aj12754's Reviews
696 recipes reviewed. Showing 651 to 696Sort by: Book Title 
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Summer on a Plate: More than 120 delicious, no-fuss recipes for memorable meals from Loaves and Fishes
By Anna Pump, Gen Leroy, Alan Richardson
Simon & Schuster - 2008
I had planned to make chicken stock today using my usual Alice Waters recipe but ran across this recipe when I pulled out this cookbook to look something up after it was mentioned on another foodie website.
It is a straightforward recipe similar to many others -- although this is the first stock recipe I have seen that called for ground pepper rather than whole peppercorns.
Pump suggests an interesting variation which I decided to try-- adding a few chunks of ginger while the stock simmers and a couple of teaspoons of soy sauce at the end of the cooking process. I think this might be very nice to use for an Asian chicken soup.
Simmering away now -- will update on flavor later.
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The Summer Shack Cookbook: The Complete Guide to Shore Food
By Jasper White
W.W. Norton & Co. - 2007
Really tasty and very filling. I omitted the pickled hot cherry peppers since I didn't have any and wasn't in the mood for a grocery store run. They weren't missed at all. Everything about this sub said summer to me.
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Sunday Suppers at Lucques: Seasonal Recipes from Market to Table
By Suzanne Goin, Teri Gelber
Knopf - 2005
It is hard to beat my favorite recipe for sprouts (halve them, toss with EVOO, salt and pepper, and roast about 20-25 minutes in a 400 degree oven) BUT this is pretty delicious and easy. Had to tweak it to what I had in the house (onion instead of shallot, and chicken rather than veal stock), but the result didn't disappoint. No need to use your top-of-the-line balsamic here but I wouldn't use a real low-end version either.
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The Sweet Life in Paris: Delicious Adventures in the World's Most Glorious - and Perplexing - City
By David Lebovitz
Broadway - 2009
This is an unusual cake and one whose flavor seems to grow on me with each small additional wedge I cut for myself.
The crumb is dense (the cake calls for 4 egg yolks and one whole egg) and the rum flavor is subtle and works really well with the buckwheat. I enjoy the sweet-salty combo.
Another benefit - thanks to the finishing directions (an egg wash, some salt sprinkles, and a few passes across the top of the unbaked cake with a fork), this cake comes out of the oven looking like it would be at right home in a patisserie window.
To dress it up even further, it can be served with poached fruit or some whipped cream or creme fraiche. But it's a nice mid-afternoon pick me up all on its own.
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Taste
(Summer, 2011)
This is your basic chocolate chip cookie recipe to which dried cherries have been added. And there is nothing wrong with that!
Served beside a scoop of vanilla ice cream topped with a simple cherry sauce (thank you google -- http://gourmetfood.about.com/od/dessertrecipes/r/chocolatelava.htm).
Next time I'd like to try these with a darker chocolate (I used Ghiradelli semi-sweet in this version) and make the cookies more bite-size.
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Website: Taste of Home Recipes
Although I am sure this will be better on day two, I found it a little bland, even after the addition of the hot sauce included in the recipe. Uncharacteristically, I followed the recipe pretty closely, although I had to up ingredients proportionally to account for the larger than average cauliflower I had.
My main complaint about this recipe is that I missed the onion usually included in a vegetable soup. Here you just throw some carrot and celery in with cauliflower and stock, bring to a boil, then simmer until the veggies soften. Then you make a roux, add milk, and after it is heated, add a cup of cheddar (I used pepper jack) and some hot sauce. When the cheese-milk mixture has thickened, add it to the veggies, and serve. Although the recipe never called for it, I did use a potato masher to break up the cauliflower before adding the milk mixture, and I liked the texture. I think it would be equally good pureed to an even smoother texture.
Because I found it bland, and missed the onion, I added additional hot sauce as well as some snipped chives, both of which helped the flavor along. I was very glad I used the pepper jack as well, since that gave it a little more oomph. Because I really missed the onion, next time I would simply do a mirepoix then add then cauliflower and stock.
