Recipe Opinions

This is a collection of my opinions of various recipes I've tried from my rather large collection of recipe books. Note the key word in the sentence there is my - I don't expect anyone else to agree with me, and I certainly don't expect to be taken as gospel.

Key to abbreviations:

• FC - Family Circle
• WD - Women's Day
• WW - Women's Weekly

FC Cakes:

• (p34) Chocolate Spice Cake - this one worked out quite well, although I think I didn't simmer the syrup for long enough. It tastes good, smells lovely, and was fairly straightforward to make. I didn't have a round cake tin, so I made it up as a square, which worked out just fine. Little note for next time - one diameter of Glad-Bake paper lines both of the square cake tins - either double the recipe, or figure out a way of using up that second cake tin.

FC Chinese and Asian:

• (p100) Hot and Sour Pork Curry - Definitely mouthwatering, definitely sour, and definitely hot. About 1/3 the meat content of the original, and substituting a can of tomatoes for the tomato juice in the recipe produced enough for two largeish main meals, and two lunches for the next day. Shall add it into the repetoire, and find out whether the sauce mixture works equally well on (eg) gravy beef or cubed lamb. [Note 31/08/02: It appears to work quite well with casserole-quality beef. Nice to know.]

FC Classic Essential Curries:

• (p8) Lamb Korma - Made this up with double the ingredients for the curry paste, substituting ground coriander and cardamom for whole (if this is done again, use a larger mortar & pestle, as the existing one couldn't handle the bulk of it all). Mixture didn't dry out the way that the recipe implied it would, however it still tastes good a bit moister than the recipe implies. Quantity made could probably feed 4 people fairly well (even with half the meat content of the original), well and truly overdid it for two.
• (p24) Easy Beef Curry - This one comes out hot - well, with 1/3 cup of curry powder, it's not surprising, I suppose. I altered the cooking style for this one slightly, and transferred everything to a casserole dish (note: get larger dish, also clean out oven) and cooked it slowly at 120C for a few hours, rather than cooking it all on the stovetop. Again, it's supposed to serve 4, I served 2 generously, with another container of it into the freezer. It's a fairly basic curry, though. If I try this again, I might try it with a little less salt.
• (p26) Lamb Biriani - Made this up with Spicy (Biriani) Rice, and cooked them up in a casserole for the last 20 minutes. Very tasty, and I enjoyed the spice mixture. Worked quite well.
• (p26) Spicy (Biriani) Rice - Made this up with the Lamb Biriani mix. Needs to come to the boil before simmering, otherwise you're down for another 20 minutes of waiting. Add this and Lamb Biriani to the repetoire, try the Biriani mix on chicken. [Note 16/10/06: Cooking the pair of these recipes and freezing them produces unexpected results - after microwaving the rice reduces to something which resembles couscous. Not unpleasant, just different.]

FC Classic Essential Casseroles:

• (p6) Chicken Cacciatore - Nice, but bland. Made enough for dinner for 2, and another lunch for 2 or dinner with lots of pasta over.
• (p16) Normandy Pork - Very nice recipe. The apple flavour really compliments the pork. Might try experimenting with veges rather than rice as a side for it, but even with rice, it's a very nice flavour. Keep in the repetoire. It's supposed to be cooked in a flameproof casserole, but an ovenproof one plus the stainless-steel frypan works just as well. Nice with a cup of cider on the side, and very pleasant on a cold winter's day. Might not really be a summer recipe, though - probably a bit too heavy for summer.
• (p38) Carbonade a la Flamande - A good solid casserole. Nice flavour, and does go well with mashed spud. Should be easy enough to make gluten-free version, by substituting cornflour for flour, although I might have to check with Cara regarding the stout which is used as the main flavouring agent (contains barley, according to the tin). Made enough for dinner for 2, and 2 lunches. [Note 11/11/2006: Checked with Cara yesterday - should be okay to serve to herself.]
• (p42) Veal Marengo - Quite good, probably improve with some salt. Goes quite well with crusty bread, less well with rice. Try making with the orange rind the next time (forgot this due to not reading the recipe properly).

