redjanet's Reviews
205 recipes reviewed. Showing 1 to 50Sort by: Book Title | Date | Rating 
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Jamie's Ministry of Food: Anyone Can Learn to Cook in 24 Hours
By Jamie Oliver
Michael Joseph - 2008
This is the only recipe I've tried so far from this book that I didn't like. This may be due to my using a curry power that was too spicy for my tastebuds, but I found the actual cooking of the cod in the pan to be a bit messy and really did not enjoy the end results. Oh well!
useful (1)
Kitchen: Recipes from the Heart of the Home
By Nigella Lawson
Chatto & Windus - 2010
I'm never very successful at frying up breaded meat or fish in general, but this is one of the worst recipes for such a dish that I've tried. The recipe calls for instant polenta instead of the usual breadcrumbs. I found that it all fell right off straight out of the pan and the texture was just too gritty for my liking.
useful (1)
The Food You Crave: Luscious Recipes for a Healthy Life
By Ellie Krieger
Taunton - 2008
I was quite surprised but I did not like this at all. There was way too big a ratio of mustard to mayonnaise for my taste and I normally like honey mustard sauce. I made this to go with the crispy chicken fingers on the same page but then ended up just using store-bought barbecue sauce as a dip instead.
useful (0)
Simply Nigella: Feel Good Food
By Nigella Lawson
Chatto & Windus - 2015
I never thought I would say this about a Nigella baking recipe, but I was so disappointed with these brownies. The idea of a Nutella brownie sounded amazing, and what was even more amazing that the only ingredients were Nutella and eggs (and a bit of sea salt). I followed the instructions and weight measurements exactly, but these ended up tasting mostly just of chewy eggs.
useful (0)
Nigella Express: Good Food, Fast
By Nigella Lawson
Hyperion - 2007
I really wanted to like this as salmon is one of my favourite foods and the idea of a sticky glaze with it sounded great. Unfortunately I actually found the mirin glaze a bit too sickly sweet and was disappointed both times I attempted this recipe.
useful (0)
Kitchen: Recipes from the Heart of the Home
By Nigella Lawson
Chatto & Windus - 2010
This is a quick cheat's way to small roast potatoes using, of all things, gnocchi. Having watched Nigella enthusiastically rave about this revelation of hers on her programme I figured I had to try it. Maybe it was because I baked mine (which is an option) instead of pan-frying them, but these came out way too crunchy and hard for me. I think I'll stick to new potatoes or small roast potatoes from now on, thanks.
useful (1)
The 20-minute Cookbook: 200 Fuss Free Recipes - Quick and Easy Cooking for Every Kind of Occasion, with Over 800 Photographs and Step by Step Instructions to Guarantee Success
By Jenni Fleetwood
Lorenz Books - 2006
This was okay, but not terribly exciting. What with there being garlic, sesame oil, fish oil, a pinch of chilli flakes and soy sauce added to the mix, I expected there to be a lot more flavour, but ultimately it was rather bland. The duck was soft and tender and I used tenderstem broccoli instead of normal broccoli as I generally prefer it, but this didn't feel like it was something I particularly needed a recipe for, or at least not this one. I served it with basmati rice and added more soy sauce once cooked for extra flavour.
useful (0)
The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl
By Ree Drummond
William Morrow Cookbooks - 2009
I was really excited about getting the Pioneer Woman book and this was the first (and so far, only) recipe I tried. Unfortunately I found this to be very disappointing. Good meatloaf is one of my favourite comfort foods, but this version uses bread and milk as binders for the loaf and when I made it, it came out way too soggy and wet for my liking. I've concluded that I much prefer using dried breadcrumbs and eggs. I also don't think baking it on a grill as suggested is the best idea as it makes it incredibly hard to slice and serve.
useful (1)
The 30-minute Cook
By Nigel Slater
Penguin Books Ltd - 2006
Yuck. I really wanted to like this. I'm determined to see what's so great about Nigel Slater as so many people rave about him, but so far I find his recipes to be very hit and miss. The chicken itself, which was just chicken breasts coated the normal way in egg and breadcrumbs mixed with Parmesan cheese and parsley, and then grilled was really tasty, tender and juicy. However, what ruined this dish for me was the sauce, which consisted of anchovies, capers, lemon juice, parsley, Dijon mustard, olive oil, etc. which was way too pungent and sour for my liking. I had the feeling it might be when I made it, but instead of serving it on the side as I probably should have, I poured it straight over the chicken when served, thereby ruining my dinner. I'm giving this two stars because the chicken by itself would have been fine, I just won't ever make this sauce again.
