kaye16's Reviews
1460 recipes reviewed. Showing 101 to 150Sort by: Book Title | Date | Rating | Recipe Title 
Mediterranean Clay Pot Cooking: Traditional and Modern Recipes to Savor and Share
By Paula Wolfert
Wiley - 2009
Maybe even 3.5. The food was good, but the instructions were poor. The editor clearly had an afternoon off.
I could only find filo, rather than brick/briq, so used that instead. Not really problem since they're essentially the same afaics, brick being round and filo rectangular.
If you're not making the chicken part ahead, use a skillet for cooking that bit. Otherwise you have to clean the tagine before assembling the dish.
The instructions do not tell you when to add the cooked chicken. I stirred mine into the egg mixture, but I expect you could also spread it on the brick/filo in the tagine and then top with the egg mixture.
Do you put the lid on the tagine to bake? The recipe offers no clue. I did.
The cooking time, 25min, was way too short. I probably cooked my twice that amount.
Doubting if this serves six. Three of us ate it all, but we were piggies. Four is probably a better number.
useful (0)
Website: Cooking Light
These were very tasty. Using up some filo, I made four packets, which should serve four people, but two of us ended up eating them all, since they were so tasty. We are a bit full, but happily so.
I used store-bought harissa rather than making it. Authentic stuff is easily available in the shops here, so there doesn't seem much point in going to the trouble.
A couple of my packets (filled with boiled potatoes that had been sautéed with turmeric and cayenne, feta, and an egg) fell apart as I folded them up, so I quickly wrapped them up in an extra sheet of filo. Luckily I had enough to take care of this. Might start with two sheets, just to be sure.
Discounting making the harissa (which could easily be done ahead, I'm sure), this didn't take all that long to make. The rest of the prep can be done while the potatoes are boiling. Then they get sautéed. Then the packets assembled and popped into the oven for 9 minutes. (And I managed to make a carrot salad that involved a bit of chopping while this was all happening.)
Altogether, a Keeper!
useful (0)
Cooking Light '88 (Cooking Light Annual Recipes)
By Oxmoor House
- 1987
Pretty darn good tuna patties. I'm usually not good with patty things, but these turned out quite well.
I made a half recipe, used one egg yolk for the patty mixture and the white for applying the bread crumbs (rather than a whole egg).
Instead of regular worcestershire sauce as asked, I used white wine worcestershire (nowadays called worcestershire for chicken or some such).
Very good tuna patties. Not good for a weeknight, although they could be made up the night before for baking the next evening.
useful (0)
Mediterranean Hot and Spicy
By Aglaia Kremezi
Clarkson Potter - 2009
Made a halfish recipe with tuna.
Ed thought the sauce was too strong for the tuna; but it was good over the orzo I served as a side.
The times given for cooking tuna rare are much too long.
useful (0)
Vegetable Harvest: Vegetables at the Center of the Plate
By Patricia Wells
William Morrow Cookbooks - 2007
Easy, fast, and excellent.
useful (0)
The Best Pressure Cooker Cookbook Ever
By Pat Dailey
Harpercollins - 1994
The relish/sauce for the tuna was really tasty, the sweet of the cooked onions, bell peppers, and balsamic vinegar came together very nicely. But ...
The instructions say to cook the relish topped by tuna steaks at pressure for 2-1/2 minutes for a slight pink center or 3 minutes for full cooked. Our steaks were fully cooked at 2-1/2 minutes, which is a shame, since we both like our tuna, not even pink, but red in the center.
I don't think I'll subject any more tuna steaks to the pressure cooker treatment, but I'll definitely consider making this sauce, maybe just in a skillet, to go with tuna steaks from the grill.
useful (0)
The Complete Asian Cookbook
By Charmaine Solomon
Tuttle Publishing - 1992
Serves 2, I think, an omelette with 4 eggs.
Oops, I thought there was a can of crab in the pantry, but there wasn't, so I used a can of (water-packed) tuna instead. Nevertheless, this was quite a nice omelette. Well worth trying again when I get the pantry properly equipped.
useful (0)
Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home: Fast and Easy Recipes for Any Day
By Moosewood Collective
Simon & Schuster - 1994
Dessert or side, the ginger/honey/lime juice dressing is an adult way to dress up a fruit salad. Nice if you can get tropical fruits, but also good with apples or pears added.
useful (0)
The Pasta Bible: The Definitive Sourcebook, with over 1,000 Illustrations
By Christian Teubner, Silvio Rizzi, Tan Lee Leng
Chartwell Books, Inc. - 2009
Very simple and very tasty.
