aj12754's Reviews
696 recipes reviewed. Showing 51 to 100Sort by: Book Title 
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Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics: Fabulous Flavor from Simple Ingredients
By Ina Garten
Clarkson Potter - 2008
It's barely a recipe but -- as usual -- the Contessa is spot on with her flavor combos and this is a very nice, easy and pretty healthy side dish for a weeknight.
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I agree with other reviewers -- I thought the recipe could do with both less butter and less lemon. On the positive side, the flavors are simple and delicious and it will be easy to find a balance that works to our personal taste. And it really is about 10 minutes from prep to serving. And the frozen fillets I used only took about 20-25 minutes to thaw in tepid water.
I had been wanting to try this recipe for a while, but sole fillets don't seem to be available very often -- or at all usually -- at my grocery store. So I was pleased to find some individually frozen and packaged wild caught sole fillets from The Great American Seafood Company at my local A&P recently. I have to say that the quality of these fillets was very high and I hope that the store will begin keeping these on hand regularly.
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The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook
By Ina Garten, Martha Stewart
Clarkson Potter - 1999
This is barely a recipe it is so simple. But roasting really brings out the flavor and sweetness of the carrots. It is a great fall/winter side dish. Also delicious when parsnips are added to the mix.
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Another Contessa recipe that is so simple it is barely a recipe. But this is the recipe that made my entire family love Brussels sprouts. Just delicious although I consistently find that mine don't need 35-40 minutes in the oven as Ina suggests. I usually plan for 20-25 minutes and I shake the pan every 10 minutes or so.
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Healthy and delicious; recipe makes enough for a family of four to get two meals out of it. Recipe calls for chicken stock but substitution of vegetable stock makes this a great main dish soup for vegetarians.
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This is the only Ina Garten recipe that has ever let me down. The flavor mix should have produced a great granola but the cooking time of 45 minutes resulted in burnt nuts and burnt coconut. I ended up throwing the entire batch in the garbage and have not been motivated to give the recipe a second chance. Especially since the holiday issue of Fine Cooking a few years back (2005?) has three terrific granola recipes that I return to over and over.
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I've done this chicken several times with very good results ... although as another reviewer notes, the onions do seem to burn before the chicken is ready.
I follow Thomas Keller's suggestion in Ad Hoc at Home and let the chicken sit for an hour or so at room temperature prior to roasting. As a result, I generally roast for a slightly shorter period than the 90 minutes called for by the recipe. I think doing so results in better taste and texture.
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If you are able to get really fresh and flavorful sugar snap peas, this is an incredibly simple and delicious side. You don't even cook the peas, simply trim and toss with the oil and sesame seeds.
This is great for a summer side with any Asian main dish. Side benefit is how pretty it is on the plate.
Another winner from the Contessa!
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Barefoot Contessa Family Style: Easy Ideas and Recipes That Make Everyone Feel Like Family
By Ina Garten
Clarkson Potter - 2002
This is a really delicious lasagna; the addition of goat cheese to the classic ricotta and parmesan is a great idea. Adds a tang that takes the dish from very good to excellent.
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Another winner from the Contessa. Easy and delicious and if you buy your shrimp already peeled and deveined, dinner can be on the table in less than 30 minutes. Looks and smells great on the plate.
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I am not a huge coconut fan. But these are delicious and moist and oh-so-pretty to look at.
They smell amazing and that amazing aroma lingers in your kitchen for a while too. I may make these just before the next set of house guests arrive -- they are the aromatic equivalent of "Welcome!".
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Nice mild horseradish sauce to accompany the rib roast in this cookbook. Well-received at my holiday table this year by those who like this type of sauce. It makes a boatload.