useful (2)
101 One-pot Dishes: Tried-and-tested Recipes (Good Food 101)
By B.B.C. "Good Food Magazine"
BBC Books - 2006
This wasn't so great. It tasted nice enough, but it was kind of a pain in the neck to eat. I thought it was pretty clever breaking up the spaghetti so it could be cooked in and at the same time as the sauce, but as my husband and I discovered, when spaghetti is shorter it's not as easy to get on one's utensils! I couldn't find a nice frozen mixed seafood pack, so I just substituted cooked prawns which I added at the last minute. Like I said, this tasted good, but this isn't a dish I think I'll make again.
useful (0)
The 20-minute Cookbook: 200 Fuss Free Recipes - Quick and Easy Cooking for Every Kind of Occasion, with Over 800 Photographs and Step by Step Instructions to Guarantee Success
By Jenni Fleetwood
Lorenz Books - 2006
This was edible but kind of boring. I did have Thai basil in the house, but unfortunately it had gone off by the time I was ready to make this recipe. To be honest, I'm kind of glad it did, otherwise I wouldn't have added the dried mixed herbs that I did when I started stir-frying the chicken, which at least gave it some more flavour. Ultimately, though, it was just stir-fried chicken strips with pepper strips and a tinge of garlic. Meh.
useful (0)
The Hairy Dieters: Good Eating (Hairy Bikers)
By Hairy Bikers, Dave Myers, Si King
W&N - 2014
Although this made a substantial lunch, along with a salad and some rice, I was a bit disappointed and surprised that these meatballs did not have as much flavour as I was expecting, especially given I've had very good results with other Hairy Dieters recipes in the past. The meatballs were slightly dry and a bit too crunchy with the use of panko crumbs. The garlic sauce definitely saved this dish for me as it gave a contrast of flavour and texture to what was otherwise a fairly lacklustre dish.
useful (1)
Jamie's Ministry of Food: Anyone Can Learn to Cook in 24 Hours
By Jamie Oliver
Michael Joseph - 2008
This is a very easy to make version of stroganoff using chicken instead of beef. The result is a quite creamy, tasty dish. It might be a little bit too creamy for some, but with some added squirts of lemon at the end it is more refreshing than you would imagine.
useful (2)
A simple soup recipe using fresh ingredients that makes a whole lot of soup. Great for saving and re-heating for lunch. Some might find it a little on the bland side but with lots of added black pepper it is very good.
useful (0)
This is the first lasagne recipe I've tried and for a start it was pretty good. Be warned that, especially if you're not that experienced, it does take quite a while to prepare all the ingredients and go through all of the steps to complete the recipe. The end results were very good, though the only criticism I would make is that the sauce made it all a little too wet for my liking and I would probably add half a tin of water to the bolognese sauce instead of the whole tin as Jamie recommends. The use of creme fraiche instead of a white sauce does make the whole thing that bit easier however.
useful (0)
A simple easy stew taken from a page of basic stew recipes from this book. I used ale when making this, though you could also use Guiness or stout, which I might eventually try as well. This came out a bit sharp tasting for me, though still good, but I suppose that depends on what type of booze you use.
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101 One-pot Dishes: Tried-and-tested Recipes (Good Food 101)
By B.B.C. "Good Food Magazine"
BBC Books - 2006
A simple way to roast chicken thighs with potato wedges in one tray. This is very similar to another dish I regularly do with rosemary or herbes de Provence, but the use of tarragon in this recipe gives a different, interesting flavour. The potatoes weren't quite cooked enough to my liking with the timing provided, but that's my fault for not testing them thoroughly enough before serving.
useful (1)
Nigella Express: Good Food, Fast
By Nigella Lawson
Hyperion - 2007
This is Nigella's different take on the classic coq au vin, using a whole bottle of Riesling wine instead. This came out well but I have to admit it was a bit bland for my tastebuds.
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Not having an ice-cream maker, I was excited to try this way of making one of my favourite dessers, using only pomegranates, lime juice, icing sugar and double cream. This makes a very creamy ice-cream, which is simply mixed together and stored in the freezer in an air-tight container. I think the fruit flavourings could be a bit stronger here as I still tasted mostly cream, but if like me, you don't have and don't really want an ice-cream maker, it's an easy alternative.
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This recipe is exactly as described and is very easy. It is simply a combination of quickly-fried minute steaks with an accompanying mashed bean side. My OH and I weren't so keen on the mashed beans as we found them a bit bland and oily in texture.
