lovesgenoise's Reviews
3 recipe(s) reviewed. Showing 1 to 3Sort by: Title 
| Date | Rating
The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook
By Ina Garten, Martha Stewart
Clarkson Potter - 1999
Caramelized Butternut Squash : page 151
IMHO, this is worth the bad food points. It has a fair amount of butter, sugar, and salt, but it makes the squash perfect. I tried to make it with less sugar and less salt, but when I tasted it near the end of cooking, I quickly decided to add the missing quantities. I was so glad I did, it elevated the dish to something tasty enough for a special occasion.
useful (2)
Roasted Brussels Sprouts : page 150
I agree with the other reviewers, this recipe is so easy it hardly counts as a recipe, but then it's good, so I'm inclined to rate it well anyway. I think roasted vegetables were more of a novelty when this book was first published in 1999, so Ms. Garten should get credit for being in the forefront of that movement.
Perhaps because I had fewer sprouts than the recipe called for, mine were very brown on the outside before the inside was done. And I cut the largest sprouts in half to facilitate even cooking- that may have been a mistake as they were a bit dry by the time they were cooked all the way through.
This was good to try for meals where the oven is already being used, but for stove top meals I'll continue to saute brussel sprouts, as I like the moistness that comes from finishing them off in a covered pan after they've been browned.
useful (1)
Roasted eggplant spread : page 41
I loved this veggie dish, it was very, very good and so easy. Full of deep roasted flavor and can be used so many ways, I look forward to making it again.
I checked the vegetables at the end of the roasting time, and they didn't look very brown, so I turned the oven up and left them in another 7-8 minutes, until they were looking dark and toasty in places. This gave the spread a wonderful roasted flavor.
The quantity of salt in the recipe was perfect for us but might be too much for someone with a less salty palate or if your veggies are on the small side. We didn't need to add any additional seasoning at the end.
We did add a squirt of lemon juice (from about 1/4 of a lemon) at the end, which the spread seemed to need. Perhaps our tomato paste wasn't very acidic.
Amazingly, even my veggie-phobic ten year old liked this- she's asked to have it tomorrow morning on toast for breakfast :)
useful (3)