kateq's Reviews
558 recipes reviewed. Showing 51 to 100Sort by: Book Title | Date | Rating | Recipe Title 
Chesapeake Bay Cooking
By John Shields
Broadway - 1998
There are succotash recipes that allow the use of frozen veg; there are some that add cream or herbs or other 'stuff' -- this is the classic simple real deal--fresh corn, baby limas, barely cooked and then dressed with butter and lemon. Salt and fresh pepper--ready to go--so good!
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Zahav: A World of Israeli Cooking
By Michael Solomonov, Steven Cook
Rux Martin/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt - 2015
This is a very simple way to do stuffed peppers. Cover the bottom of your baking baking dish with tomato sauce, place the hollowed peppers in the dish and fill them with a mixture of the "Seasoned Ground Beef" (reviewed separately), rice and egg. Top off with some more sauce and bake. Simple as it is, it works perfectly. In some recipes, I have found it necessary to steam the peppers first. Not necessary here. After baking for 75 minutes in a moderate oven, they were fork tender and quite delicious. As noted in the review of the beef, it could use a bit more spice, garlic, but really quite delicious.
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Oma and Bella: Das Kochbuch - The Cookbook
By Alexa Karolinski
- 2000
Most comfort food is comforting but fattening. Here's a pot full of comfort that's healthy and with hardly any fat at all. At first glance, this recipe looks like a lot of work and pots to clean, but it turned to be quite easily done. I cooked the rice while I chopped the vegetables and I sauteed the onions in the pot in which the final dish was made. Two anomalies in the recipe: first, it calls for 1/4 cup of oil and doesn't mention what to do with it. I guessed that that was meant for frying the onions. I used about one tablespoon of olive oil which was plenty. The second issue involves those onions. We are instructed to mix half of them with the rest of the stuffing. I didn't see where the other half went so I put all the onions into the stuffing. I used super lean ground sirloin--a little less than a pound as that was what I had on hand. It was plenty. The spice mix (a separate recipe) is absolutely terrific--just the right hint of heat, of sweetness, of herbiness. A great success!
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Website: Canadian Living
I love the way this looks!! It's very easy, very delicious and so cool looking! One caveat: there really is too much batter for one loaf pan, but it's a good thing--there's just enough for one nice fat large loaf and one really cute little loaf. Great texture, really moist, decent shelf life (though mine was gone by the second morning). I envision making this at the holidays with one batch resulting in five adorable little loaves.
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Website: David Lebovitz
This may well become my favorite drink of the summer--and this the version made with what I had on hand--frozen berries and dry Vermouth. I can only imagine it will be better with Bianco and fresh strawberries.
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Website: Smitten Kitchen
I'm giving this a five as mine baked beautifully and resulted in a pair of pretty, mounded loaves (I doubled the recipe). I was generous with the fruit and I used half white, half brown sugar in the streusel, skipping the nuts in the topping. As usual, I lined my loaf pans with parchment instead of greasing--much simpler release and much easier clean up.
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Website: cooking.com
Based on looks alone, this cake is a ten, but based on taste, I give it a four. It's quite good, but the cake lacks a little something--whether it's too little vanilla and/or almond flavoring, or too much whipped cream (I actually can't believe I'm saying that but...). I think also there's a texture issue--this is a very soft cake. But boy does it ever look beautiful!
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Website: Cooking
Our CSA box this week included some baby carrots and parsnips and this recipe was just right for our Easter dinner. So easy and delicious!
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Stir-Frying to the Sky's Edge: The Ultimate Guide to Mastery, with Authentic Recipes and Stories
By Grace Young
Simon & Schuster - 2010
This dish is perfect. We blanched the broccoli florets briefly and then drained them in a colander as directed. We made the ginger juice and mixed it with soy in a small bowl; we sliced and smashed the ginger and had it at the ready. We followed the impeccable instructions precisely and the result was crisp-tender, perfectly seasoned, bright green broccoli florets.
