Queezle_Sister's Reviews
16 recipe(s) reviewed. Showing 1 to 16Sort by: Title 
| Date | Rating
Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home: Fast and Easy Recipes for Any Day
By Moosewood Collective
Fireside - 1994
Antipasto Salad : page 118
This recipe is a general instruction, with a menu of possible ingredients. It was sufficiently detailed for my 15-yr-old son to decide to do on his own (!!!). We gave each person a plate with chopped lettuce, and then we added the antipasto to the salad. It was delicious!
useful (1)
Chile and Bell Pepper Quesadillas : page 270
Good, especially when you hit a cheesy bite.
A mix of bell peppers are called for - they are sautéed until crisp-tender (huh?), and the quesadilla includes basil, tomatoes, and cheddar cheese.
The recipe called for one chili pepper. I couldn't find one in the garden, but used instead a hungarian black - not yet red - so only medium hot.
Typically I do not like green bell pepper's sour-bitter flavor, but the light sauté and mixed with some that were beginning to get red made it very palatable. Again, garden fresh heirloom tomatoes will likely elevate any recipe, as they did here.
I was delayed getting home, and needed to prepare something fast. This did the job, and they were enjoyed. Probably not as good as the spicy corn quesadillas in the same cookbook, but it is a nice demonstration of how you can vary this simple food. I also liked that you could vary the amount of cheese to suit tastes and dietary restrictions.
useful (0)
Cornmeal Pancakes : page 298
I love a cornmeal textured pancake, and this recipe might be the best one I've ever tried. Other recipes require separated eggs, folding in beaten eggwhites, and are difficult to cook.
This recipe is whipped up in a blender (no extra bowls used), and it is versatile. The instructions suggest savory (with corn) or sweet (with fruit). We added one banana (whole banana plopped into the blender before mixing them up). The banana flavor was very subtle.
These are sweetened with only 1 T of maple syrup (in the batter), yet they are perfect even without extra syrup on top. Even the family's non-pancake-eater enjoyed this dish.
useful (2)
Feta Spinach Pizza : page 276
This is a very different sort of pizza. Spinach is wilted on the stovetop, and moisture pressed out. Its then combined with feta, ricotta, dill, and scallions. The pizza then has tomato slices on top.
It was tasty, but if you are craving gooey cheesy pizza, then this isn't the best choice.
useful (1)
Honey Mustard Vinaigrette : page 97
A basic dressing that you can likely prepare from basic items in your pantry. The character of this is largely determined by your mustard. Personally I like a coarse dijon mustard, but if prepared by one that is finely ground it would still taste good.
For my tastes this is a bit too sweet, and I recommend cutting the honey by about 1/3.
useful (0)
Lemon Sesame Dressing : page 98
This is a fine salad dressing, just didn't knock my socks off. I prepared it for a tossed salad with avocado and wanted something with lemon.
This recipe calls for toasting sesame seeds, and mixing them into the dressing. I especially liked the salad bites with a strong sesame component. I would recommend doubling the sesame seeds.
useful (1)
Orange Mustard Dressing : page 125
What a surprise - this salad dressing turned my kids into salad monsters!
A CSA delivery led me to make a large salad with diverse greens and radishes. I was concerned that the kids wouldn't care for it, and so prepared this easy dressing. Orange juice, red wine vinegar, mustard, and some ground fennel seeds - thats it! No oil, so its even healthy.
I used a whole grain mustard instead of the suggested Dijon. Anise (ground) or chopped scallions were other optional ingredients (which I didn't use).
I probably doubled the amount of fennel, and fresh ground the seed. I'd advise pumping up the spices - or tasting and considering.
We'll definitely make this one again.
useful (1)
Pasta Fresca : page 184
Fresh, light, tasty and quick - this recipe is a keeper. My 15 yr old son prepared this for the family tonight - he needed no help at all. Fantastic with the home grown tomatoes coming along. The flavor is not complex, but its good simple food. I found the freshly ground black pepper really added a good zing.
useful (0)
Pasta with Greens and Ricotta : page 188
This is an easy and quick pasta recipe. My 15 yr old son made it on his own. As the pasta cooks, you saute garlic, greens (we used spinach, its too early for chard here), and then buzz it up in the blender with some ricotta, and nutmeg. This produced a beautiful green sauce with an excellent fresh flavor.