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Terrines and Verrines
By Frank Pontais
Food Creation - 2008
This recipe has a ton of potential but more than a few problems, possibly due to a poor translation. The recipe is really too easy to need two cooks, but Soupereasy and I ended up being glad to have two heads to rethink the recipe.
We both think that the first and last three steps of the recipe should be reversed. It just seems to make more sense to make the salad and salad dressing before searing the duck. Also -- the salad is composed of green peas and chickpeas in a lemony tahini dressing; we encountered two problems with the salad:
1) the peas and chickpeas didn't really seem to complement each other and the dressing didn't seem to improve that situation;
2) the dressing was composed of lemon syrup, tahini and cilantro, but the directions for making the lemon syrup (whole lemon cut into 10 wedges, sugar, and water to cover -- boil, then simmer 5 min, then use a hand-blender) gave us a really odd sweet/bitter lemony slush, even though we used a stand blender.
So we started over, used lemon peel with no pits and seeded lemon slices (would supreme the lemon next time) and were much happier with the result and the dressing.
The recipe calls for a duck breast with the skin removed. We decided to render the fat from the skin and used a tablespoon of that to cook the duck. The breast in cut in half length-wide and then each half into thin scallops which are quickly seared (about a minute per side. The recipe calls for a "smoking" pan but we used a non-stick pan over fairly high but not smoking heat. As the duck finishes cooking you add a small amount of soy sauce to deglaze the pan, then off-heat some hoisin sauce. The duck is then placed atop the dressed pea salad and drizzled with additional dressing.
The duck and dressing combo really works, but the neither of us really liked pea salad with it. I do think the duck and dressing would really work with soba noodles, and maybe some slivered snap peas.
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This is the second recipe from this book that is very easy and seems to have a lot of potential, but it just doesn't quite work, for a couple of reasons.
1) finely chopped pistachios are placed in the bottom of the ramekins before adding the cream mixture and baking -- but this just results in soggy nuts that don't add much flavor.
2) the suggested baking temperature (140º C) seems to have been far too low -- after the 40 minute baking time had passed, the cream hadn't set at all. We increased the temp about 40 degrees -- still no progress. We finally just went up to 350º F and took it out nicely set a few minutes later.
Just before serving we added the brown sugar and put it under the broiler. The final flavor was fine but not great; I thought it needed a little more sweetness, but Soupereasy thought it sweet enough.
I would not make this recipe again, but I would try another lemoncello crème brûlée. Rather than doing nuts in the bottom, I think I'd try it with a small pistachio biscotti on the side (I think Fine Cooking has a good recipe for the biscotti).
Update: After the crème brûlée completely cooled the nuts rose to the top and it was a much more appealing dessert.
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Terrines, Pates and Galantines (The Good Cook Techniques and Recipes)
By Time-Life Books
Time Life Education - 1982
This was a joint project for me as I have a friend who enjoys trying new projects and techniques as much as I do.
The recipe is time-consuming and somewhat labor-intensive but not really difficult. And the sense of accomplishment -- along with the tasty end result -- make it all worthwhile.
The recipe called for chicken, chicken livers, pork belly, bacon, and ground veal. We replaced the veal with ground pork but otherwise followed the recipe.
We then ground and mixed the meat and other ingredients (including spices, eggs, lemon, and brandy), then layered the ground meat and sliced chicken in a bacon-lined terrine. It was then baked 2.5-3 hours, cooled to room temperature, and placed in the fridge overnight.
When unmolded and sliced, the terrine was very pretty and the flavor was lovely. I'd been a little concerned that lemon might throw things off a bit (I have been known to have a heavy hand with lemon), but it turned out to be exactly right. Served with a baguette, some cornichons and a well-chilled French white. Also a side salad with arugula, apples and blue cheese and a vinaigrette made with honey, honey mustard, golden balsamic vinegar, and EVOO.