I made a halfish recipe, store-bought fresh pasta.
Used a quality store-bought pesto, and tomato bits from a can.
Comes together quickly and tastes really good.
useful (0)
Classic Pasta Cookbook
By Giuliano Hazan, Marcella Hazan, Marcella Hazan
Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd - 1993
Our walnut tree produced abundantly this year, so I'm working on using up the bounty.
This was good, but nothing special. The sauce seemed seemed awfully thick at the end, so I added more than pasta water than asked. It's a pretty monochrome dish, too; some minced parsley sprinkled on at the end might liven things up visually.
useful (0)
Book of Middle Eastern Food
By Claudia Roden
Vintage - 1974
I liked this; DH not so much.
Still I'm never sure what to do with soggy salads like this; it's really more like a soup.
useful (0)
Recipes: The Cooking of Spain and Portugal
Good instructions. Used an awful lot of olive oil, so I did quite some blotting of the potatoes. But the results were tasty.
useful (0)
The Cooking of Spain and Portugal, plus accompanying Recipes: The Cooking of Spain and Portugal (Time-Life Foods of the World)
By Peter S. Feibleman, The Editors of Time-Life Books, Dmitri Kessel, Brian Seed
Time-Life Books - 1977
This was good, if a bit oily. Needed some blotting with paper towels before serving.
useful (0)
Classic Pasta Cookbook
By Giuliano Hazan, Marcella Hazan, Marcella Hazan
Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd - 1993
An instant favorite.
I made a halfish recipe. Easy and quick to assemble; the only fussy part is peeling and seeding tomatoes. Very pretty with the colors of the Italian flag.
I made fresh pasta as a go-with, rolling to 5 (thickish) and cutting as spaghetti to approximate tonnarelli.
useful (0)
Nice pasta dish with a surprising (to me) combination of ingredients: mushrooms (dried and fresh), tomatoes, shrimp, and cream.
Used store-bought fresh pasta from the freezer.
Very tasty.
useful (0)
Very nice, and fast. I made a half recipe.
This was the first time I'd seen some of the scallops chopped fine to go with the whole scallops.
Put pasta in as the garlic and chilies start cooking.
This goes together quickly after everything is ready.
Might quarter bigger scallops.
useful (0)
The Food Of Morocco
By Paula Wolfert
Ecco - 2011
I made a half recipe. The tomatoes were a bit wimpy as they are at this season; the roasted peppers came from a jar; and (oops!) my one red onion was bad, so I substituted a shallot. Very tasty.
Another very good salad from this book.
useful (0)
Madhur Jaffrey's Indian Cooking
By Madhur Jaffrey
Barron's Educational Series - 1983
A very nice Indian relish/condiment. It complemented the Shrimp in a Dark Sauce very well.
I saw Jaffrey make this on TV. She suggested making it with mint instead of coriander. Both ways are good.
useful (0)
30 Minute Indian: Cook Modern Indian Recipes in 30 Minutes or Less. (30 Minute Cooking)
By Sunil Vijayakar, William Reavell
Laurel Glen Publishing - 2000
Easy and tasty.
useful (0)
The Italian Slow Cooker
By Michele Scicolone
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt - 2010
My half recipe made about 1-1/2 cups of sauce; a whole recipe would make about 3 cups (NOT 6 cups as stated), which is sensible considering it starts with two no-longer-2-cup cans.
My crockpot being otherwise occupied, I made this on the stove. It was quite tasty as I put it up.
useful (0)
The Cast Iron Skillet Cookbook: Recipes for the Best Pan in Your Kitchen
By Sharon Kramis, Julie Kramis-Hearne
Sasquatch Books - 2004
A pretty darn good way to cook a chickie. The spices could be anything you prefer, although there's nothing wrong with the rosemary/thyme/oregano mix prescribed. The chicken tender and juicy. Not sure why weighting it down would make such a difference, but this was one of the best roast chickens I've done.
useful (2)
Website: Cooking Light
Tastes aren't bad, although the "dash of crushed red pepper" could be more substantial. A good squirt of sriracha gave it some oomph.
