Recipe Reviews

I've tried quite a few new recipes recently, mostly from Cooking Light. They weren't keepers but made for nice variety in my regular rotation of meals.

• Key Lime Cheesecake - I didn't think the crust was very good, and the cheesecake itself was a little bland, maybe because of the tofu.
• Bow Tie Pasta with Roasted Red Pepper and Cream Sauce - I liked this enough to eat the leftovers (with extra cheese), but not enough to make again. I'm only lukewarm when it comes to bell peppers, though, so if you like red peppers, you might love this dish.
• Beef Carnitas - This recipe came out mostly tasteless, but that was probably because of my modifications rather than the recipe's fault. I left out the onions, because Marc hates them and I'm not that fond of them either, and I used chicken broth instead of beef broth because that's what I had. I also made the recipe in the slow cooker instead of on the stove. The meat did come out tender and was acceptable in tacos with all the fixings.
• Gnocchi Gratin - This was good, but a little too creamy for my taste, even with the addition of a pound of ground beef. It also needed a little more salt. I used whole wheat gnocchi from Trader Joe's and give that a thumbs up.
• Swiss Enchiladas - This was okay, I just wasn't crazy about the taste of the swiss cheese and white sauce. Be sure to really evaporate the liquid from the skillet before making the enchiladas.
• Molten Chocolate Cakes - These just didn't bake enough in the time given so what I got was a nice crusty muffin top and lots of goo underneath. I didn't keep the recipe to try again because it was just a good-tasting cake, not to-die-for.