Lisa Combest
 Supporting Member (Click to learn more about Supporting Membership)
Living In: Humble, Texas, USA
Member Since: May 2009
Cooking Level: Expert
Cooking Interests: Baking, Stir Frying, Slow Cooking, Asian, Indian, Southern, Middle Eastern, Mediterranean
Hobbies: Sewing, Gardening, Fishing, Photography, Reading Books, Painting/Drawing, Wine Tasting
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Sep. 17, 2009 12:36 pm 
So, I just took a small job being and Examiner for Examiner.com.  I will get paid for writing reviews of north Houston restaurants, cafes, joints.  Now, getting paid is a relative term.  This isn't big bucks.  More like pennies a day, if I'm lucky.  As far as I can… MORE
 
 
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Cake with Sangria and Tea
Sangria, Cake, and Tea
Cake and Tea Anyone?
Orchid
About this Cook
I'm a working gal from South East Texas who really likes to eat, and cook. I also like to have friends over for fun and food. I enjoy wine and learning about wine. I'm starting to blog about my food adventures and just became a restaurant reviewer for Examiner.com.
My favorite things to cook
I like to cook comfort foods as well as Eastern and Central Asian food. I LOVE to cook gumbo too. I have also found that I like to bake and to decorate cakes. I didn't think that I would like to cook, when I was younger but I do now. I guess I have changed over the years.
My favorite family cooking traditions
Our family gumbo ROCKS. That's really my favorite food to cook. It's fast and easy. Living on the Gulf Coast, you gotta learn how to cook gumbo. I want to learn how to make my grandmother's dressing. That stuff is so good you would lick it off the floor if you dropped it.
My cooking triumphs
I think my best triumph so far has been eclairs as well as my first attempt at a fondant covered cake.
My cooking tragedies
Hmmm, can't really think of one. I guess that one reason I like cooking is that even when something doesn't come out, I don't consider it a tragedy as much as a learning experience.
Recipe Reviews 4 reviews
Spiced Butternut Squash Soup
We really like this recipe, especially as a jumping off point for our own take. We generally never completely follow a recipe, so I'm not going to hold that against it. The soup is a mellow, savory one that can stand up to a bit more spice, if that's your cup of tea. Best of all, my husband, who does not like squash LOVES this soup. This is one for the recipe box.

0 users found this review helpful
Reviewed On: Nov. 8, 2009
Thai Chicken Satay
My husband has used this sate several times now. It is YUMMY. We have tweaked it a little, since we like things more spicy than most folks, but over all, this is a great recipe. It works well on chicken AND beef. Beef is my fave. We serve it with his famous peanut sauce. Always a hit.

2 users found this review helpful
Reviewed On: Jul. 6, 2009
Marshmallow Fondant
I made this recipe this weekend. It was my first attempt at fondant. I decided to try this one since I've read that MMF can be more forgiving. I had a lot of fun making it and rolling it and playing with it. My husband even got into the action, but did not seem to relish it as much as I. When I rolled it out, I was very suprised at how easy it was. I had purchased a silicon rolling pin, so maybe that was some of it. I had dusted my counter with cornstarch as well, but I really thought that things would stick more. But, no worries. Cutting the shapes was good fun. I really started flashing back to my childhood, playing with play dough and such. So, fun recipe. Now to brass tacks. Although shows on Food Network make it look easy to cover a cake in fondant, it is NOT easy to smoothly cover a round, barrel shape with a flat piece of frosting. I tried to burnish it and stretch it and make it pretty and flawless but did not do so perfectly. I can see that a person needs to practice. So if you are a beginner, do not expect things to go easily and flawlessly the first time. Also, if you're going to stick on shapes or other decorations, have your water or butter cream on hand so that you can just reach over and get some "glue" when you need it. As for taste, this is a SWEET frosting. 1 lb of marshmallows and 2 lbs of sugar pretty much means it's going to be SWEET. It does however not taste as bland as other fondants I have eaten. I put in some extra vanilla flavori

4 users found this review helpful
Reviewed On: Jul. 6, 2009
 
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