BLEU BELLE Recipe Reviews (Pg. 1) - Allrecipes.com (1219612)

Cream Cheese Pound Cake I

Reviewed: Aug. 5, 2011

Reduced the sugar by 1/2 C. and found it to be perfectly enjoyable without being overly sweet. Also, this required 15 extra minutes to bake through as a knife inserted came out still somewhat wet, so I would suggest between 15-20 extra minutes of baking, checking every 5 minutes or so. To get the dense and fluffy texture, take your time making this -- cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, and don't rush alternating flour & eggs: beat them until thoroughly incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl after every addition is mixed in. This takes time but the results are worth it. We didn't have almond extract so doubled the vanilla. Made by my 11 year old daughter with minimal assistance, and served with fresh blueberry sauce. The cake came out tasting like a very fine, soft and toothsome vanilla sugar cookie.

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4 users found this review helpful

Ten Minute Enchilada Sauce

Reviewed: Jan. 15, 2009

never fails. ever. can leave it spiced as is or make it hotter/zestier/bolder by adjusting the ingredients. all around perfect sauce every time.

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1 user found this review helpful

Devil Dogs

Reviewed: Feb. 14, 2007

Very tasty recipe & easy to make. I made these shaped more like whoopie pies than traditional devil dog shape but my kids liked them just as well -- I got 30 rounds but could have made 32 or 34 because they baked up large (Little Debbie oatmeal snack cake size). Make the flour/milk mixture on the stove first, then it has time to cool while you mix & bake the cakey part. Keep the heat on the flour/milk to medium low or you may get lumps very fast as it sets quickly. Even after beating the sugar & shortening for the filling, mine was grainy. Superfine sugar might be a better alternative, although my kids didn't care, they gobbled them up just the same. Doubling the recipe for the filling made more than enough (we don't gob on the frosting. I had fully half the filling left over, which I refridgerated and will use to fill some other cookies later. Overall, nice change of snack from regular cookies or cake.

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1 user found this review helpful

Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies II

Reviewed: Jan. 21, 2007

Oh not good, not good for me at all. Followed recipe to a T on a non-humid day with calibrated oven temp & good quality ingredients but was suprised by the amount of fat/shortening in the recipe. Creamed shortening & sugar sufficiently & even added 1/2 tsp more vanilla to make up for other comments about lack of taste. Even tasted the dough prior to baking. As happened to a previous reviewer, these cookies spread so terribly, possibly due to the amount of shortening, that they were impossible to eat and had to be scraped (or wiped) off my cookie sheet. I'll not try this recipe again.

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0 users found this review helpful

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies I

Reviewed: Dec. 18, 2006

Ultimate chocolate satisfaction! Very nicely textured cookie -- soft & moist. My only complaint is that after a day or so, they become hard & crumbly. If they last that long, that is. My kids love to help me make these; they're very easy and tasty.

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2 users found this review helpful

Slow-Cooked Oriental Chicken

Reviewed: Nov. 16, 2006

Super good & super simple! I knew from scanning the ingredients that I would have to make extra sauce so adapted the measurements accordingly: 1/3 C. brown sugar plus another "handful," 1/3 C. plus 2 T. soy sauce, 2/3 C. water, 3 large cloves garlic minced & a good heaping tablespoon of jarred ginger paste (we like it flavorful at our table). Plus, since we like it so much, a good four or five splashes of nuoc mam (Vietnamese fish sauce) to give the sauce body and depth. To add extra flavor to this dish, mix the marinade in a non-reactive bowl and then use the marinade to deglaze the skillet after you've browned the chicken, scraping up all the browned chicken bits from the pan & incorporating in the marinade. Then pour the sauce over the chicken & cook as directed. Close to serving I steamed broccoli & baby carrots, then mixed with the chicken & served over jasmine rice. Heavenly, scrumptuous, a new "classic" in our house!

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105 users found this review helpful

Chocolate Truffles

Reviewed: Oct. 7, 2006

This recipe is very simple & results in a delicately textured, creamy, rich and decadent truffle. The only reason I gave this 4* instead of 5* is that chilling resulted in the truffle mixture being so rock hard I couldn't roll it. Instead, I suggest leaving the truffle mixture on your counter for an hour or so, until the mixture is firm enough to handle, then perhaps put it in the fridge for about 30 minutes. Your hands will melt the truffle mix a little when you roll it, but that's ok -- you want it to be a little moist so that the coating ingredients will stick. I left some plain chocolate, used butter flavoring with some and rum flavoring with others. Rolled them in crushed pecans, almonds, walnuts, chocolate jimmies, crushed vanilla wafers, powdered sugar, coconut & cocoa. These store well & can be frozen too. Great gift for the holidays and parties.

