wester's Reviews
740 recipes reviewed. Showing 1 to 50Sort by: Book Title | Date 
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The Complete Meze Table
By Rosamond Man
Ebury Press - 1986
The meatballs were very tasty, but I did not really like putting all the pine nuts together - it made for fussy cooking and I think I would prefer finding a pine nut here and there instead of finding them all in the same place. Also, I had an issue with the amount of tomato - it was way too little to come "just about level with the meatballs" with addition of "a little more water". Next time use more tomatoes. With these tweaks, excellent.
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De Volkskeuken / 2 De Volkskrant kookt / druk 1
By M. van Dinther, M. Wijntjes, A. Bos
Meulenhoff, Uitgeverij - 2008
Recipe in Dutch.
Erg lekker. Het zoetzuur van de granaatappel, de licht bittere walnoot, en de zachte maar smaakvolle kip combineerden tot een prettig complex smaakprofiel. Naar suggestie van een ander recept wat koenjit toegevoegd, wat weinig verschil maakte. Ik & manlief vonden het heerlijk, de kinderen wat minder.
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Recipe in Dutch.
Erg lekker, vonden de kinderen ook, en vullend genoeg als avondmaaltijd met brood. Soort kaas is flexibel.
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Recipe in Dutch.
Lekkere kip, vond mijn zoon ook, mijn dochter niet zo. Salade maak ik er volgende keer ook bij.
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Joys of Nepalese Cooking (Thoroughly Revised Edition 1989)
By Indra Majupuria
S. Devi - 1989
Quite basic but very nice. The orange flavor isn't too pronounced.
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Simply delicious cookies
By Family Living
Riverwood press - 2008
Lovely flavor, nice and supple dough. The wine doesn't make them boozy, just slightly raisin-y. Needed longer in the oven than stated.
Half a recipe made one baking sheet.
useful (1)
Cooking with Coffee: 60 Recipes Using Fair Trade Coffee (New Internationalist Fairtrade Cookbooks)
By Lucas Rosenblatt, Judith Meyer, Edith Beckmann, Andreas Thumm, Andreas Thumm, Robert Schmid
New Internationalist Publications Ltd - 2003
Very interesting flavor, somewhat reminiscent of cloves but sweeter and deeper. Good in most chillies, and I will try it in sweet recipes too. I used a bit of instant coffee instead of the coffee-extract.
My edition of the book is in Dutch- if you know the English title, feel free to add/change it.
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Food & Wine Magazine's 2001 Cookbook: An Entire Year's Recipes
By Food & Wine Magazine
American Express Publishing - 2001
Nice, but a bit one-dimensional. A good splash of wine improved things.
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A Passion for Cheese
By Paul Gayler
London : Kyle Cathie - 1999
I can't add the Dutch version of this cookbook - if anyone wants to change the recipe title to English, feel free.
I made quite a bastardized version of this - feta instead of goat's cheese, and as I found I was out of walnut oil I used pecan bits instead.
Still, it was a very tasty vegetarian meal with some tomato salad and couscous.
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Website: Smitten Kitchen
More a technique than a recipe, but an excellent technique. Why didn't I think of this before? Because I'm too chicken to heat an empty pan on high heat. Will (probably) become my go-to method for frying eggs.
useful (1)
Delicious: het vleesboek! 128x fantastisch vlees uit 6 jaar delicious
By
Fontaine Uitgevers B.V. - 2014
Book in Dutch - if you can't read the review, you can't read the recipe.
Lekker, maar niet echt goulash - misschien had er nog karwijzaad in gemoeten. Ik was ook niet weg van de verschillende kleuren paprika die er in gingen. De hoeveelheid paprikapoeder leek erg hoog, maar was uiteindelijk prima.
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A Passion for My Provence: Home Cooking from the South of France
By Lydie Marshall
William Morrow Cookbooks - 1999
Simplicity itself - you put the meat and the onions in a pan and let them stew in their own juices for a long time. Very tasty too.
I put the anchovies in with the meat instead of in the parsley, and that worked very well - they melted into the sauce.
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The Great Indian Cookbook
By Vincent Joseph
Lustre Press - 1995
Nice, but not as fragrant as the amount of spices promises.
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The Best of Food & Wine: Vegetables, Salads & Grains (ILLUSTRATED)
By Loretta M. Sala, Joanna Roy
American Express Publishing Corp - 1995
A good robust salad that didn't taste as weird as some of the ingredients suggest.
Adding some tomatoes, as well as or instead of the potatoes, works well too.
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The Complete Meze Table
By Rosamond Man
Ebury Press - 1986
A nice vegetarian dish, but I thought the chives were a bit overpowering. Next time I will try using only coriander. And, contrary to the instructions, I will increase the saffron. This amount was almost undetectable.
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Salt & Pepper
By Sandra Cook, Sara Slavin, Deborah Jones
Chronicle Books - 2003
I think I used this recipe, but by the time I actually used my lemons I wasn't sure which one of my recipes it was anymore. I think there was some coriander on the bottom of the jar so it probably was this one.
