Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook
Posted by curiale on May 14, 2006 · Member since Sep 2005 · 116 posts
HELP! I recently purchased this cookbook thinking that everything looked delicious, but most of the things i have made haven't turned out well at all. (with the exception of the French Onion Soup; that was tasty).
I was wondering, could anyone else who uses this cookbook please recommend some recipes? I'd like to make more but i can't really justify blindly testing these recipes anymore....
:D I don't have either The Uncheese Cookbook or The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook, but I did find the recipe for fettuccine alfonso (from The Uncheese Cookbook, fyi) on a website. It turned out perfectly. Based on that dish, I want to buy any cookbook by Jo Stepaniak. I don't know if that one's in your cookbook, you'll have to let me know. Anyway, I really enjoyed that pasta. Not to be difficult, but do you think that maybe you're expecting the results to be more like a dairy-based dish? I don't know how long you've been at this, but vegan cooking really is its own art. Maybe you're just having a hard time NOT expecting cheesy results. ??? I don't know. ;) But anyway, good luck!!
nope, i haven't had actual cheese in years. i'm fine with "cheezy" dishes that don't really taste like cheese. the stuff i tried just tasted BAD. so far i have had poor results with the "melty white cheese sauce" and the "pub fondue." the "zippy havarti spread" was ok, but too much like a nutritonal yeasty hummous. however, i haven't tried the fettucine alfonso yet. perhaps i will try that one tonight. thanks!
I've made a few things from that book that are good. I don't have it with me, so I don't know all the names. The white bean 'cheeze' spread - which I beleive is the very first recipe in the book - is good. There is also a vegan quiche recipe that was very good - although I did modify it a bit & off the top of my head I can't remember exactly how. I think that recipe also has a shredded potato crust that was fantastic! I always make my quiche with that potato crust now.
And I LOVE the Uncheese Blend, a dry mixture of nutritional yeast with lots of spices. I use this stuff in everything instead of just nutritional yeast. I make gravy with it, I replace 1/2 cup of flour with this in my biscuits, I sprinkle on baked potatoes & popcorn. And one of the best hot drinks ever is about a 12 ounce cup of hot water with a heaping teaspoon of this uncheese blend & a teaspoon of miso. I love that stuff!!
Thanks for the suggestion on the French onion soup. :)
Ok, I'm at home now. The Gee Whiz spread on page 1 is the white bean spread I mentioned. It's good. I add 1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar.
The quiche Laverne on page 118 was delish! I made two -- both in the shredded potato crust. Note on the crust: have an aluminum colar ready to go cuz the edge of the crust will need it. The only mods I made to the filling were the veggies. One had chopped spinach & black olives which I served with diced tomato & the other had chopped broccoli & cauliflower. Both were really good & hubby gave them both 5 stars. ;)
I had forgotten that I had made the Colby cheese block on page 20. That recipe uses agar to hardened the cheese. My notes say the flavor was good but that the texture was unusual. I have never used agar before, so maybe it just takes getting used to. My notes say to skip the agar & make as a cheeze sauce. :)
Let me know if you try any of these & what you think. :)
The grilled "cheez" sandwiches are a favorite of mine and justified the cost of the cookbook alone. Attempted to make the faux-mozzerella a few nights ago, however, and have not been impressed with the flavor. Tried melting it over pasta, tried frying it up in a sandwich...no good. :(
Did everyone who replied have the Ultimate.. vs. the original one?
Chris.
thanks for the tips, everyone! i'll try the grilled cheez ASAP.