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Deep Run Roots: Stories and Recipes from My Corner of the South
By Vivian Howard
Little, Brown and Company - 2016
Until now, my stewed greens experience was limited to the mustard greens in a beloved Burmese restaurant and spinach in almost any form. I decided to branch out and made these collard greens with a ham hock (thank heaven for the Amish Market). I made them as directed, finding only that they needed a bit more time than suggested. I was happily surprised--how delicious! I ate a big plate (mess?) of them over rice cooked Ms. Howard's way and loved 'em. The leftover greens and pot likker went into a pot of Caldo Verde and shone there as well.
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Patricia Wells at Home in Provence: Recipes Inspired By Her Farmhouse In France
By Patricia Wells, Robert Freson
Scribner - 1996
This is very simple to prepare and quite delicious. I warmed the vinaigrette in a small bowl in the microwave while the fish steamed over the rice I was making. In short order, a quite nice meal was ready, with very little clean up after.
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New Thanksgiving Table
By Diane Morgan
Chronicle Books - 2009
A lovely salad and,despite our changes, I think we kept to the spirit of the recipe. We used currants instead of dried cranberries and a really good red wine vinegar and honey and some lemon instead of balsamic vinegar and sugar. The combination of the spinach with the onion and slightly crisp pear slices and crunchy hazelnuts was delightful.
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The Olive and the Caper: Adventures in Greek Cooking
By Susanna Hoffman
Workman Publishing Company - 2004
This very easy and very healthy pilaf is wonderful! I followed the recipe exactly, using arborio rice and roma tomatoes (the only decent tomatoes available at this time of year). The combination of fresh herbs and lemon makes this remarkably fresh tasting -- adding them at the end is brilliant. I love the idea of adding a protein -- some shrimp or crab -- and making this a true main dish.
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Website: Cooking
I took the easy way--put frozen chopped spinach in a pyrex casserole and thawed in the microwave. Then added all the other ingredients (went with garlic powder and yogurt instead of sour cream), stirred, covered and baked for about 15 minutes. Took the cover off and baked another ten minutes. It was delicious! (and I only had one dish and a spatula to clean...)
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The Essential New York Times Cookbook: Classic Recipes for a New Century
By Amanda Hesser
W. W. Norton & Company - 2010
I'm joining the chorus! After reading Beth's review, I had to try this and I'm so glad I did. I did sub lemon as I had everything ready to go when I found myself lime-less. The marinade/sauce was still really great. I used chicken breasts and ending up baking my chicken as the rain arrived with the dinner hour. I loved it and am sure that grilling would make it even better. I imagine almonds could be used in place of the cashews.
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Website: Cooking
Used a pound of lamb and a half pound of beef. Loved this! Next time--more sauce.
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Website: Food & Wine
I'm so glad Kaye reviewed this--I made it today for brunch and loved it. So easy, and basically all with pantry ingredients. I had everything on hand except the cilantro which I picked up after I read Kaye's review. I left out the chile but followed the recipe exactly. I used canned diced tomatoes (no good fresh tomatoes now). Spicing is just right and it is remarkably fresh tasting.
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Website: Los Angeles Times Food Section
Nice bread, but missing, I think, eggs--I added two and can't imagine how the bread would be without them. Makes enough for a nice fat loaf and two mini loaves. Next time, I'll be a bit more generous with fig and add some diced apple.
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New Thanksgiving Table
By Diane Morgan
Chronicle Books - 2009
This is a great cake. And even tho I know I will make changes when I make it again (and I will!), it does deserve 5 stars--even if only for the brilliant notion of putting a touch of pumpkin puree in the cream cheese icing which affects the flavor less than it does the aesthetics. The icing is a simply beautiful pale apricot color, setting off the layers of the cake perfectly. So what changes? Raisins instead of currants because the tiny currants rather disappear into the cake. And I'll use the bourbon-soaked raisins (a staple in my kitchen) for that extra bit of richness and flavor. I used unsweetened coconut this time and I think that was a good choice. I will also increase the spicing just a bit--a bit more clove and a touch of ginger.
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The Indian Slow Cooker: 50 Healthy, Easy, Authentic Recipes
By Anupy Singla
Agate Surrey - 2010
This shouldn't work--but it does and it's absolutely delicious. It's a heap of raw vegetables (about 12 cups all told), 5 tablespoons of potent spices and a mere 3 tablespoons of oil--and after 3 hours in the slow cooker, there's this wonderful juicy lush aromatic stew. I ate just a bit the day I made it. It was a full meal the next day and even better having spent a night in the fridge. It's amazing how substantial a meal this makes, and the addition of the fresh cilantro at the last moment makes an extraordinary difference. I made exactly as written, but for omitting the Thai chiles (a little more heat than I wanted) and subbing some chopped green chiles. Results in 4 very generous servings. I used the garam masala from Madhur Jaffrey's "Taste of India."