But they were good. I will preserve lemons again.
ETA: used this recipe to preserve limes May 2015. Hope I remember what recipe it was now.
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Roasting-A Simple Art
By Barbara Kafka, Maria Robledo
William Morrow & Co. - 1995
Very basic, but excellent: succulent meat, crispy skin.
Also works with less than the amount of chicken she uses - I only had 4 legs, less than 2 pounds altogether, and I got great results.
useful (1)
Website: Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall recipes
www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/series/hughfearnleywhittingstallonfood
The recipe is described as "A hybrid between a classic French rémoulade and coleslaw", and that is exactly what it is. And it works.
I used my own standard whole-egg immersion blender mayonnaise with some garlic, and added some course-grain mustard afterwards (so as not to damage the grains).
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Website: Leite's Culinaria
The "couscous" was nice, I will serve it again as a salad. I did not like the combination with the mash and the fried fish.
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The Frugal Gourmet Cooks Three Ancient Cuisines: China * Greece * Rome
By Jeff Smith
Avon - 1991
Nice but not that special.
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Fat: An Appreciation of a Misunderstood Ingredient with Recipes
By Jennifer McLagan
Jacqui Small LLP - 2009
Very good - meltingly tender meat, crisp cracklings.
Husband wants the five stars - I would have preferred 4 1/2 as some small tweaks were needed.
This was the first time I made pork belly and the first time I used a meat thermometer. The pork belly is going to stay, I'm not sure about the meat thermometer. It reached the given temperature in half an hour or so, so I just turned the oven down to 150 C and cooked for about two hours, then finished under the grill as the recipe says.
I salted the skin the evening before, at the same time as adding the herb paste, and I think this works very well.
I will use more fennel and less kale next time.
The recipe says you need 3 pounds of meat to feed 6 people. I fed 6 people (well, 4 adults and 4 children) on 2 pounds, and we were all so full that nobody wanted dessert.
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The Flavor Thesaurus: A Compendium of Pairings, Recipes and Ideas for the Creative Cook
By Niki Segnit
Bloomsbury USA - 2012
A good idea.
I used celeriac instead of potato and added a bit of walnut oil, to increase both main flavors, and I added a squeeze of lemon juice. The end result was very good.
The page number is from the Dutch version. The recipe is found in the "walnut" section of the book.
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The Abel & Cole Cookbook: Easy, Seasonal, Organic
By Keith Abel
HarperCollins UK - 2008
A nice combination of ingredients.
The gherkins actually taste sweet here, which is good - it must be some kind of contrast effect. There was a sharp edge to the flavor which I didn't like that much - I will go easier on the garlic next time, I might even leave it out altogether.
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Gourmet
(April, 2008)
The chocolate spice flavor was excellent. They were a bit too crumbly, but that was probably because I had been tweaking the amount of flour.
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Lamb
By Time Life Books
Time Life - 1981
Simple food, but it does look and taste good. Will definitely make again.
Page number is from Dutch translation of the book - feel free to correct it.
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Roasting-A Simple Art
By Barbara Kafka, Maria Robledo
William Morrow & Co. - 1995
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The Vegetarian Bistro: 250 Authentic French Regional Recipes
By Marlena Spieler
Chronicle Books - 1997
Nice, but too spicy for the children due to the mustard.
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Great Food Without Fuss: Simple Recipes from the Best Cooks
By Frances McCullough, Barbara Witt
Henry Holt & Co - 1992
A nice soup, tasty and filling, and easy to make vegetarian or even vegan. No flour either.
Would be good for those parties where you want a big pot of soup for the moment people start to get hungry.
The color is unappetizing though - the parsley is quite needed to make it look OK.
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The Vegetarian Bistro: 250 Authentic French Regional Recipes
By Marlena Spieler
Chronicle Books - 1997
A nice combination of flavors and textures.
I used only parsley and a pinch of dried thyme, and I'm not sure that adding more herbs would improve the recipe, as there are plenty of flavors already.
Don't use too much garlic, it gets overpowering easily.
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Book of Middle Eastern Food
By Claudia Roden
Vintage - 1974
This is a very nice way to stretch ground meat - I fed 4 adults and 4 children on less than a pound of meat.
Personally, I did not find the taste very exciting, but everybody else liked it and the guests asked for the recipe.
I cooked it on pretty low heat but not very low as she says, I think else it would not have been cooked through in 20 minutes.
Next time, I think I will add the eggs to the meat one by one, instead of beating them first and then mixing. I think that will make it easier to mix everything together.
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I Love Meatballs!
By Rick Rodgers
Andrews McMeel Publishing - 2011
Not bad, but I've got better recipes for kofte.
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The Vegetarian Bistro: 250 Authentic French Regional Recipes
By Marlena Spieler
Chronicle Books - 1997
Very nice. Subtly different from other celery salads by a hint of cumin.
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A very nice soup, simple and tasty. The children loved it too.