I think this recipe must be from when quinoa was first becoming known/trendy. I love quinoa, but don't think it's appropriate here. Rice would have been a much better choice. Better texture contrast for the veggies and would soak up the sauce/dressing better.
The recipe says it serves 6 as a main. Those are really dainty eaters. We'll have only 3 servings for a whole recipe.
I had only 250g, slightly more than 8oz of tofu. This was a fine amount.
useful (0)
Tofu Cookery
By Louise Hagler
Book Publishing Company (TN) - 1991
Made a half recipe, with no water chestnus, no yeast, and no flour. Used more than the require amount of shrooms in the sauce. Pretty good, I wrote as a note.
useful (0)
Fast Vegetarian Feasts
By Martha Rose Shulman
Main Street Books - 1986
This is one of my favorite things to do with tofu. Who knew that pressing tofu would make such a difference in the texture? You end up with something dense and chewy, not soft and squishy like tofu is ordinarily.
The pressing is simple, but takes a half hour or more of clock-time. This generally means that for a weeknight, you have to Plan Ahead and do this the night before. (My notes say if you keep this overnight in the fridge, you should turn the cutlets once.)
Shulman recommends another half hour for marinating. I've done this with less, but the more time you can let them soak, the better.
The marinade in the recipe is good, but you don't need to be limited to this. Replacing the tahini with a nut butter is a simple variation. Any clinging marinade should be scraped off before cooking.
The cutlets can be broiled or sautéed or even cooked on the bbq grill (Shulman doesn't mention this option). They are easy and *really* good.
- - - - -
I finally found some real tofu and made this again tonight. Since I've now got a stove with a real broiler, I decided to use that. I started by following Shulman's suggested times of 5 minutes per side. Side one was pretty well burnt. Tried 3 minutes on the second side and that was not quite as bad but still darker than we'd like. Of course this is dependent on how your particular broiler works, but I think looking in about 3 minutes would be a good idea.
useful (1)
Bistro Cooking
By Patricia Wells, Judy Kleiber Jones
Workman Pub Co - 1989
Really good. The garlic sauce for the broiled tuna sounded doubtful -- lots of garlic, sautéed, then mixed with red wine vinegar -- but it was perfect.
useful (1)
Madhur Jaffrey's Quick & Easy Indian Cooking
By Madhur Jaffrey, Philip Salaverry
Chronicle Books - 1996
Very good, yes. I've made this with pork and lamb, with and without the pressure cooker. Easy and delicious. In the PC, it needs more than 2tbl of water; a third to half cup is good.
useful (0)
Madhur Jaffrey's Indian Cooking
By Madhur Jaffrey
Barron's Educational Series - 1983
I've looked at this recipe repeatedly, but never managed to make it. Finally did, as part of our new year's day meal, and delicious it is.
I cut my eggplant into quarters lengthwise and then into thick slices. Instead of frying these, I tossed them with olive oil (less than a quarter cup, I'm sure), and broiled them. (My stove has a built-in broiler.)
We really like this. I will not wait years to make it again.
useful (1)
Madhur Jaffrey's Cookbook : Food for Family and Friends
By Madhur Jaffrey
Pavilion/Michael Joseph - 1987
Really tasty, tender portk; really easy to make.
I buzzed the marinade/sauce with my staff mixer, rather than finely chopping onion and garlic.
useful (0)
The Best of Vietnamese & Thai Cooking: Favorite Recipes from Lemon Grass Restaurant and Cafes
By Mai Pham
Clarkson Potter - 1995
Pretty good and easy to assemble.
Made a halfish recipe with haricots verts. They needed a bit more to cook than indicated. No kaffir lime leaves.
useful (0)
Cooking Know-How: Be a Better Cook with Hundreds of Easy Techniques, Step-by-Step Photos, and Ideas for Over 500 Great Meals
By Bruce Weinstein, Mark Scarbrough, Lucy Schaeffer
Wiley - 2009
It's probably stretching it a bit to call this Thai; it's more an interpretation of Thai, seen through a US lens. But not bad.
I made a half recipe for the two of us, using about 175g of frozen, cooked shrimp. This was probably a bit less that called for, but plenty. If I do this again, I'd add the shrimp (fresh or frozen) about halfway through the final cooking so they don't get overdone.
I thought the apple was a bit odd (I wonder what that's supposed to be?), but DH liked it.
Garlic scapes? Ha. Chopped up a garlic clove and added with the aromatics.
