Butternut Squash Risotto

Reviewed: Dec. 16, 2009

a fabulous, simple risotto. followed to the letter, except for roasting the squash rather than steaming it, using olive oil instead of butter, and using pecorino romano rather than parmesan, only b/c i'm allergic to cow's milk (real 'romano' is sheep!). wonderful recipe, thank you!

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Diana Moutsopoulos

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA

Living In: London, Greater London, England, U.K.

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Gingerbread Biscotti

Reviewed: Dec. 16, 2009

These are sooo yummy! As others, I substituted (same amount of melted)butter for oil and shortened the first baking time to 15 mins! Perfect! The lovely, spicy christmas smell in the whole house is a bonus!!!

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love to cook

Cooking Level: Expert

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Chocolate Strawberries

Reviewed: Dec. 16, 2009

I looked at the pictures of the little Tuxedo strawberries and thought they looked adorable but difficult to make. I wanted them to finish off my husband’s birthday cake. Firstly I made sure the strawberries were at room temperature and dry before proceeding. I used chocolate bark as I always find it easier to deal with. I brought myself an electric fondue and its perfect for this job, it really did make it so much easier. Whenever I have used a double boiler in the past, I always found it difficult to work with. These tasted just gorgeous and now I know how easy they are to make I will be making these all the time! *Note* The only thing I will say is to use the day they are made, I stored mine in the fridge overnight and they became very wet and full of condensation. Ok but not as good as the day before!

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apple.strudel

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Bakewell, Derbyshire, England, U.K.

Living In: Naperville, Illinois, USA

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Chocolate Cavity Maker Cake

Reviewed: Dec. 16, 2009

This cake is totally delicious, I used the recipe to make a birthday cake for my husband, who was just so impressed! The only difference was that I used applesauce instead of the oil, I lightly greased the Bundt pan and then finished with a sprinkle of cocoa powder before adding the mixture to the pan. I baked for the 1 hour stated, and the cake was cooked to perfection. Finished with chocolate glaze and chocolate dipped strawberries. Yes so much chocolate, but it was so decedent, you would be hard pressed to find a better chocolate cake. Enjoy!!!

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apple.strudel

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Bakewell, Derbyshire, England, U.K.

Living In: Naperville, Illinois, USA

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Satiny Chocolate Glaze

Reviewed: Dec. 16, 2009

Very easy to make, used the exact ingredients only changes was that I made this in my electric fondue. Will certainly be using again. Thank you for sharing.

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apple.strudel

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Bakewell, Derbyshire, England, U.K.

Living In: Naperville, Illinois, USA

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Crusty French Bread

Reviewed: Dec. 16, 2009

This was the first loaf of bread I have ever kneaded by hand. I doubled the ingredients so that could make two large baguettes. I started making this in my kitchenaid, but during the kneading process it really started to groan, not wanting to cause any damage to be beloved machine I decided to continue by hand. The dough did feel a lot more dense than any other bread dough I have made, but I am no expert. I was a little concerned when the baguettes were on the baking tray, as they had not risen quite as much as I expected, I decided to put in the over anyway. I need not have worried the bread was just the right size when it came out and the bread made beautiful sandwiches, the inside was just perfect. I was a little disappointed that the crust was not as crunchy as expected, and to be honest a little soft. It was still a good baguette, I will just have to master my own technique on how to make the bread as crusty as the baguettes I was brought up on in France!

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apple.strudel

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Bakewell, Derbyshire, England, U.K.

Living In: Naperville, Illinois, USA

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Garlic Bread Mama Rita's Way!

Reviewed: Dec. 16, 2009

Excellent garlic bread! Would make again

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christophersmom

Cooking Level: Intermediate

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Pumpkin Pancakes

Reviewed: Dec. 15, 2009

These were SO delicious. I was afraid they might be heavy due to the pumpkin, but they were instead light and fluffy. I followed the recipe to the letter, so I really recommend not changing a thing! Lovely recipe

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Diana Moutsopoulos

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Green Bay, Wisconsin, USA

Living In: London, Greater London, England, U.K.

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Cajun Chicken Pasta

Reviewed: Dec. 15, 2009

Very quick and simple recipe, I thought the Cajun flavor was a little light, next time I may add a little more. Just needed something to give it a bit more of a kick, but good basic over all recipe. Just needs a little tweaking!

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apple.strudel

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Bakewell, Derbyshire, England, U.K.

Living In: Naperville, Illinois, USA

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German Chocolate Cake Frosting II

Reviewed: Dec. 15, 2009

Amazing! Like others, I used butter instead of marg, and also added a little cornstarch to thicken. I'm no frosting expert, but this was some of the best I have ever tasted. Thanks, Carol!