Every single thing about this recipe was fun, from the shopping to the cooking to the eating. A real learning experience as well.
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Think Like a Chef
By Tom Colicchio
Clarkson Potter - 2007
This is just fine as ratatouilles go -- slightly easier and quicker than the version at Smitten Kitchen but with not quite the depth of flavor of Deb's version. Colicchio has you cook the ingredients (onion, zucchini, eggplant, peppers and tomatoes) separately and serially, adding additional garlic and fresh basil at each step, plus salt and pepper. Then you toss them all back in the same pan and cook for another fifteen minutes. After that, you drain the cooked veggies in a colander saving the juices in a bowl, return the juices to the pan and reduce them until slightly thickened, and then return all the veggies to pan again. I expected those thickened juices to really enhance the flavor ... but I ended up with basically no juices when I drained the veggies.
I served this with red snapper fillets -- crisping the skin per the recipe for braised red snapper on p. 61. But then instead of braising the snapper in the lemon vinaigrette called for in that recipe, I set the fillets on top of the ratatouille, covered the pan and braised the fish for about five minutes.
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Website: Today Show
today.msnbc.msn.com/id/34318224
This recipe was presented as part of a food segment on the Today show (a video clip of the segment is also available at the Today Show website).
Mario Batali was the chef and he showed how to make this very easy pesto (basically two sweet peppers, sherry vinegar, salt and pepper, and olive oil). It was very good and quick. The other two pestos included at this url are a broccoli raab pesto and a swiss chard pesto.
Served with a shaved asparagus, prosciutto and parmesan salad that complemented the pasta very well.
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Tom Douglas' Seattle Kitchen
By Tom Douglas
William Morrow Cookbooks - 2000
We really liked the straightforward flavour of this simple soup, although we both would have liked a smoother texture (next time I'll add the roasted squash to the broth and put in the blender after cooking, rather than following the recipe's food processor method).
But the herb mix of parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme really sings (sorry, bad joke) -- but it's delicious and the thyme creme fraiche is a great accent.
Arugula w/ a lemony vinaigrette and topped with smoked salmon was a nice complement to the soup.
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Tyler's Ultimate: Brilliant Simple Food to Make Any Time
By Tyler Florence
Clarkson Potter - 2006
Absolutely delicious. There are never any leftovers and we have had houseguests actually ask to have this dessert two nights running.
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The quality of this dish depends to a great extent on the quality of the strip steaks. Ours were pretty good and so this easy dish turned out to be a nice Sunday night supper. We grilled rather than sauteed the steaks. Tyler's recipe calls for whole mushrooms which is what I did -- but next time I make this I will quarter or slice them both for ease of eating and for presentation.
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The Union Square Cafe Cookbook: 160 Favorite Recipes from New York's Acclaimed Restaurant
By Danny Meyer, Michael Romano
William Morrow Cookbooks - 1994
I like the idea of this better than my execution (overcooked by a minute or two). Also I wonder about the mix of herbs used (basil, tarragon and chives). I think parsley, basil and chives might have made more sense. The recipe suggests serving this with a peach chutney (also in the Union Square Cafe cookbook) but it called for ingredients I didn't have. So, thinking basil, I settled on the tomato chutney in the Gourmet cookbook (p. 905) -- nice chutney and made with canned tomatoes and mostly basic pantry items.
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A nice work out for my knife skills "hashing" the sprouts, although that work-out makes this a bit more time-consuming than my "go-to" recipe for sprouts (halving them, tossing with EVOO and kosher salt and pepper, and roasting). And although this was good, it was not great...I think the "hashed" sprouts would have been better simply sauteed in a little butter with some kosher salt and pepper. I just didn't think the lemon or the poppy seeds or the white wine did much of anything but mask the flavor of the sprouts ... not a good thing to a sprout lover such as myself.
