southerncooker's Profile

From: Boomer, NC USA

Joined: January 3rd, 2010

About me: I collect cookbooks and love to cook and try new recipes. I tested recipes for Leite's Culinaria for almost eight years. I learned to cook from many good southern cooks including my Mom, Dad, several Aunts and my Grandmothers. My children and husband also like to cook and try new foods and recipes. My son still lives with us but our daughter is married. She often visits to cook with me. We are adventuresome eaters willing to try new things.


Latest review:

November 19th, 2018

Bourbon Roasted Pork Loin from Everyday Dorie: The Way I Cook

This was delicious. I know she says in the book not to use the good bourbon but all I had was Woodford Reserve so that's what I used. I marinated for about 8 hours in fridge. Loved the apples and onions... read more >


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southerncooker's Reviews


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43 recipe(s) reviewed. Showing 1 to 43Sort by: Title | Date | Rating

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

I found some great looking asparagus and decided to try this recipe. With such few ingredients I didn't think this soup would be so flavorful. Perfect on this snowy cold day.

It says to add lots of black pepper at the end and I agree this makes the soup wonderful.

Since I had some Arborio rice on hand and it was one of the suggested rices to use I used that. It gave it a nice nutty flavor. The pancetta also adds tremendous flavor.

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3rd January 2011

Basic Rich Tart Dough : page 480

I have never been that great at pastry dough. Maybe it's the fact I've never made it that many times. I had problems with the dough sticking to the plastic when I rolled it out. Then also had some problems getting it to press into the tart pan. I like the idea of putting in the freezer before adding the filling and the ease of only two ingredients -- flour and butter. I'll be trying this one again with other fillings.

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2nd January 2011

Boiled Kale : page 162

Since today is New Year's Day I wanted to fix the traditional things I always fix, collards, black eyed peas, hog jowls and cornbread. I don't always fix them the same way and sometimes want to try new ways but those are the basic things for our traditional southern New Year meal.

I decided to try the boiled kale recipe and substitute the suggested collard greens. This was a good way to fix collards actually a bit healthier than my normal way of seasoning with a smoked ham hock. They tasted really good with the olive oil, onions, garlic and dried red pepper flakes. I did add some extra red pepper flakes as we like our greens a bit on the spicy side. This recipe has four ways to fix the kale and I may try some of the leftovers with one of them.

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2nd January 2011

Boiled Kale on Toast : page 162

I used some left over collards (which I substituted for the Kale as suggested in the recipe) to make this for my breakfast this morning. I decided to try two of the four ways with my leftovers. This one was fantastic. I've always enjoyed the "pot liquor" on my cornbread but would have never thought to serve collards or kale on thick chewy toasty, garlicky pieces of bread. I used shaved pieces of Parmesan instead of Romano and that with the fresh cracked black pepper was so good.

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2nd January 2011

Boiled Kale with Eggs, Fried or Poached : page 163

After taking a couple bites of the Boiled Kale on toast (collards in my case). I proceeded with the next recipe (this one) since it said prepare the soggy toast as described in the previous recipe then proceed. I decided to go with the fried egg. I enjoyed this one too but didn't care for the red wine vinegar that much. Still good but my preference would be without the egg and vinegar. I didn't have any prosciutto or I would have tried that as well.

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10th January 2011

Brasato : page 373

I made this delicious pot roast at my Mom and Dad's for them, my daughter, son in law, hubby and a cousin. It was a big hit. My cousin especially loved it. It turned out with a wonderful flavor and very tender.

I couldn't find a celery root in our local market so I used some celery instead. I know not the same but the closest thing I could think of.

I forgot to get some kitchen twine so I just omitted that step. I'm sure the roast would have held together better using the twine but I had no complaints.

For the wine I choose one of the suggested ones Cabernet Sauvignon. It gave the meat a great flavor along with some store bought beef stock.

I choose the method of pan browning before starting the braising process. There are a few steps before getting the roast into the oven but once it's in there you can sit back and enjoy the heavenly smells filling your kitchen.

I didn't need the optional sugar and didn't add the optional balsamic vinegar. I had some problems pushing the veggies through a mesh strainer so I pulsed them in a food processor first. I liked using them to thicken up the sauce. My husband who usually won't touch a cooked carrot enjoyed the sauce even on his potatoes. Sneaky way to get some veggies in those picky eaters.

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13th January 2011

Brine for Chicken Breasts : page 402

I decided to use this brine on the chicken breasts that I removed from the chicken that I made stock with. I made the stock on Sunday so I pan fried the breasts in olive oil tonight as suggested in the brining instructions.

