Queezle_Sister's Profile

From: Salt Lake City, UT USA

Joined: March 29th, 2010

About me: I enjoy cooking, and my favorite internet COOKING community is the one here at cookbooker. If you want to connect about my other non-academic passion, you can find me as QueezleWeaver on Ravelry, and mostly Warped Weavers. But I've miss you cookbooker, and so here I am again, and happy to contribute.

Favorite cookbook: Savory Way

Favorite recipe: roasted anything (most recently grapes)

Stuffed Zucchini with spiced beef or lamb from Zaitoun

When it is zucchini time, it can be difficult to find something interesting. But this was both different and a total delight! Zucchini are scraped out and roasted. The "meat" from within the zucchini... read more >

recipe reviews (1403)
book reviews (39)
useful review votes (961)

• Bookshelf Home
• Reviews
• Recipe Box
• Favorite Members
• Photos
• Covers

Queezle_Sister's Reviews

38 recipe(s) reviewed. Showing 1 to 38Sort by: Title | Date | Rating

The Essential New York Times Cookbook: Classic Recipes for a New Century

By Amanda Hesser
W. W. Norton & Company - 2010

The name says it all! As Zosia said, these are wonderful smelling and great to eat. The aroma of yeast makes you think -- perhaps bread? -- but the flavor is not bread at all. The outside is super crispy, and the inside very custardy. The salt keeps it savory, and balances out a nice dollop of syrup.

I was very surprised to discover that this recipe was first developed by Mollie Katzen, of Moosewood fame. I've made versions of this from other cookbooks, but this one might be the best. Probably because I went ahead and added all the called-for butter.

Note that you'll have to play around to figure out the timing. When my waffle iron beeped, the outside was brown but it was very soft inside. We liked them a bit more brown, and less gooey inside.

useful (0)  

At first glance, I thought this recipe might be an asparagus version of this cocktail, but instead sieved hard-boiled eggs decorate the asparagus in an imitation of the flower.

The cool asparagus was delightful, the lemon played off the vegetal goodness of the asparagus, and the egg added only a small bit of smoothness. This is a dish for your good olive oil, and its the perfect thing for an unseasonably warm spring day.

useful (1)  

Umami flavor from miso is a perfect complement to asparagus. Then tying the two flavors together is a poached egg. Although this is presented as a side dish, it is rich and so flavorful that it easily carries out the role of a main.

For me, the amount of miso butter is too much for the asparagus. However, a bit of bread to mop it up might have been perfect.

This was lovingly prepared by my dh for mothers day.

useful (0)  

Not a bad cocktail, but this drink made me realize that I really prefer a drink with less alcohol and some sweetness. This is soft of an upside down martini, twice the vermouth (dry) as gin. Its flavor is certainly elevated by the inclusion of some orange bitters. If you've got a well stocked bar, this should be easy to prepare, and I think if you favor martini-like drinks, you might really like this one.

useful (1)  

I was skeptical about this 1947 recipe for banana bread. How could it be good with such a simple ingredient list?

The dough itself was very thick; I would have thought I'd made an error except that the recipe warned me about the thickness. Where one typically alternates adding the flour mix with a buttermilk/banana mixture, here you alternate flour with just mashed bananas. Had my bananas been softer, the batter might have appeared more "normal". The loaf didn't rise as much as I had expected. Nevertheless, this was a very decent product.

The flavor - oh the flavor - pure banana - this is what really makes this recipe excellent. The texture was also very good, though my daughter felt that it was a bit dry (I didn't think so, though). The best parts were those that were touching the greased pan. They turned out crunchy. And if you click through the pictures, you might notice that the loaf went from intact to a small center piece in no time flat.

useful (1)  

The best chicken I've ever made! Tender, moist, and powerfully flavorful!

I opened up the chicken as directed, and putting it into the buttermilk marinade was very easy. No mixing the marinade, you simply add the ingredients (2C buttermilk plus...) to the zip lock bag, put it in the refrigerator, and forget about it. It took me only 15 minutes to cut the chicken and get it into the marinade.