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I first encountered this recipe years ago when it was printed in the food section of the Washington Post. Immediate infatuation...and I whipped up batches of these addictive nuts (spiced with rosemary, a bit of cayenne, brown sugar and salt and pepper) when guests were coming for dinner.
Especially nice for fall/winter entertaining because they are best served warm. When I found a copy of the Union Square Cafe cookbook in a used bookstore, the first thing I did was check to make sure the book included this recipe.
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This is another "clean out the produce drawer" soup (carrots, celery,onion, garlic, parsnips), but it has a more sophisticated flavor thanks to the addition of sage and madeira. The texture is nice too -- the broth is rich and silky while the barley and wild rice are more chewy.
I used chicken broth rather than vegetable broth, but otherwise made no changes. If vegetable broth is used, this recipe is completely vegetarian.
Served with a salad of mesclun, sliced pear and shaved fennel (thank you Zuni Cafe for the idea of pairing fennel with pear) with a vinaigrette made of pear-infused vinegar, buckwheat honey, a bit of dijon. and grapeseed oil. This dressing was actually my husband's favorite part of the whole meal.
I have started using grapeseed oil in all my vinaigrettes since attending a cooking demo given by Nate Appleman (A16 cookbook) who recommended grapeseed oil rather than EVOO because it is light enough not to overpower the other flavors in the vinaigrette. I think he's right.
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This is a pleasant soup -- easy to make but with lots of chopping -- with a subtle spiciness (cumin, coriander, ginger, curry). I think it was good ... not great ... but I also think this is one of those soups that will be much better tomorrow once the flavors have more time to come together.
Served with a salad of watercress, endive, clementine sections, and roasted hazelnuts. I used the Ad Hoc at Home honey vinaigrette to dress the salad. I ended up liking this one a lot but my husband would be happy never to see watercress again.
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This was a pleasant change of pace with very nice summery flavors. The gazpacho sauce is simple and can be done ahead. It is strained after cooking (which I did) but it would be fine I think to just leave it a bit chunky after the blending stage. I replaced the jalapeno with some Asian chili paste since I sometimes find the former to be a bit harsh for my taste.
I did mess up by not noticing that the oil amount is divided and used in three different steps (not mentioned in ingredient list) -- so I added all the oil to the strained sauce instead of reserving some for cooking the shrimp. I ended up being glad I'd made that mistake because after the sauce sat a bit the oil -- now gazpacho flavored -- rose to the top and I skimmed off more than enough to cook the shrimp in; I think it added another layer of flavor.
Served over Israeli couscous to which I'd stirred in some of the sauce as well since I followed my usual practice of making a full recipe of the sauce even if I am only doing half the number of servings. Served with a Spanish rose.
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Unless you are a real connoisseur of swordfish, I'd say the compote (tomatoes, roasted peppers, sauteed leeks and zucchini, golden raisins plumped in white wine, toasted pine nuts, garlic, balsamic vinegar, EVOO, and basil, S&P) is the show here. It would be good with grilled anything.
My compote was based on what I had available -- so fewer tomatoes and more roasted peppers than the recipe called for. The raisins were supposed to be briefly simmered in white wine but I put both in the microwave for 30 seconds and then let them come to room temperature before draining and adding the raisins to the compote. Also, rather than adding raw garlic to the compote, I briefly sauteed the garlic with the zucchini since I think raw garlic can be a little harsh or overpowering. Even with my somewhat past ready-for-primetime pine nuts, the compote was delicious.
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I would describe the seasoning here as more Indian (in a slightly spicy without a lot of heat way) than Asian. The marinade is a snap and the sauce (tomatoes, red onion, garlic, cucumber, and spices plus a half cup of the marinade) is quick and full of flavor. I used my cast iron grill pan for the chicken and as the exterior began to dry out before the interior was fully cooked, I pulled the chicken off the grill, sliced it and threw it into the simmering sauce to finish cooking without drying it out.