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Another Team AJ/Soupereasy Project
This is a delicious and easy version of tuna tartare. We used two flash frozen sushi-grade AHI tuna steaks from Costco that turned out to be wonderful. We were initially a bit worried by the brownish shade of the frozen steaks but they pinked up a bit as they thawed and the taste was first rate. The diced raw tuna is tossed with avocado, scallions, jalapeno, and some toasted sesame seeds. Then the dressing (soy sauce, wasabi, tabasco or other hot pepper sauce, some olive oil, and some lime zest and juice) is mixed up and added. Season to taste. Then into the fridge for an hour.
We made no changes other than using a lemon rather than a lime and that had to do with the fact that neither of us much cared for the quality of the last remaining lime. We also used wasabi paste rather than powder. We served on thin slices of bread. Wonderful flavors perfectly balanced. High five to the Contesssa.
We found that the dish was best right after that hour in the fridge. We both kept some to serve as a dinner appetizer and the flavors definitely muddied with the passage of a few hours.
Our original plan for the day was to compare two tuna tartares but I couldn't find a version of the one I wanted (from Lidia Bastianich's NYC restaurant Felidia -- my husband says it is the best tuna tartare he has ever eaten) so we made a last minute decision to sear the remaining tuna steak and serve it with a plum salsa from Fine Cooking (reviewed separately).
We got the idea from the Le Bernadin cookbook On the Line which pairs a seared tuna and a tuna tartare in one dish. We couldn't get the yuzu juice the Le Bernadin recipe called for so we just decided to run with the idea of two different approaches to preparing tuna. And, as it turned out, the dishes were very different from one another but together made an exceptional lunch.
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Barefoot Contessa How Easy Is That?: Fabulous Recipes & Easy Tips
By Ina Garten
Clarkson Potter - 2010
Although my grapefruit were a little less sweet than I'd hoped, this still made a very nice margarita, Like bhnyc, I chose to serve the drink over ice rather than blend the juice, alcohol, and ice. Very refreshing and pretty to look at.
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Barefoot Contessa Parties! Ideas and Recipes for Easy Parties That Are Really Fun
By Ina Garten
Clarkson Potter - 2001
So simple, so inexpensive, so delicious. Until this recipe, cabbage meant coleslaw to me. Now ... so much more. :-)
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Barefoot in Paris: Easy French Food You Can Make at Home
By Ina Garten
Clarkson Potter - 2004
For lovers of blue cheese, this is absolutely delicious and, as souffles go, very easy. Served with the green salad and vinaigrette recipe in the same cookbook, this makes a lovely light dinner or lunch. I use the individual ramekins and this makes for a very nice presentation as well. Pairs well with a Sancerre.
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An excellent winter meal, full of hearty flavor and healthy ingredients. Somewhat labor intensive since there is a fair amount of prep but it can all be done ahead.
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Very nice brioche and, as always, Ina's directions are very clear. Result is a bread with a lovely texture and flavor. Shortly after making this, I made Dorie Greenspan's recipe for brioche and found that I preferred Ina's. Must be started the day before serving and can be done either as whole loaves or individual brioches using muffin tins which is my preference when having guests.
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Easy and flavorful but for me this salad had a little too much going on. The addition of prosciutto and sun-dried tomatoes was a little more than I wanted and took some of the focus away from the mushrooms, Parmesan and sherry vinaigrette. Also, while I am loath the disagree with Ina because the woman really knows flavor, I suggest stirring the mushrooms as little as possible while you saute them, which I think does a better job of bringing out the flavor of the mushrooms.
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One of my very favorite vinaigrettes. Just delicious although folks with immunity issues should be aware that a raw egg is involved.
2019 update. This dressing pairs perfectly with a French-inspired menu. Recently served this on a simple butter lettuce salad that accompanied a light feast of Anne Willan's paté [Country Cooking of France], two cheeses [a Brie and Roquefort] and a baguette. With a little champagne, it's a perfect celebration for a New Year's Eve at home.
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Quite a lot of prep work involved with the lentils but it is all easily done ahead...even an entire day ahead. Easy for a dinner party since the salmon can be done in under ten minutes. Just make sure your pan is really hot before you start the sear (I've made the mistake of inadequately preheating the pan and it led to some still tasty but unlovely to look at salmon). I like it with the green salad on p. 102 of this same cookbook. Good with a lighter red wine or your favorite rose wine.
