wester's Reviews
740 recipes reviewed. Showing 51 to 100Sort by: Book Title 
| Date | Rating | Recipe Title
Bread tomato garlic
By Jill Dupleix
Conran Octopus Limited - 1999
Not much of a recipe really, and not one of those combinations that are so brilliant you'll forgive it not really being a recipe. Maybe next time (if there is one) I'll bake the ricotta.
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Not bad, not very good either.
I felt something was missing, but I couldn't decide whether it would improved most with lemon or with cream.
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Caprial's Cafe Favorites
By Caprial Pence
Ten Speed Press - 1994
Lovely and creamy.
I wasn't sure about the shallots in here, though. I had big ones so I used only three, but it still seemed like too much. I might leave them all out next time, and use more herbs, or even some spices instead (nutmeg)?. Also, I left them in the oven until they were just set, leaving them until a skewer came out clean would have made them too dry, I think.
useful (2)
Website: Chocolate & Zucchini
This is a wonderful lemon ice cream. The kefir (or yoghurt, or buttermilk) takes the sharpest edge off the lemon without taking any of the freshness away. The end result is quite like a sorbet. And it couldn't be easier to make: combine all ingredients, chill, and pour into your ice cream maker.
I always make this with plain yoghurt and Demerara sugar.
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Website: Chocolate & Zucchini
Weirdly, this had a strong liquorice-like taste. I can't figure out where it came from.
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Chocolate & Zucchini: Daily Adventures in a Parisian Kitchen
By Clotilde Dusoulier
Broadway Books - 2007
Nice aromatic meatballs with a hint of sweetness. Just not that special, really.
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Very basic recipe, but very nice.
I found it quite difficult to roll the dough into a round log. I preferred them as roll-out cookies, using wodka glasses to cut them out.
The amount of glaze given is much too much - I used one third and I still had some left.
useful (1)
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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Classical Turkish Cooking: Traditional Turkish Food for the American Kitchen
By Ayla E. Algar
William Morrow Cookbooks - 1999
Strong flavors but well-balanced.
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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.
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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.
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No surprises here - just what the title says. Nice and unspectacular.
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Cold vegetable soup. Quite tasty vegetable soup actually, but completely unspecial.
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A lovely slow-cooking winter dish. Comforting but with a mediterranean twist.
I left out the hot peppers and slightly increased the red pepper paste. The result was still spicy but not too hot.
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A very interesting twist on eggs with onions. Fragrant, slightly sweet-sour.
I will put more onions into this next time - it was near impossible to make "depressions" in the onions to put the eggs in. And do make sure not to overcook the eggs.
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I replaced the rose petal syrup with 1/4 cup sugar and a tablespoon rose water, and left out the nectarines. I suppose it will look even better if you have the rose petals in, but it did taste excellent, sweet and fragrant, the fruit flavors really enhanced by the subtle rose flavor.
The melon I used could have been sweeter, but in the finished salad that wasn't noticable at all.
I will make this one again.
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Home cooking for people with a lot of time. It tastes pretty good, but I'm not sure it's worth the work.
First it takes about an hour before you can put everything in the oven, during which you can't leave the kitchen for more than a few minutes, and then nearly an hour in the oven as well.
Also I'm not too happy about adding parsley before something spends such a long time in the oven - there was not much left of it. And first the potatoes are fried and then there's so much water in the dish that they're boiled as well, not optimal either.
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This was really good, much better than I'd expected from the ingredients. Light and fragrant, but hearty as well. I will definitely make this again.
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A good, though a bit soupy stew. It's a pity the tarragon got a bit lost in there.
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The Complete Meze Table
By Rosamond Man
Ebury Press - 1986
Very easy, very tasty. I used the version with cinnamon and paprika, but I will try the differently spiced ones too.
I do not share the bookwriter's passion for very finely pounded meat - I prefer my meatballs chunky. That probably did cause them to fall apart a bit with this recipe, but nothing too dramatic.
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I thought these were a nice variation on meatballs, and a good use of leftover chicken.
I think I chopped my pistachios a bit too fine though - there was no crunch left. Next time I will chop them not so fine.
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I liked these a lot.
Mixing the spinach with the meat makes a light and juicy meatball. It did tend to fall apart a bit - maybe I should chop the spinach finer than I did.
The second time they didn't really fall apart. I made it with beef instead of lamb, no bread, and just one egg. Maybe I mixed everything more carefully.
This recipe produces a large pan full of meatballs, but as a lot of the volume is spinach, it was quite easy to finish it with three adults and two children. I did need to brown the meatballs in batches.
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My husband loved this.
I thought it was a bit weird - the combination of cinnamon and lemon makes me think of apple pie, and I'm not quite sure I like that in a savory dish. Nice enough, though.
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A nice combination, but way too much coriander. I'll use one third next time.
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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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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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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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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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The complete vegetable book
By Clare Connery
Barnes & Noble - 1998
Nice spicy vegetable fritters.
You can use any vegetable you like for this, as long as they are reasonably firm.
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Cook This Now: 120 Easy and Delectable Dishes You Can't Wait to Make
By Melissa Clark
Hyperion - 2011
This may be "more restrained" than the salad it was based on, it is still about "flavorful excess". Big bold flavors, not for the garlic-shy.
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I made the variation without the Parmesan, as my husband doesn't like cheese. Simple and good.
