kfranzetta's Reviews
38 recipe(s) reviewed. Showing 1 to 38Sort by: Title 
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Website: Smitten Kitchen
Cross-posting from The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook: These are very tasty. The flavor of the apple cider really comes through, but in a very smooth way. I cooked the caramel to about 245 degrees, and they came out very soft. I don't know if I would go all the way up to 252 (as the recipe recommends), but I might go a few degrees higher the next time around. And oh, will there ever be a next time around with these caramels.
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I also cooked this cake for 60-65 minutes. While my apples did get nice and soft, my batter also formed a hard meringue-like crust on the top. I liked the contrast of the slightly crunchy top with the almost custardy filling of the apples.
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I really enjoy this carrot-ginger dressing. The shallots can be a bit overwhelming, so I tend to scale back on them a bit. It's great over butter lettuce with avocado, quinoa, and sunflower seeds. I make this all the time.
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A fantastic green vegetable side dish. This recipe is a nice replacement for the traditional Thanksgiving green bean casserole, but much lighter. I used a combination of gruyere and parmesan cheese and substituted fine chopped walnuts for the bread crumbs. I used the vegetarian Better than Bouillon broth and ended up with a lovely creamy dish. As other reviewers have noted, it did take a bit longer for my spinach to wilt than was indicated in the recipe.
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This birthday cake was a big hit. In addition to following the instructions included in the recipe, I also followed many of the tips. located elsewhere on the site, for making layer cakes. I baked the cake layers two weeks in advance and froze them. When I went to assemble the cake, I brushed each layer with simple syrup to maintain moisture. I used the sour cream frosting included in this recipe, although next time I might try the fudge frosting which is proposed as an alternative. This recipe is definitely a keeper.
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This pudding is delicious and relatively simple to make. I have found that it takes much longer for the pudding to thicken than the recipe suggests--closer to 45-60 minutes. It's worth it, though! It's creamy and so chocolatey!
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The flavors of this cake were very nice, but it did not come out how I expected it would. The recipe says that the pear and chocolate pieces will sink into the cake batter as it cooks. This did not happen with my cake. I did substitute Cup4Cup gluten-free flour for the regular flour the recipe calls for. I ended up with a pile of chocolate chunks on top of my cake. When it came out of the oven, I used a knife to smooth out the chocolate, but it was an inelegant solution at best. If I make this cake again, I would mix the pears and chocolate together before sprinkling on top of the batter.
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These peach hand pies are the perfect late summer dessert. I used a different crust recipe, but followed this filling recipe exactly. The filling was perfect in these little pastries--not too runny and not too thick. I got 18 pies out of one batch of dough and still had some filling left over. I loved these!
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Yummy! What a tasty breakfast option. I made two slight modifications to the recipe. I replaced the almonds with walnuts because I didn't have any almonds on hand. The walnuts were almost a bit too overpowering. In the future I will stick with almonds. I also added a few sprinkles of cardamom along with the nutmeg. The recipe did not suggest greasing the baking dish before adding the apricots, and I wish that I had. Next time I will butter the baking dish first.
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This is the best gluten-free cake I have made at home. It only requires buckwheat flour and almond meal. I made it on a Friday afternoon, and it came together very quickly. The cake is very moist and not too sweet. Perfect! I will definitely make this one again.
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This cake looks very, very impressive. However, I found its richness to be a bit overwhelming. Three layers of chocolate cake (made successfully with Cup4Cup gluten-free flour), iced with peanut butter cream cheese frosting and topped with a chocolate peanut butter ganache. It's almost too much. I used the entire batch of ganache, and I found it to be too thick. If I were to make this cake again, I may leave off the ganache or at least cut the amount in half.
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I made these with Cup4Cup gluten-free flour. Because I was afraid they might not rise enough, I used an entire packet of yeast, as Deb suggested. The rolls did not rise much during the second rising, but they are still very tasty. Overall, this recipe was easier to execute than I expected it to be from the recipe. The results are impressive for a reasonable amount of effort.
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This cake was a huge it! The clementines smell wonderful as they cook on the stove. I would love to try this one using Meyer lemons instead of the clementines.
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I made the mushroom part of this recipe using king trumpet, shitake, and cremini. The flavor of the sauce was delicious, although a bit rich. I would make it again, but would cut back on the butter. I served it over Paula Wolfert's recipe for no-stir polenta--a lovely combination.
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This recipe turned out very well and looked beautiful!
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This recipe is simple and delicious! I made exactly as specified and would do the same again with no changes.
