leene101's Profile

From: Cheshire, CT USA

Joined: March 24th, 2010

About me: Love love love Italian food, cooking in Mexico Tuscany, Rome, Umbria ,Bologna and Florence. Two cooking classes in Tuscany were wonderful I can make pasta from scratch. Fresh herbs from the sides of the road were delightful Need to go to Puglia next!

Favorite cookbook: Dinner by Melissa Clark

Favorite recipe: pizza from Pizzarium Rome


Latest review:

February 7th, 2015

tomato and roasted lemon salad from Plenty More

love this salad interesting flavor with roasted lemons.Didnt use the pomegranate seeds but it was still good. read more >


recipe reviews (39)
book reviews (0)
useful review votes (15)

leene101's Reviews


Search Reviews:

39 recipes reviewed. Showing 1 to 39Sort by: Book Title | Date | Rating | Recipe Title

Barefoot Contessa at Home: Everyday Recipes You'll Make Over and Over Again

By Ina Garten
Clarkson Potter - 2006

made on 8/20/11 with fruit from evergreen farm. used less than half of the topping ingredients to reduce the fat and bumped up the fruit a bit. tasted great.

useful (1)  


The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook

By Ina Garten, Martha Stewart
Clarkson Potter - 1999

25th September 2011

Roasted eggplant spread

I have made this recipe many times. I usually wait till summer when eggplant is in season. I found it easy to prepare and very flavorful. I top it with a little fresh basil

useful (2)  


25th September 2011

Hummus

one of the best hummus recipes around.

useful (1)  


25th September 2011

Satay Dip

there are so many versions of satay dip. this one is pretty good. its on the sweet side. i used low salt soy sauce and it was fine.

useful (0)  


25th September 2011

Sun-Dried Tomato Dip

Very good but very fattening. I may try again substituting yogurt for sour cream and lower fat mayo for regular mayo.

useful (0)  


25th September 2011

Gazpacho

this is not a good soup its way too salty from the tomato juice, has way too many peppers and too much olive oil. There are lots of other more authentic recipes out there.

useful (1)  


Barefoot Contessa Parties! Ideas and Recipes for Easy Parties That Are Really Fun

By Ina Garten
Clarkson Potter - 2001

I made this recipe last night. Since I am on a lower fat diet, I cut the oil and lemon juice in the dressing to 1/4 cup each. I left out the cheese and pine nuts and it was still a great salad but without most of the fat.

useful (1)  


Coming Home to Sicily: Seasonal Harvests and Cooking from Case Vecchie

By Fabrizia Lanza, Kate Winslow, Guy Ambrosino
Sterling Epicure - 2012

love this recipe. I use passata or prego sauce. Chop the fennel into really small chunks after cooled.

useful (0)  


Dishing Up Vermont: 145 Authentic Recipes from the Green Mountain State

By Tracey Medeiros
Storey Publishing, LLC - 2008

little different but good flavor alot of cheese

useful (0)  


27th May 2012

olivias caesar salad

very easy to make save half dressing for later

useful (0)  


Franny's: Simple Seasonal Italian

By Melissa Clark, Andrew Feinberg, Francine Stephens
Artisan - 2013

23rd November 2014

roasted cherry tomatoes

very simple can use as a topping for anything. I used it on a pizza. Even with winter tomatoes this is great. It just has to cook a long time. Worth the wait!

useful (0)  


lovely fall winter salad.used tbsp of grated cheese instead of amount listed.

useful (0)  


love this pizza. Easy dough must do in advance. Great flavor. Used half the cheese and still great!

useful (0)  


Fresh from the Farm: A Year of Recipes and Stories

By Susie Middleton
Taunton Press - 2014

very easy to make, and tastes great.

useful (0)  


26th January 2015

last hurrah cherry tomatoes

Great way to use up cherry tomatoes. Simple, easy and is very tasty. used 1/8 cup of parm cheese.

useful (0)  


26th January 2015

roasted tomato tart

very easy, my favorite way to use great tomatoes.

useful (0)  


good way to use a market basket of veggies. Used 1 cup of cheese instead of 2 . very easy to make

useful (0)  


26th January 2015

greek islands salad

useful (0)  


Giada's Feel Good Food: My Healthy Recipes and Secrets

By Giada De Laurentiis
Clarkson Potter - 2013

9th January 2014

chia pudding

I love this recipe . It is easy to make stays several days and can be mixed with strawberries, pomegranate seeds etc.

useful (0)  


lower in fat, no may yet very creamy.

useful (0)  


love the dressing!

useful (0)  


