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 >


recipe reviews (2277)
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southerncooker's Reviews


Search Reviews:

17 recipe(s) reviewed. Showing 1 to 17Sort by: Title | Date | Rating

Small Victories: Recipes, Advice + Hundreds of Ideas for Home Cooking Triumphs

By Julia Turshen, Gentl + Hyers, Ina Garten
Chronicle Books - 2016

23rd May 2017

A Nice Lasagna : page 145

Always let my children pick their birthday supper. Son usually picks my lasagna. This year I talked him into trying thus lasagna. We all agreed it was delicious. I did the meat sauce option of adding 8 oz each of Sweet Italian Sausage and ground beef. Instead of Creme Fraiche which is hard to find and I forgot to make it, I used sour cream. I did double the amount of cheese called for since we're all cheese lovers.

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17th March 2017

Apple + Toasted Oat Muffins : page 46

Breakfast for hubby, son and I and we all loved. I spread on some salted honey butter while still warm. You can also find the recipe online at the following link which is where I got the idea for the salted honey butter which wasn't in the book. http://people.com/food/julia-turshen-apple-toasted-oat-muffins-recipe/

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25th March 2017

Avocado + Kimchi Toasts : page 26

A delightful filling breakfast. Truly enjoyed. I did one of the spin offs and topped it with an over easy egg.

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29th May 2017

Berry + Buttermilk Cobbler : page 234

I got some nice rhubarb from our local Farmer's Market and some fresh, almost local strawberries from our local supermarket so I decided to make this despite the note that you might not want to use strawberries due to water content. Well it worked out perfectly and was delicious. I did use a half cup sugar on the fruit since rhubarb is tart. Loved the buttermilk crust.

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19th May 2017

Crispy Hominy + Cheddar Fritters : page 140

In the food52 cookbook club on FB where we are cooking from this book for May, I read where some others had trouble with these falling apart while frying. Well the first one I put in the pan did as well. Son suggested rolling into balls and patting out before adding to pan. Still fell apart. He fried the last ones and rolled then patted into thicker patties and it worked perfectly. We love hominy here and these were amazing. Another one to make again.

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Daughter, son and I all agreed this was delicious. Love the combination of roasted cherry tomatoes, black olives, chives and flounder. I used chives as my choice for an herb. I will be making this again. I used frozen flounder and didn't thaw before cooking. Worked perfectly.

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28th May 2017

Hope + Winky's Cookies : page 241

I made these for my sweet grand puppy. I really thought she'd love them but she hasn't ate many of them. I made a half recipe and made them smaller since she likes princess bites. I had to crumble them to get her to eat them though. She loves peanut butter but maybe the corn meal was off putting to her.

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20th March 2017

Kimchi Fried Rice with Scallion Salad : page 127

We all love Kimchi here and love finding new recipes using it. I topped it with an egg as suggested but next time I'll also do one of the spin offs and add bacon. Hubby said he loved it but it would be even better if it had some meat in it. He cleaned his plate which is something he rarely does.

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19th May 2017

Kinda, Sorta Patatas Bravas : page 110

These were delicious. I made a double recipe since there were going to be 5 hungry adults eating these. I didn't double the sauce though since I knew two of them wouldn't enjoy it. Getting the cast iron skillets hot while the potatoes were boiling really made for a nice crust on the potatoes. I'll be making these again.

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I couldn't decide if I liked this or not. Eaten with bites of toast it was ok but I didn't particularly care for the taste by itself. I did forget to add my herbs at the end. I probably wouldn't try this one again.

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I couldn't find the shape of pasta indicated in the recipe so I chose penne which was one of the other suggested shapes. Son and I enjoyed this dish but hubby did not. This recipe made for a good work night supper.

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These ribs were fantastic. Loved by all the rib lovers in the family and even daughter who isn't a big rib fan liked them. I thought I'd messed them up since I forgot to pour the beer around before baking in oven. I had already cooked for couple hours. I remembered after taking them out so I added the beer and returned to oven for about 40 minutes. Then continued with the recipe and broiling of ribs with sauce on them. They tasted great. My sauce didn't get real thick and syrupy but that may have been because the beer didn't reduce enough. I did boil a bit longer than stated.

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Family and I all agreed very good. I did end up using a tenderloin instead of a loin and shortened the cooking time. The cream cheese and herbs keep the meat moist and tasty.

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I was really looking forward to this recipe since I had read where so many others enjoyed the radishes this way. Son and I thought they were to bitter tasting. I did make a half recipe of the radishes and also roasted the other half amount in some French carrots I got at my local farmer's market where I also got the radishes. Son and I both enjoyed the carrots this way with the kalamata dressing and he doesn't normally enjoy cooked carrots. I would make the dressing again and put it on roasted carrots.

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I substituted strawberries for the blueberries since hubby doesn't enjoy cooked blueberries. Son just ate his pancakes with Maple syrup. These pancakes were super fluffy. I cooked the roasted strawberries a little too long and they were a bit bitter upon first taste but after scooping onto the pancakes and adding a bit of maple syrup they were great. I'll be trying these pancakes again with other fruits. Next time I'll double the fruit though since serving sizes were a bit small. This is hubby's stack of two pancakes. Son and I had three each.

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22nd May 2017

Tin-Foil Kale + Cherry Tomatoes : page 98

Made this for daughter and I as we both love kale. I made in oven instead of on the grill but this would make a great grilled side. I did forget to squeeze on the lemon juice at the end but it was still delicious.

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17th March 2017 (edited: 17th March 2017)

Turkey + Ricotta Meatballs : page 168

Instead of ground turkey I used the spin off idea for using Italian Sausage either mild of spicy or a combination of both. I let my son pick and he chose spicy. I only made a half recipe since only three of us were eating this. Daughter, son and I all agreed these were fantastic and the sauce great as well. I'll definitely be making again but a whole recipe next time. I served over angel hair pasta.

Meatballs were a little hard to work with since they have no bread crumbs. The ricotta and parmesan give them a delightful flavor. If you wet your hands occasionally while forming the balls that helps.

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