The recipe calls for 2 cups of chopped fresh tomatoes but I used a 14 oz. can of tomatoes with no ill effects.
I am just dipping my toe into Indian food -- my husband generally doesn't care for it -- but we both like this quite a bit served over rice with some sauteed cucumbers on the side.
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Website: The Wednesday Chef
www.thewednesdaychef.com/the_wednesday_chef
This recipe deserves a 5 not only for flavor but for ease of preparation and brevity of cooking time (assuming you have purchased peeled and deveined shrimp). The cumin-coriander-chili powder combo with the broccoli is just great. Prep time is about 10 minutes and a 20 minute roasting time ... so if you want rice, you have just enough time to make that and maybe a side salad. The flavors are good enough that it is a great choice when you have unexpected company at the the last minute.
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Weir Cooking in the City: More than 125 Recipes and Inspiring Ideas for Relaxed Entertaining
By Joanne Weir, Penina Meisels
Simon & Schuster - 2004
The flavors here are spot on, especially if you have great apples and go ahead and spring for a really good aged cheddar. But the vinaigrette seemed to need a little something more. I suggest dressing this salad with Barefoot Contessa apple cider vinaigrette (found in her recipe for roasted squash salad in the Back to Basics cookbook).
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Tried this as a week-night main dish in fall/winter. My family didn't love the hazelnuts called for in the recipe and not much is lost by omitting them. Still, it is just an ok recipe although I like the idea enough to fiddle around to get something we'll like better. Maybe some combo of the orecchiette and the balsamic braised Brussels sprouts from Smitten Kitchen.
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Straightforward and tasty -- the gorgonzola is not overwhelming at all. Still ... it's a bit boring and there is no visual interest at all. I wish I'd had a little Swiss chard on hand to liven this up both for the eyes and the taste buds.
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The recipe sounds more appetizing than it turns out to be and there is a mistake in the recipe as well. You begin by cutting your prosciutto into half inch strips and roasting them until they crisp. The recipe directs you to save the roasting pan for baking the fish but the next step has you pan-roast the fish in a non stick skillet. I just used the roasting pan and baked the fish while I made the lemon-shallot relish ... which is in fact just a vinaigrette ... tasty but nothing really special.
Once the fish comes out of the oven, you add the relish and top with the crisped prosciutto ... and both my husband and I found the prosciutto was unnecessary and we didn't really care for it -- and we both love prosciutto.
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The Zuni Cafe Cookbook: A Compendium of Recipes and Cooking Lessons from San Francisco's Beloved Restaurant
By Judy Rodgers, Gerald Asher
W.W. Norton & Co. - 2002
Zuni Cafe Cookbook is in my top five cookbooks to read. But I have not in fact cooked from it very often although I couldn't say why. But then...
Turns out I had bought too much asparagus for a Jaime Oliver asparagus soup and thus had an extra bunch on hand. I wasn't really looking to make another soup but I pulled the Zuni Cafe cookbook off the shelf just to read and opened the page to an asparagus, rice and pancetta soup.
This was a really nice change of pace as asparagus soups go ... not pureed but with a lovely mix of textures. First you sweat onions then add 1/4 c. arborio rice and chick broth and simmer for @ 20 min. Meanwhile cut asparagus on an angle in 1/8 in. rounds and saute with some minced pancetta. Then add to broth, boil one minute and serve. Don't forget to finish with a nice grind of pepper.
The flavor was light and delicious. But what we really liked was the contrast in the textures within the soup, the broth almost silky because of the rice, and the slight crunch of the asparagus. It was nice -- and pretty quick for a light weeknight meal. I made Goat Cheese, Chive and Lemon Turnovers from FC to go with -- they weren't so pretty to look at (my fault not the recipe) and I had a bit of a heavy hand with the lemon zest but still ... tasty.
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I am a great lover of lentil soups and enjoy trying different versions. This soup did not disappoint. In spite of the fairly short prep time (about an hour start to finish), the flavors (red pepper, cumin and black pepper) came together very well and the resulting soup had real complexity and depth of flavor. I liked this soup better with every spoonful.
