October 19, 2017

We had a guest taster today.  Her name is Audrey and we hope that she will join us in cooking recipes and then critiquing them.

Ruby used Week Night Wonders cookbook.

Page 32- Sweet and Savory Carrot Salad with Orange and Dates-(Front middle cup)-  recipe was easy to follow, not expensive to make and taste was a unanimous GOOD.  Audrey suggested using baby carrots instead of full grown carrots for a more consistant taste.

Page 68- Shot Gun Wedding Soup-(Left Back blue and white bowl)-  easy to follow, not expensive and tatse a unanimous VERY GOOD.   Audrey suggested that the spinach leaves be cut in bite size pieces and I agree with that.

Page 283-Two Minute Coconut Sherbert-(front left cup)- easy to follow, not expensive and taste was not unanimous.  Ruby said WOW, Audrey said VERY GOOD and I said GOOD.

Ruby will use this cookbook again, she really likes it.

I used The Complete America Test Kitchen TV Show Cookbook.

Page 301-Pasta Alla Norina-(bak right bowl)- easy to follow, not expensive and taste was a unanimous VERY GOOD.

Page 416-Beef Empanadas-(back middle dish)- easy to follow, not expensive and taste was not unanimous.  Ruby said VERY Good, Audrey said VERY GOOD and I said GOOD.  Audrey liked it because it was not so spicy, I said it needed more spice.

Page 477- Indian Flatbread-(front right dish)- easy to follow, not expensive and taste was not unanimous.  Ruby said WOW, Audrey said VERY GOOD and I said VERY GOOD.  You need to plan ahead if you want to amke this recipe and I would add a litttle salt.  

I would use this cookbook again.

September 21, 2017

I used the Brown Eggs and Jam Jars Cookbook.  I really liked this cookbook
The recipes I tried were:

1. Page 95- Quick Pickled Ginger Baby Carrots-
                    Easy to follow, not expensive to make but the taste was NOTHING SPECIAL for me.  Too much vinegar taste.  I would not use this recipe again unless I tweeked it.  It was very simple to make.

2. Page 225- Honey Ginger Sweet Potato Puree-
                     Easy to follow, not expensive and taste was VERY GOOD.   It did seem a little to wet but the taste was so good that I did not mind the wetness.

3. Page 301- Homestead Homemade Yogurt-
                     Easy to follow, not expensive and taste was VERY GOOD AFTER I DRAINED IT IN CHEESECLOTH OVERNIGHT.  This recipe was a pain in the neck to make for an impatient person, which I am.  The milk had to be heated very slowly to 180 degrees and then cooled to 110 degrees.  This took over an hour.  The yogurt in the beginning was very mild so I took the hint on the page and drained it overnight.  The taste was much better.  I added blueberries when we were tasting it.

I will use this cookbook again.

We're back after a three month hiatus.  Our meeting was on August 17th.  I decided to use the Prairie Home Cooking cookbook and did three recipes from it. 

The first one (top left) was Honeyed Carrot-Ginger Marmalade.  the recipe was easy to follow and did not cost a lot to make.  Grating the carrots and ginger was a real pain in the neck.  The cookbook said you could cook the marmalade in a slow cooker.  I did that and the the taste was Good but the marmalade needed a thickener.

The second recipe (top right) was Pasta with Tomato Sauce Simmered with Pork.  Again the recipe was easy to follow and did not cost a lot to make.  Taste was Good but I like a thick sauce with my pasta and this was not a thick sauce and it needed salt.

The third recipe(bottom center) was Irish Potato Griddle Scones.  Easy to follow and not expensive to make.  Taste was Nothing Special, it needed salt and pepper.

Ruby used A Taste of the Tropics cookbook.  She tried two recipes. 

The first (left side of plate) was mango Cobbler.  The recipe was easy to follow and not costly.  Taste was Good but she would add almonds to the crust.

The second(right side of plate) was Fried Plantains.. Again easy to follow and not expensive to make.  Taste was Very Good and she would not change a thing to the recipe.

April 20, 2017

The top picture  is food made from Food Everyday Cookbook and Ruby cooked the five dishes.  They were:
1. Top of picture-Lemon Thyme Dip- Easy recipe to follow, not expensive and taste was VERY GOOD.
2. Middle left of picture-Sweet Potato Wedges- easy to follow, not expensive and taste was VERY GOOD.
3. Middle of picture-Rice Salad and Sides- easy to follow, not expensive and taste was VERY GOOD.
4. Bottom middle of picture- Hot Spinach Dip- easy to follow, not expensive and taste was VERY GOOD.

The middle right picture is toasted breads for dipping.

I used  Baking with Less Sugar
 1. Banana Bread-left of left picture- easy to follow, not expensive and taste was NOTHING SPECIAL.
2. Rasberry Yogurt Ice Cream-Right in left picture- easy to follow, not expensive and taste was GOOD.
3. Super Snappy Gingersnaps- left of right picture- easy to follow, not expensive and taste was NOTHING SPECIAL.
4.  Double Chocolate Whoopie Pies- right of right picture-easy to follow, Expensive to make and taste was between UGH and NOTHING SPECIAL.

March 16,2017

We had a feast this month.  Ruby cooked Sour Cream Corn Bread, Roasted Red Pepper Hummus, Parmesan Kale Chips, Baked Farro and Butternut Squash and Blueberry Bran Muffins from ina garten make it ahead cookbook.

All the recipes were easy to follow and were not expensive.  Ruby gave a rating of GOOD to all but the Roasted Red Pepper Humus.  She gave that a rating of NOTHING SPECIAL.  She commented that the cookbook had a nice layout and that the Kale chips smelled awful but tasted good.

Cost per recipe is as follows:

Corn Bread- 2 loaves cost $5.24
Kale chips-serves 6- $9.98
Baked Farro and Butternut Squash-serves 6-8- $12.96
Blueberry Muffins-12 large muffins-$12.22
Roasted Red Pepper Hummus-$7.63

I cooked Granola bars, Bulgar Salad and Chicken Mac and Cheese using the Eat Well Lose Weight cookbook.

All recipes were easy to follow and not expensive.  The Granola Bars and the Bulgar Salad were VERY GOOD and the Chicken Mac and Cheese was NOTHING SPECIAL.

Cost per recipe is as follows:

Granola Bars- 18 servings-$6.21 ( I did have some of the ingredients on hand and did not figure in                                                   the cost for them, the ingredients I bought had more than I needed)
Bulgar Salad-6 servings at two wraps each- $17.89
Chicken Mac and Cheese-5 servings-$22.98

 

Ruby used Deliciously Ella:

1. Warm Wild Rice Salad-Easy, not expensive and tasted GOOD

2.Easy Roast Veggies-easy, not expensive and tasted VERY GOOD

3.Creamy Polenta-easy, expensive and tasted GOOD

4.Beet Carpacio-easy, not expensive and tasted WOW

5.Creamy Coconut Porridge-easy, not expensive and tasted WOW

 

 

Caitlin used Pillsbury Best of Bake Off  

1.Chocolate Dream Pie-easy, not expensive and tasted VERY GOOD

She said it could have been more explicit on what to do with the heavy cream

2. French Silk Chocolate Pie-easy, not expensive and tasted VERY GOOD

 

Barbara did Cooking for Two

1. Tortellini Stew-easy, not expensive and tasted GOOD

2. Pear, ginger Bread Pudding-easy, expensive and tasted VERY GOOD

I think that the crystalized ginger needs to be distributed better.  It tends to fall to the bottom of the custard mix and then when you pour ti on the bread it falls in one spot.

We met on February 16, 2017