soupereasy's Reviews
50 recipes reviewed. Showing 1 to 50Sort by: Book Title 
| Date | Rating | Recipe Title
300 Sensational Soups
By Carla Snyder, Meredith Deeds
Robert Rose - 2008
This is a really hearty cold weather soup. Nice to make a big pot to have for lunches and dinners later in the week.
Inexpensive to serve to a crowd, only 3 oz of pancetta for the recipe.
I used the entire 8 cups of stock and I think next time I would decrease it by a cup or so to make a thicker soup. I could also mash some of the beans in the soup to give a thicker consistancy.
Really easy to throw together especiallay if you soak the beans overnight.
useful (3)
This soup was at once homey and warming with a lot of flavour going on. Another AJ-Soupereasy project which both of our husbands enjoyed for dinner.
The finishing with lemon and dill really added a lot. I have to say that the barley really soaked up the liquid so to serve we thinned with a bit more stock.
A good pantry soup, the only thing I had to pick up was the chix and I opted for boneless skinless thighs.
useful (3)
Anjum's New Indian
By Anjum Anand
Wiley - 2010
The spices and aromatics make this a wonderful dish.
Cooking the spices, both whole and ground add a real depth of flavour.
I served this with grilled chicken and a green salad.
Not coming to Indian food with huge amount of knowledge, I am finding that Anand gives a really good introduction...also a lot of really flavourful food!
Another plus for me is that she elevates inexpensive ingredients, and makes vegetarian meals that any omnivore would love.
useful (1)
This recipe is much more than the sum of its' parts.
The salmon was moist and flavourful. Really quick and easy to prepare.
I opted to serve with a quick zuccini saute and some naan as opposed to a wrap.
Only change I made was to sub. pepitas for peanuts, didn't have any of the latter.
This is a keeper.
useful (0)
A really delightful curry, really easy to put together as the masala can be prepared then reheated to cook the shrimp.
This gave us time to make the fresh naan without overcooking the shrimp.
useful (0)
Around My French Table: More Than 300 Recipes from My Home to Yours
By Dorie Greenspan, Alan Richardson
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt - 2010
This was a really moist chicken with a nice crispy skin. The baguette slices were a wonderful snack for me.
useful (3)
This was a lovely little appie., easy to prepare from the pantry. I will make this again.
useful (1)
The Babbo Cookbook
By Mario Batali
Clarkson Potter - 2002
This was a really lovely, light, fluffy, cake that was a bit sweet and a bit tangy.
Delightful with the fresh berries.
Not an inexpensive cake with 1 1/2lb of goat cheese.
useful (1)
The Best American Recipes 2004-2005: The Year's Top Picks from Books, Magazines, Newspapers, and the Internet
By Fran McCullough, Molly Stevens, Bobby Flay
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt - 2004
This is a prime example of a dish that is more than the sum of its' parts.
I made it in one serving dish and used tomatoes that we canned last summer.
I did not flambe as I didn't have any ouzo.
Used a nice Bulgarion feta, served with a crusty bread and tossed green salad.
useful (1)
The chicken breasts,pounded with the fresh sage and prosciutto, floured and browned were lovely!
They are to be served on wilted escarole and cannellini beans.
Recipe called for way too much liquid. Flavours were there ,but next time I will omit the cup of chicken stock.
useful (1)
We used this lovely tart as the main with a side salad.
It would also be really great portioned out for appies.
useful (1)
Bon Appetit
(December, 2011)
This recipe caught my eye and as we had one lone duck breast and a few tenders left in the freezer we gave it a try.
It was pretty much a pantry recipe, thrown together very quickly.
We wrapped as called for but then put it in a quart zip lock baggie so it didn't take up as much room in the fridge.
7 days later I scraped off the cure put it in a clean baggie and we finally tried it today. Sliced very thinly what a treat!
I had thrown in the tenders which will be great diced for soup, salad, pasta...
useful (1)
Bon Appetit
(March, 2012)
These a delightful savoury shortbread. Hint of sweet, nice hit of fennel and that added burst of the coarse salt.
Lovely with cocktails or wine.
useful (2)
Bon Appetit May 2012
(May, 2012)
A lovely moist pound type cake. Lovely with a cup of tea or with a little sherry after dinner.
Beautiful crumb and a sprightly hint of lemon.
