Estee Fraser (Pinchasin) Recipe Reviews (Pg. 1)

Hamantashen

Reviewed: Apr. 11, 2011

I liked the dough and appreciated all the good recommendations and comments that helped make this recipe work. It is a very easy recipe - make sure you use a real filling and not jam/jelly for a substitute. Jam will reduce and even run out the sides leaving thin lining of filling. The time in the freezer is a must, even with special attention to pinching the sides into a triangle. You may still have ones that open up in the oven so don't get lazy or be in too much of a hurry. I also recommend brushing them with a beaten egg and then lightly sprinkling them with some ground cinnamon.

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6 users found this review helpful

Lyonnaise Potatoes

Reviewed: Apr. 11, 2011

The timing for the potatoes is definitely off as is the amount of potatoes. I ended up turning the whole thing into mashed potatoes which my husband liked very much. Since they were already dairy with the butter, I added some cheese and milk of course... I can't say I will try this again but I will make this new mashed potato invention.

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1 user found this review helpful

Mom's Authentic Kosher Cholent Recipe

Reviewed: Apr. 4, 2011

We thought it was strange not to have to soak the dry beans overnight but it just goes to show that Mom knows best! I added the dry beans after the meat is browned and made sure to mix it up a bit - sure enough, the beans started to shrivel and soften. I've never used pearled barley either but it is very nice and does not need to be substituted. Also, during the preparation, it seemed like there were not enough beans but it really is a nice proportion in the end. Have faith. I did add some baby carrots which worked very well too. We and our shabbat lunch guests loved it. I will certainly make this many more times!

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4 users found this review helpful

Creamy Rice Pudding

Reviewed: Apr. 4, 2011

Not enough "pudding" and way too ricey. It definitely needed more creamy custard to it. If you plan to serve it cold, you definitely need more liquid to make it a pudding. This turned out to be sweet creamed rice. I would recommend eliminiating the egg, adding more milk, and using sweet condensed milk.

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2 users found this review helpful

Chicken Marsala

Reviewed: Mar. 14, 2011

Very good recipe that can be easily converted to make a non-dairy meal. Definitely double the sauce if you plan to serve it over pasta. The sauce is great "runny" or thick.

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1 user found this review helpful

Easy Broccoli Quiche

Reviewed: Mar. 8, 2011

Gone in 48 hours! This was a very easy and quick recipe to make. Perfect as a "base" for using up any left over mushrooms or any vegtables. I like to add more cheese on top of the egg.

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4 users found this review helpful

Spinach Quiche

Reviewed: Feb. 21, 2011

Very good flavor with the feta cheese. It worked well with both a traditional crust and also with a mashed potato crust. Fresh mushrooms worked fine. I had a much larger amount of spinach so I made the same filling recipe as a crustless spinach quiche which turned out well too.

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1 user found this review helpful

Pepperoni Pizza Quiche

Reviewed: Feb. 21, 2011

Got rave reviews from my guests even though I made it a "meatless" pizza quiche. I also used milk instead of half & half and it turned out great. I will make this again for sure!

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5 users found this review helpful

Pecan Cups

Reviewed: Feb. 17, 2011

These are wonderful! The only thing I had to change was to use about 1.5 cups of chopped pecans because otherwise the filling was too runny and didn't puff up during baking - which happened the first time I made these. I had much better success when the filling was less liquid-ey and mostly pecans.

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3 users found this review helpful

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Reviewed: Feb. 17, 2011

Quick and easy recipe! These cupcakes were very moist. I used buttermilk and 1/3 cup of cocoa instead of a 1/2 a cup. I think this cupcake would be even better if it were filled with some sort of dark chocolate cream.

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2 users found this review helpful

Lemon Cheesecake Squares

Reviewed: Feb. 16, 2011

Another big hit at school! Followed the recipe exactly but needed a bit more jam to cover the crust and also sprinkled some cinnamon. They are best chilled overnight because they settle nicely. I will make this again... and again.

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4 users found this review helpful

Butter Pecan Cookies

Reviewed: Feb. 15, 2011

These were a hit at school today! I used the sugar instead of flour to flatten the cookies and added 1/2 tsp of vanilla and 1/8 tsp of almond extrat - literally just a few drops. The cookie sheet does not need to be greased - I tried it both ways and liked the final baked shape of the "ungreased" cookies better. Cooled on the cookie sheet for about 10 minutes before moving them to a wire rack to cool all the way.

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7 users found this review helpful

Quick and Easy Cheese Bread

Reviewed: Feb. 8, 2011

I used two cups of cheese and 1 cup of milk as well as some seasoning including garlic powder and oregano. I also covered the bread with cheese with about 10 minutes to bake. It worked well since I was serving it immediately. The bread came out very moist and not like cornbread which I was trying to avoid.

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2 users found this review helpful

Unbelievable Chicken

Reviewed: Feb. 6, 2011

This chicken is very sweet and I would put it in the Asian family of flavors. It worked well over mashed potatos, a mixed greens salad and rice. I liked it but my husband didn't like the taste at all.

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1 user found this review helpful

Salmon with Dijon Cream Sauce

Reviewed: Jan. 31, 2011

There is so much missing in this suace - it is very plain.

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16 users found this review helpful

Soft Oatmeal Cookies

Reviewed: Jan. 31, 2011

Best oatmeal cookie recipe! I made two batches so far - one plain and one with white chocolate and dried cranberries. My oven required more than the 8-10 minutes for baking - 12 minutes was just right. I didn't have quick oats and used Old Fashioned Quaker Oats and it came out fine. At first I followed the advice of one of the reviews to only use 2 cups of Old Fashioned Oats but thought the dough was not oatmeal-ey enough so I ended up using the full three cups. Also, I reduced the cinnamon to only one teaspoon and added a dash of ground clove and nutmeg. The only down side is that we can't stop eating them!

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19 users found this review helpful

Beef Stew VI

Reviewed: Jan. 27, 2011

Lots of room to play. Used beef broth instead of the boullion. Will have to try it with lamb for sure! Added Bobby's recommendations of corn and green beans which came out nice. Would've liked some mushrooms and possibly red beans as well... but that might be too much. We'll see what happens.

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15 users found this review helpful

Caramel Shortbread Squares

Reviewed: Jan. 23, 2011

Definitely put in the Candy category. This is not a cookie and seems like a fat cousin of a Twix bar on steroids. It was very rich and way too sweet for us. I really liked the caramel and plan to use it for other desserts and pies. I would also suggest using the Williams-Sonoma Scotch Shortbread recipe for those who found the "crust" to be dry and crumbling.

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6 users found this review helpful

Apple Crisp

Reviewed: Jan. 22, 2011

I added 1/4 cup of dried cranberries to apples which brought a really nice flavor to the apples. The crisp topping using walnuts and pecans is delicious and gives you slight variations as you eat it. It's really good. Perfect recipe for making indvidual apple crisps for dessert... or as we found out breakfast!

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6 users found this review helpful

Broccoli Quiche with Mashed Potato Crust

Reviewed: Jan. 21, 2011

My husband and I ate this entire thing in less than 24 hours... it is delicious. Also, I used the crust idea from this recipe to fix-up the quiche in another recipe... made this one with mushrooms and sundried tomatoes as suggested by one of the reviews. Used 6 eggs and had a little left that wouldn't fit in my dish. It is so good.

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5 users found this review helpful