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This is a different twist on the traditional stir-fry, using cannellini beans as the starch base rather than rice or noodles. It is easy to make and very filling, but unfortunately I found it to be a bit bland.
useful (1)
101 One-pot Dishes: Tried-and-tested Recipes (Good Food 101)
By B.B.C. "Good Food Magazine"
BBC Books - 2006
I figured I'd try this as I usually like dishes with meatballs (heck, I pretty much like anything with ground meat) and as this calls for turkey mince it is fairly low in fat. As friederike mentioned that it seemed a bit like kids' food I took that to mean she thought it was kind of bland, so I used smoked paprika instead of normal paprika. Unfortunately I added a bit too much by accident and the dish came out a bit spicier than I intended. Oops! Thankfully I had some half fat creme fraiche in the fridge which my OH and I added to our plates to cool things down a bit. This was simple to make, though I think the, "quick," in the recipe title is a bit misleading, as it's quick once it's bubbling away on the stove, but you still have to spend a fair amount of time chopping the veggies and preparing the meatballs before they all get to the pan.
useful (0)
BBC Olive
(May, 2011)
I was attracted to this recipe for it's simplicity and for the pretty colours in the photo, which are basically due to the flecks of green parsley and red chili amongst the pasta and crab. This is very simple to assemble once all the ingredients are prepped, though for a quick dish I did find it annoying to have to peel and slice five shallots, which is one of my least favourite things to do when cooking. In any case, the flavours worked fairly well together, though the lemon could have been stronger and maybe next time I'll just use half a chilli instead of a whole one as the OH and I found it a bit hot for our tastes. Still, it's a good, fairly healthy mid-week dish that I may play around with again.
useful (0)
Kitchen: Recipes from the Heart of the Home
By Nigella Lawson
Chatto & Windus - 2010
A slightly healthier recipe for meatballs, using turkey instead of pork or beef. This is easy to make, though it takes a bit of time to roll all of the 50 tiny meatballs Nigella says you can eke out of the ingredients. I find this to be slightly on the bland side, but it's comfort food which I usually eat with rice, which soaks up the tomato sauce well.
useful (1)
There are plenty of recipes for this classic French dish out there, but being a fan of Nigella's easy to follow recipes, I figured I'd try this one. If you fear the overpowering sound of so much garlic, don't worry. Garlic gets much sweeter when roasted for a long time, as it is in this dish. This is easy to put together, and tasted very nice, but it didn't have the wow factor that I thought it would, considering it's such a well-known classic.
useful (1)
Nigella Express: Good Food, Fast
By Nigella Lawson
Hyperion - 2007
edited on 27/08/12: I'm upgrading this to three stars as I decided to give this recipe another go in desperation for a quick, easy burger recipe that seemed relatively low in fat. This time I put the burgers in the fridge to firm up for about a half an hour before grilling them on my griddle pan. They still came out a bit soft for my liking, but the flavour was really good and my husband said he liked them and wouldn't mind having them again. So, for a quick burger recipe, it's not too bad. I served these on wholemeal rolls with cheese slices.
I was happy to see a burger recipe in a Nigella book as I normally don't have very good results when trying to make my own. Unfortunately, this recipe didn't really help me as, as usual for me, they came out a bit mushier than I was hoping for and the mixture was a bit too wet for my tastes. I didn't use a burger press as per Nigella's suggestion (I don't have one!), so maybe that's part of the problem.
useful (1)
Every Day
By Bill Granger
Murdoch Books - 2009
This was an okay dish of juicy roasted chicken legs with Asian influenced flavourings. With such ingredients as garlic, ginger and honey added to the chicken stock that the meat was cooked in, I expected this to have a bigger, bolder flavour than it did. It was a bit bland, really, but overall still pleasant enough to eat.
useful (1)
Nigella Express: Good Food, Fast
By Nigella Lawson
Hyperion - 2007
This was a quick, shortcut way of making macaroni and cheese. The cheese sauce was made with Red Leicester (which I tried for the first time and quite liked), eggs, evaporated milk and grated nutmeg and then poured over cooked macaroni to bake off in a hot oven. The results weren't as bubbly and drippingly cheesy as I hoped it would be, but more set into the pan and a bit coagulated. It did taste nice, but was quite rich. I'm not sure if I'd make this again.
