| From: Big Small Plates (reviewed 13th January 2013)This was my contribution to our 2013 cookbook cooking club. Instead of fresh or canned tomatoes, I started with tomatoes I roasted last summer. The tomatoes are cooked with shallots and garlic, a bit of wine, and at the end, chopped dates.
A special cheese - Cabecou - was called for; this is a raw milk goat or sheep cheese, illegal to import into the US, but a version preserved in jars is prepared by a single cheese maker in California. In Utah, though, it was impossible to source. I substituted regular goat cheese, which I formed into small discs.
Individual ramekins were supplied with the tomato mix, the goat cheese is added on top, and they were then baked for about 5 minutes. The result is melty goat cheese swimming in the well flavored tomato. Croutons are called for, but instead I used fingers of toasted bread (easier to dip).
The addition of dates to the tomato added an interesting note of sweetness. The recipe made a lot of the tomato mix - more than enough for twice the number of individuals.
I think my roasted tomatoes might have been too well cooked - they were very soft, not in chunks as suggested in the recipe. Clearly operator error.
This might have been better than my rating, but by the time we got to this dish I was so full I couldn't really appreciate it. Again operator error! |
| From: Big Small Plates (reviewed 13th January 2013)This recipe is a clear winner. The result was juicy and very flavorful. Trimmed chicken wings are marinated in a soy sauce - brown sugar - honey - garlic - black pepper marinade. The recipe calls for mushroom soy sauce, but regular soy sauce was used instead. A long marinade (24h) was followed by a quick roasting in a hot oven (450˚F). The chicken was as beautiful as it was delicious.
This dish was prepared for the January 2013 meeting of our cookbook cooking club by one of the participants (not me). It was a dinner composed of appetizers - very yummy. |
| From: Big Small Plates (reviewed 13th January 2013)A flavorful flatbread, topped with mascarpone cheese and parmesan, and topped with a delightful mushroom mixture. Again I was too full to truly appreciate. This is the one recipe I would like to revisit.
This dish was prepared for the January 2013 meeting of our cookbook cooking club by one of the participants (not me). It was a dinner composed of appetizers - very yummy. |
| From: Big Small Plates (reviewed 13th January 2013)These turned out very greasy. A pork shoulder roast is called for, and the cook is instructed to trim the fat. But a pork shoulder roast is well marbled, and so its pretty much impossible to trim the fat. It might be better to instruct the cook to use a leaner cut!
The filling was delicious - pork, peppers, green olives, capers, raisins, sherry, and a hard-boiled egg. But as they baked, they produced a sea of oil which then was absorbed by the dough.
This dish was prepared for the January 2013 meeting of our cookbook cooking club by one of the participants (not me). It was a dinner composed of appetizers - very yummy. |
| From: Big Small Plates (reviewed 13th January 2013)Whats not to love with a recipe like this? The recipe itself is quite fussy - a special cookie crust, two different mousse layers (one dark chocolate and one white chocolate), and then topped with specially made cookie crumbs (different from the crust).
My friend who prepared this used cookies left over from christmas (bits of ginger cookies were amazing). It was of course delicious, but the recipe was too vague about how long to freeze the mouse - it turned out to be only scoopable, not quite as pictured.
This dish was prepared for the January 2013 meeting of our cookbook cooking club by one of the participants (not me). It was a dinner composed of appetizers - very yummy. |
| From: Big Small Plates (reviewed 13th January 2013)Excellent flavor but difficult to cook all the way through.
This dish produced beautiful sweet and flavorful fritters. Crab, grated sweet potato, and sweet corn frozen away last summer came together with some cake flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and turmeric.
I always cringe at fried foods because of their propensity to absorb fats, and so I only tasted a tiny piece of these. But my daughter just loved them (and has no qualms about fried foods). The fritters are served with a jalapeno-lime dipping sauce which I forgot to try.
Some fritters were uncooked inside - it was difficult to keep the oil at the right temperature and there were no instructions for determining how to tell if they were cooked inside.
This dish was prepared for the January 2013 meeting of our cookbook cooking club by one of the participants (not me). It was a dinner composed of appetizers - very yummy. |
| From: Big Small Plates (reviewed 13th January 2013)Halibut is roasted and then added to a broth prepared with saffron, clam juice, fennel, tomato, and sweet onion. It is then garnished with parsley, fennel fronds, and chopped green olives.
The broth was very mild, but good with the fish. The green olives, though, gave a really off flavor, and should be omitted.
This dish was prepared for the January 2013 meeting of our cookbook cooking club by one of the participants (not me). It was a dinner composed of appetizers - very yummy. |
| From: Big Small Plates (reviewed 13th January 2013)A stand-out recipe! Sushi-grade tuna was cut into small bite sized pieces, and served over a cucumber salad dressed with a rice vinegar vinaigrette. Generous slices of avocado accompanied the dish. A bit of wasabi paste and a sprinkling of sesame seeds finished the dish.
This dish was prepared for the January 2013 meeting of our cookbook cooking club by one of the participants (not me). It was a dinner composed of appetizers - very yummy. |
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