Thursday, June 3, 2010

recipe reviews

Before our trip I tried two new recipes. I'm finally getting around to reviewing them and posting photos.

The recipe: I like potatoes. I really, really like potatoes, so when I stumbled on this easy recipe for Crispy Smashed Roasted Potatoes, I just knew I had to bookmark it and make it someday.

The mods: I made several very small changes to this recipe: 1. I one-quartered the recipe, and the potatoes I used were a little large, I think. 2. I did not use parchment paper on top of the aluminum foil when I baked the potatoes, I simple put the potatoes on top of the aluminum foil layer. 3. I didn't cool the boiled potatoes completely before popping them into the oven. 4. My potatoes didn't seem to hold together when smashed quite as well as theirs did (perhaps because they were too large), so I didn't turn them over part of the way through cooking. 5. I finished them with a sprinkling of freshly grated Parmesan cheese just after they came out of the oven.

My impression: I loved them just as much as I thought I would! I ate up more than my fair share and could have eaten more if I hadn't been too full. I'm definitely keeping this recipe in my archives for future use.

The recipe: This recipe for Ginger-Lime Stir Fry looked intriguing, so I thought I'd give it a try.

The mods: Honestly, I tweaked this recipe so much, and so many things have happened between when I made it and now that I couldn't tell you all that I did to change it. The main changes, though, are that I used rice instead of noodles and lemon instead of lime. I think it is one of those good, recipes that are perfect for being played with and changed around every time it is made.

My impression: I used two tablespoons of fresh ginger when I made this, and it was very, very gingery. While we liked it very much (there were no leftovers), I think that next time I make it I will try decreasing the ginger a bit. We really enjoyed the flavor combination in this meal, and the number of vegetables it induces us to eat is excellent. I'm sure I'll be making it again.

2 comments:

jeanne @ Inspiring Ideas said...

Sounds like my hubby's smashed potatoes - except he does them on the grill, with a grill basket. Do you like sweet potatoes, too? We've kinda converted to those for the nutritional benefits ... and our kids really like them. :-)

schullerfamily said...

Made the potatoes last night. They got rave reviews from everyone. Kaleb ate them as a finger food, which I thought was fun and he LOVED them! Thanks for sharing them.