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Golden: Sweet & Savory Baked Delights from the Ovens of London's Honey & Co.
By Itamar Srulovich, Sarit Packer
Little, Brown and Company - 2016
Nice quick bread and easy to put together.
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Oma and Bella: Das Kochbuch - The Cookbook
By Alexa Karolinski
- 2000
I made this as a component of the stuffed cabbage (in which it works like a dream) and knew from the aroma coming from the mortar that it would be delicious. I have since used in a spinach and feta filling for croissants with great success. A jar of this will have a permanent spot in my spice rack.
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Lee Bailey's Country Weekends
By Lee Bailey
Gramercy - 1997
I made this as two cakes baked in loaf pans and two mini loaves instead of one in a tube pan. I also added two eggs and a little salt (recipe has none). I served this without the icing, though I will someday make it is a big beautiful cake with the delicious sounding frosting. Very nice, very moist, slices beautifully.
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Website: Cooking
Absolutely delicious and very easy. Made this exactly as written and loved it.
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Virgin Territory: Exploring the World of Olive Oil
By Nancy Harmon Jenkins
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt - 2015
So delicious! I went with angel hair pasta and the anchovy option, a lovely spanish olive oil, garlic and hot red pepper flakes. While the pasta cooked, I had my saute pan going and let the anchovies melt away into the oil, then added the garlic and pepper. When the pasta was al dente, I added it along with just a little pasta water--magnifico!!
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Website: Food & Wine
This salad dressing is really delicious, but the directions are less than precise. Roasting the onions in a very hot oven for the time presribed would result in charcoal. My onions nd garlic were beautiful roasted in about 45 minutes. Once the onions are slightly cooled and the garlic peeled, it's short work to pop everything into the food processor and whizz away. The oil amount is i found too much -- a scant cup more than sufficed. Also the final yield, even with less oil, provides enough dressing for several sizable salads, Good thing it's delicious.
As for the salad as a whole (my version no sprouts, no corn, no pecans, lots of chickpeas) it's great.
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Website: Cooking
I made these with buttermilk and added 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh rosemary. I also made them bigger (yield of 14) and baked them about 18 minutes at 400 degrees convection. Very nice indeed. Will do another batch with basil.
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Daisy Cooks: Latin Flavors That Will Rock Your World
By Daisy Martinez
Hyperion - 2005
With the exception of culantro (not to be found here), I made this as written, right down to freezing it in small portions. As a base for sauces, soups, meatballs and the like, this mixture is delicious. And it really does add a Latin flair. Having the little plastic bags of it in the freezer is so cool--I can toss it still frozen in the pan/pot and let it thaw while the pan warms. Addictive!
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Ad Hoc at Home
By Thomas Keller
Artisan - 2009
Like so many of the recipes in this book, this one takes a long time, which can be frustrating when one wants to make the pepperonata and see that this several hour process is a preliminary to that recipe. That being said, the technique here yields a lovely result. Finely dicing the onion and grating the tomatoes really makes for an incredible texture; the long, slow cooking renders a mixture of a few ingredients into a marvelously complex dish/condiment.
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Website: Cooking
This was quite good the day it was made; it was immensely better after spending the night in the fridge. I went with Greek yogurt and a bunch of scallions in the mix rather than fromage blanc and fennel. I loved the look of the spread with the flecks of green from the scallions.
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Website: Washington Post
I can't get over how easy this is and how good it is! I've made Ratatouille the traditntal way, one vegetable at a time, lots and lots of oil and it's delicious. But this--all the vegetables chopped and popped into the crockpot, a mere 2 tablespoons of oil mixed with some tomato paste and salt and pepper and then mixed into the vegetables along with thyme and a bay leaf--after 4-5 hours on low, it is simply delicious. Next time I might up the herbs, play with the amounts of each vegetable, but the basic concept is wonderful. My only exception--I peel the eggplant.