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The 20-minute Cookbook: 200 Fuss Free Recipes - Quick and Easy Cooking for Every Kind of Occasion, with Over 800 Photographs and Step by Step Instructions to Guarantee Success
By Jenni Fleetwood
Lorenz Books - 2006
Though my OH didn't like this because he thought the lemon juice added at the end made it too sour, I thought this had a nice fresh taste. The garlic, shallot and parsley gave it more flavour and texture and stir-frying the thinly cut strips of chicken made this very quick and easy. Oh well, each to their own. I served this with a green salad and boiled new potatoes to which I added butter and parsley. Not bad for a quick worknight meal, but possibly not to everyone's tastes.
useful (1)
Jamie at Home: Cook Your Way to the Good Life
By Jamie Oliver
Hyperion - 2008
I thought I'd try this different take on sausages (which I served with mashed potato) as the use of balsamic vinegar made it sound like it would be quite flavourful. As I was only cooking for my OH and me I halved the amount of cherry tomatoes I used, which still ended up seeming like way too many. The flavour overall was nice, but not outstanding. This was fairly easy to put together, but I'm not convinced that this is something I'd want to keep making.
useful (1)
Nigella Express: Good Food, Fast
By Nigella Lawson
Hyperion - 2007
Very quick and easy to make. Just a matter of frying up some cumin seeds and warming through some chickpeas and rocket with sherry. The sherry flavour was a bit too strong for my tastes, but it served decently as a side dish to the chorizo and scallops dish on the preceding pages.
useful (0)
Real Food
By Nigel Slater
Fourth Estate Ltd - 2000
This was very quick and easy to prepare, and the combination of the parmesan and butter with the breadcrumbs on top of the plaice, which has a very distinctive taste, was very nice. I prefer baking breaded fish in the oven to frying as it tends to fall apart less. However, my plaice fillets were probably a bit thinner than Nigel would have suggested (the fault of my grocery delivery, not his), and the fish came out a bit mushy and fell apart quite easily when dishing up, despite my reducing the cooking time. Still, it did taste good still and went well with the baked potato wedges I did at the same time, as well as with a green salad.
useful (0)
The 30-minute Cook
By Nigel Slater
Penguin Books Ltd - 2006
A nice, simple supper of sausages and beans with a bit of a kick in the sauce from harissa paste, Dijon mustard and English mustard. I wasn't sure about it at first but the flavours grew on me with each bite. It did take about 15 minutes longer for the sausages to be cooked to my liking than the 20-25 minutes suggested, but I can see making this again in the winter for a hearty, warming meal.
useful (0)
Every Day
By Bill Granger
Murdoch Books - 2009
This was okay, but I wish I'd followed the advice of weaponxgirl in her previous review. I did this according to the recipe, expecting the red onions covered in brown sugar, olive oil, red wine vinegar and season to get more caramelised and the sauce to go syrupy. That didn't really happen and the sauce was very thin. The onions tasted nice and went well with the sausages, as did the extra ingredient of parmesan in my mash, but this wasn't particularly memorable.
useful (0)
Ching's Chinese Food Made Easy: 100 Simple, Healthy Recipes from Easy-to-find Ingredients
By Ching-He Huang
Harper - 2010
This was okay, but nothing to write home about. I've come to appreciate the method of coating sliced chicken in a mixture of egg whites, cornflour and salt as it really does make the chicken extra soft with a nice texture, but that was my favourite thing about this recipe. I didn't realise until it was too late that I'd run out of onions, so just doubled the peppers, so that may have explained the slight blandness, but overall, it didn't really feel like it was worth the effort and still wasn't as good as from a take-away!
useful (0)
101 One-pot Dishes: Tried-and-tested Recipes (Good Food 101)
By B.B.C. "Good Food Magazine"
BBC Books - 2006
Eh, this was okay. It was a pretty typical stir-fry of broccoli and chicken with a lemon sauce made of chicken stock, cornflour and honey. I was expecting a bit more flavour, which I probably would have got more of from a just as cheap to make packet of Blue Dragon lemon stir-fry sauce. The cashews added a good crunchy texture and it was certainly edible (my OH liked it!), but I didn't think it was worth the effort in the end.
useful (2)
Forever Summer
By Nigella Lawson
Chatto & Windus - 2005
This was simple to prepare and the sauce had a good, delicate flavour and was not overpoweringly fishy. It was a very pretty dish with the strong yellow colour provided by the turmeric (today I look like a pack a day smoker after rubbing the turmeric onto the fish!) and the flacks of red chilli throughout. My OH and I both liked it, though it was a bit too hot for me. I would give it a higher score, only I had a terrible stomach-ache after eating it! Not sure if it was something I did wrong, but suspect not as my OH was fine.
useful (0)
101 One-pot Dishes: Tried-and-tested Recipes (Good Food 101)
By B.B.C. "Good Food Magazine"
BBC Books - 2006
A simple chicken stew that can be put together fairly quickly. The recipe specified skin on chicken breasts, though I used skinless, and I also used frozen mixed vegetables instead of fresh. I don't think either changes would have made much difference. The overall results were a tad bland, though the tarragon (which I don't normally like that much) added a nice flavour.
useful (0)
This was a simple enough recipe to put together quickly on a weeknight. I thought the combination of cheese and ham on fish might be a bit weird, though it tasted okay, especially with the fresh green spring onions on top.
