A quicker treatment than the classic recipe for beef Bourguignon, which requires a long cooking time. This recipe uses slices of beef filet, which cook up very tender and tasty. The downsides: a 3-pound filet of beef is very expensive, and the recipe didn't make enough sauce.
Continue reading "The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook: Filet of Beef Bourguignon" »
A completely over-the-top brownie recipe from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook. They take a bit more work than regular brownies, but the results are excellent. One big problem, however: the batter burned around the edges of the pan.
Continue reading "The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook: Outrageous Brownies" »
A pretty simple, very good-tasting recipe from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook. I have a couple of quibbles: the cooking time was too long, and I don't like what happens to the granola's texture when it's stored.
Continue reading "The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook: Homemade Granola" »
In the name-dropping introductory paragraph to this recipe, Ina Garten says that "Lauren Bacall gets cranky" if the Barefoot Contessa store is sold out of this chicken. Since the store doesn't exist any more, I suppose that's not a problem these days. I guess I'm no Lauren Bacall (shocking, I know), because while this is an okay treatment for chicken, it's nothing spectacular.
Continue reading "The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook: Indonesian Ginger Chicken" »
Here's a very good shortbread recipe from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook. I thought the instructions sounded strange, but my initial impression was wrong: the recipe works, and the cookies are delicious. The yield, however, is way off.
Continue reading "The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook: Pecan Shortbread" »
A delicious side dish that owes its delectable flavor to the large quantities of half-and-half, butter, sour cream, and cheese that go into it. Ina Garten says that if you're being virtuous with the somewhat lean Turkey Meatloaf, you can serve these potatoes alongside it and feel good about it. I'd still like a better meatloaf, but the potatoes are fantastic.
Continue reading "The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook: Parmesan Smashed Potatoes" »
I have yet to find a turkey meatloaf that tastes as good as the old standby made with beef, pork, and veal. Alas, this rendition from Ina Garten's The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook fares no better than any other turkey meatloaf I've tried: the flavor is bland and the texture leaves much to be desired.
Continue reading "The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook: Turkey Meatloaf" »
A perfect recipe for this time of year, when the peaches are ripe and juicy. Get the sweetest peaches you can find, from the farmer's market if possible.
Continue reading "The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook: Peach and Raspberry Crisp" »
An over-the-top dessert from Ina Garten. If you like bread pudding this one may appeal to you; I found it rather boring, myself.
Continue reading "The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook: Croissant Bread Pudding" »
Buy a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store and turn it into tasty soup with this recipe from the Food Network Kitchens chapter. There's miminal prep and the end result is very good.
A simple skillet breakfast from the Food Network Kitchens chapter in Food Network Favorites. It's easy to put together and tastes very good. My only question is about the "Note from the Kitchens."
Continue reading "Food Network Favorites: Baked Eggs with Farmhouse Cheddar & Potatoes" »
My last test from the Wolfgang Puck chapter! I'll be testing 3 or 4 more recipes from the Food Network Kitchens chapter in Food Network Favorites, and then at long last I'll be moving onto a new book.
This tart is quite good, if a bit, well, tart. If you like lemon curd, this dessert will probably appeal to you.
Continue reading "Food Network Favorites: Caramelized Lemon-Lime Tart" »
This butterflied chicken cooks quickly and tastes great. A couple of quibbles: Wolfgang Puck could have been a bit more thorough in his instructions. And he's awfully parsimonious with the sauce.
Continue reading "Food Network Favorites: Pan-Roasted Chicken with Port & Whole-Grain Mustard" »
From Wolfgang Puck, here's a soup that might taste amazing if you can get your hands on the special carrots he recommends, from Chino Farms near San Diego. But what about the other 99% of us who have to use regular carrots?
Continue reading "Food Network Favorites: Chino Carrot & Ginger Soup" »
A very good pizza recipe from Wolfgang Puck. The dough is the same recipe that I've already tested from Live, Love, Eat!, and just as with my previous test, the dough was easy to work with and tasted great. The only variation here is the toppings.
Continue reading "Food Network Favorites: Pizza with Caramelized Onions & Crispy Bacon" »
Wolfgang Puck is the last chef in Food Network Favorites! We're starting his chapter off with a very good recipe. This goulash has a great flavor and is pretty simple to put together. The spaetzle that goes with it isn't quite as simple, however.
Continue reading "Food Network Favorites: Wolfgang's Beef Goulash" »
My last test from the Michael Chiarello chapter. Even after making this one, I'm not quite sure if it works or not. It's a mixture of savory and sweet ingredients that sometimes didn't seem to mesh very well. My opinion of the salad varied almost from bite to bite.
