crown - 1979
This turned out to be rather typical fatty short ribs on a bed of chopped vegetables. Substituted Vodka and added extra caraway for the Aquavit. These were OK, but did not develop deep carmalized flavors. I prefer the America’s test kitchen recipe.
useful (1)
Crockery Cookbook (Better Homes & Gardens)
By Better Homes and Gardens Books
Better Homes and Gardens - 1994
I love making this in bulk when I need to cook vegetarian for a crowd. I make two double recipes in each of my two 5 quart crackpots. I double everything except for the frozen corn where I use a pound bag instead of 2 10 ounce packages. This makes the crackpots very full and I do no use all of the liquid. You can bring vegetable broth with you and scoop out enough of the soup so that you can thin the remainder to taste when serving. I also always use black beans instead of red beans. If I don’t have fresh mushrooms on hand, I substitute dried mushrooms. I also like to freeze single sized servings so if I need something for lunch, I can always grab one of these. It is very filling with multicolored flavors and textures. I prefer it with everything chopped small.
useful (1)
Crockery Cookbook/over 120 Delicious Recipes for Your Crock-Pot Slow Cooker (Sunset Cookery Books)
By Sunset Books
Sunset Publishing Corporation - 1992
Good, but following the cooking time made the chicken overcooked. Very interesting tomato based flavor with ham, golden raisins, port, brandy and lots of garlic!
useful (0)
I used slightly larger amounts than listed on the recipe to go with the package sizes of what I purchased. I don't do well with sulfites in wine and cherries were in season so instead used cherry juice of the wine and cherries for the grapes. I also substituted coconut creamer for the cream, marjoram for tarragon and it turned out well.
useful (0)
Culinary Expressions
By Normand J. Leclair
Normand Pub - 2002
A fresh tasting, creamy goat cheese and grated apple mixture was good on top of perfectly cooked chicken breast. It is one of many versions of breaded chicken breasts topped with a mixture of ingredients, then a slice of cheese and baked in this cookbook.
useful (2)
Barebequed chicken breast with the addition of crunchy sweet onions was a step up from the standard chicken breast with barbeque sauce poured on. It is one of many versions of breaded chicken breasts topped with a mixture of ingredients, then a slice of cheese and baked in this cookbook.
useful (1)
This sounded strange, but was really delicious combining some of our favorite ingredients of Mango, mustard, cheese and chicken! I substituted pineapple jam for the apricot and thought it went with the pineapple juice and mango very well. It is one of many versions of breaded chicken breasts topped with a mixture of ingredients, then a slice of cheese and baked in this cookbook.
useful (1)
This is another nice quick and simple and very flavorful chicken breast recipe. It is based on (Major Grey’s) mango chutney mixed with curry powder. With this recipe I realized that the coating was their special mixture of breadcrumbs, spice and cornmeal, not just breadcrumbs. Sliced almonds added a nice crunch and it was indeed ready in 20 minutes.
useful (2)
This is a flavorful baked salmon dish with a horseradish thyme bread crumb topping and the orange vodka sauce with scallions. It has a nice color as the recipe instructions indicate. It was a very interesting combination of ingredients that worked well together.
useful (1)
This was a nice change from our usual roasted asparagus with olive oil, salt and lemon juice. In addition to olive oil, soy sauce, vinegar and sesame oil, sesame seeds are used, but no additional salt. I used the black sesame seeds acquired for cooking with the Barefoot Contessa challenge. They looked lovely in contrast to the asparagus. The tips of the asparagus soaked up a lot of the marinade and tasted very good. But if you stir the asparagus during cooking, you will have to scrape the sesame seeds out that end up at the bottom of the pan. He says to use a casserole dish, but I had better luck with a glass baking pan. I thought that this would clash with the fish we served it with that was not cooked with an Asian recipe, but they both tasted great in and of themselves.
useful (1)
My chicken breasts were too large and so there was not enough space in the pan for the chicken-broth based liquid to go around the chicken and as a consequence the bread crumbs on the chicken became very soft. But it did fill the hunger I had to cook with pears and a small slice of pear with a raisin and the chicken was good. I used Bartlett pears instead of the Bosc and they held up just fine.
