kateq's Reviews
3 recipe(s) reviewed. Showing 1 to 3Sort by: Title 
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My Berlin Kitchen: A Love Story (with Recipes)
By Luisa Weiss
Viking Adult - 2012
Erbensuppe (German Pea Soup) : page 146
It got very cold quite suddenly yesterday. Cold weather comfort food was necessary. Knowing I had yellow split peas, a smoked ham hock, vegetable stock and carrots, I went out and got yukon gold potatoes and kosher knockwurst. I put the soup together according to the recipe, until I realized I had no celeriac (I threw in some fennel seeds) and no marjoram (I did have fresh oregano, flat leaf parsley and thyme and so used a combination of those herbs). My cooking was a bit longer then that in the recipe, but my peas might have been sitting in the cupboard for a while. The house filled up with a very comforting aroma. It smelled warm, if you know what I mean. And when I filled my bowl with soup, just the sight of it made me happy. And the taste of it made me happier still. This soup makes you remember coming in from the cold as a child, and sitting down to hot soup your mother or your grandmother made just for you. Good Stuff!
useful (0)
Peperoni al Forno Conditi : page 31
First, let me rave about this method of roasting peppers. No turning a skewered pepper over an open flame (mess on stove) or charring the peppers under the broiler (bitter burning smell throughout the house). Ms. Weiss simply roasts whole peppers in a moderate oven for about an hour, turning them periodically--the way, she says, it is done by her relatives in Italy. I did it her way and the results were spectacular. No bitter smell (a sweet smell actually), no mess, no paper bags, no bits of charred skin everywhere. The peppers peeled so easily and the resulting strips of roasted pepper were velvety and sweet and delicious.
As to the salad, I used all red peppers, skipped the breadcrumbs, added some fresh arugula and some pasta and some parmesan. It was Fabulous! and I believe that a big part of why the salad is so delicious is that the peppers are absolutely ethereal roasted this way.
useful (3)
Ragu a la Bolognese (Beef Ragu) : page 105
I took the comments about the long slow cooking to heart and started this on the stove and then transferred it to the slow cooker so it could get a good seven hours (or more) of simmering. I had beef and pork in the freezer--about three pounds total so I upped the other ingredients accordingly. I used a nice dry red beaujolais and American as opposed to San Marzano tomatoes (I know they are fabulous tasting in Italy--I find it hard to believe that being processed, canned, shipped overseas under who knows what conditions, warehoused and then distributed to supermarkets and shelved, they taste as good as in Italy or as good as good quality local products--plus, they're very expensive). Otherwise, I followed instructions and the results were fabulous. It's a great sauce which I used on some pasta to everyone's delight. I have two containers in the freezer, destined for lasagna.
useful (1)