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43 users found this review helpful

Pierogi I

Reviewed: Oct. 5, 2006

Very nicely flavored, easy to work with dough. I rolled the doug very thinly, and with this recipe was able to cut out about eighty 3" pierogi. Use plenty of flour when rolling out this dough. Served them to my potato-lovin' hubby & kids for dinner (there went about 30-40+). Made some for the kids' lunch the next day (18-20 more) and then made enough for another dinner (another 30+) and a few miscellaneous for another lunch -- they froze & reheated well after being boiled. The sour cream adds a delicious note to the dumpling dough and pairs well with the mashed potato/onion/cheddar cheese filling I used & just a simple brown butter sauce drizzled on top. With 3" wrappers, I used about teaspoon (little less) of filling. They sealed very easily with a fork but take note -- if you don't keep the rounds covered and the edges dry out even a teensy bit it will be difficult to seal them. Dough was toothsome and just the right texture. One of the best pierogi recipe I've tried & definately a keeper for our family -- thanks bunches!

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44 users found this review helpful

Rolled Dumplings

Reviewed: Dec. 7, 2005

Mamaw, are you posting your good ol' southern recipes under an alias??? Simple, easy, fast, plus my 5-year old twins & 3 year old love to help me make these. I've made this recipe about 2 dozen times, often doubling the recipe as another reviewer wrote, & each time they come out GREAT! Cut in the shortening with a pastry cutter like you would biscuits, then roll out the dough on a floured surface and pat flour on top before cutting. Use a pizza cutter for speed -- pretty, perfect dumplings ain't what it's about, ya'll! When dropping in the dumplings, stir gently when about half are added, then once when you add in the last, then cover & cook for the remaining time. I cook a couple chicken breasts in the broth, then shred them into pieces before adding the dumplings. Very good with fresh asparagus & a side salad -- especially for a chilly winter night's dinner.

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82 users found this review helpful

Kabob Marinade

Reviewed: Jul. 29, 2005

My mother has made this marinade for shish kebab for over 35 years, back when it went by the name "California Marinade" on her recipe card. She added 1/4 tsp onion powder which I still do, and over the years found that using lower-sodium soy sauce reduced the saltiness (which we never minded!) and let the beef/chicken/pork/lamb flavor come through. Really tenderizes the meat & tastes fabulous skewered & grilled with cherry tomatoes, zucchini medallions, onion quarters, white mushrooms, bell pepper chunks and even fresh pineapple. Baste frequently with this luscious sauce & serve with steamed rice &/or fresh corn for a satisfying meal.

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3 users found this review helpful

Poppy Seed Cake III

Reviewed: Aug. 27, 2003

My mother made poppyseed cake all during my youth, and this is the absolute closest I've ever tasted to those moist, aromatic, flavorful loaves she used to make. This recipe is a dream to make; very easy and everybody loves to eat it freshly sliced, toasted and spread with cream cheese, or split and sprinkled with liquer and fresh fruit and whipped creme. As another reviewer did, I served it with orange juice glaze (oj, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, almond extract). A little advanced warning: make it in two loaf pans and hide the second way back in the freezer. Otherwise, you could end up eating the whole tube pan in a few days!

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22 users found this review helpful

Bo Nuong Xa

Reviewed: Aug. 27, 2003

As with almost every Vietnamese dish I've eaten and cooked, this is a savory and addictive, awesomely good and simple recipe, especially when the dish is served with sauteed vegetables, sesame green beans and jasmine rice (as mentioned by a previous reviewer) or vermicelli (as mentioned by another). I agree that the lemongrass must be pulverized with a mortar & pestle or in a food processor (you can also buy frozen pulverized lemongrass in little plastic cups in some Asian markets). Additionally, only the tender interior of the fresh lemongrass should be used for this as the outer leaves are too fibrous. My one comment about this dish is that it is much more authentic and tastier made with fish sauce (Vietnamese nuoc mam, Thai nam pla or even Filipino patis) instead of soy sauce, which I know can sometimes be harder to find than the readily available soy sauce. NOTE: the fish sauce I mention is *NOT* the sweetened American kind served as a dip with fried fish, but the Asian version made from fermented fish. Soy sauce makes it universal for everybody to make, and still creates a terrific dish. Thanks for sharing this great recipe!