Uses oil rather than butter which really makes it a pantry item.
useful (0)
The Duck Cookbook
By James Peterson
Stewart, Tabori and Chang - 2003
This is a wonderful technique. I use leg 1/4r's. Lends itself to many different sauces.
The legs are almost as soft as a confit when finished.
useful (1)
Made these as part of a multi course dinner.
The rich taste of the duck meat was lightened by the crisp veggies and the rice paper wrap. Then add the salty/spicey dipping sauce to the mix. Not only a beautiful presentation but a lot of flavour going on.
Jim Peterson says that they can also be made with the slow-roasted leg/thigh quarters which I have done. Much more convenient, and as I have done that as well, I would highly recommend it.
useful (0)
This is a delightful broth with the thinly sliced grilled/sauteed duck breast floated on a mound of winter greens.
Another lovely presentation, really wonderful flavour.
Nice way to learn something new, I had only made dashi once before.
useful (0)
Website: Epicurious
This was another AJ, soupereasy project.
Neither of us had cooked fresh sardines before, so it was a learning experiance as well.
The use of fresh fennel, fennel seed and preserved lemon was lovely. I would make this to serve with other dishes.
We cooked the sardines on a grill pan, did a wonderful job. Except that my hood vent really just recirculates so even with it running on high and the doors open, the aroma lingered in my condo...for @ 3 days.
Next time I would like to try this with Spanish mackerel, and we will cook outside on a grill!
useful (2)
Website: Epicurious
This is a very good, easy recipe for blini.
I made it the batter the night before I made the blini. Brought the batter to room temp. the morning of the brunch.
Cooked them on my griddler and topped with creme fraiche and homemade gravlax.
Recipe says that precooked blinis can be made a day ahead, cooled, covered and chilled.
Reheat in the oven.
useful (0)
The Essential New York Times Cookbook: Classic Recipes for a New Century
By Amanda Hesser
W. W. Norton & Company - 2010
This dough was very strange , didn't come together until compressed. Only liquid for 2 cups of flour and 2 sticks of butter...1 tsp of vanilla extract.
Cookies look a little homely, but have an intriguing flavour.
Think shortbread with a kick!
useful (1)
Rather nice "cake", lovely warm with a glass of wine.
useful (1)
I used a small side of salmon, needless to say the thin edges and tail were more like salmon jerky.Tasty, none the less.
I would say this would be an easy way to cure salmon and impress friends.
If I make it again, I would use a center cut piece of salmon.
useful (1)
Essential Pepin: More Than 700 All-Time Favorites from My Life in Food
By Jacques Pepin
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt - 2011
This was a great recipe and a really great learning experience.
After I boned out the chix, I stuffed with mushroom, spinach and a bit of feta.
Watched the companion DVD to nail down the boning.
This is a wonderful technique which would result in many memorable meals.
Options are endless.
useful (2)
I will preface this with the comment, I am not a baker!
This dough was a breeze to put together, I used the Kitchen Aid with dough hook.
Dough is very soft and a wee bit sticky. I did manage to make a couple (rather homely) epis and a boule.
Crumb was lovely, crust was great. I think I may have taken "rustic" to a new level!
As easy as this is, with some more practice I may become "artisinal".
When I first made this recipe I had read where Jacques said that the bread could be par baked, cooled, wrapped and frozen. Which I did with part of the dough I had formed into a boule.
He said that this frozen bread could be put into a 400* oven for 20 min and one would have a fresh bread. I did this today and was extremely pleased with the results!
This makes this much more doable for weeknight dinners.
useful (3)
This one is a keeper. Used (on sale) button mushrooms.
Was basically a mushroom pie with a puff pastry crust.
Mushrooms were folded into a really thick bechamel.
He called for tarragon, I didn't have any, used thyme.
useful (2)
Everyday Food
(December, 2011)
This is a very nice cake which, I think, would work with any citrus fruit.
Makes a light moist cake and I love that it uses both the juice and the zest of the fruit.
useful (1)
Fine Cooking
(Feb/Mar, 2011)
As the co-cook and poor photographer at this lunch, I can say that it was outstanding!
I am working on the photography skills.
useful (0)
Fine Cooking
(April 1, 1997)
Had a bunch of Costco plums to use. Thought Clafoutis would do the job.
Really just used this recipe for ratio of egg/milk/flour.
This batter could be used with lots of stone fruit.
useful (0)
Fine Cooking
(May 2, 2005)
Having a rather nice salmon fillet on hand, perused the web and found a recipe that I had all the ingredients for.
