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Tag: kosher

Absolutely Deep Dark Chocolate Fudge Cookies: Cookbook Review

These cookies were made by Chef Marcel Desaulniers for The Trellis: Cafe, Restaurant & Grill.

Zoe’s Take:
8/10

I love a good cookie. If it’s an all chocolate cookie, even better. So when we saw this recipe in The Great Chefs of America Cook Kosher, we had to try it. It’s a good cookie. It might even be a great cookie, but it’s not a 10/10, 5 star amazing cookie because it didn’t live up to the fudge bit. When a cookie describes itself as fudge, I expect melty chocolate chips and a richness. These cookies spread out quite a bit for me and were huge and got a little crunchy. Don’t get me wrong, I still like crunchy cookies, it was just not what I was expecting. Oh well.

Eric’s Take:
9/10

These cookies are VERY good! Super chocolatey and decadent. I thought this recipe was relatively easy to follow. There were a lot of steps and they were blocked in large paragraphs. There were also a lot of timed steps with mixing. I really liked these cookies, but the lost point was with the directions. Because of the steps being a bit confusing it led to inconsistent results between Zoe and my cookies.

February 28, 2019
Cumin and Lime Spiked Grilled Skirt Steak with Avocado Corn Relish: Cookbook Review

This recipe is from Susan Feniger and Mary Sue Milliken from the Border Grill.

Zoe’s Take:
9/10

I really enjoyed this steak and that’s saying something because I am easily bored by steak. The cumin comes on really strong and it’s supported really well by the lime. I marinated my meat for 24 hours and the meat was quite tender, but I really want to go for 48 and see how tender it gets then. the avocado corn relish is amazing, I want to eat it on everything. My biggest issue is the marination time, and also, I prefer not to use skirt steak unless I have access to a grill (which I do not at the moment).

Eric’s Take:
9/10

I was skeptical with this recipe at first. I had made something similar before, and it wasn’t my favorite to say the least. However, this recipe called for toasting cumin seeds and that made a big difference. The aroma held up to the other strong flavors. The cilantro paired well with the jalapeños, making it not only complex, but delicious. The accompanying corn relish was incredible. By far my favorite bite from this cookbook yet. This recipe lost a point due to the choice of meat. Skirt steak is not always available and is typically better grilled. The long marinade time required to develop a stronger flavor and break down the meat means you can’t just make this dish on a whim. There needs to be long preparation. However, other cuts would likely work very well with this recipe too.

February 20, 2019
Cookbook Review: Warm Wild Mushroom and Chicken Strudel

This hors d’oeuvre is by Chef Charles Palmer and was featured at Aureole.

Zoe’s Take:
4/10

While I liked the flavors in both the sauce and the strudel, there was a lot that was lacking. First off, the instructions for forming the strudel itself was very confusing. The sauce was oily, and could have used more acidity. The strudel dough itself took a lot longer to cook. I used puff pastry because the strudel dough just didn’t work out at all. Also, the chicken and mushroom mixture felt dry. Overall, I disliked it, but it definitely has potential to become a better recipe with some work.

Eric’s Take:
5/10

I’m not sure where to begin with this recipe. I love basil, and the chicken and mushroom filling was good with the sauce. Then the problems come. I also could not find strudel dough, so availability of ingredients lost a point for me. I also ended up using puffed pastry. Flavor lost two because for me this was just ok. There was a lack of heat and fat. The sauce provided acidity, but for some reason mine was a bit thin. Double cooking the chicken ended up drying the filling out. The instructions were too vague on the folding method. Zoe took a hand-pie approach, and I made more of a stromboli. I understand that all the recipes in this book have been standardized to a particular format. This one may have been lost in translation.

February 13, 2019
Cookbook Review: Onion Soup with Glazed Shallots

This month, Eric and I are reviewing a very interesting and non-traditional cookbook. The Great Chefs of America Cook Kosher is a compilation of recipes from famous chefs and their famous restaurants. In order to really cover the recipes in this book, we’ll be taking a recipe from several different sections of the cookbook. We are starting with soup.

Our recipe for this week is Onion Soup with Whole Glazed Shallots from Chefs Mark Peel and Nancy Silverton from Campanile.

Zoe’s Take:
6/10

For me, the best part of this soup was by far the whole glazed shallots. I was not impressed at all by the soup itself. In my house, my 24 hour French Onion soup is law, and by my standards, the soup itself didn’t live up to it. I felt like I had to dip my toasted croutons in it in order to finish even half a bowl. The shallots on the other hand are amazing. So tender and delicious. I added them right into the soup so that it would add extra flavor.

Eric’s Take:
8/10

I’m a huge fan of onion soups. I really enjoyed this recipe. It was simple to make although it had many ingredients. My favorite part was also the glazed shallots. They were so sweet and tender they could have been mistaken for apples. The soup itself was also very sweet. As there was no added sugar or sweeteners the onions provided it all. The first step of the soup is to break down the onions over 40 minutes. I had mine going for about an hour. This recipe lost 2 points because I felt it was rather plain. It could have benefited from some body, or maybe another type of onion.

February 6, 2019