12/10/19

Page191

From Weight Watchers New Complete Cookbook

All critiquers liked it very much except me.

I found it bland, I would have to add spice to it if I were to make it again.

Page 164

From Weight Watchers Favorite Recipes

Chicken, Cheese 'n' Biscuits

Everyone liked this recipe even me

Page334

From Weight Watchers New Complete Cookbook

California Hummus Sandwiches

These were WOW!

Page 52

From Weight Watchers New Complete Cookbook

Italian Egg Drop Soup

Liked by all- likened to comfort food

Page295

From Weight Watchers New Complete Cookbook

Barley Leek and Rosemary Gratin

A big hit-Yum

Page 60

From Weight Watchers New Complete Cookbook

Cheese Crisps

Good

I probably should have let them brown a little more in the oven

Page 190

From Weight Watchers 50th Anniversary Cookbook

Soy-ful Scalloped Potatoes

Everyone liked them but me.  I just did not like the taste!

November
I used How To Cook Italian cookbook.

                 Page 82- Pasta E Fagioli

VERY GOOD

Page 359-Zucchini Casserole

VERY GOOD

Page 164- Baked Maccheroni

WOW

Page380-Swiss Chard with Olive Oil nd Lemon

VERY GOOD

Page 69- Tuscan Tomato Bread Soup

WOW

All together this is a really nice cookbook.  You should definitely try it.

10/11/2019
 PIES SWEET AND SAVORY - nice book and good recipes

                                    

Page226

Apple Tourte with Nuts and Raisins

               Taste was WOW                        

Page96

Chicken and Vegetable Pielets 

Taste was WOW

Page 197

Swedish Cheese Tart

Taste was a mixed review

1-WOW (me)

6-VERY GOOD

1-UGH

Page 184

Creamy Spinach Tart

Taste was VERY GOOD

(make sure the spinach and watercress are very dry)

INSTANT POT COOKBOOK 550 RECIPES FOR EVERY DAY- poorly written and recipes are sometimes repeated or left off without finishing only to find the whole recipe a couple of pages further.  Otherwise the recipes were good.

Page 391

Pumpkin-Spice Brown Rice Pudding with Dates

Taste was VERY GOOD

I did not care for this- too much Cinnamon for me

Page 300

Maple Mustard Brussel Sprouts

Taste was VERY GOOD

I wanted more of something, maybe some Parmesan cheese

September. , 2019

This month I am using Martha Pullen's Southern Family Cookbook

So far I have a slight problem with this cookbook.  It does not tell you how many servings each recipe is for.   A new cook would have a lot of trouble using it.

All recipes were easy to follow and not expensive to make.

Page 84

Bowl on left

Tangy Sweet Coleslaw

Taste was WOW

Page 89

Bowl on right

Strawberry Buttermilk Jell-O Salad

Taste was VERY GOOD

Page 68 

Bowl on left

Moldovan Cabbage and Tomato Soup

 Taste was VERY GOOD

Page 83

Bowl on right

Tabbouleh

Taste was WOW

Page301

Easy Cherry Cheese Pie

Taste was VERY GOOD

Page 26

Lemon Poppy Seed Mini Muffins

Taste was GOOD

These did not have a nice lemon flavor.  I would prefer to use real lemon juice and not lemon extract.

Page  178

Maw's Fried Chicken

Taste was VERY GOOD

Page 38

Sausage Cream Cheese Frippies

Taste was GOOD

I wanted more of a zip to them

Page 79

Broccoli, Bacon, and Raisin salad

Taste was WOW

The dressing made the salad

Ruby used Nigellissima by Nigella Lawson

Cookies on plate

Page 191-Aniseed Shortbread

Taste was WOW

Page 148- Instant Chocolate-Orange Mousse

Glass on plate

Taste was VERY GOOD

Ruby said she would use a deep narrow bowl to fold in the chocolate in order to stop the chocolate from solidifying.  Use a whisk instead of a spatula to fold in the chocolate.

 

Page 122-Caprese Salsa Zucchini with Sea Salt

Easy to follow recipe, not expensive and taste was GOOD.  I would recommend letting the tomatoes drain a while before putting in with the rest of the ingredients.  

Page 229- Traditional Hummus

Easy to follow, not expensive and taste was GOOD.  It needed more spice to me but everyone else loved it.

