wester's Profile

From: Soesterberg, Utr Netherlands

Joined: September 24th, 2009

About me: I love cooking, I love eating, I love discovering new recipes. I have so many cookbooks I sometimes lose track of which recipe is where - though this site helps a bit. I have gone low-carb in 2010, so that's different recipes to explore again. This also means I may not agree with my own reviews anymore if they were written in 2009 or before. ------------------ I have a lovely husband and ten-year old twins who also love eating. ----------------- You can also find me on LibraryThing, BookMooch and EatYourBooks, using the same handle.

Favorite cookbook: The Complete Meze Table by Rosamond Man

Favorite recipe: Melissa Clark's Roasted Broccoli with Shrimp


Latest review:

April 4th, 2017

Daond Pasha (Meatballs with Pine Nuts and Tomatoes) from The Complete Meze Table

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... read more >


recipe reviews (741)
book reviews (74)
useful review votes (327)

wester's Reviews


Search Reviews:

740 recipes reviewed. Showing 651 to 700Sort by: Book Title | Date | Rating | Recipe Title

Website: Smitten Kitchen

www.smittenkitchen.com
 

16th January 2010 (edited: 6th May 2011)

Endive and Celery Salad with Toasted Fennel Seed Vinaigrette

Crunchy, slightly bitter and aromatic. This definitely takes green salad a step further.
Very flexible as well. The minimum you need is both bitter greens and less bitter ones (say, lettuce and endives), or alternatively, celery. When you've got that, combine away!

useful (3)  


Website: Smitten Kitchen

www.smittenkitchen.com
 

Fragrant but filling, and vegetarian too.

Now I see this recipe again it makes me feel like making it immediately.

useful (0)  


Website: Smitten Kitchen

www.smittenkitchen.com
 

16th January 2010 (edited: 29th March 2010)

Cranberry pecan frangipane tart

Lovely combination of tangy cranberries and nutty pecans. Just make this!

useful (0)  


Website: Smitten Kitchen

www.smittenkitchen.com
 

16th January 2010 (edited: 15th June 2011)

Pasta with cauliflower, walnuts and feta

An Alice Waters recipe.

This is a very unusual combination of ingredients, but it works perfectly. The cauliflower is sauteed over a high heat which makes it very crunchy and lovely.

Do make it exactly as prescribed, at least the first time, because the details really matter here.

useful (1)  


Real Food

By Nigel Slater
Fourth Estate Ltd - 2000

This is a lovely soup with a good balance of creamy, acidic and pungent.

That is, if you make sure you don't put too much water in. Nigel strangely enough never tells you how much to put in, and if you really add all the cooking water of the cauliflower it can easily end up quite watery, which would be a shame.

useful (1)  


Classical Turkish Cooking: Traditional Turkish Food for the American Kitchen

By Ayla E. Algar
William Morrow Cookbooks - 1999

11th January 2010 (edited: 28th August 2010)

Celery Root and Potatoes in Olive Oil (zeytinyagli kereviz)

Cold vegetable soup. Quite tasty vegetable soup actually, but completely unspecial.

useful (0)  


Bread tomato garlic

By Jill Dupleix
Conran Octopus Limited - 1999

2nd January 2010 (edited: 3rd September 2010)

salmon cabbage potato

I guess I now know why I couldn't find any other recipes with the combination salmon/cabbage. There is no synergy at all between the salmon and the other ingredients.

It might be better when the salmon is poached for a shorter time so it stays moister, or when using sauerkraut instead of cabbage, but I don't think I am going to bother.

useful (0)  


29th December 2009 (edited: 12th September 2011)

potato tuna olive

Good combination, well executed.

The amount given is as a side salad, as a main dish you could double it.

I might add red onion or hardboiled eggs, although it does get very close to a salade Niçoise that way.

useful (0)  


The Perfect Scoop: Ice Creams, Sorbets, Granitas, and Sweet Accessories

By David Lebovitz
Ten Speed Press,U.S. - 2007

26th December 2009

Spiced pecans

Spicy and sweet, easy to make.

I will experiment a bit more with the spice mix, perhaps more black pepper and less cayenne.

useful (1)  


26th December 2009

Pralined amonds

This was meant as a mix-in for ice dream, but you can easily serve it with coffee or drinks. Just lovely.

It is not difficult at all, as long as you have the patience to go through all the stages described.

Do fill the pan you used with water right after making this recipe, I'm not sure it's possible to get the hard caramel off the pan otherwise.

useful (1)  


Madhur Jaffrey's Spice Kitchen: Fifty Recipes Introducing Indian Spices and Aromatic Seeds

By Madhur Jaffrey
Clarkson Potter - 1994

Subtle and aromatic.

