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)


Latest review:

August 23rd, 2019

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)
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Queezle_Sister's Reviews


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1394 recipes reviewed. Showing 1 to 50Sort by: Book Title | Date | Rating | Recipe Title

Zaitoun

By Yasmin Khan
- 2000

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 was also roasted. Meanwhile, ground meat is cooked with a lovely assortment of spices, including pomegranate molasses. Finally a mix of the cooked innards, tahini, and lemon juice is put on top.

This dish manages to stay fresh and light, the zucchini plays a supportive role, but its the meat and tahini sauce that really set this recipe apart from others.

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So simple - freeze up some bananas, and then grind them to an ice cream-like consistency. But don't stop there. Add tahini, a bit of salt, and serve with Date Syrup and sesame seeds.

The date syrup is what really sets this recipe apart. It is thick and sweet, but somehow seems less sweet than other syrups. And it was easier to find than I had imagined.

The tahini is also a nice touch with the bananas. It adds depth to this lovely sweet.

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Website: Simply Recipes

simplyrecipes.com
 

18th June 2018

Rhubarb Crumble

Super easy (the 10 minute prep time is correct!), and the addition of cardamom was brilliant! Served with vanilla ice cream.

I don't care for crumbles as much as crisps, but needed a quick dessert. But I will definitely remember to add cardamom to my next rhubarb crisp!

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Website: food52

www.food52.com
 

Easy, delicious, and what a brilliant way to hide zucchini. Why we have 5 zucchini plants growing in our garden, I do not know, but I do know that getting rid of the fruit has been a burden this summer.

This soup is prepared by first boiling zucchini, carrots, and onions, and then blending them with a stick blender. I used one large zucchini (stallion sized), 3 carrots, and one large onion. Then you add lentils and curry powder, and the appropriate amount of liquid (I used some chicken broth and some water). I added a lot of curry, so it is quite spicy. But it is thick and filling, and I do not think it carries a very heavy calorie load.

I will repeat this, and freeze bags of it for winter.

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Website: Cookie + Kate

cookieandkate.com
 

16th September 2017

Healthy Zucchini Bread

I searched for a zucchini bread recipe that would produce something healthy. This is quite good - much less oil and sugar than most recipes, and lots of zucchini. And lots and lots of walnuts.

I probably over-baked it, but still it was quite delicious. I did bemoan its lack of sweetness, despite my selecting this recipe for that very feature...

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Website: Cookie + Kate

cookieandkate.com
 

9th July 2017

Frozen Mint Lemonade

Super Refreshing!

And a simple recipe - lemon juice, sugar, mint, and ice. I wish I had a blender that was better suited for crushing ice, but a bit of patience and repeated blending gave me two delicious treats.

This could easily be modified by using limes, or by adding different herbs or different fruit. I'm thinking basil and strawberries might be awesome.

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Website: My Recipes

www.myrecipes.com/recipes
 

A crunchy, healthy, and low-calories appetizer for a hot sunny day. I think the success of this dish depends not just on the quality of your vegetables, but also on your chili powder. I used an Ancho Chili powder - it was just powdered ancho peppers - and I think the end dish was missing something. I did add salt, but it still didn't have quite the dimensions it should. I do not know the contents of commercial mixes labeled chili powder, but probably there is something in there that I did not have.

Nevertheless, this was super crunchy and super delicious. I brought it to a 4th of July party. The red from the radishes and green from cilantro made it looks really wonderful. DH does not like that the orange wedges quickly become bla-looking.

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Website: Cooking

cooking.nytimes.com
 

3rd July 2017 (edited: 3rd July 2017)

Bobby Flay's Pan Roasted Chicken with Mint Sauce

This was easy to prepare, and the mint sauce was delicious. One of the mint sauce ingredients is Dijon Mustard, and I used a very pungent one. Next time I will use a more mild mustard, and cut less of the membrane off the serrano pepper.

I followed instructions from the Kitchn for cooking chicken breasts so that they were not dry. It worked perfectly, and the spice mixture made the chicken breast look much more appetizing.

This is a rather elegant dish!

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Website: The Kitchn

www.thekitchn.com
 

3rd July 2017 (edited: 3rd July 2017)

Chicken Breasts

A technique, not a recipe. This link gives instructions for how to cook chicken breasts so they come out moist. I used it for breasts that were intended to be cooked with skin, and a boat load of spices. I used the spices on boneless chicken breasts, following these simple instructions, and they came out perfectly.