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Straightforward gratin, easy to execute. The recipe calls for Gruyere but I wanted to use up an nice English cheddar so that's what I used, omitting the Parmesan. The recipe also called for mixing fresh breadcrumbs with cheese for the topping; I used panko instead and was quite happy with the result. A nice crunch.
If I were to do this again, using the cheddar, I might add some dried mustard or whole grain mustard to the cheese sauce for some additional tang. But this is a very good basic gratin and for my husband, the best part of the meal.
Served with lamb chops and a spinach salad. Paired with a California Zinfandel.
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The Best American Recipes 2004-2005: The Year's Top Picks from Books, Magazines, Newspapers, and the Internet
By Fran McCullough, Molly Stevens, Bobby Flay
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt - 2004
A simple hearty soup that turns into something really special with the addition of blue cheese. A loaf of crusty bread completes the meal, and if you are in the mood for a splurge, pick up some French butter for that bread in the dairy aisle at Whole Foods.
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You need about an hour's lead time for this recipe since the lemon slices need to macerate in sugar for about an hour before broiling and composing the salad.
Since you are using the whole lemon, rind and all, I would suggest using lemons with a thinner rind. And even with a thin rind, it is important to slice the lemons as thinly as possible since otherwise the rind can add too bitter a note to the salad.
The broiled lemons are added to the greens along with EVOO and salt and pepper.
I can't wait to try this one with Meyer lemons.
This recipe was published in the NY Times (link below) if you are interesting in trying this but don't have the cookbook.
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/02/dining/heat-teases-out-the-other-side-of-the-lemon.html?scp=1&sq=baby%20greens%20with%20broiled%20lemons&st=cse&pagewanted=2
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Bistro Cooking
By Patricia Wells
Workman Publishing Company - 1989
Just finished making this -- easy to pull together but I am underwhelmed by the flavor. Still -- it's a few hours until dinner and I am going to let the flavor mellow a bit before serving so rating may go up. The smell (a product of onion, garlic, cloves, and a bay leaf) promises more than the flavor has yet delivered.
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This soup really was something of a revelation as another member has noted -- I am so glad a review for this recipe was posted because I doubt it would have occurred to me to try this soup ... and it would have been my loss. I have had mixed results with this cookbook in the past but this was a very delicious surprise.
Wells says to serve this immediately (takes about 15 to prep and 30 to cook) but I cooked it a bit longer than she calls for and then let it sit for a few hours at room temp while I ran errands. I tasted the soup both right off heat and warmed a few hours later and I thought the flavor improved over that time. The broth is really terrific -- so much so that I am tempted to strain out the veggies and just heat up the broth. I think the broth alone would make a very nice and unexpected first course soup. Or a light lunch served with a cheese toast?
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The Bistros, Brasseries, and Wine Bars of Paris: Everyday Recipes from the Real Paris
By Daniel Young
William Morrow Cookbooks - 2006
A very easy version of a bistro classic. A slightly adapted version of this recipe appears in the November 2010 issue of Saveur magazine (p. 84). Both recipes are based on a version served at the Parisian bistro Chez Georges.
After the steaks come to room temperature, the recipe takes about 15 minutes to execute, from pan grilling the steaks (8 or so minutes) to finishing the simple bearnaise sauce (pan drippings, brandy, cream).
I made one change to this recipe (as did the writer of the Saveur version) in that I seasoned the meat prior to cooking, where the recipe calls for seasoning the sauce rather than the meat.
Served with a mesclun, apple, English cheddar and toasted walnut salad. Dessing was the apple cider vinaigrette from Barefoot Contessa (Back to Basics).
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Bon Appetit
(December, 2009)
Making this is quite a production, involving the making of a peppermint meringue, a chocolate cake and a chocolate buttercream. Once the constituent parts are made, the final product came together quickly with tasty results. Once of the more interesting features of this cake is the mix of textures in each bite, crunchy meringue, spongy cake, and creamy chocolate frosting. It is very minty.