Roasting is a 2-step process, a period at 400, then longer at 325. The chicken looked so-so after the 40 min at 400, but after another 20 at 325, it was just gorgeous.

The aroma of the marinade, after I removed the chicken, was amazing. I didn't see how the chicken could match it, but it did. The marinade calls for a lot of pepper and salt - don't skimp.

useful (2)  

Rye flour is the secret to this recipe. The ratio is 1 part rye to 7 parts all-purpose, and amazingly enough, that small amount of rye makes a difference.

The recipe, as Amanda warns, makes a very soft dough. My son prepared this, and because I was not able to be in the kitchen to help, I suggested he use the bread maker to do the kneading. The result was that no additional flour was added, making the dough even more difficult to manage at the roll-out stage. Nevertheless, it was delicious, and was just a bit subject to tearing.

We used this dough for this calzone, but I'm itching to try it for pizza.

useful (2)  

Amazing flavor, and worthy of repetition. The preparation starts with this rye-based dough, and uses a lovely combination of goat and mozzarella cheeses. The flavor is elevated by a small amount of prosciutto, and a wonderful assortment of herbs. We were able to use mostly herbs fresh from the garden - chives, thyme, marjoram, and parsley. Each bite was such a flavor explosion, and with the rye dough, perfection, though I suspect the calorie load was on the substantial side.

useful (1)  

A super-easy approach to chicken, this is a great recipe for a week-night meal. I used boneless, skinless thighs, as that was what we had on hand. I scaled up the amount of sauce to match the larger amount of starting material, however it was way too much sauce. The final dish was not terribly attractive - the yellow sauce, while delicious, is not pretty. It was very flavorful, but DH felt that it totally overwhelmed the chicken. Well, its a curry, and I suppose that is normal for a curry!

I served this with quinoa and corn on the cob.

useful (0)  

Too sour! I like lemon, and especially lemon zest, but for us this salad was too much. I could hear Gordon Ramsey inside my head asking "what are you going to do to balance all that acid? What, you forgot some sugar?"
I did like the mix of vegetables, and perhaps I should have added a bit less dressing to the salad, but...

On the other hand, this recipe made me go out and seek ricotta salata. That cheese really made up for some of the other deficiencies of this dish.

useful (1)  

We all loved this, though it was way too salty. I think the quality of your Spanish chorizo will determine its saltiness, and when I make this next time, I will replace half the chorizo with a vegetable (snap peas, perhaps). I doubled the recipe for four of us. I also drained/pressed the tofu for about an hour so it would really crisp up. The instructions were good - you really just need to let it fry for a long enough time and at a high enough temperature.

The odd thing about this recipe is that you serve tofu with meat on top of it. I'm accustomed to tofu meaning a vegetarian dinner, but this recipe played well for us.

useful (1)  

Amanda Hesser calls this recipe, from Flo Fab, her favorite in the book, and I can see why. Its a simple recipe that results in something that is much more than the sum of its parts.

The cucumbers are enrobed in a sour cream - lemon zest - lemon juice mix, which on its own is amazing. Then some chives (happily at their peak right now) and pepper. Thats it!

This is much richer than the way I like to eat, nevertheless its fabulous and would be great to bring to a party.

useful (1)  

Two very similar coffee cakes are presented on pages 630 and 631. I selected this one, as it used about 1/2 the butter, but was otherwise very similar.

As expected, it was difficult to spread the batter over the filling evenly, but it didn't seem to matter at all.

This was delicious, very nice with coffee in the morning, and a bit of ice cream at night.

useful (1)  

A perfect balance of lemon and garlic infuse the chicken with a wonderful taste and aroma - and without any long marinade wait time.

Because all I had were thighs, I adapted this to thighs by using the same ratio of ingredients, the same method, same cooking temperature, but a shorter time (about 35 minutes). The lemon was very pronounced, and this would be delicious served with brown rice.

useful (1)  

Rich, maybe too rich, and with an amazing flavor!

I'm not one to go for rich creamy pasta sauces, but my 17-yr-old son prepared this for the family for dinner, and it could make me a believer!

