kateq's Profile

From: annapolis, md usa

Joined: February 14th, 2010

Shrimp Saganaki from Serious Eats

Delicious and easy--makes a lot of sauce read more >

recipe reviews (559)
book reviews (1)
useful review votes (191)

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kateq's Reviews

11 recipe(s) reviewed. Showing 1 to 11Sort by: Title | Date | Rating

The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook

By Ina Garten, Martha Stewart
Clarkson Potter - 1999

This is a truly delicious beet salad. The dressing is just right--fruity and rich tasting without being heavy. We served it over greens and with walnuts and blue cheese on the side for those who wanted to add something more. I thought it lovely just as it was. My only quarrel with this recipe is the instruction to boil the beets (or, horrible thought--to use beets from a tin). I think the reason a lot of people who don't like beets is because they have eaten boiled beets. I roasted my beets (wrapped in foil, drizzled with a bit of olive oil), peeled them as soon as they were cool enough to handle, and then diced them for the salad. My salad sat in the fridge for a while and then was brought back to room temp--I think it benefited from some marination time.

useful (3)  

Quite delicious and very easy, this roasted squash doesn't seem to me to use such an extravagant amount of sugar and butter and salt--once I had peeled and seeded my squash I had two pounds of flesh. I used 2 tablespoons of sugar, 3 tablespoons of butter and less than a teaspoon of salt. Ironically, quite a bit of the sugar and butter remained in the pan, caramelized around the edges of the silpat (thank goodness I used it---this would have been a messy pan to clean otherwise) and so the squash was really pretty low in fat and sugar. This dish however needs something more -- I found it to be a bit bland--found myself thinking about grated orange rind, cinnamon or five spice powder or garam masala. I also suspect that the use of olive oil in combination with the butter would mean the dish could retain the butter flavor but lose a bit of the saturated fat. In all, a good base to start from, not unlike some of the other recipes in this book.

useful (2)  

I enjoyed this salad and was intrigued by the method of cooking the potatoes in boiling water (as opposed to starting the potatoes in cold water as I have always done in the past). I liked the touch of steaming them after draining and added the bit of wine and stock to re-moisten and add a bit of flavor. As with the other recipes I've made from this book, the amounts seem a bit off---I found the quantity of vinaigrette to be way more than needed for the amount of potatoes. The vinaigrette is a very good classic formula.

useful (2)  

Couldn't be simpler to do and it's absolutely delicious! I put my chicken and marinade in the fridge--came home six hours later, heated the stovetop grill and cooked the chicken--served with cappellini in a lemony sauce and a salad, it made a lovely meal. I think it will also be good served as Ms. Garten suggests with the dipping sauce. I will also try this as a part of a salad.

useful (2)  

I think this is an excellent version of applesauce. I halved the recipe and followed it pretty closely, using a combination of Granny Smith, Gala and Macintosh apples. I loved the spices which I thought were relatively subtle and the citrus rind was great. I see this as a wonderful jumping off place for all sorts of recipes. This could be the base for a really good chutney, with the addition of more spice, cranberries, currants, etc. I also think it could be a great filling for pastry or addition to a muffin or quickbread batter. I had no problem with the butter, though I did add it sparingly; I thought it added a lot to mouthfeel. It's also so easy--peel, squeeze, measure everything into one pot and shove it in the oven. This is one Contessa recipe which I wish I had not halved.

useful (2)  

I'm giving this five stars because, for what it is, it's perfect. It's a dinner party/caterer's dream---you can make a large quantity;it's all in one baking dish; it's very simple; it freezes and/or reheats beautifully. And it tastes quite delicious. I personally would want more spice--but that is easily added. It's also a pretty dish--the sauce is deep dark caramel, the chicken skin browns and crisps to an attractive mahogany. Like the other recipes I've tried, the yield is enormous--2 whole chickens to serve 4 - 6 people seems like an awful lot to me.

useful (3)  

I've made this twice now, once with homemade, salt free chicken stock and once with roasted vegetable stock Both versions were delicious. I love the oregano and the sweetness of the carrots. I also think the potatoes add a nice richness--though I did peel mine, as I find that potato peels in soup make for a muddy sort of effect. I liked cooking the peas in two stages--the texture was excellent. This freezes beautifully and just needs a touch of liquid (water with a spot of wine) to achieve a good thickness when reheating the soup.

useful (1)  

These are very good and they make exactly 12 muffins---but only if you use "Texas-sized" muffin pans. I subbed canola oil for the butter and buttermilk for the milk and piped my homemade raspberry preserves in the top. So pretty!

useful (0)  

What a pleasant surprise! I expected this to be a bit bland, but it is, instead, very full-flavored. I halved the recipe and made only one change--I used aleppo pepper (just got it and was dying to try it) instead of black pepper, but I don't think the aleppo pepper is what made the spread so good. It's just such a good balance of flavors. And like the other BC recipes, it is so easy to make. Terrific spread which I think will become a staple around here.

useful (2)  

I find it hard to rate this recipe. The end result was wonderful, but the way there was exceedingly bumpy. First, this is again a recipe for the multitudes--3 quarts of stock, 4 pounds of potatoes, two pounds of fennel---a lot of soup! Second, I found the notion of adding a quantity of heavy cream to this very thick and rich soup inappropriate--and it just seems wrong to add it before the soup cools at all. Third, fennel is very fibrous and doesn't get all that soft and it doesn't pass happily through a food mill nor puree happily in a food processor. Fourth, the potato skins do not make for an attractive appearance or a pleasant texture--they are like bits of paper in the soup. I found that I had to puree the soup with my (luckily) powerful immersion blender and then strain it through a fine mesh in order to get rid of the potato skin fragments and the fennel strings and fibers. It was a tedious and messy process. All of this being said, the soup was delicious and having been strained, had a velvety and very pleasing texture, though I added milk, not cream, to the soup. In this final version, it was a very pale green, creamy and beautifully garnished with a scattering of the delicate tiny fennel fronds. I must say the roasted potatoes were fabulous--I could have stopped there and just eaten a platter of them. I think a stock could be made from roasted fennel and onion and then used as a base for the potato soup--the lovely flavor without all the work.

useful (4)  

This is a very good, very basic sort of soup. I liked the method of sauteing the sliced onions and then later putting the whole mixture through the food mill--the soup is smooth without losing all texture and there is minimal effort involved. Similarly, the branch of rosemary--no fine chopping or mincing and all in one pot. My only criticism is that the soup is so basic--almost a blank canvas, awaiting some embellishment as in heat or spice or some sort of texture. Perhaps croutons or crostini or some sort of salsa or topping. It should be noted that this is a lot of soup--lots more than the six servings listed in the recipe.

useful (2)