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Bon Appetit
(January, 2010)
Nice winter salad although I doubled the amount of apple as I felt that the flavors needed some additional tartness to balance the sweetness of the lingonberry dressing. Also added more of the toasted walnuts to good effect.
If your grocery story doesn't carry lingonberry preserves, you can often find them at Home Goods.
From the presentation point of view, nice colors. I served this with a mix of green and white cheese tortellini tossed with Costco's basil pesto. The contrasting colors (red, white, green) were lovely enough that even my husband (who usually focuses on flavor) commented on the nice presentation.
Jan. 5 -- Since I had leftover red cabbage I decided to try a 2nd version of this dish even though I just made it last night. Tonight I used 1/2 small red cabbage and one Granny Smith Apple. Added toasted walnuts and the coleslaw dressing from Joy of Cooking. And it must be said -- worked much better than the lingonberry dressing in the original recipe which seemed off-balance to me -- too much oil, not enough acid.
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Bon Appetit
(November, 1994)
The November 1994 Thanksgiving issue of Bon Appetit will always have a place on my cookbook shelves for two reasons. First, the issue is crammed with great recipes and, second, this issue guided me through hosting my first Thanksgiving dinner as a newlywed. This turkey recipe is terrific and the shitake mushroom gravy is just superb.
I serve this with a dried fruit stuffing from the November 1996 issue of Bon Appetit. And I vary my cranberry sauce from year to year going from very traditional (Joy of Cooking) to quite adventurous (a version made with Chinese five-spice powder that I loved but which others found to be just too much of a departure).
All recipes from this issue are available at Epicurious.com
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This was my first non-canned cranberry sauce. It is a really lovely accompaniment to the herb-rubbed turkey in this same issue of BA. My family liked this so much that it was several years before I moved on to try other recipes for cranberry sauce.
Now I simply make two versions for Thanksgiving -- the traditional from Joy of Cooking (which -- if there are enough leftovers -- can be used the next day for a small batch of cranberry shortbread bars) and whatever recipe strikes my fancy from the crop of that year's cooking magazines. Usually something chutney-like that works well on sandwiches made with left-over turkey.
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Bon Appetit
(July, 2011)
While waiting for our unfortunate fougasse to rise last week, soupereasy and I enjoyed a nice lunch of chilled soup and bruschetta, followed by a little dessert of fresh berries and these lovely, not-too-sweet, almost savory cookies.
The cookies come together very quickly in the food processor although we found that we needed to add additional liquid (we used lime juice) before the necessary large clumps would form in the processor. After that it was a piece of cake to roll the dough in balls and flatten the balls into rounds. We didn't bother with the recommended process of using a flat-bottomed measuring cup dusted with powdered sugar to flatten the balls -- our fingers worked just fine. We also skipped the sanding sugar as neither of us like things too sweet.
We both agreed that the pairing with fresh fruit really worked for us. Very summery. But it would also make a nice cookie to accompany a cup of tea on a chilly late winter's afternoon.
People who like sweeter cookies -- like my husband -- would probably not rate this higher than a 3 or 4.
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For the past few weeks Soupereasy and I have been experimenting with breads. The Sichuan pepper bread had great flavor, but the dough was hard to work with. The fougasse had a great olive and herb topping with an unworkable dough.
This bread had a great dough -- beautiful and easy to work with. I would try both of the above recipes again using this dough in place of the ones called for in those recipes.
The filling for this bread -- scallions, cilantro and a mix of black and white sesame seeds -- was delicious as well.
We did make one change to the recipe. Once the dough has risen, it is rolled out into an 18x9 rectangle and the filling is spread across the top. The recipe then says to roll the dough from the short edge. But we thought this would result in much larger rolls than we really wanted. So we rolled from the longer edge and made more rolls of a smaller size, which we preferred.
