sturlington's Profile

From: Hillsborough, NC US

Joined: March 11th, 2010

About me: I am an avid home cook. I am using this site to keep track of my favorite recipes from my cookbook collection.

Favorite cookbook: Fresh Every Day

Favorite recipe: Chocolate Brownies (Ad Hoc at Home)

Website:
simplycooking.wordpress.com


Latest review:

October 6th, 2012

Easy Cheesy Chili Chicken from Eating Stella Style: Low-Carb Recipes for Healthy Living

My husband enjoyed this a lot. It was easy enough for a weeknight, but I will have to tweak the seasonings some, as it was just a bit too salty for my tastes. read more >


recipe reviews (537)
book reviews (49)
useful review votes (414)

sturlington's Reviews


Search Reviews:

13 recipe(s) reviewed. Showing 1 to 13Sort by: Title | Date | Rating

The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook

By Ina Garten, Martha Stewart
Clarkson Potter - 1999

17th January 2011 (edited: 24th July 2012)

Vegetable Coleslaw : page 107

I liked Ina's suggestions for shredding the cabbage using the slicing blade of the food processor and putting the wedges in horizontally. This resulted in long strips that really enhanced the coleslaw, I thought. It didn't work as well for the carrots -- the slices were too thick -- so I ended up grating them after all. I don't care for mayonnaise-based dressings anymore, so I ended up substituting a modified version of Thomas Keller's coleslaw dressing.

useful (2)  


2nd November 2011 (edited: 1st October 2012)

Vanilla Extract : page 199

This is exactly how I make vanilla extract, except I usually use rum. This is much cheaper than buying the little bottles because you can essentially keep it going forever. Be sure to use a brown bottle, not clear, for storage. I use an old, overlarge beer bottle with one of those attached porcelain corks.

useful (2)  


17th May 2012

Turkey Tea Sandwiches : page 58

I tried this because I happened to have all the ingredients on hand and wanted something new. I didn't really care for the combination of cream cheese, raisin bread and turkey, but my toddler liked it a lot. Any new healthy food I can serve him and he will actually eat is a good discovery.

useful (0)  


5th April 2011 (edited: 31st March 2012)

Turkey Meatloaf : page 138

Based on the other reviews, I had to try this, as meatloaf is not in our normal rotation. It is a good starting point (and my husband was grateful to get meatloaf), but I'd definitely make some tweaks. First, the recipe itself states that it can be halved, but I don't know how to halve 3 eggs, so I reduced it to 1/3 instead; I think the math was actually easier. This still made a good-sized loaf, more than we could eat, but we have the leftovers for sandwiches. Second, even though the recipe calls for this to be cooked on a baking sheet, next time I think I will use a loaf pan to prevent all the fat from leaking out and the loaf from spreading. The baking sheet method worked fine, though.

I would also like to add more veggies to the recipe, maybe roasted peppers or tomatoes, to make it a little moister. I'm not a fan of ketchup, so I used barbecue sauce as the glaze and that worked very well; next time I would reserve some sauce to re-glaze at the end of cooking. Even with the modifications, this was a yummy and easy meatloaf recipe. I would make it again.

useful (3)  


11th October 2011 (edited: 6th April 2012)

Roasted-Tomato Basil Soup : page 84

This was a very tasty soup, quite redolent of basil. I think it is a good late-summer recipe for using up the remaining basil and tomatoes in the garden. Roasting the tomatoes is a great remedy for tomatoes that didn't ripen fully. Contrary to what Ina says, I don't think you could make this all winter long, as fresh basil isn't available/cheap then, although I suppose you could substitute frozen, pureed basil. I halved the amounts and still made enough soup for three or four meals, so some will go in the freezer.

useful (2)  


26th September 2011 (edited: 8th October 2012)

Roasted Carrots : page 149

This was such a simple recipe. I think there are only 3 ingredients, not counting salt and pepper. The results were very good, and a nice change of pace for when we have extra carrots.

useful (2)  


30th September 2011 (edited: 8th October 2012)

Parmesan Smashed Potatoes : page 158

What's not to like about these potatoes? They are very rich and flavorful. It was also nice that I usually have all the ingredients I need on hand. I halved the recipe and still had plenty of leftovers, because they were so rich that I kept portion sizes small.

I don't have a standing mixer so I just used my potato masher and they came out fine. I finished them using a trick I learned from a local diner. I spooned out the portions on a hot griddle and let them get browned on both sides. They go very well with eggs that way.

useful (3)  


11th October 2011 (edited: 8th October 2012)

Parmesan Croutons : page 87

There isn't much to this recipe, but it's quite useful nonetheless. You could slice up a whole baguette and have enough croutons to last for 2 or 3 meals. The croutons are particularly nice with soup. I would make a couple of changes, though. I would omit the salt and pepper, as parmesan is plenty salty enough. Also, I would cut the baking time down to 10 minutes. I left mine in for just about 15 minutes and they got a bit too brown on the bottoms for my tastes.

useful (1)  


26th September 2011 (edited: 8th October 2012)

Indonesian Ginger Chicken : page 125

This was a simple recipe, and the ingredients are staples in my pantry, so it's easy to make without a special shopping trip. I was able to reduce the amounts down to two large bone-in breasts with no problems. My husband liked this a lot and thought it had a subtly sweet flavor. I would definitely make this again.

useful (1)  


24th September 2011 (edited: 8th October 2012)

Grilled Lemon Chicken : page 48

An easy recipe, very adaptable, but quick enough to throw together in the morning and leave to marinate all day. I will probably incorporate this marinade into my regular rotation. I did not make the satay sauce but would like to try that sometime.

useful (1)  


8th May 2011 (edited: 24th July 2012)

French Potato Salad : page 96

A good recipe, although I'm not sure what the initial step of adding the chicken stock and white wine to the potatoes adds in terms of flavor. I vary the herbs according to season.

useful (1)  


21st October 2011 (edited: 8th October 2012)

Broccoli with Garlic : page 100

I thought this was good, a nice garlicky flavor, and not difficult to make. I had it warm the night I made it and cold the next day. Like the other reviewers, I thought it tasted better warm.

useful (1)  


17th January 2011 (edited: 8th October 2012)

Barbecued Chicken : page 120

Last night I made oven-barbecued chicken. I didn't end up making this barbecue sauce exactly as written (and my God, I don't need a quart of sauce), but I mined it for ideas in creating my own barbecue sauce.

useful (0)