I increased the spices a bit, except for the cayenne, which I left out. I also decreased the amount of stock and cream. I used an immersion blender which works fine, although there were some small chunks of potato in the soup.

useful (0)  


Jamie's Dinners

By Jamie Oliver
Michael Joseph - 2004

19th December 2009 (edited: 19th December 2009)

Boiled turnips with thyme beurre blanc

Not bad, not brilliant. Nice. I felt the turnips lost to the sauce, which some people may think is a good thing.

Do not serve too hot. I liked it better as it cooled down a bit, it may even be better cold.

useful (0)  


More Vegetables, Please: Delicious Vegetable Side Dishes for Everyday Meals

By Janet Kessel Fletcher
Harlow & Ratner - 1992

14th December 2009 (edited: 20th July 2011)

Baked leeks in mustard cream

Lovely - silky and rich. Very easy to make.

I prefer to cut them to in bite-size pieces as the outer skin hardens a bit. This is a lovely contrast with the gooey inside, but not if you have to cut up a whole leek first. It does look better if you leave them whole (or half), though.

I served this with plain rice and chicken livers with thyme. It was good. Celeriac mash and a fried egg was also a good combination.

useful (0)  


Sophie Grigson's Feasts for a Fiver

By Sophie Grigson
BBC Books - 1999

11th December 2009 (edited: 9th June 2010)

Kumar's Beetroot Curry

This was very nice, but I felt it missed something. Something tart? More spices? More chilies? Do make sure you put in enough chilies as the coconut and the beetroot compensate.

I felt the curry leaves were an important part of it even when they are called optional, but the pandanus leaf could be left out without a problem.

If you need a dramatic-looking curry, this is the one. It is a combination of very dark pink and dark red, with occasional red flecks.

useful (1)  


Italian Food (Penguin Cookery Library)

By Elizabeth David, Renato Guttuso
Penguin Books Ltd - 1993

Mishmash of unrelated flavors. I won't be making this again.

useful (0)  


Food & Wine Magazine's 2001 Cookbook: An Entire Year's Recipes

By Food & Wine Magazine
American Express Publishing - 2001

This was nice.

Make sure to cut the zucchini in small enough bits or it won't mash well. I served it warm but I think it would be better at room temperature.

useful (0)  


The Fannie Farmer Cookbook

By Cunningham Marion
Bantam Books - 1983

10th December 2009

Chickpea salad

I don't have a clue why the radishes are in here. For the rest, nice but unremarkable.

useful (0)  


Eat Your Greens (Network Books)

By Sophie Grigson, Jess Koppel
BBC Books - 1993

5th December 2009 (edited: 7th December 2009)

Fennel Salad

Simple. Nice.

Some tarragon is nice here, as well. And/or you can mix some tomatoes in.

useful (0)  


Sophie Grigson's Feasts for a Fiver

By Sophie Grigson
BBC Books - 1999

4th December 2009 (edited: 12th March 2010)

Brightside Baked Potatoes

Something different for the everyday meal. Tasty and colorful. Can easily be adapted to other ingredients.

I thought the potatoes could use a bit more oven time.
I also preferred to put the yogurt on the potatoes themselves and serve the "filling" next to it.

If you want to serve a salad with this, take a peppery one - red onions and/or oranges come to mind. You don't really need a salad though.

useful (1)  


Classical Turkish Cooking: Traditional Turkish Food for the American Kitchen

By Ayla E. Algar
William Morrow Cookbooks - 1999

No surprises here - just what the title says. Nice and unspectacular.

useful (0)  


Tassajara Cooking : A vegetarian cooking book

By Edward Espe Brown
Shambhala - 1973

23rd November 2009 (edited: 23rd November 2009)

Kimpira

So one day you find burdock root (kliswortel, gobo) in your CSA box/panier/groentetas, or whatever you have that lets the farmer decide what vegetables you're going to have. You go through your big stack of cookbooks and find you have exactly two recipes that use it, plus the recipe sheet coming with the box. You try the recipe from the box first. You remember why you never use those recipes. You take a look at the other recipes. One requires other ingredients you don't have and is very unclear about the cooking time. That leaves you with a single recipe. This one. You cook it and it is both quite easy and surprisingly good.

The flavor is distinctly Asian, but full and rich. The burdock cooks to a meaty/mushroomy morsel which complements the carrot very well.

You only need a few sesame seeds, a table spoon at most.
The Chinese rolling cut is described on page 27. I used normal thin slices.

useful (1)  


Sophie Grigson's Sunshine Food

By Sophie Grigson
BBC Books - 2000

Very tasty, easy, cheap, vegetarian. It's one of those dishes I've got several recipes of, but this one has a nice depth of flavor as it's got a slightly longer ingredient list. Still not much work at all, still not expensive at all, so do go through the trouble of making this and see how it is a lot better than the student mishmash it could be in a more simplified version.