This recipe is part of a feature on Turkish cooking and several of the recipes look very appealing. This is the grilling issue for the year and also has some appealing slaws as well for those who like that sort of thing ... which I do.
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I gave this slaw a rating of 5 based not on my taste buds but on Soupereasy's. We both made this slaw and when she tasted the final product it was sweet and slaw-like and good enough that she has made it a couple more times. But when first I tasted mine it was harsh, bitter, and hot. Very unpleasant. My first bite was my last bite. I knew I had followed the recipe carefully so I turned to the internet and a little research turned up the reason for the discrepancy.
From PopArtichoke's recipe for Chioggia Beet Carpaccio
"Also, the beets in this dish are not raw, and let me tell you why. When making a simple beet salad last week, I was going to do it raw. I tasted a slice of chioggia beet as I was preparing it, and soon developed a sharp, burning feeling at the back of my throat. I guess is a pretty common reaction, especially with this variety of beets, so just be careful if you’re ever about to have raw beets or beet juice. Some people have no problem with it, and for the record I was fine and the feeling dissipated after 10 minutes, but it never hurts to make sure. This has been a public service announcement. You can now return to your regularly scheduled recipe."
I generally love raw red or golden beets in a salad with nary an ill reaction from them. I would still love to use these very pretty beets in a dish, but next time I'll roast the beets.
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Bon Appetit
(October, 2001)
I have been wanting to try this classic French dish forever and somehow it never happened until this issue of BA came into the house with a lovely and appetizing photo that made it impossible to resist.
The recipe was clear, the plated dish lovely, and the result very tasty. I only wish I'd remembered to take a picture to post with my review.
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Bon Appetit
(November, 2011)
A nice cake. Not my favorite way to use a pear ... but Soupereasy and I enjoyed it. Still -- if we made it again, we'd double the caramel.
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Bon Appetit
(January, 2012)
This was lovely -- pears poached in white wine to which sugar, cardamom and saffron have been added. Unusual, sophisticated flavor -- sweet but not too much so and the creme fraiche was a perfect topper.
The recipe calls for poaching whole peeled pears which I would have done if I was making this for a dinner party. But for an everyday weeknight meal, I went ahead and halved and cored the pears before poaching, and then reduced the cooking time from 30 to 20 minutes.
After removing the pears from the poaching liquid, the liquid is reduced to a thickened syrup ... which happens pretty quickly here ... the line between syrup and glaze is pretty fine.
Nice do ahead dish for entertaining.
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This recipe -- and the poached pears in the same issue -- are by Yotam Ottolenghi, author of Plenty. Based on these two recipes, I'd definitely like to try a few more recipes and have an opportunity to eat in his restaurant.
The roasted veggie mix (red peppers, eggplant, sweet potato, tomatoes, onion, and fennel) in this recipe is totally delicious. I made a few minor changes, using jarred red piquillo peppers instead of roasting my own, and the last of a container of yellow Zima cherry tomatoes (so sweet and tasty I'd been popping them like candy) rather than vine-ripened red tomatoes.
You do need quite a bit of lead time for making the pastry crust, and roasting the veggies, assembling the tart (adding eggs, cream, and goat cheese) and then baking it (all together about four hours), but every step is easy along the way, especially if you are a dab hand with a pastry crust (I am not but mine turned out pretty well this time) or use one from the grocery store.
There is a reason this is the cover recipe for the issue -- it is very very pretty. And even better eating on day two.
That said, this recipe got a four rather than a five from me because I thought the buttery pastry crust was overkill -- almost distracting from the great veggie flavors. I'd love to -- no, I will -- try the veggie mix as a pizza topping.
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Bon Appetit
(December, 2011)
Easy, tasty, savory side made a little special and out of the ordinary by the use of caraway. I used all butter rather than the duck fat-butter combo called for in the recipe. There is a total of 6 T. of fat for 2 lbs. of potatoes in this recipe and I found that I could have gotten by with maybe a total of 4 T.
