Misc. March Reviews

[Nanci]

Last weekend, I made Kamut Spirals with Chicken-Artichoke Wine Sauce and it was pretty good. Next time, I may add a bit more garlic because it needs more flavor. Has anyone else doctored this recipe?

I also made the Mac and Cheese with roasted tomatoes which was good but not great. I thought it took forever to grate all the cheese. Is there an easier way to grate the cheese? Anyone try a food processor? Perhaps a box grater is easier? The fontina is soft and it kept breaking off.

Also any hints on searching? I added my Ribolitta review to that post but didn't find any reviews for the Kamut recipe.

Thanks

Nanci

[Linda in MO]

I thought it took forever to grate all the cheese. Is there an easier way to grate the cheese? Anyone try a food processor? Perhaps a box grater is easier? The fontina is soft and it kept breaking off.

I love my Salad Shooter for grating cheese! :cool: I just recently ordered a new one to replace my worn out one that I've had for almost 15 yrs. I've never grated fontina though.

[Seattlejo]

These are the ones i've done so far <a href="http://seattlejo.typepad.com/cooking/"> From my blog </A>

Provençal Deviled Eggs : Rating 1.5 -2 stars out of 5.
These were deviled eggs stuffed with herbs de provence, capers, olives, mayo, and mustard.
Now i'll admit i did fail the recipe here, i didnt have herbs de provence, and wasnt going to drop $7 for a smal jar. (I could have gotten a full cup worth from World Spice for $2.25) The review on these? Aron found them too salty. Leah and I thought they were ok enough to eat, but i wont make them again.


Pesto Chicken Salad. 4 stars out of5.
this was a pesto chicken salad with yogurt, mayo , pesto, toasted walnuts, all served on a foccaia bread. it was easy to make and pretty tasty, though Leah and i felt it was missing someting. i was thinking bacon might add some smokeyness and make it more complete. we'll make this again and it might go into the regular rotation.

Garden Style Lasagna 3-3.5 out of 5
This would have gotten a 4 had the Lasagna had more time to cook. (so 3 points to the chef for trying to make Lasagna on a week night) This was pretty good, it was a mixture of veggies sauted , then layered with noodles, cottage cheese mixture, and a spinach sauce. in my opinion it was the spinach sauce that made the dish awesome. it was a simple bechmal without butter. that is flour with milk cooked, add cheese, spinach and spices. A simple simple white sause. i think that the next time i make Tuna casserole i'm going to use this sauce. i will be making this again, on a weekend, and freezing a second or third.
I'll also add different vegetables. We missed mushrooms in this one.

Skillet Paella was up first I rushed home after work. Chopped onions, celery, chicken. Sauteed onions in my large skillet, added mushrooms, celery, cooked for a bit then tossed in the chicken and rice. Cook for a few more minutes add hot broth, shrimp corn and cooked spinach. Cook until rice is done.

I ran out of the house the minute this was done, and came home to a skillet with about a quarter left. It was tasty enough to go into the lunchbox and for dinner that night, It rated a 3.5 -4 stars

Recipe Number two was Goulash. This was one of the issues crock pot recipes, which I will be relying on for the evenings when I am at school. As I was making this I kept thinking, will this be good? Sadly the answer was , not really. A sauce made from worchestershire and catsup with paprika and garlic for flavoring. Again, I leave the peppers out, but followed it the rest of the way. The recipe made a huge amount, overfilling my crock. The family said it was a 2.5 and it will not be made again. I have a ton left over, and will be making little pot pies with it. Hopefully those will go over well.

Three-Cheese Chicken Penne Florentine. It took a little longer to make then I might have liked. I started with precooked pasta when i got home (Aron cooked it up) and I had too cook the chicken before I got to the veggies.
The reviews were fairly good. Leah said she would have liked it better had we not had lasagna earlier in the week. Aron gave it a very high rating of 4.5! this is going in my book to make again.

[Peggy]

Nanci - Thanks for the review on the Kamut Spirals. I don't remember even seeing the recipe in the magazine!

Deborah - Thanks for the heads up on the Goulash. I also use the crockpot a lot when I have night classes. Enjoyed all the reviews as I haven't tried most of those recipes.

Peggy

[Seattlejo]

Tonight was the Sate and the coconut rice. I'll be trying reviewing it later.

The problem with the goulash was that it was more stew then a real goulash. Ahh well.

[Seattlejo]

Chicken Sate Marinated chicken, cooked in the broiler served with peanut sauce.
Yum. we like peanut sauce at my house. Peanut butter noodles are a favorite of the household, and we often add chicken to the mix. I'm also a fan of veggies with peanut sauce. So this recipe seemed like a shoe in. A simple marinade of onions, spices and hot sauce, then broiled for twelve minutes. Stir peanut butter, hot sauce, lemon juice, water and soy sauce together and you have peanut sauce.

Sounds simple right? It's delicious. Leah asked "Is this a cooking light recipe?" Yes yes it was. "We should make this again" (4- 4.5 stars)

Sadly the Toasted coconut rice was a disappointment. i opted to use a non sweetened shaved coconut, because I couldnt imagine the sweetened coconut. all in all, the dish just didnt have much flavor to it. I wont be making it again. (2 st