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I added rum to the blender when mixing up this drink. It tasted better before the rum. This one may be better as a non-alcoholic treat.
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I made this recipe to use up a batch of pickled onions I had made for another recipe. The salad was fine, but not special. I don't know if I would make this one again.
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Another excellent celebration cake recipe from Smitten Kitchen. I made the cake layers with Cup4Cup gluten-free flour with great results. I used seven minute frosting as both the filling and the outer frosting of the cake. Per the recipe's suggestion, I doubled the recipe and ended up with a lot of extra frosting, even after a very liberal application.
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This is a great recipe for harissa. I halved everything in the recipe except I used the entire red bell pepper.
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This is a very tasty kale salad recipe. I did not have golden raisins, so I substituted regular raisins with good results. I paired this with the rice-stuffed tomatoes, and it made for a nice vegetarian meal.
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This bread was a big hit! I read a number of the comments with concerns about the cake sinking in the middle, and I decided to use 2 teaspoons of baking powder and one teaspoon of baking soda. The cakes turned out perfect! No problem with sinking at all! I didn't have a full cup of honey, so I used 1/2 cup of honey, 1/4 cup of agave nectar, and 1/4 cup of maple syrup. I baked the batter in one regular and one large loaf pan. I had a little difficulty getting the cakes out of the pans, so next time I'll both grease and flour the pans.
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Finally got around to trying this one out, and it got a big thumbs up at my house. Simple and very tasty. In addition to the sweet potato and broccoli, I also threw in some baby bok choy for the last 5 minutes of roasting.
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These turned out really well. I followed the modification with the longer cooking time at lower heat (200 degrees F for 90 minutes). They turned out chewy, maintained their shape and didn't crack.
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This recipe is excellent. I like to use a shell or chiocciole shaped pasta, as the recipe suggests. I also think that this recipe works very well with whole wheat pasta. This one is a definite Smitten Kitchen favorite!
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I love this recipe. I make it with a few modifications: I use a red onion, pine nuts instead of walnuts, and queso fresco instead of feta. It's delicious. The whole wheat pasta really stands up to the cauliflower.
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I used this recipe as a guideline to make a chocolate/hazelnut spread. It is delicious!
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This sauce was delicious on fresh pasta. I followed the recipe exactly, and it came out really well.
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These potato pancakes turned out so well. I made batches using both regular and sweet potatoes and both were great. I also made a few batches using egg replacer instead of the egg so they would be vegan. I used a heavy cast iron pan to fry them all, and they turned out crispy and delicious, even after reheating in the oven.
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This was very quick and easy. Watch the almonds very closely--mine went from golden brown to very close to burned in a matter of seconds.
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This is a nice recipe for stuffed tomatoes. I think that my tomatoes my have been on the small side, so my rice did not cook up to be as creamy as described in the recipe. In retrospect, I should have added a little bit of water or broth while the rice was simmering in the pan. I added a little bit of feta cheese to the filling, along with some dried basil and parsley. I had more filling than would fill the tomatoes, so I cooked up the extra in two greased ramekins.
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This soup is very flavorful. I was worried about the garlic burning during roasting, so I kept an eye on it starting at 20 minutes. The cloves I used were on the large side, so I left most of them in for the full 45 minutes. Once I transferred the soup to the stockpot, I added about 1 teaspoon of ground coriander and 1/4 teaspoon of ground cumin. It took well over an hour for my onions to soften up. Next time, I would consider cooking the roasted vegetables in a slow cooker for a few hours.
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This recipe was only ok. I found the soup to be a bit on the thin side. If I tried it again, I would most likely add a potato to thicken it up.
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This strata is a great option to prepare for a big brunch. It's easy to put together the night before, so all you have to do the next day is pop it in the oven.
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I also had problems with the recipe. Mine turned out too watery, and it wasn't very flavorful. I most likely won't make this one again.
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This sauce was very good and super simple to make. It was the perfect complement to fresh pasta.
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I love this fruit salad. I have made it a few times during the holidays, and it is always a big hit. The star anise flavor really comes out. Definitely make it at least a day in advance so the flavors have time to develop.
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I made some slight modifications to this recipe based on what I had on hand. I used a combination of zucchini, yellow summer squash, and eggplant in place of just zucchini. I used a combination of cooked brown rice and cooked quinoa and instead of fresh tarragon, I used a combination of fresh dill and fresh parsley. I also omitted the parmesan cheese because I did not have any on hand. The dish still came out very well. It was a little dry, so we stirred in some cream cheese as we ate it. Yum!
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