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I haven't forgotten about this project; it hasn't even been lying dormant. I just haven't had a chance to write anything up for a while, leaving me with a backlog of about a dozen books to write up....
"Best Recipes: Hot & Spicy"
Still with the glossy checkout booklets. This one, I think was another hand-me-down from![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
umbran's mom. I hadn't actually even looked through it, figuring that it was just another space-occupier. On a first look-through, it's got a pretty wide range of recipes, at least, spanning different "cuisines." Unsurprising, since it was made to peddle various products from Tabasco to soy sauce.
I know the whole point of this project was to try new foods, but at this point I wanted something safe and comfortable, given that nothing else in my life falls into those categories, so we wound up making Rio Grande Quesadillas. I've made basic quesadillas before, but these had some variations on ingredients and seasonings that sounded interesting. And, to be honest, when we make them we usually take the easy way out and bake them in the oven (blasphemy, I know). So having a recipe that made us try to make them in the actual, appropriate stovetop way was interesting.
Unsurprisingly, they were very tasty. It's a fancy grilled cheese sandwich; it'd be hard to make not-good. But these were good enough to add to the make-again list, and it made enough filling for multiple meals. Always a good thing....
"Apple Orchard Cookbook," Janet M. Christensen and Betty Bergman Levin
This book was a gift, several years ago, from a friend who often goes apple picking with us. He knows that I always wind up with more apples than any human can reasonably use, and that part of the fun for me is coming up with new and interesting ways to bake with them. I know I've read through the book a few times, and I *think* I've tried a recipe or two from it before, but to be honest, my apple experiments tend to blur together over time.
It was hard picking and choosing between all the delicious-looking options, but I finally decided to make Apple Pound Cake - I've made plenty of pies and sauces and pastries, and a few different apple cakes, but this was something I hadn't tried before.
It is, however, something I'll try again. Rich and sweet and tart and moist, with just a hint of crispness at the edges, and a butterscotch glaze that is to die for on its own. Half of the cake went into the freezer, and the rest was devoured with speed and enthusiasm. And in the future, this book will be seeing much more use.
"Casseroles," Pillsbury Classic Cookbooks
One more glossy checkout-lane booklet, and then back to real books. This is another one that I actually bought myself - there aren't many, but there are a few. I remember that, on a quick glance-through, a bunch of the recipes looked interesting and useful.
Unfortunately, after getting it home and reading it through in more depth, they were neither. Finding something to make from here was a bit of a challenge, and eventually we wound up going with Low Fat Ham And Sour Cream Pasta just on the grounds that it let us use up a few pantry staples, and sounded fairly inoffensive if we used regular sour cream and kielbasa instead of low-fat stuff and canned ham.
It was... okay. Not bad. Kind of watery and a little low on flavor, but not an utter failure. This book, however, is at best less than useful. Win some, lose some....
"Best Recipes: Hot & Spicy"
Still with the glossy checkout booklets. This one, I think was another hand-me-down from
umbran's mom. I hadn't actually even looked through it, figuring that it was just another space-occupier. On a first look-through, it's got a pretty wide range of recipes, at least, spanning different "cuisines." Unsurprising, since it was made to peddle various products from Tabasco to soy sauce.I know the whole point of this project was to try new foods, but at this point I wanted something safe and comfortable, given that nothing else in my life falls into those categories, so we wound up making Rio Grande Quesadillas. I've made basic quesadillas before, but these had some variations on ingredients and seasonings that sounded interesting. And, to be honest, when we make them we usually take the easy way out and bake them in the oven (blasphemy, I know). So having a recipe that made us try to make them in the actual, appropriate stovetop way was interesting.
Unsurprisingly, they were very tasty. It's a fancy grilled cheese sandwich; it'd be hard to make not-good. But these were good enough to add to the make-again list, and it made enough filling for multiple meals. Always a good thing....
"Apple Orchard Cookbook," Janet M. Christensen and Betty Bergman Levin
This book was a gift, several years ago, from a friend who often goes apple picking with us. He knows that I always wind up with more apples than any human can reasonably use, and that part of the fun for me is coming up with new and interesting ways to bake with them. I know I've read through the book a few times, and I *think* I've tried a recipe or two from it before, but to be honest, my apple experiments tend to blur together over time.
It was hard picking and choosing between all the delicious-looking options, but I finally decided to make Apple Pound Cake - I've made plenty of pies and sauces and pastries, and a few different apple cakes, but this was something I hadn't tried before.
It is, however, something I'll try again. Rich and sweet and tart and moist, with just a hint of crispness at the edges, and a butterscotch glaze that is to die for on its own. Half of the cake went into the freezer, and the rest was devoured with speed and enthusiasm. And in the future, this book will be seeing much more use.
"Casseroles," Pillsbury Classic Cookbooks
One more glossy checkout-lane booklet, and then back to real books. This is another one that I actually bought myself - there aren't many, but there are a few. I remember that, on a quick glance-through, a bunch of the recipes looked interesting and useful.
Unfortunately, after getting it home and reading it through in more depth, they were neither. Finding something to make from here was a bit of a challenge, and eventually we wound up going with Low Fat Ham And Sour Cream Pasta just on the grounds that it let us use up a few pantry staples, and sounded fairly inoffensive if we used regular sour cream and kielbasa instead of low-fat stuff and canned ham.
It was... okay. Not bad. Kind of watery and a little low on flavor, but not an utter failure. This book, however, is at best less than useful. Win some, lose some....