Cream, prosciutto, Parmesan, and peas (and butter, too, of course) are prepared and served over fettuccine. The meal needs to be balanced by something like a green salad, but I still loved it, and went back for seconds -- 2 times!

useful (0)  

Easy and delicious! Perfect for a hot summer dinner, this salad calls for canned beans and cupboard ingredients, yet it packs a big flavor punch.

The recipe calls for 1C of four types of beans, but of course a can gives you about 1 1/3 cups. I used an entire can of three types of beans, and it worked out well. The dressing is simple but very flavorful.

The recipe also calls for at least an hour marinade time; I gave it all day (threw it together before work), and it was perfect.

Next time, I will also add some regular green beans. And maybe double it. One batch was dinner for 3 of us. Serve on a bed of arugula to pretty it up.

useful (1)  

Crisp texture, amazing flavor, and easy preparation! This combination of attributes elevated this recipe to a 5. Fresh corn is grated, and only a few ingredients are added to the pulverized corn - some flour, an egg, chives, and Parmesan cheese. The instructions say each cake should take about 9 minutes to cook, for me they required a bit less time, perhaps 7 minutes. And do eat them fresh - to capture the great crunch of the outer crust.

Note that the cobs, after grating, still have a lot of milky endosperm juice. I boiled mine up, in hopes that the corn cob stock will be good for a future corn chowder.

I should also admit that I am over-ruling my DH and daughter's estimation of a 3 or 4 for this recipe.

useful (1)  

Another excellent and refreshing beverage, perfect for that hot summer evening. This drink is simple, lime juice, gin, simple syrup, and club soda. It has only the smallest amount of simple syrup (1 tsp), you don't really notice the sweetness at all, but it does keep the lime from being too tart. I prepared this drink at the same time as the Moscow Mule, and this one seemed somewhat insipid compared to the strong ginger of the mule. However, if drinking this without the comparison, it would be a very respectable drink.

useful (0)  

A delightful cold drink -- not too sweet, but plenty flavorful. I prepared this for my daughter - cocoa, corn syrup, water, sugar, etc, are brought to a boil and cooked for 5 minutes. I had forgotten to set a timer, but it was easy to see that it suddenly turned glossy, and I figured that was my cue to stop the heat. Had to make a special trip for whole milk. Yum! I also tried it with almond milk - not nearly as good as with regular old cow's milk.

I would say that this far surpasses any commercial chocolate milk. It is so easy to prepare, if your kids like chocolate milk, this is definitely the way to go. I also thought a shot of kaluah would make it perfect for me!

useful (2)  

Light fluffy pancakes without the burden of separating eggs and beating egg whites. This recipe was prepared by my DH as a way to enjoy our raspberries. The fourth of july always means that the berries are ripe, and sure enough, he picked a couple cups before breakfast. These pancakes tasted delicious, were fluffy without being too thick, and they cooked up very nicely. I don't know what makes they particularly Mississippian, but that matters little, the recipe is a keeper.

useful (0)  

An extraordinary refreshing beverage! This is simple - ginger beer, rum, and lime. The character of the final product will largely be dominated by the quality of your ginger beer, and this review is an excellent guide. We have difficulty finding ginger beer in our local stores, and had to settle for "the ginger people's" which I find to be too strong. However here, combined with the lime and vodka, it was quite nice. I will definitely try this one again! We used the locally-produced "five wives" vodka for a special treat.

useful (0)  

A delicious and complex broth - with a beautiful golden hue. Not a 5 because it only appealed to the adults. The two teenagers felt that there was a terrible bitter flavor. Not sure, but maybe the turmeric? DH loved it, though, and I felt that it had a very good flavor.

useful (1)  

Who needs a recipe for a tomato sandwich? I finally procured some flavorful tomatoes, and this was the right recipe to try.

Unusual aspects of this recipe are the inclusion of butter (at two steps) and anchovies! I liked the fresh mozzarella, and that the sandwich also included Parmesan cheese on top (then broiled).

The anchovies were an interesting touch. Well, they were more than a touch, they were more like a slap. A very salty slap. I really liked my first nibble that included anchovies, but I quickly tired of them. I also made some without anchovies, and found them more to my liking.

