sturlington's Reviews
17 recipe(s) reviewed. Showing 1 to 17Sort by: Title 
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High Flavor, Low Labor: Reinventing Weeknight Cooking
By J.M. Hirsch
Ballantine Books - 2010
Bacon, Beens and Beer Chili : page 54
This is probably one of my favorite recipes from this book. I substituted ground turkey with good results. This chili is flavorful, dark and meaty but not overly hot.
useful (1)
Bangers and Mash : page 123
I had a few issues with this recipe. I used uncooked chicken sausage, as in the recipe, but I don't think it cooked long enough before I added the beer. As a result, I ended up letting it cook longer on the back end, which reduced the sauce to basically just a glaze (I did not need the cornstarch). The mashed potatoes were fine but benefited from a little butter. This is a decent meal, but one I already knew how to make, and I don't think this recipe improved on my tried-and-true methods.
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Barbecue Pulled Chicken Nachos : page 143
I made these for a family fun night by special request. Overall, they were very good, although the recipe needed some tweaking. First, although the recipe specifies to heat the chicken in the microwave, I didn't find this was necessary (I don't own a microwave). Everything got hot enough in the oven for 10 minutes. Also, I felt this recipe had far too much stuff on it. I omitted the beans and corn, but kept the jalapenos -- nachos require whole jalapeno rings, in my opinion. I tink this recipe might also be good if the chicken were omitted and the beans and corn were left on. Well, this recipe is amenable to tinkering and the nachos were pretty tasty. I ate far too many of them!
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Made this on our "Griddler," which includes a panini press option. I used fresh spinach and had no issues with the sandwich being too watery. I thought it was a tad bland, but this recipe is certainly open to adaptation. However, I'm not sure if I really need a recipe for what is essentially a grilled cheese sandwich with stuff.
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Grilled Asian Chicken Sandwich : page 202
I didn't make this as a sandwich. I just used the marinade to pan-roast chicken. Smoked paprika is the secret ingredient. The flavor was smoky, intense and very yummy.
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Grilled Rosemary Garlic Bread : page 230
This was very good garlic bread, and easy to do. The recipe specifies one piece per serving, but it is so tasty that it is easy to overeat.
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Grilled Sourdough Pizza with Tomato Pesto : page 192
This open-faced sandwich is fine, but pretty rudimentary. It makes a good snack or the basis for a canape. I had to broil it a few minutes to get the cheese as melted as I wanted it to be.
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Orecchiette Pasta with Wilted Greens : page 157
This recipe is very similar to one I make with broccoli, but with the addition of anchovies. I liked it a lot, and will rotate the broccoli with greens regularly for a change of pace. Good with sausage or on filled pasta like tortellini to make it a meal.
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Really good. Even my husband who doesn't like fish liked this. He said that the sauce and coating really upped the flavor quotient. I will make cod this way from now on.
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Peppery Pumpkin Risotto : page 87
This was good comfort food. I liked the slight bite that the cayenne gave it, and the zing of the ginger. I used butternut squash instead of pumpkin. I just added the squash with the onion, and it was tender by the time the risotto was done.
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This tasted fine, but I wasn't overwhelmed. I think there was altogether too much acid for me, what with the tomatoes, lemon, capers, vinegar and wine. I doubt I'd make it again.
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Roasted Tomato and Ricotta Bruschetta : page 208
I did not follow the recipe exactly. I didn't bother to reduce the balsamic, for instance. These were tasty and would make a good light lunch as well as an appetizer.
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Rosemary and Ginger Vegetable Soup : page 50
This was an everything-but-the-kitchen sink vegetable soup. I usually prefer my soups to be a little more focused. I did like the unusual but subtle flavor that the ginger and rosemary brought to the party. I ended up leaving out the peppers and cutting down the amounts of some of the other vegetables. I think the recipe still made enough for 5 or 6 servings, even though it says serves 4. I froze the leftovers and will see how they do.
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Soft Tacos with Spicy Lime Pulled Chicken : page 211
This is a good taco, but once again, I think the author tries to stuff way too much into it. Tacos should be simple. I ended up omitting the refried beans and tomatoes. I used leftover coleslaw. I will have to remember that chicken tacos are a good way to repurpose coleslaw.
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Spicy Black Bean, Sausage, and Rice Burrito : page 136
I should have trusted my instincts and not put in the rice. It was just too much, and I didn't notice that the rice hadn't fully cooked until I assembled the burritos. I didn't think the flavors were very strong either. Would probably not make again.
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I thought these were very tasty. I made them with goat cheese instead of creme fraiche and that worked well. I halved the recipe and still got enough topping for 12 crostini.
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We all really liked this salad. It made a nice accompaniment to an Asian-style chicken soup. I was a little skeptical since the asparagus wasn't cooked very long but it worked. I left out the red pepper flakes since I was serving it to my toddler.
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