FC Classic Essential Seafood:

• (p50) Seafood Chowder - Tastes okay, but very very filling and rich indeed. Given that this is a creamy soup, I'm going to need to remember to invite about a half a dozen people over the next time I make it, because it doesn't really improve with the keeping.

FC Comfort Food:

• (p6) Meatloaf - Works out quite well, tastes good. However, I might try this one with some of the home-made tomato sauce in the mix instead of red wine vinegar & sugar. Might work out better, and it's a way of using up that tomato sauce. One to keep in the repetoire.
• (p39) Slow-Cooked Shanks - Worked out quite well, although I don't have a single casserole which will fit 4 lamb shanks in it (had to split between 2 casseroles, one of which was a bit on the small side). One I'm able to share with Cara, so that's a good thing.

FC Favourite Asian Recipes:

• (p14) Green Chicken Curry - Another old favourite. This recipe has an interesting twist to it, in that the coconut milk is supposed to be pre-cooked rather than just adding it into the main pan cold. I can't see that it makes that much of a difference, to be honest. This is a fairly straightforward recipe, and turns out a very nice curry.

FC Healthy Eating Family Favourites:

• (p30) Tuna Casserole - Okay, the first substitution I made with this was that I put in salmon instead of tuna (tuna tends to be too dry and cardboardy for my taste). However, this recipe is one of a group of "healthy" versions of older favourites which seems to have forgotten the point of the original - in this case, Tuna Mornay. They've taken out all the possible fat, all possible salt, and the final result is a rather thin and tasteless substitute for the real thing. In this case, the cheese sauce has been substituted with milk and cornflour combined, with the cheese being reduced to 2 tablespoons of grated parmesan on the crumb topping. Look, the point of tuna mornay is that it's creamy, cheesy, and tastes good that way - it's not a dish you're supposed to have on a daily basis, so it's okay if it's a bit high in fat. I think I'll stick to the original version, rather than this pale copy.

FC Fast Family Meals:

• (p52) Pasta & Sausage Bake - This recipe appears to be optimised for a family of autocondimentors, as it came out a touch sweet for my liking. I may omit the sugar next time. Again, I think that I may have to try halving all the quantities, rather than just the meat levels, as I've got enough for a rather generous lunch tomorrow.

FC Jewish Recipes

• (p47) Veal Goulash - Nice enough, although it might be interesting to try without the yoghurt. With the yoghurt, it comes out very very watery.

FC Little Winter Cookbook

• (p28) Risotto Parmesan - Comes out very nice. Very salty, however, from the shredded parmesan. Definitely use low-salt chicken stock in the cooking, or it might be far too salty for tolerance. Steve liked it. Note to self: the flower-handled ladle is approximately 1/2 cup in volume (well, just under).

FC New Asian Cooking

• (p48) Stir-fried Chicken with Lemon Grass, Ginger and Chilli - very nice. Might try more rice, less stir-fry, as it came out rather strongly flavoured, and only made two meals. I liked it though.

FC Quick Short Recipe Cookbook:

• (p29) Macaroni with Cheese Sauce - easy to cook, and a nice variation on an old favourite. I added some leftover spring onions to the bacon and onion mixture, which seemed to work quite nicely.

FC Recipe Encyclopedia:

• (p439) Beef Stroganoff - halved the meat content, kept the mushrooms about the same.

FC Step-by-Step Cooking Italian:

• (p74) Beef with Prosciutto and Mushrooms - very rich. Incredibly rich. Had to vary the recipe a bit as I didn't have an oven-proof frying pan large enough for the steak, so I put everything into a casserole for the second stage of cooking. Took a while to get the steaks cooked, too. Works well with rice.

FC Step-by-Step Greek:

• (p52) Honey Lemon Chicken - very sharp flavour. Not too brilliant with baby potatoes, beans and broccoli - sauce is too sharp for these flavours. Can't taste the honey, too much lemon juice. Try increasing the amount of honey.