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Website: Smitten Kitchen

www.smittenkitchen.com
 

Better than it sounds!
Zucchini is grated, salted, and the water squeezed out. Then it is tossed with - you guessed it - cheese. The recipe suggests an assortment of lovely cheeses, but I used what we have on hand - a medium cheddar and pecorino. Also a generous hand with the pepper.

To get the somewhat wet filling to warm enough to melt the cheese, you need to cook these on the cooler side of the grilled cheese cooking temperatures. But other than patience, this recipe is a winner!

Daughter (now 18) loves grilled cheese, and DH enjoyed it too. An easy summer weeknight dinner.

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Website: Smitten Kitchen

www.smittenkitchen.com
 

So easy to make - you don't even need a bowl. Slightly crunchy cookie base but made with not so much sugar. By using all rhubarb - its tart - and delicious.

I followed the recipe except I tried to increase the volume by 25% to accommodate my slightly larger pan. I also followed the suggested change of using coconut oil in place of the butter. I did this NOT to be vegan, but with the hope of a crispy bottom on this cookie. I also replaced the strawberries with an extra cup or two of rhubarb.

Notes on this recipe say that you can substitute any fruit. That such an easy recipe packs such a punch makes this one a keeper.

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Website: Cookie + Kate

cookieandkate.com
 

This is a simple recipe - vinegar and water are heated, sweetened, salted, and spiced (pepper flakes). Finely sliced radishes are added, and it is allowed to cool to room temperature.

I prepared these to go onto fish tacos - along with leftover halibut, avocado, and a mixture of slivered cabbage, cilantro, scallions, and cucumber (with lime juice + olive oil for dressing). For a nearly 100% improvised meal, it was delicious!

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My Two Souths: Blending the Flavors of India into a Southern Kitchen

By Asha Gomez, Martha Hall Foose
Running Press - 2016

Its a fair bit of chopping, but you will be richly rewarded for your work. This made one of the best whole roasted chicken I have had in a looooong time. A mint/pepper/garlic/lime sauce is rubbed under the skin, on the skin, and on the bed of vegetables. Chicken was also stuffed with a halved lemon, thyme, and more of the sauce.

I am so glad that I prepared two of these!

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This was my favorite dish prepared from this cookbook. A rich assortment of fruit (and a bit of greens), an amazing dressing, and shrimp seemed a natural accompaniment. This would be a good dish for a fancy dinner -- impressive.

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If you love potatoes, then these were made for you. These were prepared for my cooking club, and my son thought they were the best of all the recipes. The ajowan seeds (which turned out to be easy to source) added an interesting and unique flavor (and good!).

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Mussels are always good when fresh. But for this recipe the broth in which the mussels cooked was brilliant. It was great for sopping up with bread.

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Who doesn't love a good berry cobbler?
What made this recipe special to me was the very crunchy raw sugar topping. It was the perfect complement to the light fluffy biscuits and soft liquidy blackberries.

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17th May 2017

Cardamom Cornbread

This recipe has potential but I found it pretty heavy. Cardamom in corn bread, though, is a great idea. This was prepared for my cookbook club.

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Meh... this recipe has potential, but it turned out a very very mild dish. Onions are sauteed in ghee, cardamom and star anise, gently crushed, is added. garlic, etc, then chunks of chicken breast, broth, and rice.

I deviated by using brown rice in place of basmati, and used raisins instead of apricots.

But even with additional salt, it didn't have any of the flavor notes that whisper "india" to me. And I have a ton of leftovers (I doubled the recipe).

I think I will add some ginger next time, and maybe some red pepper flakes to wake this dish up!

On the plus side, the chicken was tender, it was easy, and only dirtied up one pot and a serving bowl.

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Website: Epicurious

www.epicurious.com
 

This is the best recipe I found in 2016. I have served it three times, and each time, the guests have found it amazing.

Raw Brussels sprouts and chopped up and mixed with raisins and a vinaigrette. Crostini are spread with ricotta, this mixture, and then lemon zest and toasted pine nuts are added on top.

We find its easier, and just as good, to mix the lemon zest right into the sprouts mixture.

Just try it, and you too will be hooked.

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Website: Epicurious

www.epicurious.com
 

This is a very decent version of Hopping John. We substituted Andouille for the Kielbasa, cooking them prior to cutting up and adding to the soup. The flavor was good, but perhaps needed more salt.

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Website: Serious Eats

www.seriouseats.com
 

Bubbly and colorful, this was a good choice for new year's eve. Another plus - it is equally good with club soda as with champagne.