This was really good.
The searing of the salmon gave the flesh just a bit of a crust and the drizzle of the beurre blanc just added to the flavour.
Only change I would make would be to halve or even quarter the recipe for the butter sauce, made a huge amount.
I served it on a bed of baby arugula with just the salmon and the sauce as the dressing.
useful (0)
Food and Wine
(November, 2011)
This was a really great example of a cheese soup. Not too heavy and with just a touch of heat from the jalepeno. It was even better the second day!
Only change I made was to use blond ale as it was the only beer on hand that day. I don't think it really made any difference.
useful (2)
From the Earth to the Table: John Ash's Wine Country Cuisine
By John Ash, Sid Goldstein
Chronicle Books - 2007
This recipe has 3 components, grilled salmon, roasted white corn salsa and warm basil cream.
They come together for a glorious meal...
and each of the components stands up on its' own.
Took the leftover corn salsa for lunch at work.
Tossed the leftover "warm basil cream" with some pasta for dinner another night. Think Alfredo with basil, have to say it was a lovely meal to come home to.
I would make this recipe again...I would also make the corn salsa and/or the basil cream on their own to have with other proteins or pasta.
useful (2)
Home Baking: The Artful Mix of Flour and Traditions from Around the World
By Jeffrey Alford, Naomi Duguid
Artisan - 2003
I was very impressed with the ease of bringing this together.
I will preface this with the fact that I am not a baker.
The pastry came together really easily in the food processor, I divided it into the rounded discs and refrigerated in seperate baggies overnight.
Cooked off the leeks this morning, rolled out the pastry, assembled and baked for a really lovely lunch.
The technique they used of pouring the custard through the vent hole on top was a bit of a letdown, as one would think the "custard" settled happily in the center. Next time I will make several decorative vent holes and then add the custard.
Only change I made was I used pancetta instead of bacon, reason, I had pancetta on hand but no bacon.
This is really an outstanding pie.
This can be served hot or room temp. Great for entertaining.
useful (2)
A really nice tart although the oil packed black olives were a bit intense for me. Another AJ-soupereasy project.
The pastry was really nice and quite easy to work with. This is the second pastry recipe that I have made from this book and I highly recommend it. I am not a baker but they make it very usable.
useful (0)
I [Symbol of a Heart] Curry: The Best Indian Curries You'll Ever Cook
By Anand, Anjum Anand
Quadrille Publishing - 2010
As a newcomer to cooking Indian food, this book has pointed me in the right direction.
This chickpea curry was just a mouthful of flavour. Hits of heat but so much more going on.
Had this with some naan and it was a delightful meal.
useful (1)
This was quite amazing.
The dhal was the lentil curry. The tarka was the condiment to add the kick of fresh herbs into the dahl.
The only thing I noticed was that her use of water was a bit excessive.
useful (0)
As a first time making naan, this was a revelation! All pantry items, comes together in minutes and cooks in less than 5 minutes.
The dough was very easy to work with and the recipe makes 6 naan so unless you are feeding a crowd very usable for a single dinner.
We opted to season our naan. We sprinkled half with nigella seeds and half with zatar. Made a beautiful presentation and tasted wonderful.
useful (1)
Joy the Baker Cookbook: 100 Simple and Comforting Recipes
By Joy Wilson
Hyperion - 2012
As I was given the recipe verbally, there may have been miscommunication.
I found the goat cheese mixture far too soft to handle. Even after chilling there was no way to dip the balls in the chocolate. We ended up drizzling the chocolate over the balls then sifted the cocoa powder and added the flakes of salt.
We then put the confections in the freezer to firm up a little.
The chocolate added nothing to the party and the salt was a bit distracting.
The goat cheese was OK but the pepper would have added more zing had we used the Szechuan peppercorns.
I would not do this recipe again.
useful (1)
Mario Batali Simple Italian Food: Recipes from My Two Villages
By Mario Batali
Clarkson Potter - 1998
This is a lovely, moist cake, really easy to put together.
I made a light glaze by melting a bit of beer jelly that I had made. Really lovely!
I don't do fussy/elaborate cakes.
Sometimes you just want a bit of a sweet after dinner.
useful (2)
I give this a 2 because the Green Olive Pesto is rather nice.
Another AJ Soupereasy project.