The Glorious Vegetables of Italy

By Domenica Marchetti, Sang An
Chronicle Books - 2013

love this dressing. Made with dark greens once and romaine once. left out the parmesan cheese to lower fat content. Fine without it. used pizza cut into bite size squares instead of croutons.

useful (0)  


24th January 2015

slow roasted tomatoes

easy, taste terrific I used cherry tomatoes. Used bread to wipe the pan after tomatoes in container yummy

useful (0)  


Healthy in a Hurry: Simple, Wholesome Recipes for Every Meal of the Day

By Karen Ansel, Charity Ferreira
Weldon Owen - 2012

cut the amount in half. Used white pita bread with pam and sprinkle of paprika. Bread inflated in oven.Used the orange-carrot dressing from another book. was really good.

useful (0)  


used out of season blah tomatoes, no tomato juice too salty, a bit of jalapeno and pureed in cfp.

useful (0)  


Kitchen Workshop-Pizza: Hands-on Cooking Lessons for Making Amazing Pizza at Home

By Ruth Gresser
Quarry Books - 2014

30th May 2014

pizza dough

this is the Best Pizza dough that I have ever made bar-none.

useful (0)  


Mexican Everyday (Recipes Featured on Season 4 of the PBS-TV series "Mexico One Plate at a Time")

By Rick Bayless, Christopher Hirsheimer, Deann Bayless
W. W. Norton - 2005

made with 3/4 cup rice still good. Used Ancho powder 2tbsp already cooked chicken. very easy to put together.

Love the flavor

useful (0)  


One Good Dish

By David Tanis
Artisan - 2013

6th July 2014

Swiss Chard al Forno

Made half the recipe. Used fat free milk, sprayed the dish with pan and used 1/3 cup parmesan and still very rich. Love this dish a hit with Mark. Made 4 servings

useful (1)  


Pizza: Seasonal Recipes from Rome's Legendary Pizzarium

By Gabriele Bonci, Elisia Menduni
Rizzoli - 2013

24th January 2015

white dough

The BEST dough ever, bar-none. needs 2 sit overnight must do 24 hours in advance. Love the technique, takes time to learn exactly the right way to handle the dough but worth it.

useful (0)  


Plenty More

By Yotam Ottolenghi
Ebury Press - 2014

love this salad interesting flavor with roasted lemons.Didnt use the pomegranate seeds but it was still good.

useful (0)  


Rick Bayless's Mexican Kitchen: Capturing the Vibrant flavors of a World-Class Cuisine

By Rick Bayless
Scribner - 1996

I have made this dish several times. I used three large poblanos which were very flavorful and I didnt need to use more.I also used canned tomatoes instead of fresh ones. and I used the chicken variation instead of beef and that worked really nicely.
The last time I made this I had creme fraiche on hand and that was excellant, and very creamy what a treat.

useful (0)  


This mole takes alot of work and alot of patience. I understand it alot better now that I have been to Mexico and seen it made firsthand. But it is worth it. The extra sauce and be used in alot of different dishes. I like it with eggs or even in a grilled cheese sandwich.

useful (1)  


This is the first salsa I ever made. Its easy tasty and gets better with age.

useful (1)  


Website: Smitten Kitchen

www.smittenkitchen.com
 

16th April 2011

Apple and Cheddar Scones

I love this recipe. I have made it several times and each time it gets better. I use a variety of apples and Cabot cheddar cheese from Vermont. I underbaked the last batch by three min and they were perfect. i also cut each piece in half again and made smaller scones.

useful (1)  


Website: Smitten Kitchen

www.smittenkitchen.com
 

16th April 2011

Eggplant Salad Toasts

This salad was very easy to make. I had all the ingredients on hand. It went together very well. I put it on top of hot pasta.I used it with green salad. Its best when eggplants are abundant in mid summer.

useful (2)  


Website: Smitten Kitchen

www.smittenkitchen.com
 

I have made this chicken salad many times, changing the nuts to pecans, and adding raisins instead of cranberries or maybe dried bluberries or strawberries if I can find them. I like it on a grren salad. Its never boring

useful (1)  


The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook

By Deb Perelman
Knopf - 2012

14th November 2012

Cheddar Swirl Breakfast Buns

I love this recippe I have made it several times and it gets better each time. I did substitute olive oil for the butter, I used dried dill for fresh and lowfat cheddar for the cheese. I also tried it with half unbleached flour half white whole wheat and it was also great. The hard part is the 4 hour wait to consume them!

useful (2)  


Tacos, Tortas, and Tamales: Flavors from the griddles, pots, and street-side kitchens of Mexico

By Roberto Santibanez
Wiley - 2012

leave out the jalapeno completely. Great without the extra heat.

useful (0)  


4th January 2013

mole marinas

perfect just the way it is. Very easy

useful (0)