Continue reading "Food Network Favorites: Sicilian Harvest Salad" »
Another recipe from Michael Chiarello where the proportions are a bit weird. This simple bean purée ended up tasting more like the olive tapenade that's mixed into it. And a bit of "restaurant-itis" sneaks into the ingredients list.
Continue reading "Food Network Favorites: Bruschetta with White Bean Purée" »
This is an excellent way to showcase ripe, flavorful summer tomatoes. Michael Chiarello combines them with salami and cheese, and the results are quite good.
Continue reading "Food Network Favorites: Salami Salad with Tomatoes & Mozzarella" »
From the Michael Chiarello chapter in Food Network Favorites comes this recipe for soup that works even when flavorful fresh tomatoes aren't available. The proportions are all screwy, however, and the soup could use a lot more tomatoes in it to be worthy of the name "tomato soup."
Continue reading "Food Network Favorites: Homemade Tomato Soup" »
A very good, albeit slightly too salty, spice rub for pork from Michael Chiarello. The sweetness of the cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves combine with the richness of unsweetened cocoa powder and white peppercorns for complex, sweet-savory flavor.
I realize that Mario Batali is getting short shrift, and all I can say is: his recipes aren't looking appealing. I'm ready to be done with Food Network Favorites, so Batali is going to have to be the one that got away.
Continue reading "Food Network Favorites: Seared Pork Tenderloin with Cocoa-Spice Rub" »
A very simple, very tasty treatment for clams from Mario Batali. If you're not a clam fan, this is not the recipe for you, since there's nothing here disguising the essential clam flavor.
From the Mario Batali chapter in Food Network Favorites, where frankly I'm having trouble finding recipes that I want to make. It may just be a seasonal problem; many of Batali's recipes call for heavy, meaty ingredients like osso buco, leg of lamb, pork chops, or veal meatballs (2 different recipes!). I might find some of these dishes more appealing in November when it's cold and brisk outside, but right now it's 95 degrees and leg of lamb isn't sounding too good.
I'll be testing the three lighter-sounding recipes in this chapter, and then I'm moving on to the last two chapters in the book. (The two remaining chefs: Michael Chiarello and Wolfgang Puck.)
Continue reading "Food Network Favorites: Penne with Cauliflower" »
Another quick grill idea from Bobby Flay. No problems with this one; proportions were good, and the sauce makes a tasty accompaniment to the grilled shrimp.
A fast dinner idea from the Bobby Flay chapter in Food Network Favorites. The tomatillo sauce is easy to make and tasted great mixed with rotisserie chicken from the grocery store. The proportions were off, however.
Continue reading "Food Network Favorites: Shredded Chicken & Tomatillo Tacos with Queso Fresco" »
From Bobby Flay, a very good recipe for pork tenderloin. I've had to add some information to the ingredients and the instructions for clarity, but the end result is a very good dish.
Bobby Flay's second dessert contribution to Food Network Favorites. This is a very simple way to serve pineapple. Grilling it helps to bring out the flavor, and the rum and vanilla notes in the accompaniments give a nice tropical flair to the dish.
From the Bobby Flay chapter in Food Network Favorites. "Batida" means "beaten" in Spanish, and since the fruit and ice cream are beaten together in a blender, it seems an appropriate name. Another way to think of this drink? Mango milkshake.
Continue reading "Food Network Favorites: Fresh Fruit Batidos" »
It's summertime, and I'm ready to start grilling, so it's on to Bobby Flay's chapter in Food Network Favorites. This is a delicious spicy salad topped with grilled marinated steak. It's a wonderful meal for a summer evening.
Continue reading "Food Network Favorites: Grilled Steak & Papaya Salad" »
When Paula Deen doesn't use exorbitant amounts of butter, cream, and cheese, her recipes are very good. This is a very pretty and tasty dish that would be nice for a luncheon or a bridal shower. It needs to be made at least 1 day in advance, and it's not super easy to eat, but it tastes fantastic.
Continue reading "Food Network Favorites: Mosaic Chicken Terrine" »
Another Paula Deen recipe from Food Network Favorites. Another case of me saying "Yikes!" at the amount of fat that's in the dish. This one's a mixture of canned corn, cornbread mix, sour cream, butter, and cheese. Sure, it tastes pretty good (how could it not?), but is it worth it? Do you really need all that saturated fat in a simple side dish?
Not just any Bubba, but Paula Deen's younger brother, whom she taught to make this steak. Like all of Deen's cuisine, it's a calorie-laden dish. The flavor is merely okay; I didn't think it was worth making again, to be honest.