FC Step-by-Step Italian:

• (p44) Braised Chicken in Lemon, Garlic and Rosemary - nice easy recipe, simple enough to get started. Works well with steamed veges, surprisingly. Would probably work quite well with crusty bread and a salad to mop up the sauce as well.

FC Tapas

• (p40) Chorizo in Cider - nice and easy, quite spicy. Didn't have any paprika so I used half a teaspoon of chilli powder instead. Better with some good bread to sop up the juices. Used white wine vinegar instead of sherry (couldn't find sherry vinegar in the shops). Keep in repetoire, use as a bit around the edges for family gatherings.

FC Tastes of the Mediterranean Step-by-Step

• (p94) Afelia (Cypriot pork & coriander stew) - I think this is one I'd need to try on a more robust form of pork. As it was, the coriander and the red wine overwhelmed the flavour of the meat, and the whole thing just seemed a bit bleargh. I think it might work better on something that is a bit more flavoursome - maybe free-range pork.

FC Yum Cha and Asian Treats:

• (p44) Sweet and Sour Pork Spare Ribs - very very greasy when prepared as per recipe. I might try this one as a casserole. [Later note: even as a casserole, this comes out very greasy and very rich, almost indigestible. Skip it - I've enough different sweet & sour recipes that one more isn't going to be missed.]

WD Curry Lovers:

• (p62) Madras Beef Curry - a fairly straightforward recipe, just mix & stir. I added a carrot for extra bulk and pizzaz. Tasted quite good, if somewhat mild. Steve liked it.
• (p68) Chilli Pork - This is an old favourite, and I enjoy it mainly for the endorphin rush it provides. Steve doesn't enjoy it because it's main flavours are chilli and onion, neither of which he's fond of. It's very easy to do, basically a variation on a stir-fry, and it's got all the advantages of being easy to do when there's very little in the cupboard beside tomato sauce and onions.

WW After Work Cookbook:

• (p11) Sausage and Bean Hot Pot - Easy enough to do, basically sausages in onion gravy with a tin of baked beans added in. Might vary the flavour of the baked beans the next time I try it.

WW All-Time Favourites:

• (p15) Cottage Pie - I varied this one just a little, by putting a mashed potato topping on it rather than mashed kumara. Tastes very good, and is surprisingly easy to make. One to keep in the repetoire.

WW Basic Cookbook:

• (p58) Chicken and Yoghurt Drumsticks - Fairly bland. I may try leaving the drumsticks in the yoghurt marinade for a bit longer. Chicken also came out a tad undercooked, so it may need a little longer in the oven. This recipe doesn't really go with steamed potatoes and peas.

WW Best Ever Recipes:

• (p22) Herbed Beef - this one is a definite relic from the days when Australians couldn't recognise the word "multicultural" without a long runup. It's effectively a very anglicised version of Bolognaise spaghetti sauce, but with condensed tomato sauce rather than tomato paste or actual tomatoes. I think I'll let this one drop - I've got another two or three versions of it floating about in the back of my mind anyway.

WW Best Food:

• (p46) Mushroom Risotto - very nice. A bit salty (I may try it with low-salt vegetable stock next time) but aside from that, very pleasant to eat. Reheats well in the microwave, too.
• (p55) Steak with Redcurrant Sauce - I quite liked the sauce (a good way of using up that redcurrant jelly I've had sitting in the cupboard forever and a fortnight), and I did a variation on the veges with parmesan - used finely grated cheddar instead, and just left it available to be sprinkled onto everything. Worked well.