The idea behind the shrub is to boil cranberries and black pepper in cider vinegar, water, and sugar. A 24 hour post-boil steep in the refrigeration, and a quick filter, leads to a lovely and very strongly flavored addition to cocktails.

The black pepper is a bit mild, next time I will grind the pepper a bit more finely to aid in better flavor extraction.

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Website: Epicurious

www.epicurious.com
 

20th August 2016

Beer Can Cabbage

A nice idea, but lots of flaws with the recipe. Here, a whole cabbage is grilled on a beer can, essentially the vegetarian version of beer can chicken. The biggest problem is that a cabbage hollowed out to hold a beer can turns out to be a great insulator. And with a beer can in the middle, it takes forever for the cabbage to cook. And - if you could find a cabbage as large as called for in the recipe, the lid would not fit over it on a normal full-sized Weber charcoal grill.

We prepared two smaller cabbages, and still had to do a lot more hollowing out to get it far enough onto the can for the grill's lid to fit. We cooked it four times as called for, and then finally let it go over night. The next day it still required another hour on the cook top.

The nice aspect of this recipe is that it is a vegetarian version of pulled pork. You put a good BBQ sauce over the cabbage (I cooked it in a slow cooker, on high, for about an hour after the extended grilling). Served on a bun with cole slaw, my vegetarian colleagues were really happy with this meal.

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Website: Honest Cooking

honestcooking.com
 

A flavor party in your mouth - this dish hits all the right notes. Great flavors, good texture, and a bit on the spicy side. Don't omit the pickled onions!

My son was home from college for a month and this was one of the dishes he prepared for the family. Although I do not care for beef, these short ribs were one of the best things I've tasted in a long time!

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Website: Food & Wine

www.foodandwine.com
 

Roast the beets, marinate in a vinaigrette, toast nuts, sautee the greens very lightly (to wilting), and assemble with goat cheese. Very simple and delicious.

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Website: Food & Wine

www.foodandwine.com
 

5th June 2016

Tangy Rhubarb Pie

This pie is thickened with tapioca, and the proportions are perfect. Gave a pie with filling that held together without being glue-like. Excellent flavor, not too sweet.

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Dinosaur Bar-B-Que: An American Roadhouse

By John Stage, Nancy Radke
Ten Speed Press - 2009

15th May 2016

apple-cranberry crisp

crunchy topping included nuts, a nice touch. It had a good balance of cinnamon and nutmeg. The filling was really nice - with apples and raisins. The cook couldn't find cranberries, but successfully swapped out raspberries.

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This was an amazing flavored soup - and prepared with canned tomatoes so OK for any season. Two types of garlic - roasted and fresh (sauteed) - added flavor but didn't overwhelm the dish. Made as part of our cookbook club dinner.

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15th May 2016 (edited: 15th May 2016)

Garlic & Ginger Green Beans

Crunchy, sharp-flavored, and vinegary - these are a perfect complement to a meat-heavy meal.

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Terrific guacamole, and twice-fried plantains, with generous salt, for dipping. Oh my but this was great.

This was prepared for our cookbook club. We have previously made their guacamole, but I'm embarrassed to admit that I've never even noticed the fried plantain slices. They were a perfect complement to the guacamole, sweet and a bit crunchy with the smooth spiciness of the the guacamole.

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Website: Cookie + Kate

cookieandkate.com
 

This sandwich was a good solid pick, but somehow not as exciting as I expected it to be. The name should also say "avocado" because you spread mashed avocado and add a salad of broccoli, feta cheese, chickpeas, sun-dried tomatoes, and a lemon salad dressing. The recipe called for red onions - they did not look nice at my market, so I substituted chopped chives from my garden.

I think the value of this recipe is as a template in which you can sub your own favorite/fresh vegetables. I think cooked Brussels sprouts, for instance, would be awesome in these.

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Website: Cooking

cooking.nytimes.com
 

This is a fantastic cake! Be warned that it will rise a fair bit (or at least it did at my mile-high elevation). I split out a bit of batter for an additional pan, and am glad I did so.

I used the entire 2 tsp of freshly ground cardamom, and the flavor was great - not at all overpowering. The almond aroma during baking is powerful enough to bring teenage children out from behind closed doors, and earn their appreciation.

I prepared this for my 17 1/2 year old daughter's half birthday. We skipped the pistachio because we didn't have any - but some additional decoration would have been nice.

I should also note that this cake is EASY. If you keep ground almonds on hand, the most difficult part is opening the cardamom pods and grinding them.

