Saveur 150 Recipes Part II

I've been working my way through a goodly number of Saveur's 150 recipes, but I've sort of hit a block.  A lot of the recipes that remain are either so complicated that it would be a major operation to attempt them, or just don't sound good.  Canh Chua Ca is sour fish soup.  Uh... yum?  I think?

So here's my rating system:
*  = partial or complete failure
** = decent success but not a keeper
*** = make again! Add to repertoire! Gem to be cherished!

Here are notes on a few I've tried:

#88. Shepherd's Pie ***

I was excited about this recipe because I love Shepherd's Pie and I didn't have an authentic recipe.  This was delicious, if preparing it did make a disaster out of my kitchen.  I had a difficult time finding the right cut of lamb, so I used beef instead.  For this first try I went with a chuck roast because low-quality meat can totally ruin a dish.  But I might try stewing beef next time, mainly because it would mean less prep time; cutting up the raw roast was a chore.  Also, the wine flavor was a bit overwhelming; next time I'll try white wine, and perhaps some balsamic vinegar.  Finally, it was all a bit runny on the first serving, which I have mixed feelings about.  It was good because it meant that the leftovers weren't dried out, and were actually better than the original.  Still, if you want to impress on the first serving, perhaps consider adding a little flour to the meat and sauce layer.

Speaking of low-quality meats, I have learned my lesson with chicken.  If you are too poor to buy a decent cut of chicken, then things have come to a pretty pass (hint: I'm not too poor, I was just cutting a corner where corners weren't meant to be cut).  I was anxious about how much #48. Chicken with 40 cloves of garlic (**) was going to cost with an 8-dollar bottle of vermouth, so I went for chicken thighs, forgetting, of course, that I hate fat and dark meat.  Dumb.  Ironically, I thought the flavor of this dish was remarkably light.  The garlic is quite thoroughly cooked, so it's not overwhelming, and the vermouth, when combined with the other elements is a bit tart, but mostly light.  Still, it wasn't my favorite roast chicken recipe and I probably won't make it again. 

#24. Rosti (Swiss Hash Browns) ***- 

Stuck potatoes. >_<

Okay, so it was a bit of a strugglebus with the Rosti, mainly because of potato stickage.  I know, of course, that potatoes stick to pans.  But I forgot so I wasn't appropriately prepared to do battle for several hours with my potatoes (lucky I had the night off!).  Part of my problem is that I don't actually own a non-stick pan.  The other problem is that I didn't properly pat my potatoes dry before thrusting them into the fray.  And my pan was too hot.  Cue REALLY STUCK POTATOES.  The result was much, much more greasy than it ought to have been as I lathered on copious amounts of butter and Pam in an attempt to salvage the situation.  So word to the wise: be ready, because your potatoes will be.  Still, this recipe did some good.  I'm glad, at last, to know the trick behind white hash browns of any sort--boil them first.  Of course I also have a secret fear of undercooked potatoes, so I boiled mine a bit too much and they didn't hold their shape as well as they might have in the grating process.  Next time I might even hazard taking them out before they are completely done and let them finish cooking in the frying pan (gasp!)

#38. Biscuits with Sawmill Gravy ***!

Now for a Rousing Success!  Okay, so Nearly Rousing.  I love biscuits and gravy.  They were the only dish my undergraduate dining hall made well and and I ate them.  Often.  This recipe was quite good--I loved the gravy, which was so much more than just fat and cream.  It had a touch of bite, a touch of tart--mmm, and a healthy (or unhealthy) amount of bacon and sausage.  The biscuts were promising, but I didn't quite pull them off.  The secret to really good biscuts and gravy is fluffy biscuts with a crispy, beautifully golden exterior.  This recipe directs you to brush said biscuits in butter before baking (genius!), but unfortunately they burned on the bottom.  I'm thinking it's a) my pan or b) my oven.  I tried putting a cookie sheet under the pan but it didn't improve results--my guess is that the metal still conducts heat very well, especially when in direct contact.  So next time I'll try a pan underneath on a different lower rack.  I think that might do the trick. 

#20. Kasha Varnishkes ***

Yum!  It's a bit of a carb-bomb, but it's very economical to make (grains usually are).  Certified boyfriend approved.  But I have issues with the recipe.  First of all, it was very inconvenient the order they have you do everything in.  I would much prefer to put on my onions (which have to caramelize over a period of 40 minutes) on first so they could be doing that while the kasha toasted and the pasta cooked.  Duh.  I can think of no good reason why you would do it in another order.  Then you wouldn't have to reheat everything at the end because it would be freshly made simultaneously.  The recipe doesn't actually stipulate an order, but if you're like me, you start at the beginning of the recipe and work your way through it.  Also I think the amount of oil can be reduced.  I stuck to the recipe this time to just try it, but I would venture to try even 1/2 a cup of oil next time.  That oil ruins the otherwise healthy aspects of this dish.

Onions caramelizing in 1 CUP of oil.