foodiewife's Reviews
4 recipe(s) reviewed. Showing 1 to 4Sort by: Title 
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The America's Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook: A New, Healthier Way to Cook Everything from America's Most Trusted Test Kitchen
By America's Test Kitchen, America's Test Kitchen, America's Test Kitchen, Editors of Cook's Illustrated Magazine, America's Test Kitchen
America's Test Kitchen - 2010
Arugula, Grapefruit, and Feta Salad : page 69
We're on an arugula kick, lately. We love the peppery and crisp flavor of this green. I've made this salad three times, to use up the Orange-Lime Vinaigrette dressing (page 62) and it's become a favorite of ours. I've made this with supremed Texas Ruby Reds, and recently with Cara Cara oranges. I've used Bleu Cheese and I've used Feta. Our favorite combo is arugula, Feta, oranges, and sliced avocado with the Orange-Lime Vinaigrette. It's awesome!
useful (1)
Mushroom Barley Soup : page 102
I love mushrooms and husband loves barley (but mushrooms...not so much). In my effort to cook healthier fare, after the Christmas gluttony, I turned to my trusted recipe source-- America's Test Kitchen. This isn't inexpensive to make, when you consider that dried Porcini Mushrooms costs about $80.00 a pound. It cost aobut $5.00 for the porcinis, which were a bit of a challenge to find. Okay, it doesn't break the bank but once you buy creminis and shitaki's (I chose to forgo portobellos), you're spending roughly $15.00. I really liked the technique (new to me) of sweating the mushrooms, and then caramelizing them until they are dry. This brings out the mushroom flavor. Instead of adding the barley and liquid, at the end, and cooking it for 50 minutes (I was hungry) I used my pressure cooker and it took 20 minutes to be ready to eat. One last note: adding a squeeze of fresh lemon gave a perfect balance of acidity to this soup.
Flavor-wise, there is a lot of mushroom flavor which my son and I liked. My husband had a sad face, as he's just not as fond of fungi as we are. Next time, I might add a dash of sherry to give the soup a little acidity... maybe a few more calories, but just a dash. Overall, a good and comforting soup.
useful (1)
Orange-Lime Vinaigrette : page 62
I get lazy about making salads, because I won't buy or use bottled salad dressing. I'm going to make a conscious effort to make a variety of salad dressings, from scratch, that is good for you. This salad dressing was really good! I liked the idea of reducing fresh orange juice (I always buy Trader Joe's pure orange juice anyway) until it's a thick syrup. To that, fresh lime juice, honey and shallots are added and seasoned with simple salt and pepper. I served this with an Argula Salad with supremed orange slices and Feta cheese, and we loved it.
useful (1)
Super-Crisp Oven-Fried Fish : page 215
I completely forgot to review this recipe! Yes, making the bread crumbs took a bit of work/waiting time. I actually loved the coating of the fish, and I used fresh herbs. I use wild-caught Pacific Cod. I blogged this recipe two years ago. I'm providing the link, in case you'd like to see my step-by-step photos and how it turned out. I was happy with the "crunch" without deep frying. I need to make this again!
useful (2)