This is one of the few lentil soup recipes I have tried that doesn't call for a finish with some red wine vinegar -- and it was not missed.
The recipe as written made a fairly small amount of soup, enough for dinner-size portions for three. A salad and a loaf of crusty bread slathered with butter and it's pretty close to perfect for a weeknight meal. Really ... yummmm.
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Even with less than perfectly ripe tomatoes, this was a delish (and completely vegetarian) main dish. Relative to some of the other recipes in this cookbook, the preparation is really straightforward and the end result is very satisfying and filling. This is one recipe where using your best olive oil to finish is really worthwhile.
I used a two day old rosemary bread and was not at all unhappy with the result.
I followed the Zuni recommendation and paired this with a pinot noir and it was so good. Side dish was the broccoli salad from Cookwise -- the green of the salad contrasted nicely with this dish and made for a very appealing presentation.
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This dish looked like the personification of autumn (I'd post a photo but every time I try, it doesn't work -- not sure why). The combo of white rice, golden chanterelles and squash, and brown wild rice makes for a lovely presentation. The texture was nice as well -- a little chewier than other risotto recipes thanks to the addition of the wild rice. In fact, the addition of the wild rice was probably my favorite aspect of this dish.
However, I did feel the flavor was a little lacking. The chanterelles and squash were sauteed in butter prior to adding to the risotto. The only seasoning was salt and pepper, and I think I might have liked this better with the addition of some chopped sage or rosemary -- or both -- to the sauteed squash and mushrooms.
I'd like to try this again, but next time I'll roast the squash and add some herbs. Or may do a pan of roasted mixed root veggies.
The recipe calls for about 5 cups of chicken broth -- I ended up using a bit more than 6 cups.
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Although I found it a bit challenging to work with the dough (I've never been much of a baker), I ended up with a biscotti that I love -- both flavor and texture.
I used the almonds rather than the hazelnuts. Compared to my usual recipe for almond biscotti (from Fine Cooking), this has a finer texture and a more subtle flavor.
I didn't have any anisette, so I used about 1/4 tsp. of anise extract. I also had to bake the biscotti (first bake) quite a bit longer than the 15-20 minutes called for in the recipe.
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Rodgers suggests this as a dessert after a rich winter meal and I think she is spot on there. I made braised short ribs tonight and this light dessert was the perfect counterpoint to the richness of the braise. I loved the hint of rosemary in the honey (I used wildflower honey) and it could not have been easier to make. Served with 1-2 of Zuni cornmeal biscotti and I thought the fruit and cookies went well together.
I have a bit of the rosemary honey leftover -- will keep it around to drizzle over some blue cheese.
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These were very good -- I like the slight tang that the buttermilk adds quite a bit. Made for a crowd of about 20 people and everyone enjoyed them.
To save on dishwashing chores for this dish, I heated the cream in the microwave in a Pyrex measuring cup and added this to the potatoes. Then I measured the buttermilk in the same cup and added to the potatoes, and then melted the butter in the same cup in the microwave-- and the cup then went in the dishwasher.
Even though we all enjoyed these, my favorite mashed potato remains a Tyler Florence recipe in which the potatoes are cooked in a milk-cream mixture to which some garlic cloves, thyme and a bay leaf have been added. Then potatoes are mashed with some of the hot milk-cream mixture.
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After the excesses of the holidays, I was looking through Zuni for something healthy to make and this really filled the bill for two reasons -- (1) I love farro and (2) I happened to have all the ingredients in the house so no need to dig the car out of the snowbank.
It was very simple to make (saute a small amount of onion, garlic, sage, and dried porcinis, then add farro and some chicken stock over about a 20-30 minute peiod -- basically a farro risotto but without the addition of any cheese). It is served with a drizzle of olive oil and a few grinds of the pepper mill (my husband said that the pepper really makes the dish and I think he is on to something there). The flavor is simple and rustic but we loved it --- perfect for a winter's eve.