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Website: Food & Wine
So easy, so delicious. I used chicken breasts instead of thighs and baharat spice mix instead of berbere; otherwise followed instructions, I chose the option of cooking on high and the stew was perfectly cooked in the time recommended. Bright spiciness without undue heat. Chicken was just right--juicy and tender. Definitely a keeper.
useful (1)
Website: Canadian Living
What's so nice about this is that everything goes right into the slow cooker--no sauteeing or browning on the stove. And it's really quite good. The modest amount of butter is just right; one gets the butter flavor without the dish seeming overly heavy and without that nasty oily film left on the lips. I substituted peanut for almond butter as that was what I had; it was very good. I also used skinless boneless breasts instead of thighs and so cooked them for a slightly shorter time. My only quarrel with this is that the spicing is too mild. It needs more cumin, maybe a hit of a nice rich garam masala. I added salt and sriracha to my bowl but would still like more spice. It makes a lot of sauce and I have a fair amount in my freezer. My intention is that when I defrost it, I'll add spices to the sauce and let it cook a bit before I add any meat. Actually, I bet it would be good with shrimp.
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Website: Cooking
Very much enjoyed this--went with whole milk, regular pasta instead of whole wheat, skipped the flour and was generous with mushrooms and broccoli. I found the resulting sauce to be just fine, not too thin. I loved the tarragon which I thought really gave this a grown-up taste.
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Olives: The Life and Lore of a Noble Fruit
By Mort Rosenblum
North Point Press - 1996
This recipe is yet more evidence that really good ingredients stand on their own. I had beautiful shrimp, fresh garlic, good olive oil, flat leaf parsley just picked and a bit of the Chardonnay we were drinking. My only misgiving with this recipe is that I think the times suggested are too long, unless the shrimps or prawns are huge. The winey, garlicy sauce was fabulous mopped up with some good crusty bread
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Website: Cooking
This is brilliant! So easy and the results are remarkable. I found the proportions to be just a little off--the dough is a little too wet--but easily rectified by working a little more flour in at the time of the second rise. Next time I'll just add a little less water. I love having the tub of dough in the fridge and being able to scoop out enough for a little loaf--fresh baked bread anytime.
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Every Grain Of Rice
By Fuchsia Dunlop
WW Norton - 2013
This is absolutely delicious and totally worth the effort of tracking down authentic Sichuan chili bean paste and Chinkiang vinegar. I used very lean ground beef and was a little timid with the chili paste which turned out to be just fine.
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Website: Serious Eats
Delicious and easy--makes a lot of sauce
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Ad Hoc at Home
By Thomas Keller
Artisan - 2009
I am giving this a four star rating because I think it is a little more complicated than necessary and because I think the addition of an egg yolk makes an incredible difference in the end result. I rolled this out and baked it on a silpat and then cut it with fluted square cookie cutters while still warm. I had almost no waste (just some nice bits for a cook's treat) and this obviated the extra tray and the extra cooling period. This is also wonderful with the addition of some citrus rind and/or almond extract.
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Zahav: A World of Israeli Cooking
By Michael Solomonov, Steven Cook
Rux Martin/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt - 2015
In search of some undemanding (not a lot of clean-up or effort) comfort food, was quite happy with this. I made this in the laziest fashion possible--that is to say I had a package of frozen minced onion and another of frozen minced carrots and peas (ok--the peas were a bit of a finesse), two pounds of lovely very lean ground round and --voila--a recipe. The thing that is amazing is that the little hit of cinnamon is magical It really does sort of transform this from plain old ground beef to something a bit special. I ground in some good pepper and added salt but didn't play. Followed the rules--and now I know, next time, I could add some garlic, some other bits of whatever, but this is good basic beef for stuffed peppers or pastel. And off I go to make stuffed peppers and put the rest of this beef away till I'm ready to make pastel.
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Website: Simply Recipes
Made this as part of our Christmas dinner (Roast Beef, Wine/auJus reduction, haricots and these potatoes). The caramelized onions are the magical ingredient here. Though there's no butter or cream (and only a very small amount of stock) the final dish tastes so rich and buttery. It only takes a bit of oil and relatively modest amounts of cheese but it is so satisfying. I think in the future I would increase the amount of onion but otherwise I think this recipe is great as is.