useful (1)
I am usually turned off by mayonnaise, but the best fish I ever ate as a child I remember as Mahi Mahi with just mayonnaise on top broiled. So I thought I would give this mayonnaise-based recipe a try. I followed the recipe exactly except my mustard may not have been as whole grained as intended. I used fresh dill from the garden and fresh lime juice. The salom was baked with this mixture on top. The topping was creamy and a pretty yellowish with flecks of dill and tasted good.
useful (2)
This baked salmon dish was topped with a mixture of scallions, curry powder, crumbs mayonnaise, sour cream, etc. The topping turned out a very yellowy orange color and tasted rather buttery and delicious with the salmon. I risked putting in double the curry powder and it was a good call, the flavor came through without being overpowering.
useful (2)
The crunchy almonds and strong cheese flavor made the topping interesting. Fresh ranch dressing for the marinade may have made this dish taste better. It was very filling and as you pound the chicken breasts, ½ of a chicken breast makes a nice portion size. This was interesting and fairly easy to make and eat, but I don’t usually stock Asiago cheese and probably won’t make this again.
useful (0)
Another flavorful quick chicken breast recipe. The crispy breaded chicken chicken breast is covered with a cream of chicken soup-based sauce. The only lemon flavor is from the lemon peel and a small amount of lemon juice; I would have liked a stronger lemon flavor. It was quite pretty as it was flecked with the green from the parsley and scallions in the sauce.
useful (1)
This mixture of fresh breadcrumbs, butter, lemon peel, fresh thyme, etc. browned up beautifully. As there was no lemon juice the lemon flavor was rather subtle. A very nice and somewhat different way to cook salmon.
useful (0)
A sweet and gorgeous way to bake salmon. I substituted cherry jam for the apricot. The addition of green onions, vinegar, and spices kept it from being too sweet.
useful (1)
Website: Diabetes Daily
This recipe showcased the Cubanelle pepper which I had not cooked with before. The ingredient amounts were approximate, so I used 5 peppers instead of the 4. I also used turkey sausage over the chicken. It is very simple, but after adding the marinara sauce and parmesan at the end, I briefly reheated until the parmesan cheese melted. My family is used to the milder America's Test Kitchen version of stuffed peppers and were not crazy about the strong pepper flavor. I thought it was a great use of them and the teenager finished them off.
useful (1)
Website: Epicurious
OK, yes this is an amazing way to use beets with greens. I am not a beet lover, but this made an delicious light supper. I arranged the ingredients on individual plates instead of one platter. I thought the beet greens were still a little tough, but chopping them helped.
useful (1)
Website: Food & Wine
I finally found a way I can love collards. I did not realize that they could become tender. The collards and well flavored with stock, sausage, garlic, onion and bacon with cream added to the sauce. The cornmeal biscuits are very thin and are refrigerated so that they cook perfectly with the rest of the cobbler. This is quite an ingenious recipe.
useful (2)
The Food Of Morocco
By Paula Wolfert
Ecco - 2011
What a lovely showpiece for beautiful blood oranges! I used the baby greens as in the salad on the previous page. There would have been a greater color contrast if you used the recommended baby romaine lettuce, but the red greens complemented the blood oranges nicely too. I chopped my almonds instead of crushing them and I kept thinking I was biting a lemon seed. The dressing was great, but next time I would prefer it on the greens instead of over the sliced oranges. I also am finding that I am not a fan yet of orange flower water, but being in the middle of an orange grove in full flower I realized it smells how the water tastes, so I am still trying (to like it). This salad bears repeating.
useful (1)
I love Moroccan mint tea, but do not care for green tea, so was surprised that was the basis for this tea. I obtained gunpowder tea and fresh spearmint. I thought that for my teapot, 1/3 cup of sugar was too much. The next time I will try ¼ cup, but add more mint. I did not mind the gunpowder tea at all. I will definitely try this again. She did specify spearmint, but I am interested in trying the chocolate mint in my garden.
useful (0)