Didn't have quite enough fresh ginger, so added a dash of the powdered stuff.
Pretty good for a fast and easy dinner.
useful (0)
Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites: Flavorful Recipes for Healthful Meals
By Moosewood Collective
Clarkson Potter - 1996
Yum's the word, yes indeed! It was an especially nice summer salad.
useful (0)
Thai Cooking Class (Bay Books Cookery Collection)
By Somi Anuntra Miller, Patricia Lake, Ashley Barber
Harpercollins - 1995
Quite a good version of fried rice. I made a half recipe for two.
- The recipe calls for 880g of cooked rice. I cooked 2/3cup; this made about 370g of cooked rice, which was plenty for two.
- Used 200g of small cooked shrimp, defrosted.
- Used 2 eggs.
- I didn't realize until two late the "capsicum" means a bell pepper rather than a chili, so just omitted this.
- If you didn't have green beans, I bet peas would be nice.
- For my half recipe, I used all the red curry paste and fish sauce. Add another slog of red curry paste after tasting.
Still, this was a pretty good version of fried rice.
useful (0)
Madhur Jaffrey's World-of-the-East Vegetarian Cooking
By Madhur Jaffrey
Knopf - 1981
A different take on your standard fried rice.
This is the only dish I've ever seen that uses Red Bean Curd, and the reason I made it. It's a weird, but interesting, taste that takes a bit of getting used to.
useful (0)
Braises and Stews: Everyday Slow-Cooked Recipes
By Tori Ritchie, Cook's Illustrated Magazine, Ben Fink
Chronicle Books - 2007
Thai? Well, maybe.
Quite good, but maybe a bit more green curry paste would be nice, even maybe 1 tablespoon (instead of 1 teaspoon).
I had about 3/4 of the fish (I used lieu noir—saithe I think in English) but made a full recipe as dinner for two. It was good, if slightly underspiced.
useful (0)
Website: Eating Well
Pretty good stuff, easy and fast.
- Used half of noodles and meat; all of sauce and veggies.
- Used green curry paste.
- Cooked my green beans before chopping.
- Forgot the cilantro at the end; this would have been a nice touch.
useful (0)
Website: Once Upon a Chef
This is my go-to recipe salad recipe for a Thai, or other SE Asian, meal. Not too much work, excellent results.
Lacking a red onion, I've used shallots instead
useful (0)
Asian Ingredients: A Guide to the Foodstuffs of China, Japan, Korea, Thailand and Vietnam
By Bruce Cost
William Morrow Cookbooks - 2000
Very good salad. A half recipe generously served two because we made an effort to finish it rather than have leftovers, so 6-8 for a full recipe is probably right. Easy to assemble, and will sit around waiting for the meal to be served if necessary.
useful (0)
The 30-minute Cook
By Nigel Slater
Penguin Books Ltd - 2006
A main dish for two. Quite tasty, easy, and fast.
- I thought this was a trifle salty; Ed thought it was almost uneatably salty. This is odd, since he's usually the one adding salt at the table. There was too much sauce, so it might to do reduce the soy and fish sauces a bit.
- I used aiguillettes of duck, the small narrow muscle behind the breast proper, from the freezer, no skin involved. Worked fine. The somewhat stronger taste of duck compared to chicken breast is probably better.
- Oops, no carrots in the house! I peeled some broccoli stems for the crunch. They worked fine, but we missed the color.
- It's December and there's mint growing outside. Wonder if we'll have winter this year.
All in all, we liked this even though it was salty. A satisfying meal.
useful (1)
Website: Eating Well
We liked this a lot. Easy to make and comes together quickly once your prep work is done.
- The recipe call for 1# (454g) of chicken to serve 6. I had ~350g for two.
- Made all the sauce, with only 1tsp brown sugar.
- 3/4tsp crushed red pepper.
- 2 cups of broccoli bits, slightly more water probably. Toss for a bit, then two 3-minute sessions covered. Then the broc was done.
- Fresh cilantro and mint. Basil from the freezer.
