lenann's Reviews
8 recipes reviewed. Showing 1 to 8Sort by: Book Title 
| Date | Rating | Recipe Title
Cook with Jamie: My Guide to Making You a Better Cook
By Jamie Oliver
Michael Joseph - 2006
I have made this many many times with all kinds of sausage and spiral pastas and it always works out well; the most complex thing is getting the fennel seeds and chili flakes bashed up together nicely; otherwise the sausage meat just needs time to really get golden and caramelized, this is one to do when you have the time to do it right. Beef and chicken sausages work just as well, though pork is what I usually use; it's a pasta worth experimenting with, though the fennel/chili/oregano is what makes this taste so good (that and the wine)...
useful (2)
Nigella Express
By Nigella Lawson
Chatto & Windus - 2007
This is strictly an appetizer, but I've been making it for dinner with some good bread on the side and it always works. Besides peeling and then chopping a red onion, there's hardly any 'cooking' involved; beans are the base here (borlotti are what she uses, but other beans, such as cannellini or butter, work just as well), with tuna packed in oil flaked in, then the olive oil/lemon juice/red onion acting as the dressing; fresh lemon thyme/thyme are my herb of choice, though she says parsley. Really quick to make and an ideal summer meal, or filling side dish.
useful (0)
Off the Eaten Path : Inspired Recipes for Adventurous Cooks
By Bob Blumer
Ballantine Books - 2000
This recipe is based on something that Blumer got used to eating at a Hollywood restaurant - scrambled eggs with green onions, pancetta, avocado, chili, parmesean, garlic - brilliant contrast of soft eggs, ripe avocado, crisp pancetta (I use streaky bacon and it works just as well) and just enough sharpness from the onions and heat (if you want it) to make this good enough for dinner, not just brunch. The parmesean is the real star here though, as Blumer says it makes the eggs sweeter than usual, so all taste buds are satisfied. The avocado should be ripe enough without being mushy, and it is an ideal meal to make with someone else's help, as it all comes together fairly quickly.
useful (1)
Spain...A Culinary Road Trip
By Mario Batali, Gwyneth Paltrow
Ecco - 2008
This is a lovely and rather simple dish; the name of the recipe is 'home chicken' and with garlic, pimento, white wine, an onion and some patience it turns into a lovely and yes homey dish; I made it with half water-half wine and it still turned out well, though as usual I had to cook it for longer than usual to get the rich and tangy (due to the pimento, which isn't roasted red pepper, I have now learned) sauce. Fried potatoes of any kind are the ideal side dish, so I made home fries and it all worked out very well. The recipe calls for a whole chicken cut into eight pieces, but since my butcher's skills are basic, I used thighs and drumsticks and it worked out just fine - moist meat, the wine and garlic detectable but not at all overwhelming. (The reason it takes so long is that the chicken must be rubbed with salt & garlic and then left for an hour; I imagine this could stretch to two or three hours with no harm done.)
useful (1)
Surreal Gourmet
By BOB BLUMER
Chronicle Books - 1992
This is an excellent recipe; fresh vegetables and good pesto make the difference, it is as creamy as you would like it (single or double cream are both fine) and the heat is necessary, as a foil to the cream - I use dried chili flakes instead of a dried hot pepper, though I am looking for red pepper flakes. It is easy to make and you can substitute other vegetables for the asparagus if it's out of season. It works with any long pasta, linguine is what I use as angel hair I find a bit too fine for the vegetables. A fine vegetarian meal that even carnivores will enjoy. (Bob Blumer is a Canadian chef who lives in California; this is Californian cuisine, I think.)
useful (1)
Two Greedy Italians: Carluccio and Contaldo's Return to Italy. Antonio Carluccio and Gennaro Contaldo
By Antonio Carluccio
Quadrille Publishing - 2011
This is saffron risotto; well worth making, despite the cost, as it does not take that many threads (they advocate powdered saffron, but I like seeing the actual threads as I cook) to make the risotto turn a lovely golden color. You don't even need to put that much saffron in it for that to happen; and as it's a delicate thing there's no wine here, just butter, parmesean, chicken stock and an onion at the base, no garlic. I like to add torn bits of sliced ham to it. Takes a while to make like risottos always do; add any extra stock to it while serving - it shouldn't be too sticky.
useful (0)
Urban Italian: Simple Recipes and True Stories from a Life in Food
By Andrew Carmellini, Gwen Hyman
Bloomsbury USA - 2008
This is basically a pasta dish with goat cheese sauce (with milk, cream, stock and herbs), tangily boosted by the tomatoes (marinated in red & balsamic vinegars & olive oil along with minced shallots) that are the garnish. There's herbs - thyme and rosemary - in the sauce as well, so it is very green and light and even sharp with the tomatoes, cutting back on any richness from the sauce so it's quite balanced; parmesean and basil are added to the pasta right at the end, for even more cheese and herbal goodness. A very fine summer dish, suitable for everybody, substantial and tasty without being too heavy.
useful (1)
If you like to make tuna bean salad but want to make it more of a main course, this is the way to go. The pasta (the name says ziti, but I used penne) is mixed up with soft red onions,wine and pepper flakes, beans and then, when it's done, the tuna, cherry tomatoes, lemon juice and olives, basil, capers and oregano. Sprinkle some bread crumbs in and mix it all up, put in a bit more olive oil and more crumbs for garnish and you're done. Most of this is raw or from the can; ideal for something filling that doesn't take a lot of time in the kitchen, just the ingredients. It's kind of salty as well, so have something thirst-quenching on hand when you eat it! Lovely summer food, quick and easy.
useful (0)