The recipe says you can sub bacon fat for duck fat and I think I'll try that next time and include some bacon bits scattered throughout the galette.
The recipe directs you to use a springform pan to assemble the galette and then remove the side and bake the galette on a roasting pan -- and mine did sort of flatten and spread out in the oven -- still pretty but a bit lop-sided.
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Bon Appetit
(November, 2013)
This really is a snap to make. Canned tomatoes, chopped anchovies, diced butter, chopped garlic, salt and red pepper flakes are tossed together then roasted in a 435º oven for 35-40 minutes. Then you just mash it up and toss with bucatini or spaghetti (I used the latter). I used fresh zimas rather than canned because I had a ton, but this is probably better with canned unless you want to put the finished sauce through a food mill to take the skins off.
The sauce has a nice kick and as we were eating my husband suddenly said "this reminds me of my uncle's cioppino" and he was right -- the red pepper flakes and anchovies do something really nice for this simple sauce. A great week-night choice, but I also served it to last-minute guests and it worked really well.
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Bruce Aidells's Complete Book of Pork: A Guide to Buying, Storing, and Cooking the World's Favorite Meat
By Bruce Aidells
William Morrow Cookbooks - 2004
This dish had a really nice subtle flavor although I think the title is a little misleading since that "sweet-and-sour" quality (especially the sour side of that equation) is so subtle as to be almost non-existent. It is really a Riesling wine sauce with the addition of white balsamic vinegar and golden raisins.
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The Cheese Course
By Janet Fletcher
Chronicle Books - 2000
I really love goat cheese and Humboldt Fog is lovely goat cheese. I wanted to like the cheese with this bread more than I did, but I would have preferred a slightly sweeter yeast bread than this. The recipe includes 1/3 cup of shallots and I found the flavor of the bread a little too onion-y which I thought competed with rather than complementing the cheese. Also, I thought the recipe needed a bit more salt to bring out the flavor, as well as more liquid as it was a bit dry.
If I make this again (although there are enough walnut bread recipes out there that I may just move on to another recipe), I will omit the onions entirely, add some sugar or maybe honey, and throw in some dried cranberries.
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Chef, Interrupted: Delicious Chefs' Recipes That You Can Actually Make at Home
By Melissa Clark
Clarkson Potter - 2005
Note: on a regular basis, another cookbooker member [soupereasy] and I meet to do some kind of cooking project. These rillettes were part of a day of projects for us (others were the spiced beer jelly from Mes Confitures and Mario Batali's chicken pate with fennel and red onion). "My" reviews for these recipes (and other recipes identified as team projects in the future) are really "our" reviews as they reflect both our efforts and our opinions.
If you expecting a traditional rillette, this recipe might disappoint you. It is definitely more like a salmon salad (one of the ingredients is mayonnaise). If you like salmon salad (and we do), this is delicious.Very fresh and light-tasting. I think it is a wonderful spring/summer appetizer. It might be perfect with a sparkling rose wine.
Although I liked the dish as it was, my cohort in cooking thought the salmon could use a bit more lemon juice and a goodly hit of zest and maybe some minced salted capers.
So our rating is a 4 although I might have been tempted to give it a 5. But maybe that's because I am just so happy to be doing spring cooking again after the long long winter.
Note: This cookbook is a collection of chefs' recipes -- this recipe came from Eric Ripert of Le Bernadin.
A more traditional rillette is available in Dorie Greenspan's Around My French Table -- I haven't made it yet but have it marked to try as a point of comparison with this recipe.
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This is a really yummy recipe -- a team project for "soupereasy" and me ... and an excellent (maybe the best) part of our lunch today.
The recipe comes from Mario Batali of Babbo. We started with some very nice-looking organic chicken livers from Whole Foods. We did modify the recipe just a bit -- after sauteing the red onion and fennel, we put them in the food processor with the chicken livers (after they were sauteed with minced garlic). Fennel seed, sherry vinegar and salt were added, and then we processed everything to a spreadable consistency.