WW Best Recipes from the Weekly:

• (p60) Cheesy Bacon and Egg Slice - nice and easy, simple to make ahead for the next evening. Takes a bit longer to cook through in our oven than they say on the label - about 70 - 80 minutes all told.
• (p80) Sour Cream Carrot Cake - Nice recipe. I might try varying it a bit by substituting in half a cup of sultanas and half a cup of walnuts, so that I can get the taste of the ones that are sold in the shops (maybe 3/4 cup sultanas, 1/4 cut walnuts?). The frosting is nice and easy, and fun to make, however it only makes enough to ice one cake, while the recipe makes two cakes. Ah well, at least I've got enough bits & pieces over that I can make some more. Unfotunately, the recipe needs about another 5 - 10 minutes in our oven, as both cakes came out ever so slightly undercooked in the middle of the top. [Next try 23/06/06: Put in a cup of sultanas as well. There really isn't enough mixture for two cakes of the smaller kind, but there might be enough for one larger one, cooked for about an hour. Shall see how the whole business comes out when I ice them.]

WW Best Seafood Recipes:

• (p29) Poached Fish with Citrus Sauce - I tried this one with a piece of Nile Perch (cut into two pieces to serve the two of us). Turns out to be far from wildly exciting - especially with spuds and cauliflower as an accompaniment. Sauce could probably do with less orange rind - maybe only half the orange? May try a little dry mustard in the sauce next time.

WW Chinese Cooking Class:

• (p76) Beef Satay - This is a tried and true one, that I've done dozens of times. Best substitute I've come up with for satay sauce is (extra-) crunchy peanut butter, 1 teaspoon extra curry powder, and about a teaspoon of chilli powder to give it some oomph. One thing that is worth noting - it's a tad indigestible for me, mainly due to the high meat content and lack of other veges aside from onion. Remember to take the digestive bitters before eating.

WW Chinese Dinner Party:

• (p6) Barbecued Pork Spare Ribs - Didn't have any hoisin sauce, so I substituted in Chinese BBQ sauce insteead. Also changed method of cooking - opted for long slow cooking instead. This came out quite good, but wound up being rather rich. Note for next time - less rice - and possibly a bit of lemon juice in the sauce. Tried the leftovers the next day with lemon juice, which seemed to make a bit of a difference, certainly the sauce wasn't as actively rich as it had been. [Later note: tried this again with the hoisin sauce, added lemon juice (about 1 tablespoon) and the same method of cooking - came out quite well].

WW Cooking for Friends:

• Morroccan Lamb Shanks with Polenta and White Beans - this one took a while to get off the ground - mainly because I kept forgetting to soak the beans. However, that done (remember, Meg, beans soak in cold water, so that they fall apart in hot water), it's off to make it. And having made it, I shan't be making it again in a hurry. Polenta is boring, takes forever, has to be watched like a hawk, and turns out to be mush; the lamb overrides the spices, and the beans are tough. One to chalk up to experience, methinks. Oh, and don't serve it to friends.

WW Cooking for Two:

• (p31) Chicken and Vegetable Casserole - not particularly stellar, but certainly it's a nice simple dish to make, and easy to put together. Doesn't taste too bad.

WW Easy Spanish-Style Cooking:

• (p41) Garlic Chicken Pieces - Smells spicier than it is, and dead easy to do. Plus it tastes really good, and the quantity given makes enough for two meals for two people. Definitely one to keep in the repetoire. Might experiment with ways of cooking it all, though, as I'd like to see whether I can figure out some way of making a sort of sauce out of the marinade for serving with rice. [Followup later: works quite well also cooked as a casserole with an extra 2 tablespoons of white wine vinegar and another sliced onion. Serve with rice].

WW Finger Food:

• (p21) Mushroom Palmiers - this is a very easy recipe to make up (more time-consuming than difficult), and it reinforces my determination to have a few lots of these stacked in the freezer on hand, for entertaining friends or making up a quick meal. A tray of these each, plus a salad, would probably be all that would be needed in summer. The filling needs a little salt, but aside from that, it's a pretty good recipe.

WW Great Beef Cookbook:

• (p54) Beef Ragout - This turned out very well indeed. I served it with some cheesy mashed potato, and it came out absolutely delicious. Halving the quantity of meat, but not of veg provided enough for two people, for about two days. I varied the cooking somewhat by doing most of the pre-cooking in the frypan, as suggested, but switching to a casserole dish for the long simmering - set the oven to about 120 C, and it's pretty much a set and forget dish.

