TOKYO KAREN Recipe Reviews (Pg. 1) - Allrecipes.com (1341885)

Orange Glazed Carrots

Reviewed: Jan. 29, 2003

I didn't think this was very exceptional, but perhaps this is a reflection of my taste and not the recipe itself. I much prefer the naturally sweet taste of carrots. Baby carrots are so delicious on their own - why bother sugaring them up? Stewing the carrots in orange juice is a good idea, but drenching them in fattening butter and sugar isn't great for your heart or your waistline! I might use this recipe for very large or slightly bitter carrots (or for family members that wouldn't touch a vegetable with a garden rake otherwise!), but for baby carrots I would just steam them until tender and serve! If you make this recipe, then steaming the carrots instead of boiling them at least preserves more of their nutrients.

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2 users found this review helpful

Oven Roasted Potatoes

Reviewed: Jan. 14, 2003

A great way to use up extra potatoes! I used peeled baby potatoes. Next time I won't peel them. I used 1/4 cup of olive oil and will do so next time as well. I didn't have all the herbs and spices so I just added what I did have with a little extra added. We're garlic lovers so I added 1 big tablespoonsful of garlic puree (delicious!) and some garlic pepper. I didn't have any red pepper flakes so I used just a dash of standard Indian hot chilli powder. Even a few dashes of hot sauce would substitute nicely for the red pepper flakes I think. The tiny bit of zip this adds is well worth it. This recipe is definitely a keeper!

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2 users found this review helpful

Baked Dijon Salmon

Reviewed: Jan. 14, 2003

Two thumbs up! This is, hands-down, one of the best recipes I've got from this site. I can't believe that other reviewers aren't drooling over it as much as we are! I've cooked a lot of salmon and this is one great recipe. It was absolutely delicious and very simple to make. Instead of breadcrumbs I used crushed bruschetta, although any sort of crackers would work quite nicely. I used a 1/2 cup of butter since I love saucey sauces. I skipped the nuts since I didn't have any on hand - tastes just fine without them. Instead of fresh parsley I used 1 teaspoon dried. I loved having extra sauce and I served it at the table so people could help themselves. Yum!!!!

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98 users found this review helpful

Mushroom Sauce

Reviewed: Jan. 10, 2003

This is a quick and easy sauce to make for a weeknight (or Friday night) supper. I added loads of shitake mushrooms (they're less than $1 a pound here in Japan!) and some green beans and doubled the entire recipe so I could freeze some leftovers. To make it a bit more healthful, I skipped the butter and made it in olive oil -- the canned soups contain plenty of cream and fat for this sauce. I like peppy sauces so I added two cloves of garlic. Went nicely served over bowtie pasta.

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9 users found this review helpful

Baking Powder Biscuits I

Reviewed: Jan. 9, 2003

MMMMmmm. Biscuits just like I had as a kid. I followed the recipe exactly (except I used slightly less than 1 tablespoon of baking powder). I was very happy with how they turned out. For people who like moist biscuits, you might need to add slightly more shortening and milk because this recipe makes traditional-style baking powder biscuits which are, by nature, fairly airy and dry. I have also added 1 tablespoon of italian herbs (anything will do, basil, oregano, thyme) and mixed it in with the flour before adding the shortening. It gave these biscuits a lovely herbed taste! Will make these simple and delicious biscuits again and again. (My husband raved about them.)

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11 users found this review helpful

Salmon with Marmalade-Balsamic Sauce

Reviewed: Jan. 7, 2003

This was simple and delicious! I had a jar of marmalade in my fridge that never gets used. This took care of about half of it. I will make this again because it's very quick but it tastes like I slaved away in the kitchen. My husband says that it was great!

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8 users found this review helpful

Cooked Mayonnaise

Reviewed: Jan. 5, 2003

This was dissapointing. I was looking for a traditional mayonnaise recipe. This did not taste at all like mayonnaise! If you are looking to make mayonnaise from scratch, I'd suggest doing a search on any internet search engine for "mayonnaise recipe" and following a more conventional recipe. Oily and yuk! Note also that this recipe was submitted by the California Egg Commission - was this a product endorsement or a real recipe??

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36 users found this review helpful

Cherry Dump Pudding

Reviewed: Jan. 5, 2003

This was simple to make and delicious! My husband loved that it wasn't overly sweet (though I thought that it was really sweet!) I love baking that only requires one bowl for all the ingredients. I didn't have fresh cherries on hand so I used a jar of pitted sour cherries (680grams net weight/350grams drained weight) -- this met the recipe requirements perfectly and I used the liquid from the jar as the cherry juice. I will make this again, next time I will only add 3/4 the required amount of sugar if using jarred sour cherries. A great way to use up that old jar of sour cherries we had kicking around our cupboard.