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This was a nice salad, fresh and summery (my husbands words) at a time of year when fresh produce is not that abundant yet while you do want it to be. The hazelnuts work really well with the celeriac. I used butter lettuce and a handful of parsley instead of the arugula, which worked fine. I do think I wouldn't mind some mustardy mayonnaise instead of the vinaigrette. I did not think the sausages had any special interaction with the salad, I think any meat would work as well. Or cheese or eggs.
I liked it very much that she said how large the celeriac should be. I had suspected for a while that Dutch celeriacs might be bigger than American ones, and now I'm sure. One Dutch celeriac should count as two or three foreign ones.
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This was really good and quite simple. At first it looked like it was just going to be a curried chicken but the lemon made it special. I don't think the olives add much, I might leave them out next time.
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Very easy, very tasty. The mayo really is the finishing touch (I used sambal instead of harissa).
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Quite basic, but good.
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A good robust salad, with well-balanced flavors. I'm not that sure the walnut oil adds much, but all the other flavors complement each other very well.
With rice, tomatoes and hard-boiled eggs this made a nice vegetarian dinner.
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Not bad, but not brilliant either. The cumin was hardly noticable.
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The Cook's Canon: 101 Classic Recipes Everyone Should Know (Cookbooks)
By Raymond Sokolov
William Morrow Cookbooks - 2003
This was not what I expected - it was not blazing hot at all, just a nice background kick. Very tasty. Even the kids loved it.
It did not say what vinegar to use, I used white wine vinegar, which worked fine.
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Cook-Off America: Prize-Winning Recipes from the Public Television Series (PBS Cooking)
By Bristol
Bristol Publishing Enterprises Inc - 1999
This was very tasty - basically a very refined cheeseburger.
I loved the leek mixture, the cheese/nut mixture, and the addition of walnuts to the burger itself. I could have done without the grilled tomatoes and the watercress - maybe I'll make a side salad of them next time.
I made quite a few ingredient substitutions: scallions for leeks, Danish blue for Stilton, balsamico for the port wine, hamburger buns instead of multigrain bread. I used a generic red wine. I don't have a clue what Paul Prudhomme's Vegetable Magic is, so I seasoned to taste. I added a bit of thyme to the cheese/nut mixture.
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The Cooking of Scandinavia (Foods of the World)
By Dale Brown, the editors of Time-Life Books, of Time-Life Books
Time Life UK - 1920
Good basic fare. Not spectacular, but I didn't expect that. Can be used as a vegetarian main if the amount is doubled.
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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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Cooking With Spices And Herbs
By Editors Of Sunset Books And Sunset Magazine, Lawton
Lane Books - 1974
Both the combination of ground beef and ground lamb and the inclusion of mint were nice little twists on the standard meatball recipe. However, the effect was very subtle. I doubled both the mint and the relative amount of lamb, and I think they could both be increased more to make it even better.
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Really good flavor, easy to make. Doubled the spices.
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The Cookware Cookbook: Great Recipes for Broiling, Steaming, Boiling, Poaching, Braising, Deglazing, Frying, Simmering, and sauteing
By Jamee Ruth, Leigh Beisch
Chronicle Books - 2005
An original way to serve onions. I made it without Parmesan (cheese hater in the house) and it turned out fine.
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Cookwise: The Secrets of Cooking Revealed
By Shirley O. Corriher
William Morrow Cookbooks - 1997
Once you get over your first reaction (What, RAW broccoli?) this salad is very good. The flavors combine very well.
When I make this again, I will add the bacon and raisins half an hour before serving so the flavors can marry even better.
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Couscous and Other Good Food from Morocco
By Paula Wolfert
William Morrow Cookbooks - 1987
Nice, sweet, fragrant, but a bit one-dimensional. It wants some other spice to give it depth - I just haven't worked out yet which one. Coriander improved it, and I'm going to try cumin as well.
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If you already have ras el hanout, this is a nice twist on coffee. If you don't, I wouldn't bother making it just for this recipe, although it is a nice spice mix and maybe you should have it anyway.
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Lovely sweet drink.
"Sweet rosewater milk drink" would have been a more appropriate title - the rose water is very prominent and the apple is hardly noticeable. I will try replacing the sugar with a banana, I think that would be nice too.
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Not bad, but won't bother with this again.
The spices smelled really good when starting the cooking, but in the end result they were barely noticeable. I suspect spices and aromatics will have to be doubled, at least, and/or be re-added near the end of the cooking.
And why try to "lightly brown" a cauliflower without adding any oil? Even mixing it a bit with the meat might have helped it brown.
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This was lovely. The method is very simple: poach some lamb meatballs in a broth of spices (and onion and parsley). The meatballs don't even need to be browned. I hadn't really expected much, but it all comes together brilliantly. The meat juices mix with the spices and the lemon that's added at the last moment to make a golden, mildly spicy and very well-balanced sauce. Definitely a keeper.
I did not bother with the re-grinding of the meat mixture - I like my meatballs a bit chunky anyway. I used quite a lot of cumin in the meatballs (the recipe says "to taste") - a full teaspoon.
Start the sauce first - while it's cooking there is plenty of time to make the meatballs.
I tried this with beef too, but I definitely prefer the lamb.
To color the meatballs evenly, it is advisable to turn them once.
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