Gwenniver
01-01-2001, 03:30 PM
I've been busy this November and December...I've been in a CL cooking frenzy for some reason. But anyway, here are the recipes I've been making and some reviews.
October 1998:
Pork with Potatoes, Apples, and Sour Cream-Cider Sauce
This is delicious! I ate the leftovers for lunch today. My husband loved it too... Only problem (I tried a letter to the editor on this one) is that the potatoes seem to take a heck of a lot longer than everything else (and longer than the recipe says) to cook. I'm wondering if I should be using new potatoes--I think I'll try that next time so I don't burn myself again checking to see if they're done! It's kind of a production to make, but well worth it.
Best of Cooking Light (one of those supplements):
Roasted Vidalias (don't know what issue originally)
These are amazing! Easy, can cook with other stuff (I made them as part of Christmas dinner) in the oven, and really low in fat/calories. Taste like my mom's stuffing without the bread. http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif
Spicy Pumpkin Bread (also in November 1998)
Good. Not amazing, but I'd probably make it again. I'd halve the recipe to make just one loaf unless you really like pumpkin bread or are planning to give one away.
December 2000 (sorry, the order's random as I pick up the magazine):
Spinach Calzones
Definitely going to be a staple for us, it tastes great. I chopped up the bell peppers really finely (with a PC chopper) so my husband wouldn't mind them, and liked them that way. It's very easy to make, makes good leftovers, and all the spinach defrosting and draining tips I picked up on this board worked just fine.
Lemon-Honey Drop Cookies
Also a staple, dessert-wise. I used lemon peel that comes in a bottle, like spices, which made it easier. I took them with me to Christmas dinner at my father-in-law's (6 people including us) and only 3 of the 32 went home with me. Very lemony!
Buttermilk Pancakes
Easy as pie (probably much easier; I've never attempted pie crust). It was my first time making pancakes (I usually stick to frozen waffles), and they turned out nice and round. Of course, in a non-stick skillet you can tuck batter splatters back under the pancake. http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/redface.gif Very good with syrup, my husband used powdered sugar too.
November 2000:
Herb-Roasted Turkey with Cheese Grits
This was Thanksgiving. I didn't make the grits because we like mashed potatoes, but the turkey was wonderful. It is kind of odd to find yourself wearing the turkey like a glove (to put the spices under the skin), but it turned out really moist and tender. Good thing, because I was cooking T'ksgiving dinner for Mom for the first time.
May 2000:
Spaghetti Pie
Not much to add to all the good reviews it's been given, because we loved it too. This one's a staple for us too. Good fall/winter supper.
April 2000:
Sour Cream-Lemon Pound Cake
Excellent! (Can you tell we like lemon desserts?) I accidentally cooked it for 30 minutes longer than I was supposed too (printing bobble on my copy of CL made 1 hour 10 look like 1 hour 40) but it still turned out well. Took this one to work and brought home 1 slice. It was my first pound cake (lot of firsts for my cooking this winter).
September 2000:
Ooey-Gooey Peanut Butter Brownies
Again, we loved these just like a bunch of the folks on the board did. Easy, yummy, I'll definitely make them again. A friend who didn't like peanut butter ate them.
August 2000:
Chicken Bruschetta
Can't claim to have made this by myself, since we made it at our first Supper Club meeting here in Southeastern VA, but I had to mention it because it was so good. I can definitely see a room full of cooks making this much easier, so if I make it myself (and eat it myself, DH isn't much on the veggies) I'll definitely prechop vegetables a day ahead, something like that. Good company dish, I think.
December 1999: Okay, here's my Christmas dinner, for the most part
Cranberry-Glazed Ham
Used applesauce instead of cranberry sauce since my husband doesn't like cranberries. Pretty much a normal ham recipe, just a little lighter. Might have been more memorable with the cranberry sauce, but it's not an especially different dish. I'd probably choose to try something new rather than make it again. My husband like it--but come on, it was ham.
Holiday Green Beans
These were scrumptious. Only problem, we (stepmother-in-law and I) evidently did something wrong when we were steaming them, because they took forever. (We were using a colander on top of a saucepan of boiling water.) We ended up finishing them in a wok with a smidgen of olive oil since we didn't want them as crispy as they still were. The sauce was great, though, and I guess I'd just stir-fry them next time (maybe even in a non-stick wok with olive oil Pam so there wouldn't be extra fat).
White Cheddar Potato Gratin
Very good. Easy to make (as long as your father-in-law peels and chops the potatoes http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/wink.gif ). The cheese sauce was good, and my husband ate them like they were going out of style. I'd make these again.