WW Great Cuisines Indian Cooking:

• (p20) Lamb Rogan Josh - definitely needs salt. Forgot to mix through the yoghurt, and forgot to add in the chillies at the right point, so may try again with those two inclusions to the mix. Other than that, not too bad.

WW Great Lamb Cookbook:

• (p32) Rosemary Lamb Sausages with Port Mustard Sauce - Okay, I suppose. Not massively spectacular, and definitely in need of a binding agent to help things tie together. Notes for the next time I try them: get fresh rosemary (had to use dried this time); try a beaten egg in the mix to bind; try halving quantity of garlic, as this got overpowering. The sauce is pretty good, although I'll have to remember to have the prep work done ahead of time, so I'm not trying to measure with one hand, stir with a second, and turn sausages with a third.

WW Hot & Spicy:

• (p64) Apricot Veal Casserole - Quite nice, although not as hot as I was expecting. More spicy than actually hot, and probably a pretty good meal to serve to curry virgins. Lots of dried fruit, strong Middle-Eastern/North African influence. [Later note: Picks up a lot of orange flavour in the freezer. If making this to freeze, make it without the orange rind.]

WW Italian Cooking Class:

• (p36) Puttanesca Pasta Sauce - another old favourite, it's nice and easy to make, and has just enough oomph (from the chilli powder) to provide it with that really filling touch. I usually serve it with spaghetti, although I suppose any pasta would work - it could probably also make quite a good pasta bake with a bit of macaroni stirred through, and some cheese on the top. It's a really easy recipe to make (as the name implies - the name, I think, translates to "Prostitute's Pasta Sauce") - the longest bit is cooking the spaghetti. Everything else takes about 10 minutes all up from go to whoa. Apparently the idea is that it's something that the lady of the night would prepare in between clients, so to speak.

WW Meals From the Freezer:

• (p24) Chicken Pancetta Ragout - Not too bad, although I may have to reduce the amount of liquid a little - possibly by adding some cornflour & water to the thawed mixture. Doesn't taste that bad, to be honest, although quite frankly it's not going to raise the roof. Keep in repetoire and experiment with it to see what can be achieved.

WW Mediterranean:

• (p18) Cheese and Spinach Pastries - I'm going to be substituting silverbeet for the English spinach in this recipe, which may or may not work. I hope it does wind up working out. Recipe didn't make as many pastries as it said it would - this may be due to my having rolled things up the wrong way, or possibly due to different brands of filo pastry. They seem to have worked out okay, though - although next time I may just take a bit more time to make certain that each corner is filled up.

WW Short Order Cook:

• (p70) Red Beef Curry - A good variation on a recipe I'd learned for chicken. One of these days I'm going to have to acquire a wok and a suitable stove for stir-frying, as the electric ones you find in most rental places just don't cut it. Used an entire small tin of curry paste (rather than just 1/4 cup) so it was probably a bit more strongly flavoured than planned, but it worked for me.

WW Sweet Old Fashioned Favourites:

• (p30) Florentines - Sweetened condensed milk is icky, sticky stuff, but the biscuits come out quite well. Crunchy and nutty. Note to self: try cooking them at about 350F rather than 375F, simply because at that temp, the ones on the bottom shelf come out burned on the bottom. Alternatively, watch 'em like a hawk all the way through the cooking process.
• (p101) Eccles Cakes - If using raw sugar rather than caster sugar, the mixture needs a couple of spoonsful of water to melt it. Try making the cakes themselves by using 1/8th of a sheet of puff pastry (1/2 of a quarter sheet) folded ends to middle before rolling - this should get rid of the 'orrible lump of undercooked pastry at the middle of the bottom. Try a bit less spice in the mixture, see if Steve likes them better. I quite liked them.
• (p108) Pumpkin Scones - Other folks liked them. I felt there was a touch too much nutmeg in the recipe - it was the only thing I could taste. Again, the ones on the lower shelf came out scorched on the bottom. Try again, I think, but this time with a bit less nutmeg and a bit more pumpkin.