 

Page 57- Sunflower Granola Breakfast Parfaits

Easy to follow, not expensive and taste was GOOD.  I myself did not like the flax meal in the granola and I would put a little sweetener in the yogurt.

 

Page 191-Crispy Potato Chips

Easy to follow, not expensive and taste was WOW.  These were delicious.  However the next day they needed crisping in the microwave or oven.

Page 147- Strawberry Jam

Easy to follow, not expensive and taste was VERY GOOD.  This just needs more cooking time than recipe says.

Page 37-Buttermilk Biscuits

Easy to follow, not expensive and taste was VERY GOOD.  This recipe is very adaptable,you can add all kinds of spices.

July 18, 2019

No pictures at this session of Cookbook Recipe Critiquers 

I used Cooking Light Big Book of Salads

On page 47, Candied Walnut, Pear and Leafy Green Salad
Easy to follow, not expensive and taste was GOOD.   Everyone in our test group loved it.  I felt it needed more zing to the taste.  The candied walnuts were VERY GOOD though.

On page 51, Creamy Buttermilk-Herb Potato Salad
Easy to follow, not expensive and taste was VERY GOOD.  Again everyone in the test group loved it, even me.  It was not that good the next day though.

On page 106, Orzo Salad with Radish and Fennel

Easy to follow, not expensive and taste was GOOD.  Again a hit with the group, not so much with me.  I wanted more zing again. 

Ruby used Dutch Feast

On page 146, Yellow Rice
Easy to follow, not expensive and taste was VERY GOOD.  Every one loved the rice.

On page 159, Fried Plantains
Easy to follow, not expensive and taste was VERY GOOD.  Again everyone loved it.

We recommend both cookbooks.
 

June 20, 2019

I used Eat More of what you Love cookbook.
On page 149-Lime-Cottage Cheese Jell-O Salad

The recipe was easy to follow, not expensive to make and taste was VERY GOOD.

On page 174 Lazy Day Lasagna

This recipe was so easy, not expensive and taste was VERY GOOD.  The only thing I would do different would be to put paper towels under the lid.  The recipe got a little soupy. 

On page 190- Cajun Jambalaya Pasta

This recipe was easy to follow, not expensive and taste was VERY GOOD.  It was quite spicy so you may want to cut down on the cajun spice.  The recipe uses 5 teaspoons of spice.  I would also use some cornstarch to thicken the gravy.

I also did on page 219, Inside out Stuffed Mushrooms, page 204 Pizza Pasta Pie, page 265 Crispy Pork Scalloppini, page 312 Old Fashioned Chocolate Mayo Cake.  

All were easy to follow,not expensive.  

I did not care for the mushrooms, the pork was GOOD, the chocolate cake was GOOD and the pasta pizza pie was GOOD as long as you got pasta with the sauce on it.  The pasta was put in pie plate like a crust and the sauce and ricotta were put on top.  The edges of the pasta became crusty and hard.

On page 220, Sauteed Cabbage, Onions, and Apples

Recipe was easy to follow, not expensive and taste was VERY GOOD.  I personally would use a tad more vinegar.

On page 67, Chocolate Zucchini Bread

Recipe was easy to follow, not expensive and taste was GOOD.  I personally did not care for the odd tang of the orange zest in the recipe.  The next time I make it I will leave it out.

May 16, 2019

 

This month I used Indian Instant Pot Cookbook

The dish on the left front is Saffron Pulao on page 164.    The recipe was easy to follow, not expensive and taste was GOOD.

The dish on the right front Chana Masala om page 198.  The recipe was easy to follow, not expensive and taste was GOOD.

The pourable recipe is Ginger TumericLassi on page 48.  The recipe was easy to follow, not expensive and taste was GOOD.

A nice cookbook.  I did find that for myself the Cilantro overpowered the food.  Some of our group of tasters liked the food and some did not.  

You will have to try the recipes to see if you like the food or not.

We met on April 18, 2019

The top picture is what I cooked from Tastefully Small Savory Bites

 On page 88 I made Mac'n'Cheese Tomatoes-  easy to follow, not expensive and taste was WOW.
My only criticism would be that it is really hard to scoop out and fill the cherry tomatoes.  I would probably use plum tomatoes.

On page 126 I made Citrus crackers- easy to follow, not expensive and taste was VERY GOOD.