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27 users found this review helpful

Scalloped Potatoes II

Reviewed: Jan. 2, 2003

This is a solid basic recipe from which you can explore using other ingredients. I added thinly sliced white onion, pepper and garlic puree between each layer. I did find it slightly bland but I suppose that it's 'just' a side dish and doesn't need to be too racy. Next time I would add more salt, onion and garlic. I'd welcome other reviewers' suggestions on how to rev this up a bit!

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4 users found this review helpful

Easy Mexican Casserole

Reviewed: Jan. 2, 2003

This is easy and the taste is soooo good. We ate it twice in one week, which is rare for us! I fried up the ground beef together with a chopped onion and some taco seasoning for extra flavour. I used a can of mexican-style kidney beans. I also used plain yogurt instead of sour cream to make it a bit healthier. Surprisingly, this dish freezes and reheats nicely. As some other reviewers have mentioned, this would make a delicious nacho chip dip for parties although it was a hearty dinner as well.

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3 users found this review helpful

Rum and Sweet Potato Casserole

Reviewed: Jan. 2, 2003

This was a little too sweet for my liking. I'd suggest cutting the sugar in half and reducing the rum to 1/4 cup. I think that the natural taste of sweet potatoes is just as nice as this dish, without all the extra calories. Makes a nice side dish, but is rather time-consuming. Next time I'll just steam and mash my sweet potatoes with a little milk for a healthier dish.

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3 users found this review helpful

Louisiana Sweet Potato Pancakes

Reviewed: Jan. 2, 2003

I cheated a bit on this recipe and used leftover sweet potatoes that I had already made up from the previous night's sweet potato side dish from dinner. They still turned out nicely! I wrecked the first few by making them too large. Follow the recipe when it says, "spoon heaping tablespoonsfuls onto the heated griddle"!! A yummy way to use up leftovers.

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3 users found this review helpful

Banana Banana Bread

Reviewed: Dec. 27, 2002

Absolutely delicious and wonderfully moist! I can't wait to make this again. I halved the recipe and it came out very nicely in my tiny oven here in Tokyo.

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9 users found this review helpful

Anchovy Linguine

Reviewed: Dec. 17, 2002

A nice, tasty dish that is easy to throw together with things already in your cupboard. I added four cloves of minced garlic as well as some mushrooms for some extra punch. Although this strays far from the original recipe, I steamed up some spinach and mushrooms and mixed it in as well to add some vitamins and minerals. Served with some garlic bread, this was delicious! If you don't have canned anchovies on hand, you can substitute anchovy paste (1/2 teaspoon per anchovy fillet) -- I used two tablespoonsful and it turned out very nicely.

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15 users found this review helpful

Spaghetti Carbonara II

Reviewed: Nov. 24, 2002

Excellent! This is a very rich dish! I used extra bacon for flavour and five eggs instead of four. I used less pasta because I love sauce. I also added some chopped and steamed green beans to add some colour and veggies to the dish and it was a nice addition. It turned out rich and delicious.

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3 users found this review helpful

Lentils and Rice with Fried Onions (Mujadarrah)

Reviewed: Jul. 25, 2002

This was difficult to screw up and tastes great! I added 1 tablespoon garlic puree, 2 tablespoons garam masala and fresh ginger. I also threw in a beef bouilloun cube with the rice. This is delicious, very filling and really economical too! Will definitely make again. Yum!

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53 users found this review helpful

Chicken and Red Wine Sauce

Reviewed: Jul. 2, 2002

Yummy!! I will definitely make this again and was pleasantly surprised at the taste. This would be good for company. It's quick and hard to screw up. Use less paprika if you're feeding little kids. I used 1/2 cup honey and left the lid off so the sauce could reduce and thicken up. Great with rice.

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9 users found this review helpful

Braised Balsamic Chicken

Reviewed: May 13, 2002

Living in Tokyo, I have to make do with limited ingredients. I had everything for this recipe already in the cupboard. If you like balsamic vinegar, then you'll like this. I used fresh tomatoes and served it with pasta, though rice would have been better to absorb some of the sauce. I didn't have any of the spices separately so I used italian seasoning instead. A good, quick weekday supper.

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8 users found this review helpful

Chicken Honey Nut Stir Fry

Reviewed: May 9, 2002

A nice, easy tangy dish. Served over basmati, it was delicious. Living in Tokyo, I have to make do with what ingredients I can find here. I made a lot of changes to this recipe and it still turned out fine. Instead of celery, I used 1/2 cup mushrooms, 2 carrots, 2 small eggplants and 1/2 cup snowpeas. I used 2 TABLEspoons of olive oil instead of peanut oil. I doubled the sauce amount since I love sauce. I used regular soya sauce, not light. A bit of spice would be a nice addition, though the sauce is kid-friendly without the extra zip. We didn't have cashew nuts or green onions on hand so we used sesame seeds on top to add some nutrition. Nice and easy.

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4 users found this review helpful

One Skillet Corned Beef Hash

Reviewed: May 5, 2002

A quick and easy dish that I whipped up using ingredients I already had in the cupboard. I added a can of whole kernel corn to add some nutrition and colour to the dish.

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25 users found this review helpful