Good stuff.
useful (0)
Website: Cooking Light
Very tasty. I made about 2/3 recipe with 2 thighs per person. (We find the advertized 1 thigh per person to be pretty skipmpy). Measured the honey was short since we don't especially like sweet things. Thunderstorms meant I cooked this under the broiler: baste and 5 minutes on side A, baste and 5 minutes on side B, baste and 5 minutes on side A again. The meat was perfectly done, but I should have omitted the final baste, since the glaze got pretty black.
useful (0)
The Essential New York Times Cookbook: Classic Recipes for a New Century
By Amanda Hesser
W. W. Norton & Company - 2010
A cake that lives up to its hoopla. Really easy to make. And to eat. Amazingly light textured. Used more or less the full amount of sugar, since it's the first sweet I've made from this book, and it was fine -- which is unusual for a U.S. cookbook. (For many US recipes I cut the sugar back up to 1/2 so it's not excruciatingly sweet.)
Definitely a make-me-again cake.
useful (2)
Chocolate & Zucchini: Daily Adventures in a Parisian Kitchen
By Clotilde Dusoulier
Broadway Books - 2007
Easy and yummy. Serves 10? Those are very dainty eaters. Six, or possibly eight, but never ten!
I used a pâte sablée from the freezer rather than making one from her recipe. I still have 3 more frozen (a packet of 4, it was, that I bought!), but I think the homemade one would be better.
This is very easy to assemble. While the crust is having its first bake in the oven, you can easily make the filling and wash the blueberries. After the crust has cooled a bit, you add the blueberries, top with the almond cream, and put it back in the oven.
I think this might work with other fruits also, not really soft or liquid ones, but firmish, anything that would go with the almond flavor. Cherries? Raspberries perhaps?
useful (1)
The Tenth Muse: My Life in Food
By Judith Jones
Anchor - 2008
This is my standard go-to recipe for pâte brisée/pie crust.
It's made in the food processor with alligator pulses, to keep the butter from melting. Flaky, wonderful crust. Perfect. Whenever I make one, I make a second to put in the freezer.
useful (0)
Great Vegetarian Cooking Under Pressure
By Lorna J Sass
Cookbooks - 1994
Well, it's bean soup, what can I say? The tarragon was a nice touch and went surprisingly well with the tabasco that we both used to spice things up.
useful (1)
Madhur Jaffrey's Spice Kitchen: Fifty Recipes Introducing Indian Spices and Aromatic Seeds
By Madhur Jaffrey
Clarkson Potter - 1994
I've made this repeatedly and we've always enjoyed it. It makes a pretty addition to a plate. I've used fresh green beans, frozen green beans, haricots verts, and the Dutch snijbonen (which I think are called runner beans in English, but I've never seen them in the US).
This recipe can be made ahead to a great extent and finished, starting about 10 minutes before serving. Have the beans cooked and all the spices measured and chopped.
useful (0)
30 Minute Indian: Cook Modern Indian Recipes in 30 Minutes or Less. (30 Minute Cooking)
By Sunil Vijayakar, William Reavell
Laurel Glen Publishing - 2000
Good enough, but nothing very "tandoori" here.
useful (0)
Flavours of India
By Madhur Jaffrey
BBC Books - 1995
Made this with salmon. It was delicious. And not too hard really. But you probably need two skillets, one for the fish and one for the sauce.
useful (0)
Indian Light Cooking: Delicious and Healthy Foods from One of the World's Great Cuisines
By Ruth Law
Dutton Adult - 1994
DEElicious! A bit thin, perhaps, but that might be what's intended. The flavor is so good, I don't really mind.
useful (0)
30 Minute Indian: Cook Modern Indian Recipes in 30 Minutes or Less. (30 Minute Cooking)
By Sunil Vijayakar, William Reavell
Laurel Glen Publishing - 2000
Easy and really yummy. I tasted at some point and added more tamarind, since I thought more of that nice sour taste was needed to balance the sweet of the dates. Next time I'll double the tamarind asked. But definitely a next time. This is a favorite.
useful (0)
Laurel's Kitchen: A Handbook for Vegetarian Cookery and Nutrition
By Laurel Robertson, Carol Flinders, Bronwen Godfrey
Bantam - 1968
This is an old favorite; ran across it again recently and thought it's time to make it again.
Used black beans this time (instead of pinto or kidney), but have also used cannellinis.
Unless you like these things a bit crunchy, it's best to add the chopped bell pepper and celery to the sautéing onion and garlic so they can all soften together.
I usually add some cumin (which is listed an an optional ingredient The New Laurel's Kitchen) and some ground oregano if I have it. This time I added some chipotle powder too, which didn't hurt at all.
Authentic Mexican, definitely not, but tasty comfort food.
useful (1)