On page 72 I made Polka Dot Squares- easy to follow, not expensive and taste was NOTHING SPECIAL.  This could be very good if the frittata had some spice to it.  Everything was bland.

I would definitely  use this cookbook again.

Ruby used Martha Stewart Cakes

On page 100 she made Cinnamon Streusal Coffee Cake- easy to follow, not expensive and taste was VERY GOOD.

 Ruby had no suggestions to improve it.

March 21, 2019

sorry everyone I lost the pictures again

Ruby use The Oz Family Kitchen, Lisa Oz

On page 69 White Bean and Spinach Soup
On page 73 Creamy Red Lentil, Sweet Potato and Tomato Soup
On page 119 Asian Slaw with Ginger Dressing

I used Weight Watchers 50th Anniversary Cookbook

On page 32 Mushroom Barley Soup
On page 296 Mini Cheesecake Bites with Blueberry Topping

I also used Weight Watchers One Pot Cookbook

On page 40 Red Curry Tofu-Noodle Bowl

All recipes were easy to follow, not expensive and taste was WOW

The ladies of the fiber group loved them all and took home copies of all the recipes.

2/21/2019

Sorry but I lost the pictures for this meeting.  

I used Skinnytatse One & Done

On page 140 is the recipe for Turkey Cheeseburger Soup.
  It was easy to follow the recipe, not expensive to make and taste was WOW.

On page 132 is the recipe for White Chicken Chile with Hominy.
  It was easy to follow the recipe, not expensive to make and taste was WOW.

Ruby used Complete Cookery Baking Cakes , Puddings & Pastries

On page 120 is the recipe for Oat & Raisin Cookies
On page 126 is the recipe for Gingernuts
On page 128 is the recipe for Caraway Cookies

all were easy to follow , not expensive to make and taste was WOW.  

Everything we made went over with our Fiber Group as delicious and all took copies of the recipes home with them.

January 17, 2019

This month Ruby tried Perfect Pie and Tart cookbook.

The recipes were organized by name of recipe, included .chapters on equipment and ingredients, well structured table of contents, index and cross referencing. The ingredients and cooking instructions were well organized and easy to follow and the ingredients were not hard to find.  The cookbook had pictures of the finished recipe. 

Ruby used a recipe on page 11 called Apple Pie and concluded that the taste was UGH and thought that the recipe was not kitchen tested.

The next recipe she tried was on page 99 called Bavarian Blueberry Tart and concluded that the taste was NOTHING SPECIAL and felt the recipe was not well written.

  

Ruby would not use this cookbook again.

The recipes were organized by name of recipe, included .chapters on equipment and ingredients, well structured table of contents, index and cross referencing. The ingredients and cooking instructions were well organized and easy to follow and the ingredients were not hard to find.  The cookbook had pictures of the finished recipe.

I used Anne Byrn Saves the Day.  

I used a recipe on page 64 called Fast Asparagus Soup and concluded that the taste was NOTHING SPECIAL and felt the recipe just lacked depth.

The next recipe I used was on page 127 called Ann's Fresh Tomato Pie.  The taste was VERY GOOD.

I also did a repeat recipe on page 33 called Laurie;s Goat Cheese, Pesto and Fig Cheesecake.  The taste was WOW.

I have done this recipe before and the taste is always a WOW.

These recipes were tested by a lovely bunch of ladies in our Fiber Craft Meeting.  They all agreed with the above assessments of the recipes.

Cookbook Critique December 2018

Name of Cookbook- The Back in the Day Bakery Cookbook

1.How are the recipes organized?  Name of recipe
 

2.Does it include equipment and ingredients chapters?       Yes

3.Are the Table of Contents and index well structured?      No

4.Are the recipes cross-reference (I.E. does banana bread appear under bread and bananas)?    No

5.Are ingredients and cooking instructions well organized and easy to follow?    Yes
 

6.Does the recipe include hard to find or expensive ingredients?     No

7.Is the recipe in a step-by-step format or do you have to read the whole recipe to understand what must be done first?    Step by step
 

8.Do the recipes have pictures of what the finished recipe should look like?  Some 

Page 45  Brown Sugar Banana Bread
Page 20 Cinnamon Sugar Doughnut Muffins
Page 205 Sunny lemon Bars
All recipes  were NOTHING SPECIAL
 

Would you recommend this cookbook?   NO

Was the cookbook written for both novice and seasoned cook?  YES