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Website: Cookie + Kate

cookieandkate.com
 

This is a versatile rice bowl recipe that tasted perfect on a cool early spring day. Brown rice is cooked in coconut milk (in the future I would just use regular rice), topped with Brussels sprouts seared in coconut oil, a fantastic sauce, avocado, mint, and sesame seeds. I could easily see this dish with broccoli, or eggplant, or even zucchini. I loved the sauce, and the meal felt very satisfying.

It was also quick and easy, and prepared with ingredients I already had on hand. Though I did make one substitution -- chives in place of green onions.

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Website: Smitten Kitchen

www.smittenkitchen.com
 

15th April 2016

Carrott Tahini Muffins

Forgettable.

I love sesame and tahini, and so was excited to prepare these muffins. They came together quickly and baked nicely, even at my high mountain elevation. I tasted these both with and without the tahini glaze - with glaze was better than without.

In a word, boring. The tahini flavor barely came through, even with the tahini glaze. The muffin itself seemed to have that "healthy taste" of a 1970s food coop, but not really in a good way.

If you still want to prepare these, my main suggestions would be to add raisins or currents - or some small nuggets of sweetness.

We also had issues with storing these. Over night these muffins became very damp, and sticky. So maybe save the glaze and put on just before eating??

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Website: Cooking

cooking.nytimes.com
 

I made these lovely marshmallows for Easter. The saffron (which I doubled) gave them a lovely pink color, and it was like magic to make these. It was easy! I used a local dark honey, which with the saffron, gave these a lovely flavor.

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Website: Epicurious

www.epicurious.com
 

Quick and Delicious!

Pork tenderloin cut into medallions are such an easy dish; this recipe really brings them to a new level with a simple sauce composed of chicken broth, white wine, yogurt, garlic, and fresh herbs.

On a friday evening, I needed an easy meal and didn't want to hit the grocery store. So I substituted half a regular yellow onion for the leeks, and non-fat greek yogurt for the sour cream. My chives are celebrating the arrival of spring by producing lush growth, and I doubled them in the recipe. My poor taragon, on the other hand, is barely emerging, so we used dry. And I used home-made mustard.

We served this with brown rice and Brussels sprouts, and DH and DD wanted more sauce to put over their rice - next time I would increase the sauce.

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Website: Cooking

cooking.nytimes.com
 

This recipe will produce a lovely meal in around 30 minutes! Cooked soba noodles are tossed with a pesto-like mix of pine nuts, lemon zest, lemon juice (both replaced with lime) and garlic. This is served alongside fish, oven roasted with olive oil and cumin seeds.

I appreciated that you didn't have to grind the cumin, but instead toasted the seeds and then sauéed with the oil. We substituted salmon for the char, and the oil topping did make the fish super moist. However, I didn't think cumin tasted right with the salmon.

The soba, on the other hand, was easy and delightful.
Next time, I will use an alternative spice for the salmon, and keep the soba exactly the same.

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Website: Cooking

cooking.nytimes.com
 

15th February 2016

Chocolate Peppermint Bars

These tasty morsels are the love-child of a peppermint patty and a chocolate shortbread. They are not terribly difficult to make, but it does require time.

First up is a chocolate shortcake. I read the comments on the NYT, and learned that they should bake 5 minutes less than the recipe - so only for 20 minutes. My shortcake was delicious, and not over-cooked.

Next up was a peppermint patty filling. This was a bit troublesome for me. The ingredients (powdered sugar, peppermint extract, butter, and heavy cream) were supposed to come together to form a "smooth paste". Following the recipe, I ended up with something significantly thicker than toothpaste. I added about 1T extra heavy cream, maybe a bit more than that. And it was still quite stiff. Nevertheless, I went with it, pressed it onto the (cooled) shortcake, and refrigerated an hour.

The final step is to temper some chocolate and put it on the tops and sides (it seals the peppermint filling in place, as well as tastes delicious). The recipe calls for 9 oz of chocolate. I used 6 oz, and I cut my cookies much smaller (100 cookies from the 9x9 pan). I had plenty, and still some chocolate left over.

The downside of making tiny cookie-candies is that putting the chocolate on top required a lot of work. Close to 2 hours. But these are impressive little items.

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Website: Smitten Kitchen

www.smittenkitchen.com
 

Pretty dang good snacking material. The caramel was difficult - it took me two tries - but the final product was very nice.

I don't know why caramel is so difficult for me. It either separates (the butter comes out) or it becomes a hard crumbly thing (that is what happened my first try).

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Website: Epicurious

www.epicurious.com
 

This easy recipe means you can have a well balanced dinner on the table in just over an hour - and most of it hands-off time.

