kaye16's Reviews
2 recipe(s) reviewed. Showing 1 to 2Sort by: Title 
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The Grains Cookbook
By Bert Greene
Workman Publishing Company - 1988
From-Scratch Buckwheat Noodles : page 74
For a main, for the two of us, I made a half recipe of this. Elsewhere, I read that buckwheat noodles are typically three parts buckwheat flour to one part white flour, so I used that ratio in my cut-back recipe (3/4 cup buckwheat flour and 1/4 cup tipo 00 flour), rather than half buckwheat flour that Greene prescribes.
I mixed the dough in the food processor as Greene suggests, but I really don't see the problem with mixing by hand. When I started making pasta "by hand", I did use the processor for the mixing, but there are so many bits of the processor to be washed, whereas if you mix by hand, there's just a big bowl and maybe a fork to get things started.
(Also, using the processor, I've never had the dough come together in a ball all by itself. I usually have to dump it out and make a ball. If I then put it back in the processor, it stays together and cleans the sides as they always say it does.)
Using my cut-back recipe, I should have needed no more than 1-1/2 tablespoons of water. I'm sure I added more than that, and it could have used a bit more.
Lacking access to soba noodles for another recipe, I made these as a substitute. They were very tasty and I'd definitely do this again when the earthy kind of taste that buckwheat adds is needed.
useful (1)
Sausage and Pepper Polenta : page 123
We definitely liked this. I baked two quarters and froze the other two for a later time. Ed wanted more, although I thought the quarter was a good amount. As suggested, we had a big salad afterwards. And some white wine. :-)
Any color of bell pepper would work here, of course, but the red and green were quite pretty. Actually any bits of leftover veg would probably work; broccoli would be nice, I think. For that matter, any kind of leftover meat, especially if it were a bit spicy, would be nice.
I learned to make polenta by putting the cornmeal into cold liquid, rather than adding it to hot liquid. This might take a bit longer to cook, perhaps, but it reduces the chance of lumps. The milk-based polenta was lovely creamy.
I thought there was a bit too much of the melted butter added at the end. I think this could be halved without problem. On the other hand, I'd like more cheese sprinkled on top at the end.
I liked that the work for this recipe is done ahead and finishing before serving is minimal. There are days when this is very handy. I bet this could sit overnight in the fridge for a really easy dinner one evening.
useful (2)