Continue reading "Food Network Favorites: Bubba's Country-Fried Steak & Gravy" »
Paula Deen does have a colorful way with titles. As for the answer to the question, I'll leave it to you to determine for yourself. This is a very rich, decadent cake with pineapple, coconut, and vanilla pudding. It's extremely simple to put together. I had one little quibble with the ingredients, but the final result is a very good dessert.
I've also given a recipe for the more common chocolate version of Better Than Sex Cake, so if the tropical variety doesn't do it for you, the chocolate and toffee one probably will.
Continue reading "Food Network Favorites: Is It Really Better Than Sex? Cake" »
I was going to test 2 more recipes from the Giada De Laurentiis chapter in Food Network Favorites, but to be honest, I got kind of bored, so I'm moving on. And next up is Paula Deen, the Food Network's down-home, Southern-fried queen. If you're looking for healthy meals, this chapter is definitely not the one to turn to. In the Q&A page at the front of her chapter, Deen says that the 3 ingredients she can't be without in the kitchen are butter, mayonnaise, and cream cheese. And that's no exaggeration.
Very rich, with tons of calories, this recipe from the Giada De Laurentiis chapter of Food Network Favorites is delicious, and absolutely not diet food. My only nitpick: I thought there could have been a little more cinnamon.
Continue reading "Food Network Favorites: Cinnamon-Pancetta Carbonara" »
Another dessert from the Giada De Laurentiis chapter in Food Network Favorites. It's a very good tart; it's just not my favorite kind of dessert. The pine nut crust is topped with a lightly sweet custard, and more pine nuts are strewn across the top. You need to really like pine nuts for this one to appeal to you, because their flavor is very, very strong.
Continue reading "Food Network Favorites: Creamy Ricotta Tart with Pine Nuts" »
Very simple to make, and extremely tasty. These pork chops are seared in a hot skillet, and served with a spicy, herby tomato sauce. My only issue: Giada De Laurentiis doesn't seem to allow quite enough cooking time, unless you like rare pork.
Continue reading "Food Network Favorites: Pork Chops Alla Pizzaiola" »
Another very good recipe from Giada De Laurentiis. My only quibble, and it's really more of a question, is to wonder why she specifies using paper muffin liners? Plus, these aren't biscuits. They're muffins -- very tasty ones.
Continue reading "Food Network Favorites: Nonna's Lemon Ricotta Biscuits" »
A very good stuffed pasta from Giada De Laurentiis' chapter in Food Network Favorites. The sauce is quite spicy, and the contrast with the creamy ricotta filling is delicious.
Continue reading "Food Network Favorites: Stuffed Shells with Arrabbiata Sauce" »
And on to the Giada De Laurentiis chapter in Food Network Favorites. I've already reviewed her book Everyday Italian and found it to be pretty good, although it could have used a tad more editing. Is there any reason to check out her recipes in this new book?
Continue reading "Food Network Favorites: Chocolate Amaretti Cake" »
To finish off the Tyler Florence chapter in Food Network Favorites, here's a very good, very time-consuming recipe that's perfect for parties. Delicious wontons filled with an Asian-inspired crab stuffing make for a tasty hors-d'oeuvre. But I wouldn't try this one for a weeknight dinner.
Continue reading "Food Network Favorites: Fried Crab Wontons with Sesame-Soy Dipping Sauce" »
A very tasty treatment for fish. It's essentially halibut with picatta sauce, although Tyler Florence doesn't call it that. If you like the classic combination of lemon juice, white wine, and capers, you'll like this recipe.
Cheesecake fans tend to fall into two different camps: those who love a dense, firm cake (the traditional New York-style cheesecake), and those who prefer a lighter, fluffier-textured cake. This recipe falls into the latter category.
Continue reading "Food Network Favorites: The Ultimate Cheesecake" »
A very simple and tasty salad from the Tyler Florence chapter in Food Network Favorites. Just sauté some shallots and butter, add honey and vinegar, and toss. The end result is a yummy wilted salad.
Continue reading "Food Network Favorites: Spinach Salad with Honey-Brown Butter Dressing" »
Is it an adequate version of roast chicken? Sure. Is it the "Ultimate"? Eh, not so much. Like most roast chicken recipes, this one tries to be unique by stuffing the chicken with various stuff (in this case, herbs, onions, garlic, and an orange). But roast chicken always ends up tasting like...roast chicken. There's not a whole lot you can do to it to make it interesting.
Continue reading "Food Network Favorites: The Ultimate Roast Chicken" »