louie's Reviews
4 recipes reviewed. Showing 1 to 4Sort by: Book Title 
| Date | Rating | Recipe Title
The Best Recipes in the World
By Mark Bittman
Broadway - 2005
This soup was easy, very fast, and aromatic. Made with homemade chicken broth, it needed a fair bit of salt to get things going. The soy theoretically could take care of that, but after an additional splash, I felt I had enough of the dark, umami flavor, and just wanted some plain kosher salt. Once I squeezed in some schiracha and anointed it with a teeny bit of nutty sesame oil, I was happy to slurp away on this brothy warmer; the chewy strips of egg pancake and chicken were almost peripheral.
useful (1)
We made this recipe with pounded pork tenderloin instead of veal, which was given as a variation in the header. The lacy-thin meat is dredged in flour, egg, and fresh bread crumbs, pan-fried, and squeezed with lemon on your plate. Though simple, the golden brown crusty cutlet is spotlight-worthy. "I am more than I seem," it exclaims, and after the first taste, you'll agree.
useful (2)
More Best Recipes (America's Test Kitchen)
By Editors of Cook's Illustrated
Cook's Illustrated - 2009
We've made this spicy main-dish soup once before, then appreciating its heady green-chili qualities. This time, we had a glut of homegrown chilies to use up, so subbed the Anaheim variety for our "New Mexican"s, and using our tiny Ohio-grown poblanos in quantity (x6!), to achieve an equivalent of '3 medium'. Homemade chicken broth, along with the homegrown chilies, and other kitchen-cupboard ingredients, meant that the only item costing more than a dollar or so was the chicken.
The easy (with a food processor), one-pot preparation is as follows: brown the chicken (split breasts), remove from heat, take off the skin, defat the pan and add a food-processed puree of chilies & onions, along with garlic and some spices. Cook till soft, then put some of this back in the processor, with some canned white beans and broth. Puree, dump back in the pot, add the chicken, the rest of the broth, and let cook till the chicken is done. Take the meat from the bones and shred it up, dump in some more beans to heat thru, and hit it with some lime juice, scallions, and cilantro.
Over home-brewed Oktoberfest, a table of 5 adults enjoyed this hearty stew with bread and sides of salad and veggies. Add some cake for dessert and you're set.
useful (2)
Website: Smitten Kitchen
We've made this twice; once patiently charring the corn on a cast-iron skillet, and the second time grilling the ears outside. Grilling was quicker (my electric stove takes forever to heat up a heavy skillet), but we were tempted to eliminate the sauteed onion and garlic, and tossed the corn with melted butter, salt, and chile powder. I am sorry to report that this shortcut didn't deliver... the onion seems to hold onto a lot of nice moisture, and we thought the texture of the corn mixture suffered.
Both times we made the easy zucchini-radish slaw dressed with lime juice and salt. It is really a great contrast to the corn, and tastes great with salty cheese and hot sauce when stuffed into the tacos. The slaw, however, did not keep... it was floppy and 'off' after 2 days when we were hungry for leftovers.
So, make enough corn to save some in the fridge, and don't skip any steps for it. Only make enough slaw for this meal... it's so quick that you can shred up more veggies while you reheat the corn and the tortillas for the next meal.
useful (3)