I did find that it took closer to 40-45 minutes rather than the 20-30 minutes mentioned in the recipe.
The recipe can be made with either dried or fresh porcinis and if you have leftovers -- about two cups (we had a little less) -- p. 200 gives a recipe for turning those leftovers into soup.
Served with a light, dry French red and a small salad of peeled and sliced clementines, shaved fennel, a few candied pecans, and a sherry vinaigrette.
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This is an excellent main dish soup -- and it has the added virtue of making use of any leftover farrotto (p. 199). This is a hearty and healthy soup -- porridge-like and very filling. Nice finish with EVOO and pepper.
Includes the trifecta of the flavors I crave in winter -- bitter greens, nutty whole grains and creamy white beans.
If I have any quibble at all, it is that the recipe calls for a cup rather than a can of white beans. For cookbook challenges, I do try to follow the recipe as written so that I can get a good approximation of the flavors and balance the recipe author is going for. As a result -- I have about a 1/4 can of white beans I need to find a use for. Well ... there are worse problems to have.
Served with Zuni's sage grilled cheese sandwich -- my husband loved the combo, but I thought the kale and sage competed with one another. Next time, I will make some kind of citrus salad to go with this soup.
Finished off the bottle of French red that went with last night's farrotto -- it was good with the latter, but I would have preferred an Italian white with this soup and sandwich.
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We quite enjoyed this sandwich -- the sage, along with some cracked black pepper, is warmed in EVOO and then the cooled-down infused oil is brushed on the cheese sandwich prior to grilling.
I used Gruyere cheese. The flavors are definitely assertive but I tend to like that.
Served with the Zuni farro soup and I thought the flavors (sage vs. kale) competed with each other too much ... but my husband assures me I am wrong about that-- he enjoyed the combo.
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Rodgers admits that process of making these pickled onions is "slightly tedious" (three batches cooked three times for 20 seconds at a time and cooled between). But she says the result is onions of a "charismatic fuschia pink" saturated in a fragrant brine without really being cooked. In other words, the onions are pretty and retain a nice crunch.
The process is just tedious enough that I was kind of hoping she was wrong -- but no -- the crunch is still there and, for me, that textural element adds a really nice touch to both the flavor and fragrance of the onions. And they are pretty too. So they are kind of a win for all five senses.
The brine is REALLY fragrant if you lean over the pan while adding/removing the onions -- brought tears to my eyes more than once.
4/6/11 -- I had almost forgotten that these pickles were on a shelf in the fridge until I went to Whole Foods and saw that the champagne mangoes were in. Which reminded me of a mango and red onion salad from Fine Cooking. So -- using that idea as my starting point --- I chopped up some romaine and frisee, added some of the pickles and diced mango,and then -- kind of on a whim -- added some smoked trout. For the dressing I whisked together some of the pickling liquid, some champagne vinegar, about 1/4 tsp. of sugar and some grapeseed oil. It was really delicious and healthy.
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Very easy -- basically a quick braise that skips the browning the meat step. The meat is very tender (like poached chicken) and the sauce is light but flavorful (some garlic, thyme, bay leaf, small dried chili, saffron, some wine and chopped tomatoes). Served over toasted bread that was supposed to be slathered with the Zuni garlic aoli -- but I completely screwed up that recipe so took the other suggested option and just rubbed the toast with a garlic clove.
My husband pronounced it "outstanding" but I thought it just OK -- hence the 4 rating splitting the difference. I think I missed the flavor that browning the meat would have added.
Served with an orange, fennel and romaine salad dressed with the honey vinaigrette from Ad Hoc at Home.
Dessert -- Honey-spiced Madeleines from Around my French Table.
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Do NOT try to make this in a mini-chopper. Enough said.
:-(
Will try again and update review then.