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Delia's How to Cheat at Cooking
By Delia Smith
Ebury Press - 2008
I'm not really sure why Delia classifies this as cheat's recipe. Not that it was difficult, in fact quite the opposite, but unlike a lot of other recipes in this book it didn't use a lot of pre-packaged ingredients (unless you count tinned tomatoes). It was a simple enough stew to throw together and then leave for a couple of hours while I got on with other things, so perfect for a Sunday. Overall, the results were okay, if a bit bland, so I was kind of disappointed. This didn't taste bad and was perfectly edible, but when I have something bubbling away in the oven for a couple of hours I generally expect something a bit tastier when it's ready.
useful (0)
BBC Good Food
(October, 2011)
A nice, simple stir-fry recipe that I made as I was craving something a bit lighter and healthier than I've been eating lately. The carrots gave this bulk and crunch and the honey and lime juice gave it good flavour. That said, I didn't bother to toast the sesame seeds and added a drizzle of toasted sesame seed oil and soy sauce at the end.
useful (1)
Easy Meals
By Rachel Allen
Collins - 2011
This had a nice, gentle flavour, though, as I used flat rice noodles, which took longer to cook and were still too al dente, it was quite messy to eat. Not completely Rachel Allen's fault, but still kind of put me off making it again.
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This was very quick and easy to prepare within ten minutes, but I did find it overall a bit bland. It's a good store-cupboard recipe to have up your sleeve, though, so I think if I try it again I may add a squeeze of lemon juice and zest.
useful (1)
BBC Good Food
(, 2012)
Although this soup wasn't as, "full of flavour," as the recipe promised, it still had a pleasant, if slightly bland, taste. I used full fat coconut milk instead of reduced fat, which probably helped the smoothness and I also kept it slightly chunky, but blended. It has a nice texture and I'm hoping the flavours will develop a bit more overnight in the fridge as I have enough left over for a couple of days worth of work lunches.
useful (0)
Snowflakes and Schnapps
By Jane Lawson
Murdoch Books - 2010
This was a pleasant enough dish to serve on a cold wintry Sunday. I didn't have any lingonberry preserves, as suggested, to go with it, and I thought it was a tad bland. The vodka added at the last minute made the sauce a bit too strong, but the sauce was nice and thick and overall a filling, hearty meal.
useful (0)
Easy Meals
By Rachel Allen
Collins - 2011
This was easy enough to put together, and nice enough, but a bit bland and not very special. A good way to use up some spare potatoes and parsnips though.
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BBC Good Food
(May, 2012)
Found on page 16 of the "40 low-fat recipes" supplement. This is a slightly bland but healthier take on spaghetti and meatballs. The meatballs took me a bit longer than expected to cook through and were slightly lacking in flavour, but overall not too bad.
useful (1)
Easy Italian (Weight Watchers)
By
Simon & Schuster Ltd - 2012
I'll admit that I'm lazy and usually make a quick spag bol using sauce from a jar and it's usually ready in about 20 minutes. I thought I'd try this as I'm trying to be healthier. If I do it again I'd do it on a weekend and not midweek as there was quite a bit of prep to do and as I am just cooking for two it seemed a bit of a faff. I tasted the sauce as I was going along and as it was a bit bland I added balsamic vinegar and tomato purée, which helped and didn't add any points. I'm not sure if it was really worth making this recipe over using a "light" jarred Bolognese sauce, but it was edible and filling and tasted okay with the aforementioned adjustments.
useful (1)
I have mixed feelings about this recipe. Overall the flavours were very good and made a nice change from frying steak in the griddle pan, as I normally do. I'd never roasted steak in the oven before and was a bit nervous that it would come out too well done, but the rump steaks I used were quite a thick cut and still came out medium rare and juicy, which was to my liking. A good thing too as I did leave the whole dish in the oven for a few minutes longer than instructed as the potatoes didn't cook evenly. The recipe instructs you to microwave them first for a few minutes before putting them in the oven with the steak and other ingredients, but I think if I make this again (which I may very well do) I'll boil them separately and add them in the last few minutes to absorb the flavours.
useful (0)
The Food You Crave: Luscious Recipes for a Healthy Life
By Ellie Krieger
Taunton - 2008
This was just okay. I was looking to find a way to use up a box of cornflakes I recently bought for another recipe and the idea of using them crushed as breadcrumbs intrigued me. The chicken fingers came out not as crispy as I was hoping for, though still juicy. I think next time I'll stick to the usual coating of dried breadcrumbs.
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