Olive recipes-Do you think they work?

[teta]

I have just made 2 this morning.Roast sweet potato with red onion [sides].Its come out soggy [due to orange juice addition] and bitter [due to cumin/spices.Plain roasted veggies are tonnes better and crispier.I have also just made oriental beef and mushroom stew.Its so sweet its inedible!.Two spoons of brown sugar in it according to the recipe.i think its a case of over-egging the pudding.Chocolate and cream cheese brownies were ok but not as good as plain brownies.Anyone else very disappointed?.

Is this the latest issue? I've not got that but I've been really pleased with any recpies I've tried before, I still have a little booklet that came with an issue a few years ago that I've made everything from, all delicious. Some do require tweaking I suppose, but that's more because I know my own tastes so if somethng looks wrong/rank I'll miss it out. The beef and mushroom stew sounds yum, did you actually use a measuring spoon? What I thought was a tablespoon was a MASSIVE overestimation, which I only realised when I got a proper set of measuring spoons.

Yes,i measured it properly.But i thought the proportions were a little strange as dh is oriental and uses much smaller amounts of soy sauce and rice wine in his cooking.I've also cooked several things over the years and they were all good [and worked!].But for some reason these havn't.Incidentally these are all recipes from the last 2 editions.I'm a bit fed up as 3 out of my 4 dc's are off school with really sneezy/coughy colds and i'm trying to relax by cooking and am now just cross!.

I have been happy with 95% of the things I have cooked from Olive over the past 4 or 5 years. Will have a look at those recipes tonight...i haven't got a sweet tooth and don't like all their suggestions.

I have just tasted the brownies now that they have been in the fridge overnight and they are properly chewy and delicious.When warm they were just soggy.They are a recipe for freezing and using later and hence have probably been adapted for this.The veggies i will add more oil and recook as now they resemble boiled sweet potato.The oriental beef tastes better now the sauce has cooked down but is still incredibly sweet -a bit like boston baked beans sauce.