Vegetarians - the miso-glazed vegetables are reason alone to check out this recipe!

The root vegetables are roasted in a very nice glaze. We used carrots and beats, couldn't find turnips (with greens or without). At the end, the greens are cooked and mixed into the root vegetables. A review on epicurious warned against roasting red beets with the other vegetables, we disregarded and it came out just fine. Pretty red - but find - maybe try this for valentine's day?

The recipe calls for skin-on chicken, but next time I will try it will skinless.

These root vegetables were used through the rest of the week, and were especially delicious inside a tortilla for lunch.

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America--Farm to Table: Simple, Delicious Recipes Celebrating Local Farmers

By Mario Batali, Jim Webster
Grand Central Life & Style - 2014

An unusual carrot cake!
Som problems with the recipe - go by the volume and not the estimated number of pounds of carrots. For me, the 1 lb of grated carrots gave me a full cup more carrot than the 2 1/2 cups called for in the recipe.

Moisture here comes from the vegetables and 1C mayonaise (no oil). The flavor was amped up by 1/4 grated fresh ginger and hazelnuts. I toasted the hazelnuts for a bit more flavor.

The frosting was also unusual. It was a cream cheese frosting that used molasses for flavoring. Wow - good by the finger and on the cake.

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This modest-looking recipe produced a beautiful side dish - long carrots with a lovely glaze and bits of herbs. The cumin etc. nicely complemented the carrots, didn't overwhelm them.

This cookbook was a cookbook club selection. A bit difficult in the winter, when the farms are not cranking, but should be great come summer.

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The New York Times Cookbook

By Craig Claiborne
Harper & Row - 1961

22nd January 2016

Gingerbread Men

These are the best gingerbread men I've made. Lots of spice, sweet enough but not too sweet, and the rich buttery dough handles fine.

Roll them thin, and they turn out crispy, a little thicker and there is softness in the middle.

They do benefit from frosting - dough isn't terribly sweet - which makes them perfect.

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Website: Cooking

cooking.nytimes.com
 

16th January 2016

choco hoto pots

This recipe does not work at my altitude. This recipe has a lot of butter, chocolate, eggs, and a bit of flour. Ours rose and fell, and then were a greasy chocolate mess. Too bad.

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Website: Cooking

cooking.nytimes.com
 

16th January 2016

Pumpkin Pie from Scratch

If you do not like your pie sweet, then this might satisfy. I, on the other hand, expect a bit of sweetness. This recipe calls for only 4T sugar in an entire pie, and it has the wrong spice balance. I added more ginger, more cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and more sugar.

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Website: Hip Foodie Mom

hipfoodiemom.com
 

Quite a bit of preparation (lots of chopping - nothing difficult) - but this was delicious! We have become interested in Indian-Mexican fusion. This was really just Indian flavored, served in flat bread. I prepared home-made tortillas for serving.

Nice and healthy, nobody complained.

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Website: Cooking

cooking.nytimes.com
 

13th January 2016

Classic Mashed Potatoes

Though I am not a fan of mashed potatoes, my daughter (now 17) is a big fan. I used this recipe to surprise her - the recipe is basic, and the comments include some important reminders - such as after you boil your potatoes, keep the pan on the heat for a little while to drive off the excess moisture. I also should add that use of a ricer is a quick route to fluffy mashers.

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Scandinavian Classic Baking

By Pat Sinclair, Joel Butkowski
Pelican Publishing - 2011

12th January 2016

Danish Almond Tea Ring

Like a cinnamon roll, but so much better with an almond paste filling. I prepared this for my family for Christmas morning. It turned out as pretty as the picture in the book, and while it tasted of almonds/marzipan, it wasn't overly so. Because I love marzipan, I would be inclined to double the almond filling.

If you are looking for something that is an elegant presentation, this tea ring just might be the thing.

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12th January 2016

Norwegian Toscakake

Almond cake - very light with 4 beaten egg whites, and a broiled layer of almonds with buttery caramel. This was prepared by my son for my birthday. So delicious! The only issue is that the center of the cake was not completely baked. The instructions say to judge whether its done based on the cake bouncing back, but I would also use a toothpick to test.

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Website: Serious Eats

www.seriouseats.com
 

10th January 2016

Fresh Mozzarella

This is a detailed protocol for making Mozzarella. It has useful step-by-step instructions, and turns out delicious cheese.
Note - when taking the temperature of the curdled milk, after heating and adding retin, the whey will be much hotter than the curds - so measure the whey's temperature!
Also buy thick gloves that can protect you from the heat of the curds at the stretching stage.

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