foodiewife's Profile

From: Monterey, CA 93940

Joined: September 3rd, 2011

About me: I'm a self-taught home cook & baker and author of the Food Blog "A Feast for the Eyes". I live on the beautiful coastal area of the Monterey Peninsula of California. I'm undecided about which I enjoy the most-- learning food photography or trying out new recipes or techniques. Over the last several years, I've eliminated any processed foods or package mixes. Instead, I try to find ways to cook the way our grandmother's did-- from scratch! We have a small herb garden and grow our own tomatoes. Favorite cookbook authors: Ina Garten, Tyler Florence, Everyday Food and anything by Cook's Illustrated.

Favorite cookbook: Far too many to choose only one!

Favorite recipe: Ina Garten's Baked Scallops Gratin-- garlic!

Website:
www.foodiewife-kitchen.blogspo

Skillet Pasta Quattro Formaggi from The Complete Cooking For Two Cookbook

Very easy to make, but I'd reduce the water from 4 cups to 3 cups. The sauce turned out a bit watery. I added some cooked shrimp for protein,and next time I'll add some steamed broccoli. What made this... read more >

recipe reviews (99)
book reviews (34)
useful review votes (43)

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foodiewife's Reviews

5 recipe(s) reviewed. Showing 1 to 5Sort by: Title | Date | Rating

Barefoot Contessa Family Style: Easy Ideas and Recipes That Make Everyone Feel Like Family

By Ina Garten
Clarkson Potter - 2002

Why such a low rating? The cake was moist, but dense. I didn't care for the texture of the cake. I adapted this recipe by making a tall 3-layer cake, and filling one layer with raspberry jam, and another with a vanilla pudding (this was before I learned how to make pastry cream). I don't like dark chocolate, so I made my own lighter chocolate frosting. It was okay, but I have better recipes that I prefer. You can see how I made it on my blog at:
http://foodiewife-kitchen.blogspot.com/2009/09/barefoot-bloggers-ina-gartens-birthday.html

useful (0)  

I have to say that the first time I made these, they were rocks. I'm more biscuit savvy, now, and have learned that it's really important not to overmix the dough. It works the gluten too much, resulting in tough biscuits.
They are quite pretty, and very good. This is another recipe I should make again. It would go great with one of Ina's delicious (and fool-proof) soup recipes.

useful (0)  

This is a really easy recipe to make, and it's impressive enough for company. I followed the recipe, but I made one small tweak. I used panko crumbs, instead of bread crumbs. I prepared the chicken ahead of time, refrigerated it and cooked it when it was time to get dinner ready for my guests. They were so impressed, and I didn't even break a sweat! I loved the crunchy texture of the chicken, and I'm glad that I used panko crumbs instead. It's a keeper!

A photo tutorial is on my food blog at:
http://foodiewife-kitchen.blogspot.com/2009/08/parmesan-chicken-provencal-tomatoes.html

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So far, this is my go to recipe for pie crusts. I've posted a tutorial on how to make this, and easy tips for rolling out pie dough and crimping it. It's on my blog at:
http://foodiewife-kitchen.blogspot.com/2010/06/california-olallieberry-pie-barefoot.html

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I love tomatoes, especially baked/broiled. The only thing I didn't like about the way the recipe was written, is that you drizzle olive oil after it's been baked. I've made this, since, and I prefer to use panko crumbs. I drizzle the olive oil into the breadcrumbs to help them bind. For extra flavor, I dot the tops with a little butter.

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