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Caroline C

Cooking Level: Expert

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Penne with Spicy Vodka Tomato Cream Sauce

Reviewed: Dec. 14, 2009

If I could give this recipe more than five stars I truly would. It is restaurant quality, in fact it is just as good as the Vodka tomato sauce I adore at Maggiano’s restaurants in Chicago and Naperville. I did make a few changes, not because the recipe required it, but basically to allow for my own pantry ingredients. I used chopped diced tomatoes, not crushed and used Gnocchi as my pasta of choice. I also used a griddle to cook the sausage so managed to cut out the ¼ cup of olive oil, once cooked I added the sausage, garlic, tomatoes, red pepper flakes to a dry skilled and followed the rest of the recipe as written. This really was one tasty meal. Thank you for sharing!!!

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apple.strudel

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Bakewell, Derbyshire, England, U.K.

Living In: Naperville, Illinois, USA

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Cream Cheese Cookie Cups

Reviewed: Dec. 14, 2009

I just love this little bite size dessert. So easy and very quick to make. I used the dough straight out of the refrigerator and rolled it in my hand to make it a little more palpable. I used the palm of my hand to flatten this on to a pastry sheet, I found it easier they to line the bottom and sides of the muffin pan. I baked for just 8 minutes. To the cream cheese mixture I added a ¼ cup of thick cream, which did make it easier to pipe. I noticed that some reviewers had problems removing the cookies from the pan, I didn’t grease the pan at all, and had no problems with removing the cooled cookies, in fact they came away from the muffin pan with ease. This is a good basic recipe, and the possibilities to try these in different flavors are endless.

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apple.strudel

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Bakewell, Derbyshire, England, U.K.

Living In: Naperville, Illinois, USA

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Cracked Sugar Cookies I

Reviewed: Dec. 14, 2009

SIMPLY THE BEST!!! I followed the recipe to a T and they were awesome! Still soft and chewy a few days later. Mine spread a bit and wound up pretty thin. I might refrigerate the dough for an hour next time to minimize the spreading. They taste great though and cracked beautifully. My husband thought they were store bought they were so good. Will definitely make this again any time I am hankering for a real sugar cookie!

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Lysa

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Living In: London, Greater London, England, U.K.

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Toasted Garlic Bread

Reviewed: Dec. 13, 2009

Ok, don't think I will be making again in any hurry. Not sure I liked the mix of olive oil and butter. If I was to make again, I would lightly toast the underside of the bread first and just use olive oil.

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apple.strudel

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Bakewell, Derbyshire, England, U.K.

Living In: Naperville, Illinois, USA

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Apple Squares

Reviewed: Dec. 13, 2009

Oh these are delicious, sweet but delicious. I love the fact they are made from basic store cupboard ingredients. I missed out the walnuts, because I am not fond of them and used a cup of apples, simply because I used the one apple I had left. Very moist and tasty, next time I think I will make a double batch so that I can have thicker bars.

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apple.strudel

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Bakewell, Derbyshire, England, U.K.

Living In: Naperville, Illinois, USA

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Favorite Old Fashioned Gingerbread

Reviewed: Dec. 13, 2009

I've make this cake several times, I doubled the spice as others suggest. The only change I made was to use eggnog instead of hot water (I needed to use some up). This cake improves over a few days becoming wonderfully moist. Thanks Charles

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KimB

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Living In: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

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Orange Blossom Trifle

Reviewed: Dec. 13, 2009

A nice change from the usual trifle I make. I layered it differently, cake, fruit and then the custard and decorated the top with chocolate curls. The custard really is the star of the show and I have plans to use it in other ways. Possibly in tart shells with fruit on top for Christmas. Thankyou for a lovely recipe ChefBeth.

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KEZ

Home Town: St Austell, Cornwall, England, U.K.

Living In: Plymouth, Devon, England, U.K.

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Bacon and Cheddar Stuffed Mushrooms

Reviewed: Dec. 13, 2009

I served these as a starter for my birthday dinner. I used green onions and added in some garlic powder. Our guests really enjoyed them. Thankyou GRNSTRIPE.

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KEZ

Home Town: St Austell, Cornwall, England, U.K.

Living In: Plymouth, Devon, England, U.K.

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Garlic Bread Fantastique

Reviewed: Dec. 13, 2009

Wonderful. I made exactly as written and it disappeared rapidly. Without doubt going to be a family favourite. Thankyou so much.

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KEZ

Home Town: St Austell, Cornwall, England, U.K.

Living In: Plymouth, Devon, England, U.K.

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Tanya's Snickerdoodles

Reviewed: Dec. 12, 2009

Believe it or not, I've never had snickerdoodles before! I think these may be my favourite cookie! I wasn't sure how they would turn out since I'm in the UK, however, someone told me to use strong flour and not just plain and this may have been the key to how great my cookies turned out. These looked gorgeous when they came out of the oven. I plan to use these in my christmas cookie baskets. Yum!

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