November 1999: (this was Thanksgiving and Christmas dessert)
Chocolate Cream Pie
Excellent! The sauce behaved just like it was supposed to behave, and I used a prepared reduced-fat graham cracker crust (not about to experiment with pie crust on a major holiday). Parents exclaimed over it and leftovers were polished off forthwith. Will definitely repeat.
Pumpkin-Maple Pie
Also got raves (from brother- and sister-in-law, parents-in-law). Again, I used a low-fat graham cracker crust from the store. Filling was very easy to make. The pie took a little longer to bake than the recipe specified; we just cooked it till it wasn't jiggly. This is now a traditional dessert, I've decided.
Classics (another supplement, not sure where to find these recipes otherwise):
Buttermilk Biscuits
Very good! Surprised how few WW points per biscuit. The recipe does make *exactly* 12 biscuits, so you'll be squishing the last one together by hand instead of cutting it. Good with buttter/spread and honey. I've already repeated these once.
Fudgy Chocolate Brownies
Also very good and surprisingly not bad for you. The mixture of sugar/chocolate/etc you make in a pan on the stove has a disturbing resemblance to kitty litter, and it doesn't look like 3 egg whites and 1 egg is ever going to make it liquidy enough for brownie batter, but trust and ye shall be rewarded. http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif The batter also bubbles while you're stirring it--again, kind of disturbing, but comes out great. This will probably be my main brownie recipe now.
Hash Brown Potato Casserole
Excellent! My husband's family had a traditional recipe for this that included an entire stick of butter (!). This is just as good (insofar as anything can be as good as a dish containing an entire stick of butter).
We've already repeated this one, too. Very easy to make--open containers, empty into pan, stir, cook, eat.
July/August 1999:
Mashed Potatoes
These were part of Pan Seared Sausage with Sweet-and-Sour Onions and Mashed Potatoes. I'd like to try the whole dish sometime, but I just made the mashed potatoes for Thanksgiving. Oddly good for containing no butter or butter substitute at all. I'd definitely recommend having them with gravy or a sauce; so if a recipe calls for "serve over mashed potatoes" or that sort of thing, I'd probably use these in future.
Buttermilk Biscuits and Buttermilk Pancakes are also in the 5 Star Cookbook.
Okay, that's it. Hope I didn't unload too obnoxiously, but almost all of these recipes should definitely be tried by as many people as possible.
Hope you all had good holidays. I had well-fed holidays!
October 1998:
Pork with Potatoes, Apples, and Sour Cream-Cider Sauce
This is delicious! I ate the leftovers for lunch today. My husband loved it too... Only problem (I tried a letter to the editor on this one) is that the potatoes seem to take a heck of a lot longer than everything else (and longer than the recipe says) to cook. I'm wondering if I should be using new potatoes--I think I'll try that next time so I don't burn myself again checking to see if they're done! It's kind of a production to make, but well worth it.
Best of Cooking Light (one of those supplements):
Roasted Vidalias (don't know what issue originally)
These are amazing! Easy, can cook with other stuff (I made them as part of Christmas dinner) in the oven, and really low in fat/calories. Taste like my mom's stuffing without the bread. http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif
Spicy Pumpkin Bread (also in November 1998)
Good. Not amazing, but I'd probably make it again. I'd halve the recipe to make just one loaf unless you really like pumpkin bread or are planning to give one away.
December 2000 (sorry, the order's random as I pick up the magazine):
Spinach Calzones
Definitely going to be a staple for us, it tastes great. I chopped up the bell peppers really finely (with a PC chopper) so my husband wouldn't mind them, and liked them that way. It's very easy to make, makes good leftovers, and all the spinach defrosting and draining tips I picked up on this board worked just fine.
Lemon-Honey Drop Cookies
Also a staple, dessert-wise. I used lemon peel that comes in a bottle, like spices, which made it easier. I took them with me to Christmas dinner at my father-in-law's (6 people including us) and only 3 of the 32 went home with me. Very lemony!
Buttermilk Pancakes
Easy as pie (probably much easier; I've never attempted pie crust). It was my first time making pancakes (I usually stick to frozen waffles), and they turned out nice and round. Of course, in a non-stick skillet you can tuck batter splatters back under the pancake. http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/redface.gif Very good with syrup, my husband used powdered sugar too.
November 2000:
Herb-Roasted Turkey with Cheese Grits
This was Thanksgiving. I didn't make the grits because we like mashed potatoes, but the turkey was wonderful. It is kind of odd to find yourself wearing the turkey like a glove (to put the spices under the skin), but it turned out really moist and tender. Good thing, because I was cooking T'ksgiving dinner for Mom for the first time.