This chicken had just the right amount of salt without adding any more. I only added pepper to mine and it was delicious , very moist.

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3rd January 2011 (edited: 3rd January 2011)

Butter Lettuce with Oranges Avocado and Shallot Vinaigrette : page 143

I like each of the ingredients in this one but didn't really think it was all that special. I enjoyed the vinaigrette best on the oranges and it's a really good vinaigrette with the fresh OJ included. My tasters both said they thought it was just ok. My Mom tasted of it though and didn't care for it at all, of course she doesn't like avocado and doesn't think oranges and onions go together. It looked really pretty on the plate.

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14th December 2010

Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes : page 233

We really enjoyed this version of mashed potatoes. I like having the milk at room temperature and melting the butter before adding both to the mashed potatoes. We enjoy mixing it up and adding buttermilk occasionally to our mashed potatoes but I hadn't tried both buttermilk and whole milk. Nice change.

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17th January 2011

Carol's Pickled Onions : page 271

We love almost anything pickled around here so I knew I wanted to try these. I had hoped to make the New Year's Eve Gougeres on New Year's Eve and make these to go on them but didn't get around to doing that. These are good alone and I plan to also use them on some sandwiches and maybe even a burger.

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27th December 2010 (edited: 3rd January 2011)

Chocolate Pots de Creme : page 499

Since I'm snowed in I've been in a cooking mode. I decided to make these for our dessert. The recipe does require you to dirty up several pots, bowls and measuring utensils. If you're a chocolate fan and I am, then the end results are worth the effort of several steps and dirty dishes. I couldn't wait for them to completely cool and they were still good. Even better once completely cooled.

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17th January 2011

Citrus Risotto : page 196

This was surprisingly good. I used store bought stock and arborio rice. I went to several stores in our area and couldn't find any mascarpone. I'm not sure why but sometimes I can find it here and sometimes not. I ended up using some cream cheese. My daughter helped me make this and when we tasted of it without the cream cheese we decided it needed that. It was very creamy and delicious.

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I have never heard of coppa and couldn't find it here but the recipe says you can substitute salami so that's what I did. I had some jarred roasted peppers I had planned to use but they were bad so I used some sun dried tomatoes instead. My son doesn't like roasted peppers anyway so it worked out better that way. I made a full recipe and divided it between hubby, son and I. My son ate all his and said he could have eaten more. He loved it. We all thought it was very good and I will make it again. Maybe a double batch next time.

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I used grape tomatoes for these since I think they are really flavorful and I couldn't get the Sweet 100 ones. Hubby and I loved these. I used French bread to make the crostini toasts. How can you go wrong with tomatoes, olive oil, bread and garlic. A great snack or appetizer.

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10th January 2011 (edited: 10th January 2011)

Eggs Baked in Restes : page 184

One of the things I like about the Zuni Cookbook is that often there are recipes for using up left overs from other recipes. This is one of those recipes.

You use some of the braising liquid and leftover roast from the Brasato recipe (page 373), then crack an egg on top and bake.

I baked my husband, son and I one of these in individual shallow baking dishes. I cooked the guys eggs a bit longer as they don't like any runny in their yolks. It did take about twice as long to bake as suggested, even mine, but it may have been my oven.

I liked it especially with the suggested toasted bread used to soak up those lovely juices and yummy egg. Hubby and son thought just ok.

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2nd January 2011 (edited: 2nd January 2011)

Four-Minute Egg Gribiche : page 291

I decided to make some boiled red potatoes to go with our New Year's meal and wanted more than just plain potatoes. I came across this recipe while searching The Zuni Cafe Cookbook and decided to try this dressing since it says in the description of the recipe it will turn ordinary boiled potatoes into excellent potato salad and Ms. Rogers is absolutely correct in that statement.

I already had all the ingredients on hand to make this one except some of the fresh herbs. I used a pinch of dried tarragon instead of fresh and some green onion blades in place of the chives. I know I'll be making it again. I think it would also be good on a salad, as a sandwich spread (suggested in the book) and on the many other things also suggested in the book like, shrimp, crab, scallops, clams and mussels.

I'd never made a dressing where you started with a boiled egg and then proceed like making mayonnaise. It turned out just as described. All the ingredients come together and make a delicious marriage. I love the taste the capers, herbs and shallots give to this dressing.

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26th December 2010 (edited: 27th December 2010)

Fried Eggs in Bread Crumbs : page 178

I have never cared for fried eggs. My egg preference has always been soft scrambled. It's been years since I tried a fried egg and knowing your taste preferences change I decided to try this recipe. I was really surprised that I actually enjoyed it very much. I decided to use some rosemary in mine.

