Peggy
10-26-2000, 11:54 PM
I finally broke down and purchased the Complete Cooking Light Cookbook, mainly because of all the terrific reviews I saw about it on this BB. I have been cooking from it the past two weeks and thought I would share my reviews of the recipes I have tried.
Beef and Broccoli with Oyster Sauce - I have tried many different recipes for Beef Broccoli over the years and I have to say this one will become one of my favorites. The sauce is delicious and the meat came out very tender.
Chicken Parmigiana - This was a very easy and good recipe. It went together in no time and we all liked it. I will make this again.
Marinated Orange and Strawberry Salad - Another good recipe. At first I was concerned that there would not be enough dressing for it, but while it marinated, the fruit juices from the oranges and strawberries mingled with the dressing and there was plenty. The cinnamon added a nice flavor. A repeater in my house.
Rosemary Chicken with Two Corn Polenta - This was not a favorite. There was just too much rosemary flavor on the chicken, though the polenta did help to mellow out the overall flavor of the dish. Will not make again.
Creamy Chicken and Rice Casserole - Very easy to make and delicious. A real comfort food for the autumn and winter. It disappeared at our house the first night! I used the precooked rotissere chicken breasts because I had them in the freezer. I also used a regular package of Rice Pilaf Rice-a-Roni because that's what I had in the cupboard. A great make-ahead dinner.
Marinated Tomato-Basil Salad - We still have tomatoes and basil in the garden so I decided to make this instead of my usual recipe for marinated tomatoes. It was wonderful! I added some shredded mozzarella cheese to the salad. Will definately make it again.
Honey Apple Glazed Cornish Hens - We were a little disappointed in this recipe. The "glaze" was very runny and didn't cling to the hens. I basted them faithfully but the flavor was subtle and almost nonexistent. My husband thought I had just baked the cornish hens plain! If I made this again I would probably use more honey or try to thicken the glaze in another way. Maybe marinate the hens ahead of time to get more flavor???
Wild Rice Apple Pilaf - I served this with the cornish hens. You actually are supposed to make the pilaf and then bake each hen half on top of a mound of the rice. The pilaf was excellent. It actually complemented the subtle hen glaze and made the dinner much more interesting tasting. I will make this pilaf again.
Grilled Salmon with Ginger-Orange Mustard Glaze - This was delicious. Quite simple to make also. A definate repeater.
Greek Salad with Feta and Olives - Another great CL salad. The oregano vinaigrette that is part of the recipe was very good and could be used with other salads. (I think someone else already reported favorably on this dressing).
Mixed Greens with Pears and Raspberries - I made this salad when it first came out in 1995 and loved. I remade it recently and still love it. Confession: I am partial to green salads that have fresh fruit in them so of course I would like this one too! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/biggrin.gif
Rosemary-Crusted Rack of Lamb with Balsamic Sauce - My husband requested rack of lamb for his birthday dinner. Instead of making my "usual" favorite, I decided to be daring and try this new one. It was great! We all loved the balsamic sauce. I will add it to my rack of lamb recipe collection.
Roasted Garlic Potatoes - I served these with the rack of lamb. The were OK but nothing fantastic. They were in need of some herbs. I added some chopped parsley from the garden for color but it was not enough. I have several oven roasted potato recipes that are much better, so I won't make this one again.
Well, that's the rap-up of my latest culinary experiments! Overall, I am very pleased with the Complete CL Cookbook. One reason I was hesitant to buy it was because I have the last four CL Annual Recipe Cookbooks and I was concerned about too much duplication. That does not appear to be a problem.
I'll be looking forward to seeing additional reviews on recipes from this new cookbook.
Peggy
[This message has been edited by Peggy (edited 10-27-2000).]
Beef and Broccoli with Oyster Sauce - I have tried many different recipes for Beef Broccoli over the years and I have to say this one will become one of my favorites. The sauce is delicious and the meat came out very tender.
Chicken Parmigiana - This was a very easy and good recipe. It went together in no time and we all liked it. I will make this again.
Marinated Orange and Strawberry Salad - Another good recipe. At first I was concerned that there would not be enough dressing for it, but while it marinated, the fruit juices from the oranges and strawberries mingled with the dressing and there was plenty. The cinnamon added a nice flavor. A repeater in my house.
Rosemary Chicken with Two Corn Polenta - This was not a favorite. There was just too much rosemary flavor on the chicken, though the polenta did help to mellow out the overall flavor of the dish. Will not make again.
Creamy Chicken and Rice Casserole - Very easy to make and delicious. A real comfort food for the autumn and winter. It disappeared at our house the first night! I used the precooked rotissere chicken breasts because I had them in the freezer. I also used a regular package of Rice Pilaf Rice-a-Roni because that's what I had in the cupboard. A great make-ahead dinner.
Marinated Tomato-Basil Salad - We still have tomatoes and basil in the garden so I decided to make this instead of my usual recipe for marinated tomatoes. It was wonderful! I added some shredded mozzarella cheese to the salad. Will definately make it again.
Honey Apple Glazed Cornish Hens - We were a little disappointed in this recipe. The "glaze" was very runny and didn't cling to the hens. I basted them faithfully but the flavor was subtle and almost nonexistent. My husband thought I had just baked the cornish hens plain! If I made this again I would probably use more honey or try to thicken the glaze in another way. Maybe marinate the hens ahead of time to get more flavor???
Wild Rice Apple Pilaf - I served this with the cornish hens. You actually are supposed to make the pilaf and then bake each hen half on top of a mound of the rice. The pilaf was excellent. It actually complemented the subtle hen glaze and made the dinner much more interesting tasting. I will make this pilaf again.
Grilled Salmon with Ginger-Orange Mustard Glaze - This was delicious. Quite simple to make also. A definate repeater.
Greek Salad with Feta and Olives - Another great CL salad. The oregano vinaigrette that is part of the recipe was very good and could be used with other salads. (I think someone else already reported favorably on this dressing).
Mixed Greens with Pears and Raspberries - I made this salad when it first came out in 1995 and loved. I remade it recently and still love it. Confession: I am partial to green salads that have fresh fruit in them so of course I would like this one too! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/biggrin.gif
Rosemary-Crusted Rack of Lamb with Balsamic Sauce - My husband requested rack of lamb for his birthday dinner. Instead of making my "usual" favorite, I decided to be daring and try this new one. It was great! We all loved the balsamic sauce. I will add it to my rack of lamb recipe collection.
Roasted Garlic Potatoes - I served these with the rack of lamb. The were OK but nothing fantastic. They were in need of some herbs. I added some chopped parsley from the garden for color but it was not enough. I have several oven roasted potato recipes that are much better, so I won't make this one again.
Well, that's the rap-up of my latest culinary experiments! Overall, I am very pleased with the Complete CL Cookbook. One reason I was hesitant to buy it was because I have the last four CL Annual Recipe Cookbooks and I was concerned about too much duplication. That does not appear to be a problem.
I'll be looking forward to seeing additional reviews on recipes from this new cookbook.
Peggy
[This message has been edited by Peggy (edited 10-27-2000).]