We forgot the nuts (aw nuts!) - but I think they would have been a really good addition.
useful (1)
Pasta with Porcini Mushroom Sauce : page 192
Rich mushroom sauce over linguini - whats not to love?
This was a somewhat complicated recipe for my 15 yr old son to make, but he did an excellent job (well written instructions and a good organized cook). We enjoyed this with corn on the cob.
useful (2)
Portuguese White Bean Soup : page 34
Very delicious and quick soup recipe. I used home-cooked white beans (not canned), and for the vegetable broth, I substituted "better than buillion chicken broth".
I'm a big fan of the smooth creamy texture of white beans. This soup was nicely flavored, and I just could not stop eating it (with salty saltines). A grind of black pepper added a good depth of flavor.
Note that the potatoes took about 20 minutes longer to cook for us. I attribute that mostly to my altitude, where liquids boil at much lower temperature. Even still, this was fast and delicious.
useful (1)
Six-Minute Chocolate Cake : page 322
Chocolate flavor and quick! I'm not sure if it was only six minutes (15 yr old son made it) but this recipe does have several advantages. For one, its mixed in the pan that it cooks in. For another, it has a simple ingredient list, so you likely have the ingredients in your pantry now.
We had two problems with this, though. First, it sticks to the bottom of the pan. This might be the recipe's fault, but I must confess that my son also added chocolate chips. Second, this recipe includes a glaze recipe. We poured all the glaze on the cake - and it was way too much. Also a word of caution - follow the instructions about melting the chocolate chips. The recipe gives a good way to melt them (in the oven that is still warm from the cake).
useful (1)
Spanish Potato Onion Soup : page 40
I thought that @Shilton's review held out hope that this would be a great recipe. It came together easily (I used Vidalia onions and russet potatoes), and it was a beautiful red color. I also used home made vegetable stock. The 2 tsp Paprika didn't specify the type - probably sweet was intended but I only had smoked, and so used that. And my saffron pinch ended up being pretty big - so it was very red.
To me, there was something unbalanced with the flavor. I found that a squeeze of lemon helped. Probably I won't try again.
Oh - and I used sherry - maybe Shilton's go with red wine would be better?
useful (1)
Spicy Corn Quesadillas : page 271
Amazingly good! This is perfect for a night when you don't really feel like cooking, but you want to eat at home. A quick sauté of onion (I used vidalia), carrot, garlic, and corn (I used frozen) is seasoned - mostly with cumin. The recipe instructs you to mix grated jack cheese into the vegetables, but instead I put it directly in the tortillas, and then added the topping (I did this so I could minimize my cheese consumption while giving kids plenty). I cooked these - to crisp up the tortillas - in a cast iron frying pan, and kept the first few warm in a 250˚ oven.
Everyone loved these. They are filling, but with all the vegetables, you don't feel too bad about eating so much.
useful (3)
Sugar Snaps in Lemon Butter : page 90
Light, crisp, but still warm - delicious! You boil these peas for only 2 minutes, drain, and toss with butter, lemon juice, chives, and tarragon. The recipe also calls for toasted almonds, but in my rush to get dinner on the table, I forgot those. The almonds would most likely have elevated this recipe to a 5.
useful (0)
Sweet Potato Quesadillas : page 272
Delicous, nutritions, and fast. If your family loves sweet potatoes, like mine does, this will be a big hit.
I used a combination of yams and sweet potatoes, and Dubliner for the cheese (white sharp cheddar-like).
The sour cream was an excellent counterpoint. This dish combines spicy, sweet, and sour, crunchy and soft.
Two voted this should be a 5, and 2 for a rating of 4. I thought this wasn't quite as good as the corn quesadilla I reviewed from this same recipe, so gave it a 4.
useful (2)