I am not the best at frying eggs since I've never had much practice. My hubby prefers really well done fried eggs but doesn't want the white overly browned nor the yolk busted.

I decided to try for over easy for myself. One of my yolks burst when I flipped them, but they were both still very good. I preferred the one that didn't break and was still a bit runny in the middle. Great for dipping toasted sourdough bread in. I loved the little crunch the crumbs gave to the eggs. I'll be trying this again.

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13th December 2010

Hashed Sweet Potatoes : page 239

I made these delicious sweet potato hash browns for our Sunday breakfast. The recipe itself was a bit confusing to me. I couldn't get the potatoes to swirl into a mass without manipulating them a bit with my spatula. They still turned out wonderful and I know I'll be making these again. Even my husband who said he didn't think he'd like sweet potato hash browns ate his up.

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My husband never fails to surprise me. I was afraid he wouldn't care for this soup as most times when I make lentil soup he doesn't, but he loved it. He ate half the recipe with some cornbread. I had planned to make this one when my daughter was here since both she and I love lentil soup. Plans change and since we had a white Christmas yesterday I decided today was the perfect day since hubby and I were stuck home alone with piles and piles of snow outside. Next time I'll double the recipe if anyone else is here since hubby and I cleaned the pot. No leftovers, sign of a recipe that's a keeper for sure.

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29th December 2010 (edited: 29th December 2010)

Lentils Braised in Red Wine : page 267

Since I had some uncooked lentils left from the lentil soup I made and all the other ingredients on hand I thought this would make a lovely winter supper. It was delicious. I love the taste the wine lent to the lentils.

The cooking method was a bit different in that it's similar to the way you cook risotto. The end result was fantastic though and went well with some corn bread sticks.

I ended up using 3/4 cup more liquid than called for to get my lentils to the nutty-tender stage. I'm not very knowledgeable about wine so I have no idea if Merlot fits the description of medium-bodied red wine but that's what I had on hand so that's what I used and it turned out delicious. Hubby liked the lentil soup I made better he said.

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13th December 2010 (edited: 14th December 2010)

Madeleine's Omelette with Mustard Croutons & Beaufort Cheese : page 174

What a wonderful way to use up some slightly stale chewy bread and a small amount of Swiss Cheese I had on hand. I made a half recipe for my son and I for breakfast this morning as I'm off work today. I did make a couple changes: instead of Dijon mustard and mustard seeds I used 1/2 whole grain and 1/2 Dijon mustards and I used a little more cheese than called for. My son was a bit skeptical at first that he'd like this since his normal omelette is more loaded with goodies, but we both agreed we enjoyed this one.

This would be a nice recipe for anyone who hasn't made many omlettes as it gives detailed instructions.

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16th January 2011

Madeleine's Potato and Bacon Omelette : page 178

I definitely need a new omelette pan. I tried frying the bacon and precooked potatoes together per instructions but the bacon didn't fry properly and the only parts of the potatoes that browned stuck to the bottom of the pan. I made two small omlettes, one for my husband and one for myself. On the 2nd try I tried frying the bacon a bit before adding the precooked potatoes. This worked a bit better and the bacon cooked nicely and the potatoes browned a bit. The 2nd omelette browned a bit more than I prefer.

We both enjoyed these omlettes despite my problems. We both agreed though they would be even better with a little onion added and a good pan to keep them from sticking.

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15th December 2010

Mixed Lettuces and Greens with Garlic Chapons : page 139

This is just a simple salad with a simple dressing (the kind of dressing I usually make), but it tastes really good. I love the garlic chapons and what they add to the salad. I used red wine vinegar. I served it with some bean soup and they went really well together.

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19th December 2010 (edited: 20th December 2010)

Onion Frittata with Balsamic Vinegar : page 180

I had my eye on this recipe but was a bit reluctant to try since I wasn't sure about vinegar and eggs. After reading Lazylurker's review I decided to go for it. The method here for making a frittata is a little different from the other methods I've seen and resembles scrambled eggs. I used vidalia onions and Full Circle organic balsamic vinegar (smallest amount called for) and was pleasantly surprised how good it was. I bet it would be even better with an artisan balsamic. I like my eggs soft scrambled and these were perfect. This made a fast and easy breakfast and I know I'll be using this method again with other ingredients.

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20th December 2010 (edited: 5th January 2011)

Onion Soup with Tomato & a Poached Egg : page 159

I am so thankful for this challenge. I don't think I would have tried this one had it not been for that. That would have been a shame since I would have missed a wonderful soup. My eyes sure have been opened with this challenge... poached eggs in soup and balsamic eggs with vinegar.