May 2000:
Spaghetti Pie
Not much to add to all the good reviews it's been given, because we loved it too. This one's a staple for us too. Good fall/winter supper.
April 2000:
Sour Cream-Lemon Pound Cake
Excellent! (Can you tell we like lemon desserts?) I accidentally cooked it for 30 minutes longer than I was supposed too (printing bobble on my copy of CL made 1 hour 10 look like 1 hour 40) but it still turned out well. Took this one to work and brought home 1 slice. It was my first pound cake (lot of firsts for my cooking this winter).
September 2000:
Ooey-Gooey Peanut Butter Brownies
Again, we loved these just like a bunch of the folks on the board did. Easy, yummy, I'll definitely make them again. A friend who didn't like peanut butter ate them.
August 2000:
Chicken Bruschetta
Can't claim to have made this by myself, since we made it at our first Supper Club meeting here in Southeastern VA, but I had to mention it because it was so good. I can definitely see a room full of cooks making this much easier, so if I make it myself (and eat it myself, DH isn't much on the veggies) I'll definitely prechop vegetables a day ahead, something like that. Good company dish, I think.
December 1999: Okay, here's my Christmas dinner, for the most part
Cranberry-Glazed Ham
Used applesauce instead of cranberry sauce since my husband doesn't like cranberries. Pretty much a normal ham recipe, just a little lighter. Might have been more memorable with the cranberry sauce, but it's not an especially different dish. I'd probably choose to try something new rather than make it again. My husband like it--but come on, it was ham.
Holiday Green Beans
These were scrumptious. Only problem, we (stepmother-in-law and I) evidently did something wrong when we were steaming them, because they took forever. (We were using a colander on top of a saucepan of boiling water.) We ended up finishing them in a wok with a smidgen of olive oil since we didn't want them as crispy as they still were. The sauce was great, though, and I guess I'd just stir-fry them next time (maybe even in a non-stick wok with olive oil Pam so there wouldn't be extra fat).
White Cheddar Potato Gratin
Very good. Easy to make (as long as your father-in-law peels and chops the potatoes http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/wink.gif ). The cheese sauce was good, and my husband ate them like they were going out of style. I'd make these again.
November 1999: (this was Thanksgiving and Christmas dessert)
Chocolate Cream Pie
Excellent! The sauce behaved just like it was supposed to behave, and I used a prepared reduced-fat graham cracker crust (not about to experiment with pie crust on a major holiday). Parents exclaimed over it and leftovers were polished off forthwith. Will definitely repeat.
Pumpkin-Maple Pie
Also got raves (from brother- and sister-in-law, parents-in-law). Again, I used a low-fat graham cracker crust from the store. Filling was very easy to make. The pie took a little longer to bake than the recipe specified; we just cooked it till it wasn't jiggly. This is now a traditional dessert, I've decided.
Classics (another supplement, not sure where to find these recipes otherwise):
Buttermilk Biscuits
Very good! Surprised how few WW points per biscuit. The recipe does make *exactly* 12 biscuits, so you'll be squishing the last one together by hand instead of cutting it. Good with buttter/spread and honey. I've already repeated these once.
Fudgy Chocolate Brownies
Also very good and surprisingly not bad for you. The mixture of sugar/chocolate/etc you make in a pan on the stove has a disturbing resemblance to kitty litter, and it doesn't look like 3 egg whites and 1 egg is ever going to make it liquidy enough for brownie batter, but trust and ye shall be rewarded. http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif The batter also bubbles while you're stirring it--again, kind of disturbing, but comes out great. This will probably be my main brownie recipe now.
Hash Brown Potato Casserole
Excellent! My husband's family had a traditional recipe for this that included an entire stick of butter (!). This is just as good (insofar as anything can be as good as a dish containing an entire stick of butter).
We've already repeated this one, too. Very easy to make--open containers, empty into pan, stir, cook, eat.
July/August 1999:
Mashed Potatoes
These were part of Pan Seared Sausage with Sweet-and-Sour Onions and Mashed Potatoes. I'd like to try the whole dish sometime, but I just made the mashed potatoes for Thanksgiving. Oddly good for containing no butter or butter substitute at all. I'd definitely recommend having them with gravy or a sauce; so if a recipe calls for "serve over mashed potatoes" or that sort of thing, I'd probably use these in future.
Buttermilk Biscuits and Buttermilk Pancakes are also in the 5 Star Cookbook.
Okay, that's it. Hope I didn't unload too obnoxiously, but almost all of these recipes should definitely be tried by as many people as possible.
Hope you all had good holidays. I had well-fed holidays!