aj12754's Profile

From: Montclair, NJ USA

Joined: November 22nd, 2009

About me: I can't be the only person who starts thinking about what to cook next while I am doing the dishes for the meal I just finished eating ... right?

Favorite cookbook: I flirt with all of them. But I am a sucker for good writing and great pictures.

Favorite recipe: Pretty much any combo of good bread and great cheese.


Latest review:

June 20th, 2020

Slow-Roasted Tomatoes from One Good Dish

A dish that could not be simpler to make, and absolutely delicious. Topped the cooled tomato with a room temperature slice of mozzarella drizzled with EVOO and some ribbons of basil. A real treat. read more >


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aj12754's Reviews


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3 recipe(s) reviewed. Showing 1 to 3Sort by: Title | Date | Rating

All About Braising: The Art of Uncomplicated Cooking

By Molly Stevens
W.W. Norton & Co. - 2004

13th February 2011

Braised Turkey Thighs with Onions and Apples : page 195

The sauce is the show here, a sweet and savory mix of apple cider, chicken broth, apples, onions, garlic and herbs. It goes really well with the dark meat of the turkey thigh. I am not even much of a turkey fan -- but this was really good.

If you are in the mood to spend a few hours in the kitchen, and dirty a few pans, this is an enjoyable recipe to make and it can be on the table in a couple of hours or so.

Kudos to Molly Stevens for the precise and detailed instructions and for providing weight meaurements of key ingredients.

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14th February 2011 (edited: 14th February 2011)

Short Ribs Braised in Porter Ale with Maple-Rosemary Glaze : page 247

In a word ... Wow ... oh my ... YUMMM.

Ok, that's four words. But this is a great flavor profile and a great dish. And I can say this even though I had some pretty lousy quality short ribs purchased from Whole Foods. If you make these, it is worth a trip to a good butcher who can give you the very best, meatiest short ribs available. That's what I am doing next time. The recipe deserves the best ingredients.

I used Guiness Stout and chicken stock for the braising liquid and it was just great over the meat and mashed potatoes I served this with. But what puts this over the top is the final step -- brushing the ribs with a maple-rosemary-horeradish glaze and putting under the broiler for 3-4 minutes.

And again, a big high five to Molly Stevens for the clarity and precision of her recipes. A novice can succeed with her recipes and an experienced cook may find that Molly Stevens can teach an old dog new tricks.

Side Salad -- mesclun, sectioned tangelo, shaved fennel, chopped Marcona almonds with a sherry vinegar/tangelo juice/honey/mustard/grapeseed oil vinaigrette.

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This is a quick braise which makes it a nice choice for a weeknight. I used skinless and boneless chicken thighs since that is what was in the freezer, so I was able to skip the browning step, downside is a bit less flavour, upside its healthier without the skin and gets to the table quicker.

The sauce prompted an immediate yumm from my husband -- we both really liked the star anise and orange combo.

There is no salt added to the dish, but since it has both soy sauce and fish sauce, and the sauce is reduced before serving, it's a good idea to taste while reducing since it can get too salty. I ended up wishing I had added a bit more stock and reducing again to bring down the saltiness a tad. Molly does warn you about that in the last step and suggests that if the dish is too salty at the end to add a splash of vinegar --I didn't but I wished I had.

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