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Website: Domenica Cooks
This soup is very good the second day. The first day (actually the first day after overnight soaking of the beans) it required considerably longer cooking than suggested in the recipe and the result was good but not great. When re-heated, it thickened and the flavor deepened and we really enjoyed it.
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The Olive and the Caper: Adventures in Greek Cooking
By Susanna Hoffman
Workman Publishing Company - 2004
First, let me say I can't imagine eating this dish as written.With the amount of olive oil, combined with the fat contained in a chicken (cut up, skin on), I think this would be much too oily/fatty/greasy for me. Second, I have had a hard time deciding how to rate this. The dish results in a great-looking sauce and presents beautifully, but the level of piquancy is rather high. I used a good quality balsamic but I think the combination of vinegar and capers is a bit much. On the other hand, the flavor is great. So, perhaps just toning down the vinegar would do it. As far as the chicken, I used skinless, boneless chicken breasts, which I browned with the shallots in a minimal amount of olive oil. I then removed the chicken and held it to the side until I added everything else and brought it to the boil. I then returned the chicken and its juices and completed the recipe. Ironically, after all my going on about oil, I think a bit of butter swirled in the sauce, off the heat, would smooth out the edges of the sauce beautifully.
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1,000 Spanish Recipes (1,000 Recipes)
By Penelope Casas
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt - 2014
Very simple way to prepare asparagus--the flavor of the olive oil and garlic provide an excellent backdrop to the asparagus.
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Jacques Pépin's Table: The Complete "Today's Gourmet"
Another less is more recipe from the master. I used a 6 ounce andouille sausage from D'Artagnan. I peeled off the casing and broke up the sausage meat. The 6 ounce amount (the recipe calls for 8 ounces of sausage) was more than adequate as the sausage was quite strongly spiced. This very simple soup was absolutely delicious--richly flavored, very satisfying and, as M.Pepin promised, the leftovers were even better the next day.
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Website: Cooking
The first time I made this, I used a third sweet and two thirds hot sausage and otherwise followed the recipe. It was very good. This time I reversed (two thirds hot and a third sweet) and added several cloves of garlic to the vegetables (chopped even finer than the first time) and cooked the sauce even longer at even lower temps. It was FABULOUS.
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I Hear America Cooking
By Betty Fussell
Viking Adult - 1986
This is the first gumbo recipe I ever made and I have basically stuck with it ever since. This really is an excellent gumbo. The Instructions are clear; the method is quite simple and the result is an authentic and delicious gumbo. I generally use canola oil; I don't always use all the varieties of pepper. Sometimes I leave out the oysters and/or the crab. I have even made a vegetable version of this and loved it. It really is worth the effort to get the roux the color of melted chocolate. And it's magical the way the very dark roux combines with the rest of the ingredients to make a gumbo that is a pretty and relatively pale color accented with the pink of the shrimps. It's great made ahead--just wait to add the shrimps and oysters till rewarming the stew.
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The Indian Slow Cooker: 50 Healthy, Easy, Authentic Recipes
By Anupy Singla
Agate Surrey - 2010
Once again, I followed the recipe except for the Thai chiles--hot enough for me without them. I did add some finely chopped raw spinach. I thought the cooking time, especially on high, was a bit too long, but the result is delicious, though the long cook time meant I had to add some more water--in fact, it was not soupy at all. I tasted it before adding the optional yogurt and didn't care for it, but after the addition of the salt, cilantro and yogurt, however, it was really good. I don't think the yogurt should be optional.
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Website: Seven Spoons
A confession--I skip the cocoa powder and use all ap flour. Result: a really good sugar cookie which get snapped up almost before they cool. I get 11 or 12 cookies per batch. I use sanding sugar for the rolling of the dough so the cookies are "sparkly." They spread a lot so 6 to a half-sheet tray works well.
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Great Coffee Cakes, Sticky Buns, Muffins & More: 200 Anytime Treats and Special Sweets for Morning to Midnight
By Carole Walter
Clarkson Potter - 2007
A very nice muffin which really does highlight the apple flavor. The muffins are really made special by the crumb topping. Sufficient batter for 9 "Texas-Sized" muffins.
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