So - if you don't like anchovies - go ahead and make this without them. Its still a different sort of tomato sandwich, and very good.

useful (1)  

I agree with Zosia, this is an easy dish whose flavor is much more than what one might expect for a dish that is prepared so easily!

I used a locally-produced sausage that is my family's favorite. My daughter was pleased to have this excuse for purchasing whole milk. We prepared it with shells, and it looked quite nice.

We will keep this dish in mind. Its much more meat heavy than my usual fare, but paired with a side vegetable and a salad.

useful (1)  

This simple dish should have been delicious, but I'm not sure what went wrong. First chopped onions are caramelized -- I cooked mine (6C) for more than an hour; they became very soft but not truly caramelized. Second, I used regular greek yogurt in place of 2C sheep's milk yogurt, drained 2h. And I used regular spaghetti in place of tagliatelle.

The pasta is tossed with the yogurt, and served in a bowl with onions on top and then cheese.

Nobody liked this dish except the chickens.

useful (0)  

This recipe is an example of elegance and simplicity. Perfect peaches, sliced, are dressed with a bit of sugar, Madeira (I used Marsala), lemon juice, cinnamon and nutmeg. They are then served with cream (we used vanilla ice cream). That bit of fortified wine and lemon juice was a perfect complement to the peach, and seemed to amplify its perfect flavor. It would also help along a less-than-perfect peach.

Part of me thinks this recipe might be too simple, however I read this discussion about Zuni Cafe, where people were discussing whether an $8 nectarine on the menu, which turned out to be only a nectarine was a rip-off or brilliance. Perhaps had it been slightly sexier, as with the Peach Salad's dressing, that Zuni menu item would not have shocked anyone.

useful (1)  

We prepared these spring rolls for a 4th of July pool party. I did not plan ahead, and so didn't have several ingredients (dried pork skin, rice powder, and shiso leaves) but forged ahead with what I had on hand. I prepared the pork tenderloin according to this recipe. This recipe was meat-heavy, having really only lettuce and herbs for vegetables. They were good that way, but I was in the mood for crunchy coolness, and so added cucumber, red bell pepper, and a bit of jalapeno. The dipping sauce (lime, sugar, and fish sauce) was the perfect complement.

useful (0)  

This simple recipe offers a new taste for green beans. The beans are boiled, drained, returned to the pan, and mixed with butter, dill, salt and pepper. The recipe didn't specify fresh dill (though of course that would be better), and I used some freshly purchased dried dill weed. I found that the amount of butter was more than we needed, but the dill gave the beans a nice flavor, and looked quite pretty.

useful (0)  

Great concept, but I think the recipe instructions left out a step. First a lovely rhubarb-lemon compote is prepared, and the instructions say using 1-inch slices. You simmer for 15 minutes, then rapidly cool. The next step has you spooning the puree into classes, and topping with prosecco. I cut my pieces slightly smaller than 1/2 inch, and it still seemed like chunky rhubarb, with prosecco on top. The flavor combination was good, but I think you really need to purée the mixture before preparing the cocktails.

useful (0)  

I have longed for a savory rhubarb dish that delivers, and let me tell you, this recipe is it!

The rhubarb is very gently simmered in a water-ginger-garlic-shallot mixture, and I mean really gently. The rhubarb is scooped out, and the liquid boiled down. Of course the rhubarb continues to ooze liquid, and you repeatedly drain this into the reducing liquid. When its done, you let it cool, mix in the rhubarb, and then add rice vinegar, salt, and pepper. The result blew my socks off. I almost couldn't stop tasting it --- so much is going on with this sauce.

We served this over salmon that had been grilled over charcoal with hickory chips. The salmon had a nice smokiness, and this rhubarb was the perfect accompaniment.

I think this would also be great on roast pork, or in a sandwich with roast beef, etc. Heck, I'd eat it on ice cream or yogurt, too.

useful (2)  

An unusual salad and dressing, but refreshing and good. The principle dressing ingredient is onion juice, which I previously had only used for this Belarussian carrot salad (which I liked!). The salad is simple - romaine lettuce and hard-boiled egg.

