review city part 2: recipes

I know I've abandoned my delicioso posts, but here's why... One: I REALLY don't like how the pictures of food turn out on a point and shoot. And two: I always forget to take pictures while I'm cooking. So I'm just gonna give my two cents on some recipes. My sweet dear friend Alison got me a subscription to Martha Stewart's Everyday Food and I attacked the first issue. I thought I should share my reviews of the recipes in there I've cooked up so far. I'll try to be brief and to the point.



#1 pork loin with pearl onions and apricots

I had never eaten a pearl onion before this and I don't really want to again. The recipe was successful in that the meat came out cooked and tender in the time instructed. However, you soak the pearl onions for 10 minutes before you peel them. Which is no big deal, what's an extra 10 minutes right? Well the problem wasn't the soaking time, it was the peeling time. The skins didn't come off easy at all and it was really tedious working with such a small stubborn onion. It ended up taking me about 20 minutes to peel those little guys. I did NOT like the taste of a pearl onion AT ALL. It was too harsh and not as sweet and savory as a cooked brown or yellow onion. I also just generally didn't like the flavor of the whole meal. I usually like apricots, but I didn't like the mixture of these flavors one bit.

Rating: B+ in instruction
D in flavor
C in time and ease
D in price (cause of the white wine)

#2 roasted red onion and squash pasta

Loved this one. So easy. You basically throw some veggies on a pan and stick them in the oven for 25 minutes, cook some pasta in the meantime, then mix together. Very tasty, very healthy and fresh, and very easy. The only items i didn't already have were fontina cheese and sage leaves. And you can basically adapt this and uses any other veggies you want with red onions and it would be just as tasty.

Rating: A in instruction
A- in flavor
A in time and ease
B+ in price


#3 potato-leek-fritatta

This was wonderful because of the leeks and the ricotta cheese. I had never cooked with leeks before, and I'm glad this recipe made me use them. They let you know what part of the leek you eat, and what part you don't eat. Excellent recipe.

Rating A in instruction
A in flavor
A in time and ease
A+ in price


#4 "simple crepes"...ham and egg crepe squares

I used the quotations above because the crepes were not simple. I did mess the recipe up at first, but even once i got it right, it was really hard to get a good crepe. I realized that crepe making is a skill not to be perfected on the first attempt. I wish the recipe would have given an insider tip on how to achieve a good crepe on the first try. But they were still tasty none the less and I will try to conquer the crepe with this same recipe, just not when I have company.

Rating: B in instruction
A+ in flavor
C in time and ease (cause they're not easy!)
A+ in price


#5 parmesan chicken with mushrooms and brussels sprouts

Great chicken. So easy and turned out perfect on the first try. Tasty chicken and tasty veggies. My favorite thing about this recipe was that it made me try brussels sprouts for the first time. Oh and I also realized that its' brusselS sprouts, with an S on the end, not brussel. And I liked brussels sprouts! Thanks Martha!

Rating: A in instruction
A- in flavor
A in time and ease
B in price


#6 mushroom and black bean tortilla casserole
Alright this was my absolute favorite recipe, and it is going to be one of those recipes I use over and over. It was extremely tasty, extremely. It's a casserole so you don't really need a side if you need to bring dinner to someone. And my favorite thing about it, besides the flavor, was that it doesn't have meat. I LOVE a meatless recipe that's just as filling as a recipe with meat. It's the dish you'll want to serve to others because it's kind of impressive, super easy, inexpensive, and yummy.
I do need to say that while I was cooking, I was unaware that Nate was eating nachos using the last of the salsa I needed for this recipe. So, I improvised and used my El Pato brand salsa de chile fresco and I think that's what really put the + on this A+ for favor.

Rating: A in instruction
A+ in flavor
A in time and ease
A in price


#7 pineapple and ginger smoothie

GREAT combo of flavors. The only thing you probably don't have is the ginger, which gives it the awesome bite that makes it so refreshing, and the plain yogurt. There are 7 other smoothie recipes in there and I made 2 out of 7. They were both excellent.

Rating: A in instruction
A in flavor
A in time and ease
B+ in price


#8 spice rubbed fish with lemony rice

Such GREAT flavor. A bit f a let down on the rice cooking though. I followed the instructions word for word and the rice came out crunchy. I'd never worked with basmati rice and I just trusted the recipe wouldn't fail me. I cooked it as instructed, and it still was crunchy. I cooked it longer, and longer, and longer, and longer, and it was still crunchy. I finally gave up after an hour and we ate our flavorful crunchy rice. The fish was awesome though. I used tilapia cause it was the least expensive.

Rating: C in instruction
A in flavor
C in time and ease (because of the rice fiasco)
B in price


#9 roasted chicken with chimichurri rub and couscous

I'd never made chimichurri on my own and this was a complete success. Making the chimichurri rub was quick and easy. You spread it on the chicken, stick it in the oven 30 minutes and your done. Awesome recipe in every way. And boy do I love chimichurri as much as I love saying chimichurri.

Rating A in instruction
A+ in flavor
A in time and ease
A in price


#10 Sriracha glazed-glazed chicken

I have never been a Sriracha fanatic only because I had never tried it. I will now be a fanatic, it has AWESOME flavor. This recipe, however, was kind of a dud. It looked so promising, but the glaze never turned glazey. The recipe said the sauce would thicken but it never did. It just stayed kind of watery. The flavor was great, and the chicken was tasty, but I feel like maybe some cornstarch got left out from the recipe or something. I would try this one again adding cornstarch cause the flavor was that good.

Rating: C in instruction
A in flavor
B- in time and ease
B- in price


#11 roasted potatoes with oregano and lemon

Really easy recipe, but too bland for my taste. I felt like I was eating diet food, and I don't like that feeling, it makes me mad. I think lots of people might like this recipe though. I don't like cottage cheese cause it takes like diet food and people tend to love cottage cheese, so you be the judge.

Rating: A in instruction
C in flavor
A in time and ease
A in price

If you want any of these minimal ingredient recipes leave me your email and I'll get them to you.