Batali calls for chopping the liver and combining with the other ingredients but we prefer a smoother texture for pate. We also found that we used a bit more salt and sherry vinegar than the recipe called for.
The final product was just delicious, the sauteed fennel red onion and sherry vinegar were wonderful additions to the livers; a nice alternative to French pates that use brandy or other liquors.
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Chinese Cooking for Dummies
By Martin Yan
For Dummies - 2000
I had a little less than a pound of left-over pork tenderloin and this dish provided an excellent use for it. The recipe for the sweet and sour sauce is on p. 88 and it takes about 30 minutes to make. It can be done well ahead and refrigerated and, if you do so, the entire dish takes only about 30-40 minutes to do (cut up pork, onion, green pepper -- cook meat and veggies, add sauce and pineapple -- serve over rice).
We found the sauce pretty spicy so next time, I'd cut back on the crushed dried red chile peppers (I'd removed almost all the seeds before crushing) by about a third. But we are wusses when it comes to heat so I'd guess most people would not find this too hot at all.
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The Chinese Kitchen: Recipes, Techniques, Ingredients, History, and Memories from America's Leading Authority on Chinese Cooking
By Eileen Yin-fei Lo
William Morrow Cookbooks - 1999
This was a team project for Soupereasy and me. Soupereasy thought it was time we tried cooking with pork belly and selected this recipe for our first attempt with this ingredient.
After simmering the pork belly for around 45-60 minutes, it is cooled and then sliced in preparation for being tossed into the wok along with some leeks, ginger, and chopped green pepper (this last ingredient we chopped into about 3/4 dice rather than the 1-1.5 dice called for in the recipe ). After the veggies are stir-fried, the sauce (sweet bean sauce, horse beans or chili sauce, ketchup, soy sauce, sugar, rice vinegar, Sichuan peppercorns) is added and you are ready to plate.
The sauce is just delicious and if I was making the dish again, I would double the sauce and serve the pork with rice. We also thought that it would be easy to save a step -- and turn this into an easily doable week-night meal by using a pork tenderloin instead of pork belly.
We served this with our best approximation (since neither of us own the cookbook it came from) of the Cucumber-Sesame Salad recently reviewed here at cookbooker by mfrances.
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Classic American Food Without Fuss:: Over 100 Favorite Recipes Made Easy
By Frances McCullough
Villard - 1997
This is the tomato soup recipe that I turn to over and over again for a "comfort food" meal. The recipe calls for the addition of a quarter tsp. of baking soda and that seems to effectively counter the acidity of the tomatoes which can pose digestive problems for some people. I generally use a cup of half n' half rather than the half cup of heavy cream the recipe calls for as I prefer a lighter feel to the soup. It's a great companion dish for grilled cheese sandwiches.
Recipe also offers a nifty variation -- cream of green tomato soup.
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Simple classic coleslaw recipe that yields very tasty results. As with the other recipes in this cookbook, the basic recipe is followed by a number of tips on prep and variations.
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The flavor and texture of this bread is just wonderful. I omit the caraway seeds as my family doesn't like them. The bread should fully cool down before slicing and, if not toasted, is best the day that it is made. It makes a great breakfast toast the day after it's made. We like it served with the split pea soup from The New Basics cookbook.
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Bit of a caveat before posting this review. The rating is based primarily on my husband's taste buds as my will be inoperable for a few months. He liked this soup quite a lot ... but not enough to have seconds or ask for leftovers. Based on my kind of truncated taste buds, I thought half the dried mushrooms would have been sufficient to deepen the flavor of the soup.
The recipe also called for soaking the dried mushrooms overnight in cold water, as opposed to 30-60 minutes in hot water, which is what I normally see in recipes. I just used the hot water method. I also skipped the addition of egg yolks for thickening, as my soup didn't seem to need additional thickening. I kind of regret that decision as I would have been interested to see how that addition affected the flavor.
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