I was surprised by the absence of vinegar in this salad's dressing, though the role of acid is taken by fresh lemon juice. I was also reminded how much I enjoy hard-boiled egg on my salad.

The simplicity of this salad would make it a nice accompaniment to any summer time dinner.

This is an old recipe -- 1877!

useful (1)  

Beth's review compelled me to try this, and I'm not disappointed! The marinade is very spicy, but really delicious. I used a whole chicken, cut up, and I also made sure some of the marinade went under the skin. The marinade was on the chicken about 45 minutes before it hit the grill.

Everybody ate this with great gusto. As Beth said, the spiciness was muted after the grill, but you are instructed to save some marinade to serve at the table. This extra marinade allowed each person to dial in their own desired spice level.

I especially liked the squeeze of lime! As Beth said, the perfect summertime meal.

useful (2)  

Each June we celebrate my DH's birthday with a rhubarb pie, and I'm on a quest to find the best recipe.

This recipe used flour to thicken, and cinnamon as a secret ingredient. The amount was so small you couldn't really notice, but it did give a nuanced flavor.

I was disappointed that the filling didn't firm up very well. It was very soupy. I think fillings firm up better with tapioca, but clearly more research is required!

Note that I used this crust recipe, not the one from the book, and I laticed the top rather than a plain sheet with some slits.

useful (0)  

This is a simple dish, and a nice way to prepare green beans. First they are boiled till just tender, and then rapidly cooled in ice water. Then one sautées the dried off beans with oil, garlic, and ginger. You cook these ingredients just until the garlic is a bit softened and the beans are warmed up.

Amanda Hesser suggests this as a side for thanksgiving. Its true that this was better than many tired green bean recipes I've tasted on thanksgiving. For me there was a bit too much oil, but I had halfed the recipe, and probably had 1 lb, not 1.25 lbs, of beans.

At the end, you salt the beans. This is an important step, don't forget it!

useful (1)  

This unusual dish is a recipe from David Chang, from 2006. You reduce stock, add soy sauce, and use that to cook your sugar snap peas. At the end you are instructed to grate fresh horseradish over the top and serve.

I took liberties at each step, trying to use what I had on hand. In place of home-made pork broth, I used lobster better-than-bullion. In place of soy sauce, I used a mushroom soy sauce. In place of fresh horseradish, I used a generous tsp of prepared, and I tossed it in rather than just putting it on top. In place of sugar snap peas... Oh wait, I did use sugar snap peas.

Everyone loved these and gobbled them up. Its definitely worth repeating with the actual called-for ingredients.

useful (0)  

So many lovely cocktail recipes in this book....

This particular one I selected because I have no idea what to do with the cream of cassis in my liquor cabinet. Admittedly, this recipe calls for cassis syrup, not the liqueur, but all I could find was online, the Torani Cassis syrup (on line), and none in my local shops.

So - I did substitute the liqueur, and it made the cocktail a beautiful color. I felt there might be too much club soda, though, and did go back and add another 1 tsp cream of cassis. It was a refreshing drink, with a mild amount of alcohol -- something I could sip all afternoon.

useful (0)  

Why knew that pickled red onions were the perfect complement to chard? But when I noticed that this was an adaptation of a Deborah Madison recipe, it all made sense.

The red onions do not need much time to pickle. Like Amanda Hesser, I needed more vinegar/water for the pickling than the recipe suggests.

I could easily eat this all the time. It was seriously addicting.

Note that the instructions say to slice thick rings. I think mine were too thick, though they did turn out beautiful imho.

useful (1)  

A simple execution that truly elevated this humble vegetable. My daughter and I gobbled it up, and still wanted more. I cannot think of when that has ever happened with zucchini.

The cook is instructed to coarsely grate the zucchini, I turned to my mandolin, used the coarsest tool, and ended up with 1/4 inch wide sticks. I think this was larger than the recipe intended, but it worked well.

I sauteed the zucchini in a scant T olive oil, and cooked it till the zucchini was dry, and soft, and as instructed, splashed in a bit of vermouth (dry). It was little more than kissed by the vermouth, but the flavor combination truly worked.

useful (2)