The recipe did say to first cook the vegetables "until tender", and then to add stock and then boil for a further 15 minutes "until tender", so the first one was probably a mistake. The times given were fine to make them tender after the further boiling.
Tweaks: used no flour, cream instead of milk, and chicken stock.
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Greens: A Country Garden Cookbook (Country Garden Cookbooks)
By Sibella Kraus, Deborah Jones
Unknown - 1993
Very good. A lovely and well-balanced combination of smoky salmon, creamy yet flavorful crème fraîche, and crispy slightly bitter endives.
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Olive Oil : Eat Better, Live Longer
By MYRSINI LAMBRAKI
LAMBRAKI - 2002
Good peasant food, with a clear "Greek" flavor. Any combination of beef and lamb will work in this recipe.
I did not use the flour.
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The Cuisine of Hungary
By George Lang
Bonanza - 1990
Quite basic, quite good.
Next time I will add the onion to the hot water as well, as it was a bit strong.
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The Complete Meze Table
By Rosamond Man
Ebury Press - 1986
I really like this salad. Bold flavors and a good combination of textures. Easy to make as well, but you do need to start on time to chill the salad.
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With all the herbs and spices in here, I expected more flavor. Good but not brilliant. Maybe a bit more acidity? A squeeze of lemon?
I did like the tip of first mixing the onion, herbs and spices, and then adding the meat, to mix better.
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Chocolate & Zucchini: Daily Adventures in a Parisian Kitchen
By Clotilde Dusoulier
Broadway Books - 2007
Easy, tasty and very pretty.
Baking longer at a lower temperature is better - at 350F the top gets really brown while the inside is still wobbly. Baking for 10 minutes longer at 320F/160C gives a cake that is done but not overbaked.
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RIVER CAFE COOKBOOK EASY
By RUTH ROGERS ROSE GRAY
EBURY PRESS - 2003
I liked this, but my 7 year old daughter hated it, so I am going to wait a year or so to make it again.
It needed 10 mins longer in the oven than the recipe said, even though I had halved the recipe.
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Frugal Gourmet
By Jeff Smith
Ballantine - 1988
The flavors where very nice, but the mixture curdled so the structure was not nice at all.
The recipe didn't say antything about whether to stir, and how much. Maybe continuous stirring would have helped.
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Jane Grigson's Vegetable Book
By Jane Grigson
Penguin - 1998
Very simple and basic recipe, but always nice to have around.
You don't necessarily have to make the sauce Mornay. Just make a cheese sauce according to your favorite recipe.
I didn't find any difference in taste between soft-boiled eggs and poached ones, and I found it impossible to shell eggs that are as soft as I want them in this recipe. So, either poach them or have hard-boiled eggs.
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Website: Smitten Kitchen
Easy to make, it smelled wonderful, and the children told me it tasted great too.
My cake needed almost exactly one hour baking time. The interval between the inside still being quite liquid and the cake being done was quite short, so be careful not to overbake.
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The Naked Chef
By Jamie Oliver
Kosmos-Z&K Uitgevers Utrecht - 2000
A nice basic recipe.
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Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant: Ethnic and Regional Recipes from the Cooks at the Legendary Restaurant (Cookery)
By Moosewood Collective
Fireside - 1990
Very tasty, but it needs two things not in the recipe: the juice of half a lime to improve the acid balance, and a pinch of turmeric to correct the unappetizing beige color.
The six people this recipe should feed would be as one of many dishes - with rice and a salad this serves about two as a main dish.
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Mollie Katzen's Vegetable Heaven: Over 200 Recipes for Uncommon Soups, Tasty Bites, Side Dishes, and Too Many Desserts
By Mollie Katzen
Hyperion - 1997
Simple, and a great combination of flavors and textures.
I dried the tofu before cooking it, and I used quite a bit more than "a drizzle" of oil, so it would crisp up nicely. To make the recipe child-proof, I left out the red pepper flakes and served hot sauce with it for the adults.
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Roast Chicken And Other Stories
By Simon Hopkinson
Hyperion - 2007
A pretty basic parsley salad, but it does have everything a parsley salad needs and nothing it doesn't need (although if you make it for a vegetarian, you can leave out the anchovies and increase the olives). Go easy on the garlic.
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Entertaining
By Donna Hay
William Morrow Cookbooks - 2003
Excellent. I made this into meatballs instead of burgers, and they were just bursting with flavor. The seasonings brought out the flavor of the meat really well without being overpowering. I was afraid the balls/burgers might be too hot with this amount of mustard, but they were fine for children too (if you leave off the chillies, but those are on the meat, not inside).
A keeper.
This is the page number of the Dutch translation. If you have the original, feel free to correct.
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Instant Gourmet: Delicious Meals in 20 Minutes or Less
By Melissa Clark
Penguin (Non-Classics) - 1995
Beans with an Asian twist. Nice, but not really special. Needs a squeeze of lemon.
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Cook This Now: 120 Easy and Delectable Dishes You Can't Wait to Make
By Melissa Clark
Hyperion - 2011
Not bad, but not brilliant either. The cumin was hardly noticable.
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