Queezle_Sister's Reviews
21 recipe(s) reviewed. Showing 1 to 21Sort by: Title 
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The Savory Way
By Deborah Madison
Bantam - 1990
Almond Paste : page 394
Our family loves marzipan, and I was excited to discover this recipe. We followed it exactly. We used 2 C of almonds, blanched them, warmed them in the oven, dried them, and prepared a syrup that we added to the ground almonds. We ended up with 1 lb of almond paste (which I separated into four 4-oz aliquots, wrapped in saran, and then in a second sealed container). There was still enough left in the food processor to scrape off and enjoy.
Two difficulties were encountered. First, I have an off-brand food processor, and it was hard to really get the almonds ground very fine - and hard to know what "fine and smooth" really means. The second problem was that after adding the syrup, it was so stiff, we needed to add about 2 T water. Also, I suggest removing it from the food processor quicky, it hardens up fast!
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Asparagus with Brown Butter and Parmesan : page 176
The browned butter and slight dusting of pepper elevated this asparagus to new heights. My DH kept saying that the browned butter made the asparagus taste like lobster. I don't know about the lobster part, but all of us greatly enjoyed this dish.
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A surprising twist on acorn squash. A bit of this butter is added to the halved squash, roasted, and a bit more of the spicy butter added...
We also served the butter at the table, with the squash. The cumin garlic butter was so delicious, a nice change from my typical brown sugar addition.
But - not so pretty. Flavor alone it deserves a 4, but at least for me, the presentation was not so great.
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Celery Soup with Lovage and Rice : page 92
To be fair, I couldn't find Lovage. We were in the mood for a very light soup, and selected this recipe. It used a big pile of leeks, onions, and celery - sautéed in olive oil, and then with vegetable broth. The soup is served with rice and black pepper.
For what it was, it was nice. Light and delicate, but not at all amazing. I suspect I'll have some difficulty selling the leftovers.
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My attempts to eat seasonally have led me to making variations of waldorf salads this winter. This is the third version I've made since Christmas, and definitely the best one yet.
What made this recipe special is (1) a limited number of main components (apple, celery, nuts, currents), and (2) it was dressed with a non-mayo dressing.
I had to substitute pecans for the walnuts (probably would be better with walnuts). The dressing called for walnut oil and lemon juice. No walnut oil here, but I do have hazelnut oil, so used that. It was great. The result was very light, and the subtle flavor from the oil was a great addition.
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Dorée's Extravagant Almond Cake : page 374
This amazing cake has a lovely texture, a crunchy outer crust, and has a perfect sweetness, and a rich almond/marzipan flavor. YUM.
After making almond paste (in this cookbook), we used 3/4 of it for this cake (3/4 of a lb!). This is a rich cake that is largely made in the food processor, so it was easy. The standard recipe calls for 1/2 lb of almond paste, but then it suggests adding chunks of almond paste -- so you not only have a great tasting cake but also hit wonderful flavor bursts. We used 1/4 lb for this (not the 8 oz suggested). Next time, I might go for using the full 8 ounces as chunks in the batter.
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Feta Cheese Omelet : page 281
This was a very quick-to-make recipe, OK for a weekday morning. I liked their suggested technique - lifting the cooked egg to have the uncooked run underneath, and so in contact with the hot pan. I didn't crumble the feta cheese as much as I should have - so some bites had too much. I would advise anyone making this to perhaps chop it up to make sure it is evenly in small pieces. Finishing in the broiler was a nice touch.
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Figs and Raspberries : page 347
Easy and beautiful.
Fresh figs are quartered, keeping the base intact, and splayed out - then the center filled with fresh raspberries, and finished with a dusting of powdered sugar - to make a lovely little flower.
The mellow jamyness of the figs complemented the more acidic sweetness of the raspberries.
This would be an excellent finish to a meal, definitely company worthy.
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Mustard oil scares me. Scared me enough to go out and find it, and try it.
Did you know its illegal to sell for consumption? Nevertheless, my local asian market had at least three brands - in amongst the other oils, and labeled "for external use only".
This recipe calls for 1-2T mustard oil, but when I smelled it, I was afraid of a total revolt at the dinner table. Wow is that stuff pungent - and not in a nice way. I used only 1/2T - it is sauteed with scallions, the beans are parboiled, and then added to the mustard oil, and black mustard seeds are sprinkled in.
Amazingly enough, by the time it was served, the bad aromas were gone, and what was left was a bean dish with a slightly unusual - and good - flavor!
Have any of you used mustard oil? There is an interesting article about it in the New York Times (try googling it).
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Green Pepper and Tomato Soup : page 98
This is a good end-of-summer soup. It calls for those wrinkled tomatoes left to ripen -- possibly a bit too long. It is a clear-brothed slightly chunky soup, with onions and green bell pepper. The broth has good depth of flavor from ample garlic, paprika, basil, thyme, and paprika. At the end, cooked white rice was mixed in to provide a bit more substance.
Although I liked this soup quite a bit, it reminded me that green bell peppers are not my favorite.
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Lemon Pudding Cake with Crystal Sugar : page 390
Lemon zest deliciousness. A very light cake top floats on a thick rich pudding. This recipe is similar to one from Leita's Culinaria that we reviewed a few months ago (see link to the other recipe on the tab).