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26 users found this review helpful

Skillet Cookies I

Reviewed: Apr. 3, 2003

Oh my goodness, these were terrific! All in all, a good end product, and eating just two satisfied my sweet tooth all day. I had to melt the butter, then let cool a little before whisking in the egg yolks. I had trouble getting the ingredients to boil due to the thickness. Eager to make the balls, I nearly burned my hands making the first dozen! I let it cool a little bit and then made the rest but by the time I got to the last 2/3 cup of mix it was really difficult to form into balls because it was too cool. Next time I make these, I'll form all the balls, then roll in powdered sugar. A couple tips: use unsalted butter and don't make them larger than a two-bite ball -- they're very sweet and tasty! My kids ADORE them!

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15 users found this review helpful

Cream Cheese Mints

Reviewed: Apr. 3, 2003

I made these for Christmas but am just getting around to writing the review, because I'm going to make them again for Easter. They were extremely simple to make (my 3 yr old twins helped). I agree that you have to adjust the peppermint extract (it *has* to be extract, not imitation flavoring) to taste; I added more because I like a stronger mint flavor. We tinted them green and red, rolled the balls in sugar and pressed them with a cork into penny-sized mints -- good size, as any larger could be overly sweet. They dried just fine on waxed paper (maybe because of the small size) and they were a great and welcomed addition to every cookie tray I made. For Easter, we're making them the same size but tinting them pastel colors. These freeze extremely well and the texture remains the same -- creamy and smooth. Great recipe I'll keep on hand for something I need quickly for a fancy occasion or party.

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53 users found this review helpful

Basic Quiche by Shelly

Reviewed: Apr. 3, 2003

This recipe was very easy and the results very nice. I used prepared pie crusts and half milk for the filling and the results still came out very custardy with a soft, toothsome texture. In combination with the fillings I added (diced ham, onion, broccoli, mushroom), the egg/milk mixture was enough to fill up 2 quiches. My husband and kids loved this; we ate both entire quiches for dinner. Only suggestion was that the quiche needs cooking a little longer than directed: after the 25 minutes at 350, they were still gelatinous and not set. I turned up the heat to 375 and cooked for 20 minutes more and they came out lovely, fragrant and savory. Can't wait to try this recipe again with other fillings.

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163 users found this review helpful

Beatrice Savitz's Apricot Cookies

Reviewed: Apr. 1, 2003

I *wanted* this recipe to work so badly -- it looked like it would taste great, plus the name is too good to resist. I had great results with the apricot filling by pureeing the boiled apricot mixture and patting it on the bottom 2/3 of the oatmeal mixture with wet fingers. However, the oatmeal layers did not "cobble up" or "cookie-fy" (for want of a technical term) as I expected an oatmeal bar/cookie would. After baking, the entire oatmeal mixture was dry and crumbly and the bars fell apart like sawdust as soon as lifted out of the pan. I think if I made this recipe again, I would melt the butter with the brown sugar and boil it for a little while to carmelize it, then mix it with the flour and oatmeal. This would probably lend a more cohesive texture to the two oatmeal layers and make them somewhat chewy, but the cookie may or may not turn out as dear Beatrice intended.

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5 users found this review helpful

Cranberry Scones

Reviewed: Feb. 18, 2003

Made these with my 3-yr-old twins who love to "make-a make-a" anything with me. They were very easy to make, exceptionally fragrant, moist and flavorful. I made two batches and they kept well in a zip-top bag for 2 days, after which everybody asked me to make more. One batch I made with the fresh cranberries as the recipe called, and one with cranberry raisins. Both were excellent.

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3 users found this review helpful

Water Chestnut Dip

Reviewed: Jun. 3, 2002

This dip reminded me of an old college party standby (Knorr's dry vegetable soup mix + sour cream). However, the addition of water chestnuts was an interesting twist. After mixing the dip and serving it though, I had quite a bit left over as it didn't seem very popular. Since it didn't receive one compliment or comment from any guests, I'm not sure that I'd make it again.

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9 users found this review helpful

Parmesan Spinach Balls

Reviewed: Jun. 3, 2002

Tried these for an Xmas buffet and although an easy appetizer to prepare and freeze, we found they lacked an impressionable flavor. The three kids (under 2 yrs old) there though, enjoyed them tremendously. *Great* way to get your kids to enjoy spinach, and they did freeze excellently, just weren't a memorable addition to the buffet for the work it took to make them.

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3 users found this review helpful