Far too much mustard for our taste, 1 tbl of dijon and 2 tbl of black mustard seeds. (We subbed brown)
Really overwhelmed the salmon, which should have been the star.
The olive pesto is quite nice, though we did reduce the onion a bit. Recipe calls for 1/2 a red, our red might have been a bit large. The ratio of onion to olive seemed a bit much.
Recipe did not call for toasting the pine nuts but as AJ and I always do it, seemed silly not to take the raw taste out of the mix.
The olive pesto will be lovely tossed with pasta or on crostini.
useful (0)
An AJ Soupereasy project. The liver would have been much better with less capers. We used salted, rinsed,capers, sodium overload.
Cucumber salad called for 1 English cuke, we have been known to eat a cucumber salad meant for 4. We thought cucumber salad, ok...
Though we doubled everything in the salad, we were astounded at the amount of red pepper flakes. Single recipe called for 1 tbl red pepper flakes. We used less than 1 tbl and it was inedible!
Also seemed not to be a good pairing with the liver.
useful (0)
The New Portuguese Table: Exciting Flavors from Europe's Western Coast
By David Leite, Nuno Correia
Clarkson Potter - 2009
This soup was new to me. Made a wonderful meal with a ciabatta.
I used kale one time and escarole another. I actually prefer the escarole.
useful (1)
Website: The New York Times
I made two versions of this cookie.
First I made the parmesan, I was hoping that it would be a savoury shortbread type cookie. It was awful! They literally disintigrated in your hand when you tried to pick it up. They were like sand when eaten and had no flavour to speak of.
The second version was the lemon. These were absolutly delightful! Working the lemon zest with the sugar released the lemon oils and gave the cookie a lovely lemon flavour. The texture was the shortbread I had hoped to get with the parmesan version.
useful (1)
Soup of the Day (Williams-Sonoma): 365 Recipes for Every Day of the Year
By Kate McMillan, Chuck Williams, Kate Spears, Erin Kunkel
Weldon Owen - 2012
A very tasty way to get grains and legumes into ones diet.
Easy to put together with ingredients commonly on hand.
Made a wonderful dinner with a crusty bread and glass of wine
useful (1)
A lovely soup and easy. Another mostly pantry item soup. Just picked up a couple ears of fresh corn on the way home.
Salsa was really great and can stand on its' own. Used leftover salsa in a salad the next evening.
useful (0)
This soup was a delight!
A lot of flavour going on and then polished with the dollop of avocado crema.
This one will become a staple.
useful (0)
This was a lovely soup with a lot of flavours going on. Just the ticket for a cool autumn evening.
As I usually keep andouille on hand this was a mainly pantry soup, just had to pick up a bunch of kale.
The soup keeps well for several days in the fridge so a good choice to make ahead.
Serve with a crusty bread and a glass of wine.
useful (0)
This was a really easy soup to make and even easier to love.
Made the soup and chilled overnight to have it cold. Warm evening so this was nice to come home to.
A couple days later we came home late, cold, raining so I heated the soup, toasted some naan and had a little hummus on the side. Dinner on the table in @ 10 minutes.
This soup is a keeper. A good soup to make when my market has red peppers on sale.
useful (0)
This soup was good. A lot more effort than it was worth, and the farro component seemed like an afterthought.
Chickpeas were cooked then pureed, seperately, the farrow was cooked and then stirred in.
The mushrooms were sauteed and added more as a garni than a component.
The recipe says it will serve 4-6. It will serve a lot more than that. It is a very heavy filling soup, great if you want to feed a crowd
I opted to use the crimini mushrooms, to pay for fresh porcini would be a waste of money.
useful (1)
A really flavourful soup, great for a weeknight.
Broth is pantry and veggie bin, sear the salmon...really great flavour going on.
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Williams-Sonoma New Flavors for Soups: Classic Recipes Redefined (New Flavors For Series)
By Adam Reid
Oxmoor House - 2009
A very good inexpensive soup, lots of flavour. Liked the idea of browning the chix thighs with skin on then removing the skin. Nothing worse than slimy chix skin in a soup/braise/stew.
This soup really improves over a night or two.
Ancho chiles have a very subtle flavour and really little heat, if you were looking for a spicy kick I would add a touch of hot sauce or a bit of chipotle in adobo.
Perfect soup for a Superbowl weekend. Or even for an after work dinner . It is a thicker soup, so really need only a green salad and perhaps a bit of bread/tortillas to accompany.
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