This recipe, I think, is a bit better. It uses more eggs, less flour, less milk. I baked this in a single 1 1/2 quart (6 cup) baking dish, and it worked really well.
This is the sort of thing that you cannot stop eating. The lemon evokes a warmer season, which is welcome on this cold wintery day.
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Mushrooms Flagstaff : page 128
This recipe is Deborah Madison's version of "Mushrooms Berkeley", which is in Vegetarian Epicure (Anna Thomas). I was a fan of Mushrooms Berkeley, but last time I made it, I felt it was too sweet. Apparently Deborah Madison did, too.
The result kept the wonderful flavor - mushrooms with an earthy rich sauce. We all enjoyed this dish very much. I also compared the recipe - this version is much lighter, less sugar, and has a few additional ingredients (dried shitake mushrooms and tofu, among others). When I get a hankering for this sort of thing, I'll definitely stick with the Flagstaff version of this recipe!
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This delicious recipe first calls for producing a spreadable gorgonzola-cream cheese mixture (with a bit of milk). It is then spread on bread, and topped with pear. I used a perfect bosc pear - slightly crunchy - and it was a great combination. I had to scrape together the tag ends of breads, and had I put this on nice fresh good tasting bread, it would have been even better.
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These potatoes are solidly good. Diced potatoes are first boiled, then fried an EEOV in a hot pan, then a spice mixture is added. The cheese was optional, so we opted no.
The smallest of the diced potatoes were considered the best, and so we need to either dice finer or cook longer.
I found that using the suggested "medium" heat took forever to brown the potatoes, so next time I will use a higher setting.
The pepper-rosemary-sage combination was very good.
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Pasta with Gorgonzola : page 149
Such an easy recipe! Here, you make use of the heating water to melt some butter and gorgonzola, and mix in some garlic. The cooked pasta then gets mixed in with the semi-melted cheese sauce.
This was delicious, and a great recipe for the gourmet teenager with a bottomless appetite! In fact, this pasta (along with a salad) elicited positive comments for the entire evening - a rare occurrence indeed.
We put this sauce on penne and some left over spaghetti. It was definitely much better on the penne. And don't stint on the pepper - it really makes the dish come alive.
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Persimmon Bars with Lemon Glaze : page 380
Moist cake-like bar cookies studded with currents and walnuts - whats not to like?
This was my first experience using Hachiya Persimmons. As I've read, they did eventually become very soft. Two persimmons, though, didn't quite give me the 1C the recipe called for. I made up the difference (~1/4C) using pumpkin puree. The cookies have a lot of nutmeg (1 tsp) and cloves (1/4 tsp) but it was just perfect in the final cookie. The batter was very stiff and somewhat difficult to spread, but worth the effort.
Not too sweet, relatively low fat (1/2C butter in a 10X14 inch pan), - these were almost healthy!
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Popped Millet Griddle Cakes or Waffles : page 296
best.pancake.ever
Fabulous texture with amazing flavor! Big fat toasted millet and cornmeal, embedded in a soft smooth pancake. I forgot to add the 1T sugar, but these were still so tasty we ate them unadorned.
Just don't do what I did and try to make them on a weekday morning. The millet is first soaked in boiling water, then drained, and toasted/popped in the frying pan. This added another 10 minutes. And - the recipe required three bowls - but at least I didn't have to separate the eggs or beat the whites.
If you like pancakes, definitely try this!
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Saffron Butterflies with Basil and Peas : page 140
Very beautiful and delicious --- and even better, it was pretty quick to make!
I was first attracted because of the name of this recipe. It specifies making egg noodles first, but includes instructions for cheating (using store bought egg noodles). I followed that cheat, and also used frozen peas.
The result was beautiful, with red bits from the saffron and green spots from the peas.
My daughter thought this was so good, she rated it "73".
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Scrambled Eggs and Corn in Tortillas : page 285
Excellent Sunday morning breakfast in the summer.
Corn, freshly cut from the cob, is sautéed with green onion (I used a CSA box small onion instead of scallions), and not having safflower stamens, I added a pinch of saffron. I also substituted goat cheese for the Monterey Jack.
The eggs have a delightful crunch from the corn kernels, and a great fresh flavor. Half went into a tortilla (for me, along with garden tomato wedges), and half went on a bagel, for 12 daughter.
Definitely a good combination! Quick, too.
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Spicy Moroccan Butter : page 313
Great flavor!
There is a long list of ingredients, and despite not having 1/3 of the ingredients, I went ahead with it. A good strong cumin and coriander flavor, with garlic, mint, and spicy. I skipped the chili/cayenne pepper, and used smoked paprika instead of sweet. These spices and herbs are ground together, and mixed with butter.
We used this with acorn squash from the same cookbook.
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Toasted Cheese Sandwich with Cumin Seeds : page 14
I had some trepidation making this - mixing dijon mustard with butter, cumin seeds, and grated gruyere. I'm not a fan of mustards with horse radish, and our dijon made my eyes tear up. However, once this concoction was broiled onto the toast (open face) it was totally transformed. The ingredient became something extraordinary. This recipe suggests serving on finger-sized slices, but I could also see eating a whole sandwich of it myself!
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