I used canned tomatoes. I served it with bulgur, but I suspect rice, bread, or plain or mashed potatoes would be better.

useful (0)  


Italian Food (Penguin Cookery Library)

By Elizabeth David, Renato Guttuso
Penguin Books Ltd - 1993

So I had this recipe in two cookbooks already (It came from this book, but Simon Hopkinson gives another version in Roast Chicken), but I had to see a photo on a food blog to actually make it (this photo: http://racheleats.wordpress.com/2009/08/27/piedmontese-peppers-again/ ). I just didn't notice it before. The ingredients are simple - peppers, tomatoes, garlic, anchovies - but the whole thing just works out fine. Don't forget some nice bread for the juices.

The main differences between the recipes are the cooking time - Simons is much longer and I prefer it that way - and when to add the anchovies - I might experiment with that.

useful (2)  


Roast Chicken and Other Stories (Ebury Paperback Cookery)

By Simon Hopkinson, Lindsey Bareham
Ebury Press - 1999

16th November 2009 (edited: 1st March 2010)

Piedmontese peppers

So I had this recipe in two cookbooks already (It came from Elizabeth Davids Italian Food, but I used the recipe in this book. I don't even have Delia's version), but I had to see a photo on a food blog to actually make it (this photo: http://racheleats.wordpress.com/2009/08/27/piedmontese-peppers-again/ ). I just didn't notice it before. The ingredients are simple - peppers, tomatoes, garlic, anchovies - but the whole thing just works out fine. Don't forget some nice bread for the juices.

The main differences between the recipes are the cooking time - Simons is much longer and I prefer it that way - and when to add the anchovies - I might experiment with that.

useful (2)  


Trattoria

By Patricia Wells
Kyle Cathie - 1999

13th November 2009 (edited: 28th August 2010)

Celery salad with anchovy dressing (insalata di puntarelle)

More of a starter salad than a side dish salad. Strong flavors - you'll reek of garlic for a week, but it does taste good.

The fancy flower cuts are nice if you have some kind of party, but for everyday use I suppose you could just cut it in 1-inch lengths. Don't skip the iced water though, it makes it very crunchy.

useful (0)  


Real Food

By Nigel Slater
Fourth Estate Ltd - 2000

6th November 2009 (edited: 20th July 2011)

A really good, simple chicken supper

Chicken, wine, garlic and parsley. How can that go wrong? It doesn't, it's delicious.

The chicken could use a slightly longer cooking time, though.

useful (0)  


Real Cooking

By Nigel Slater
Penguin Books Ltd - 2006

Warming winter food with a nice twist - the spiced mash really adds something extra to this.

It does take a long time, over an hour. Start with the meat sauce, not the parsnips - you can do those while the meat simmers. Do peel the parsnips.

useful (1)  


Classical Turkish Cooking: Traditional Turkish Food for the American Kitchen

By Ayla E. Algar
William Morrow Cookbooks - 1999

1st November 2009 (edited: 1st December 2009)

Chick-pea Salad with Garlic-Cumin Vinaigrette (nohut salatasi)

Strong flavors but well-balanced.

useful (0)  


Simple and good. Soft and aromatic. Easy to make.

Don't grate the carrots too coarsely or they won't soften properly. I found it unnecessary to peel the carrots. Dried dill instead or fresh worked fine.

useful (0)  


I don't know why this is called a salad in the title - the Turkish original says "köfte", which is a kind of meatball.

These little lentil/bulgur balls are ideal for vegetarians and even vegans, and meateaters will enjoy them too. Serve with a salad (a real one) and some bread.

Mine were a bit dry. I think next time I will put a tiny bit more oil in.

useful (0)  


More Vegetables, Please: Delicious Vegetable Side Dishes for Everyday Meals

By Janet Kessel Fletcher
Harlow & Ratner - 1992

The sauce is very nice, but the cabbage is a bit too raw for my liking when prepared following the instructions. Next time I'd cut it in smaller pieces or cook longer.

Some caraway is also nice with this one.

useful (0)  


Salads - Food Writers' Favorites (Quick & Easy Recipes)

By Barbara Gibbs Ostmann, Jane Baker
Dial Publishing - 1991

31st October 2009

Turnip salad

Pretty straightforward coleslaw recipe - except it's with turnips.

