MangoStine's Reviews
12 recipe(s) reviewed. Showing 1 to 12Sort by: Title 
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The Gourmet Cookbook: More than 1000 recipes
By Zanne Early Stewart, Ruth Reichl, John Willoughby
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt - 2006
Baked French Toast : page 650
Easiest breakfast ever. I make it the night before then just pop it in the oven in the morning. A delicious way to use up stale bread. I love recipes that are easy to make and come out exactly as described, which is one reason this is probably my favorite cookbook.
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Carrots Vichy : page 528
These are part of my regular rotation. There's not much to say here, I mean it's a pretty basic recipe, but oh, so good. I'm only cooking for two so I usually scale back on the amount of carrots.
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Chicken Divan : page 358
My husband, who is not a foodie in any sense at all and could care less about food in general, refers to this as "Chicken Divine". It is that good. This is a great recipe. The chicken is so tender and flavorful, and as SuzeQP noted it is indeed very rich. It's totally worth the while to make. I make this for my husband on special occasions, and for dinner parties. It is not overly complicated to make and the leftovers reheat pretty well.
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Citrus Chiffon Cake : page 713
This cake had a great texture and was easy to bake. I made the acommpanying citrus syrup on page 714. Cake kept well over several days and everytime I took the lid off the cake carrier I was amazed by the delicious citrusy smell wafting out. Despite all of the above however, I don't know if I will make this again. It was lacking....something, je ne sais quoi. If I ever do make it again I will probably make a citrus whipped cream frosting instead, and skip the citrus syrup, which is a bit on the sour side. However a lot of people enjoyed the sour note from the syrup on the sweet cake.
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Cranberry Coffee Cake : page 643
I knew this was going to be awesome when I sampled some of the batter. It's on the sweet side, so be advised. I may bump up the amount of cranberries slightly next time to counterbalance the sweetness. But this was delicious and I will definitely be making it again and again in the future.
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Creamed Spinach : page 578
I had never made creamed spinach until I tried this recipe out in order to use up some spinach before it went bad, and I'm so glad I did. It was super fast, and super delicious.
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Falafel : page 182
This was fun and easy to make. I added dill as well as parsley to the mix just because I love dill so much. I used my oval dutch oven to fry the patties, but I think a skillet might actually have worked better. The recipe says to use a 4 quart saucepan, but again, I think a deep skillet would work best. At first I thought the patty idea was odd because I have always seen falafel in ball shape, but I found that I actually preferred eating the sandwich with the patties. It was just much neater and easier in that shape, so I will do it that way again. The falafel came out crispy on the outside, tender on the inside and nice and flavorful. I will definitely be making these again.
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Gratin Dauphinois : page 572
I have made several potato gratins using various recipes, but this is hands down the BEST potato gratin recipe I have ever used. The garlicky flavor is not overpowering but still very much in the forefront, the texture is perfect. Anytime I have made this it has been quickly devoured. The recipe ratio here is just right, causing the potatoes to come out perfect everytime. It's never too greasy, or too liquidy. The only thing deviation I make is I add thyme on occasion.
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Lemon Pound Cake : page 703
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this cake!!!!!!! It is easy to make and people love it. The lemon flavor is so intense. I used my Kugelhopf pan as the recipe suggested and the cake came out looking lovely in addition to tasting great. I made this as a farewell cake for a co-worker, and everybody loved it and gobbled it right up.
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Lemon Semolina Cake : page 708
This cake tasted excellent to me. However, my husband thought the semolina created a sandy texture that slightly bothered him. This cake was supposed to be cut in half with the whipped cream and berries in between. However, it didn't rise very well for me and ended up very flat so I didn't / couldn't halve it. Instead, I put some lemon curd in the whipped cream, frosted the cake with that and sprinkled raspberries on top. This was not a very large cake at all, but man, it tasted good! My co-workers inhaled it. Next time I believe I might bake two of these and turn it into a layer cake, using the whipped cream / lemon curd frosting again of course.
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Ruth's Pancakes : page 645
The butter flavor in these pancakes is very pronounced. Of course, seeing as how there is an ENTIRE STICK OF BUTTER in the batter that is to be expected. These pancakes are definitely rich, which is why I have only made them once and will reserve them for when I am feeling like a decadent treat.
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Tomato Chutney : page 905
I made this chutney soon after reading AJ12754's review, and I'm so glad I did because it is delicious! I have been putting it on, or in, everything. It is awesome mixed in with some cheesey scambled eggs. I also had it with mushroom pizza for lunch, and am looking forward to slathering some on a grilled cheese sandwich as well. After all, the book does say it is "wonderful with cheese in every way, shape and form." I had neither eaten, nor made, Chutney prior to this and am gald to have expanded my culinary horizon. I do have to admit that I added about 1/8 teaspoon of powdered cloves that the recipe did not call for, and I omitted the 1/3 cup of dried currants, just because I am not a big fan of currants or raisins.
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