I made a half recipe for my daughter and I since I didn't think leftovers would be that good. We loved it. She said it's like a really good onion soup with a poached egg instead of Swiss cheese. Wonderful meal for a cold winter night. I'll be making this one again and again.

I had to add this to my review. My daughter told me yesterday she made this soup, enough for just her, almost every day last week for her lunch. She's addicted.

After reading Queezle_Sister's review I realized I should have added that I also used olive oil instead of duck fat (can't find that around here) and I didn't use any of the optional ingredients.

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21st January 2011

Onion Tart with Apples and Bacon : page 120

After making the rough pastry I made two of these and two of the plain onion tarts. Hubby and I didn't really care for either. I liked this one better than the plain onion though. Hubby said he'd rather have something sweet on his puff pastry. I don't think I'll be making these again but I will make the pastry.

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3rd January 2011 (edited: 3rd January 2011)

Open-Faced Apple or Pear Tart : page 489

I had a little problem with the dough for this one. I've never been that good at pastry dough and need some more practice. My daughter and great-niece assisted me in arranging the apple slices and it turned out looking quiet nice. I did get a little ahead of myself and drizzled the honey before baking when I should have waited until it was cooked. It still turned out quiet good and my great-niece ate 2 slices and took the left overs home with here. It was great with a nice hot cup of coffee. Nice dessert.

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10th January 2011

Orange-Currant Scones : page 479

I really love scones and am always on the look out for new recipes to try. I searched and searched our local markets for dried currents with no luck. I really wanted to make these so I did some research on the Internet and found that raisins were a good substitute for the currents.

I halved this recipe since I didn't need so many scones. I was in a baking mode since it's snowing outside that also was a consideration for why I made a half recipe. Not sure who I'd share them with since hubby and son aren't bit fans.

The orange zest in these give them a wonderful flavor and they smell wonderful baking. They would make a great snack, breakfast or brunch addition and taste wonderful with hot tea or coffee.

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25th December 2010

Oranges and Rosemary Honey : page 456

My daughter and I loved these. No one else in our family likes rosemary. The guys say tastes like pine needles to them. This is a great light dessert and we enjoyed it after our feast of appetizers on this Christmas Eve. I used some of the honey from my brother in law and sons bees. I love the taste the rosemary gave to the honey and then the oranges.

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7th January 2011

Pappa al Pomodoro : page 164

This was excellent. I used Roma tomatoes since they tend to have more flavor this time of year. I loved how the flavors of the onion, garlic, basil and tomatoes enhanced one another. The soggy torn pieces of bread where wonderful in this soup. It's much thicker than most soups and wonderfully filling on a cold winters night. It'd be great alone but I served it with the grilled sage sandwiches from page115 and thought they went well together.

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9th January 2011 (edited: 9th January 2011)

Pasta with Giblet-Mushroom Sauce : page 214

My daughter and I are the only ones here who enjoy occasionally eating chicken gizzards and hearts. I was intrigued with this recipe and since unlike duck fat (which is hard to find here) gizzards are easily found in most supermarkets.

We both loved it and my daughter said she hopes I'll make this one again and I agree. This was a very hearty meal and a nice bowlful was warming and filling on this very cold winter night.

I used baby portobello mushrooms and didn't use the optional pancetta nor the optional sugar. I did use some optional tomato paste at the end. I didn't add extra olive oil as suggested many times. The only time I added a bit more was when I cooked the veggies. I opted to use the mostaccioli pasta. I used some of my left over Merlot wine that I had for the red wine braised lentils. The veggies gave a nice touch to the sauce.

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29th December 2010 (edited: 29th December 2010)

Rich Balsamic Mayonnaise : page 289

I have only made mayonnaise once before and that was garlic mayonnaise in a food processor. I'm not the best whisker in the world so says my daughter. I think I get to eager.

Anyway my first attempt resulted in a very thin product. Even after switching to an immersion blender and beating an additional five minutes I still had a thin mess.

I couldn't stand wasting my olive oil and also didn't want to be beat by some mayonnaise......So I got out another bowl, added another egg yolk, and a pinch of salt, and begin whisking once again. I slowly drizzled in my thin mess a little at a time and was thrilled when I began having a thicker product looking more and more like mayonnaise should, except for the color the balsamic and Dijon lent to the mayonnaise.

I ended up with a mayonnaise I was very proud of and it tasted great on the salt roasties from page 237-238.

If you decide to make one of the mayonnaises in this book be sure and read and re-read the note on page 290.

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14th December 2010

Roasted Applesauce : page 260

What an easy way to make applesauce. I used stayman apples since that's what I had on hand. Since they are a bit tart I used the suggested maximum amount of sugar. I also like the touch of salt used in this recipe. I tried with the cider vinegar and loved the bright taste it gave this applesauce. It was good warm and also cold. I'll be making this one again.