The raisins are optional. The amount of mayonnaise needed is about 2 tablespoons.

useful (0)  


Madhur Jaffrey Cooks Curries (TV Cooks)

By Madhur Jaffrey, Philip Webb
BBC Books - 1996

Good dal, not too spicy, not too bland. Combine with rice and a vegetable raita.

useful (0)  


Jane Grigson's Vegetable Book

By Jane Grigson
Penguin - 1998

A nice different way of cooking cauliflower, adding some crispness without becoming overly complicated.

useful (0)  


22nd October 2009

Crécy soup

A bit bland. Probably good baby food.

useful (0)  


22nd October 2009 (edited: 20th July 2011)

Stuffed cabbage in the Trôo style

Peasant cooking. Plain, simple, delicious. It does need two hours in the oven.

useful (0)  


Great Food Without Fuss: Simple Recipes from the Best Cooks

By Frances McCullough, Barbara Witt
Henry Holt & Co - 1992

21st October 2009

Turnips à la Comtesse

This is quite a nice way to serve turnips.

If the turnips are older, the cooking time should be doubled.

useful (0)  


20th October 2009 (edited: 20th July 2011)

Salmon Slices with Walnut or Hazelnut Vinaigrette

Delicious, different, and very quick.

I served it with Skillet Scallions from the same cookbook, as suggested, and plain rice.

Do make sure the salmon is at or near room temperature, otherwise it may not cook properly.
The ingredients do have to chopped very fine indeed.
I thought the shallots were a bit overpowering. Unless yours are much smaller than mine, you can halve the amount given.
On the other hand, it can use a tad more vinegar.

I slightly prefer the walnut version to the hazelnut one.

useful (2)  


20th October 2009

Skillet Scallions

Nice and quick. The scallions remind of leeks if cooked in this way.

useful (1)  


On Rice: 60 Fast and Easy Toppings That Make the Meal

By Rick Rodgers, Frankie Frankeny
Chronicle Books - 1997

8th October 2009 (edited: 8th October 2009)

Szechuan spicy eggplant

This does taste quite 'Chinese'. I wasn't very taken with boiling instead of frying the eggplant, but my husband was.

Next time I will egg-fry the rice going with this.

useful (0)  


Real Cooking

By Nigel Slater
Penguin Books Ltd - 2006

Soft and soothing. Good comfort food.

useful (0)  


1st October 2009 (edited: 1st October 2009)

Pan-fried parsnips with browned shallots, garlic and spices

Very aromatic, lovely texture. My husband won't have his parsnips any other way.

useful (0)  


Real Food

By Nigel Slater
Fourth Estate Ltd - 2000

1st October 2009 (edited: 20th July 2011)

Chicken Braised with Chicory and Crème Fraîche

Lovely home cooking. The chicken is brown and moist, the chicory is tender and the sauce is creamy but full of flavors.

It does take some time but it's not really complicated.

Things I've changed: I put in a bit more chicory and increased the sugar proportionally. I have taken the lid off after about half an hour to brown it a bit more.

useful (0)  


Real Fast Food

By Nigel Slater
Penguin UK - 1993

This is one of my favourite dishes, but I hadn't realized I actually have a recipe for it! Easy, tasty, and the kids love it too.

I use 100 g of cream cheese instead of the cream, and I often use frozen spinach. Possible additions (not all at the same time please): some thyme, some garlic, some white wine or a drop of vinegar, mushrooms. I usually serve it with a simple tomato salad.

useful (0)  


The Best of Food & Wine: Vegetables, Salads & Grains (ILLUSTRATED)

By Loretta M. Sala, Joanna Roy
American Express Publishing Corp - 1995

Okay, I guess. Just slightly too many ingredients with no particular synergy.

useful (0)  


28th September 2009 (edited: 31st July 2011)

Baked fennel and boston lettuce

I usually make a heavily adapted version of this, with only fennel, lettuce and chicken stock. But the combination is brilliant, the slight bitterness of the lettuce perfectly complimenting the softness of the fennel.

useful (0)  


The Williams-Sonoma Collection: Vegetable

By Marlena Spieler, Chuck Williams
Free Press - 2002

A classic recipe. Also works well with other greens or lettuce.

useful (0)  


The Cookware Cookbook: Great Recipes for Broiling, Steaming, Boiling, Poaching, Braising, Deglazing, Frying, Simmering, and sauteing

By Jamee Ruth, Leigh Beisch
Chronicle Books - 2005

28th September 2009 (edited: 28th September 2009)

lavender-laced lilies au gratin

An original way to serve onions. I made it without Parmesan (cheese hater in the house) and it turned out fine.

useful (0)  


Madhur Jaffrey's Spice Kitchen: Fifty Recipes Introducing Indian Spices and Aromatic Seeds

By Madhur Jaffrey
Clarkson Potter - 1994

28th September 2009 (edited: 9th June 2010)

Yellow rice with potato and cumin (Peelay chaaval)

Colorful, aromatic, easy to make. A nice alternative to plain rice.

useful (0)  


28th September 2009 (edited: 26th December 2009)

Browned cabbage with fennel and onions (Bhuni band gobi)

Nice but not brilliant.

useful (0)