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I really wasn't sure what to expect with this risotto and the flavor was certainly kind of unusual ... but NOT in a bad way. I followed the recipe as written ... right up to the point where I forgot the mascarpone. We liked it just fine without it -- but I will probably make this again to see what difference the addition of mascarpone makes.
Because there is currently a citrus glut in my kitchen, I served this with a baked salmon with citrus vinaigrette from Fine Cooking and the two dishes meshed well.
Still had a bunch of clementines to use us, so made a salad with romaine, clementine sections, and sliced avocado. Used -- again -- the Honey Vinaigrette from Ad Hoc at Home. It could have been citrus overkill, but we polished off every bit.
I liked that this recipe is easily halved to serve two people.
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I took me a while to warm up to these lentils -- the flavor is more subtle than my usual Barefoot Contessa lentil recipes. I did end up cooking them longer and using more stock than Rodgers calls for. The final product -- which I tasted on its own before topping with salmon -- was very nice.
Served as a base for a salmon dish braised in the same red wine (I used a wonderful pinot noir from Chateau de Costco) and it was fine -- although the sauce for the fish would probably have stood out a little more on a base of rice or mashed potatoes.
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The brine for these grapes is so simple and unusual (new to me anyway) with the addition of a bay leaf and allspice berries to a sugar/vinegar/white wine mix. Probably 3 minutes to make -- plus a minute or two more to wash the grapes and cut into small clusters.
I tasted the brine -- not too sweet, not too tart and a very appealing aroma. The grapes will be in the brine for the next week and then I wall pull them out to serve -- as suggested -- in a salad or with a pate/cheese plate.
It will be interesting to compare these to the pickled grapes I made earlier this year -- that was a pretty assertive brine while this one strikes me as more subtle.
Update: While I do love the fragrance of the brine, I find I prefer the pickled grapes I made from A Homemade Life.
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Very tasty and very easy to execute.
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This was "awesome" in my husband's words, and I thought it was very good myself. I also used the method of poaching the eggs on top of the simmering kale and the resulting egg was just perfectly cooked. I did drizzle the eggs with the olive oil but, like others, skipped the red wine vinegar.
I used a peasant bread purchased from Costco -- which I later realized, from reading the packaging, was from the great La Brea Bakery in LA. It appears that the dough is shipped to Costco and the loafs are cooked on site, bagged and sold. It was a delicious, hearty and healthy element of this dish.
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Generally, I am not wishy-washy in my response to a dish. I like it or I don't and it's pretty easy to determine what works for me and what doesn't. That's why I am puzzled by my reaction to this very simple salad. I know I was a big fan of the air-dried beef (a.k.a. bresaola) which was something I'd never had before. It was very nice with my good (not great but the best I could find) butter lettuce.
I think it might be the vinaigrette that's throwing me. Generally, I use a 1/3 ratio of vinegar to oil which is kind of standard although some recipes are 1/4. This vinaigrette is a 1/6 ratio. The oilier dressing worked well with the beef but seemed too heavy for the lettuce.
Also, I made a half recipe of the dressing (champagne vinegar, EVOO, salt, coriander seed), but used the full amount of toasted and crushed coriander seed whisked in. And my lunch guest/co-cook and I agreed -- we would have liked even more of the coriander. I'd also like to try this with other kinds of vinaigrette. Maybe a tomato vinaigrette.
Note: Rodgers says to toast the coriander a few seconds -- but I felt that this really had little to no effect and continued toasting (about a minute and a half to two minutes -- until I could smell the coriander but it didn't smell burnt). Next time I will toast the seeds even a bit longer.
The salad was handsome even though I didn't follow Rodgers' plating instructions.
And I am definitely an admirer of the simplicity of the concept behind this salad -- only three elements.
Tried this salad again for dinner with my husband -- made a tomato (rather than champagne) vinaigrette with coriander instead. It was better but not quite there. I think a bit of mustard to tang up the dressing?
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