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26th December 2010

Rosemary-Roasted Potatoes : page 235

I roasted these for almost twice the recommended time but they only got a bit browned and crunchy. They were still quiet good. I liked them even better once I added some freshly ground black pepper to them once I had taken my first taste. They sure make the kitchen smell good while roasting.

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21st January 2011

Rough Puff Pastry : page 484

This is a fairly easy puff pastry recipe to make. I used to have a really good puff pastry recipe a friend gave me and I somehow misplaced it. I think I'll be using this one from now on. Mine is resting in the fridge waiting for me to make some onion tarts. Can't wait to taste it. It looks really pretty and I love the instructions Judy gives makes it a breeze.

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3rd January 2011

Sage & Onion Polenta : page 192

I've been eating and making a form of polenta for as long as I can remember. I grew up eating southern polenta, what we called mush. We always used coarse ground cornmeal. I've made polenta on top of the stove and in the oven but I've never used a method quiet like this one. This polenta was good but even better when we added some Parmesan cheese and actually got a bit thicker. It never got as thick as I like it though. I've happy to have tried it this way but the way I usually make it cooks faster and gets thicker so I'll stick to that. I plan on using the left overs to make another recipe one day this week.

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4th January 2011

Sage & Onion Polenta : page 192

I decided to try and make this with my left over Sage and Onion Polenta. I refrigerated the leftovers and removed them from the fridge just before trying to cut them into the chunks to put into the baking dish. Since my polenta never did get really firm I had to scoop it into the chunks. When the gratin was baking the polenta ran back together so I had a solid hunk instead of individual chunks. It did get a bit browned on the top though and tasted good even if it wasn't solid. I may try this method again with some firmer polenta.

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7th January 2011

Sage Grilled Cheese : page 115

I decided to make this to go with the Pappa al Pomodoro page 164. This is definitely a grown up version of grilled cheese. I liked the little crispy bits of sage on this. I didn't brush quiet as much sage onto my husbands sandwich since he's not a big sage fan. He liked the sandwich but wanted ham added to his. I used Swiss. I wasn't sure if I'd like it grilled with olive oil since I like my sandwiches grilled in butter but this worked really with with the sage and swiss.

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29th December 2010

Salt-Roasties : page 237

What a wonderful way to roast potatoes. I always have some rock salt on hand since we love making home-made ice creams when all the family is around. It's great that you can reuse the salt to roast more of these wonderful potatoes. I poured mine back in the box for another day. I only baked three small ones for us and used a smaller baking dish and less salt that called for, putting it under and on top of the potatoes as per the recipe. Also I used red potatoes which is what I had on hand. They were delicious with the Balsamic Mayonnaise and I bet would be good with butter as well.
These potatoes were not salty at all.

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14th December 2010

Savory Apple Charlotte : page 261

Hubby and I loved this one but he thought it needed a bit more sugar in the applesauce. I used the roasted applesauce from page 260. Instead of butter I used butter flavored spray to coat the bread pieces. It turned out with a nicely browned and a bit crunchy crust which went really well with the moist applesauce inside. I'll be making these again.

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21st January 2011

Savory Onion Tart : page 118

Hubby and I didn't really care for these that much. I did think the puff pastry was really good and flaky. I'll make the pastry again just not the onion tarts. It tasted like it needed something more. I didn't use the optional garlic. Maybe I should have. Hubby said he'd rather had something sweet on his pastry.

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21st January 2011

Zucchini Pickles : page 269

As I've said before we love almost anything pickled around here. My sister makes wonderful zucchini pickles using our dilly bean brine recipe. I've made pickles similar to the brine used to make these zucchini pickles so I knew I wanted to try these. We thought they were very good. I can eat them just by themselves for a snack but I'm sure they'll also be good one sandwiches. I was afraid they'd be really sweet but the cider vinegar balances out the sugar.

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10th January 2011

Zuni Chicken Stock : page 59

I have made my own stock many times and this one was similar. I do usually add some spices to mine, like a bay leaf, some poultry seasoning and other herbs in addition to the veggies and some peppercorns. I followed the recipe this time though.

Like Quezzle_Sister I wasn't able to skim off all the foam but don't think it had an adverse effect on the finished product.

Since I work at a poultry plant and have worked on the line where they remove the breasts, I already had some working knowledge of how to remove the breasts. I really thought the instructions given in the book were helpful though, especially to someone not familiar with this technique.

I am looking forward to making some of the Asparagus and Rice Soup page 166 with this stock.

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