Cynthia Feldman

Ohio Born and California Raised! I'm 55 years old. I've been married for 31 years and have two daughters (22 and 25). We've lived in California for the past 22 years. I fully embrace the warm weather California lifestyle but my midwestern roots are a big part of the way I cook and entertain to this day.
Alaska Salmon Bake with Pecan Crunch Coating
Rating: Unrated
Cynthia Feldman's rating

Very tasty salmon. The crumbs left in the honey-mustard coating on the pan are good enough to eat with a spoon, which I did.

Beer Butt Chicken
Rating: Unrated
Cynthia Feldman's rating

Oooooh, this one's a keeper. The name amuses me each time I make it and my kids love it. What more could you want? Couple of notes: I think you could get by with less butter in the can; might try that next time. Don't try to omit the butter in the can and just use the spices...I did that and it foamed all over the place when I put them in. Also, don't try smearing unmelted butter/spice mixture on the bird...I tried that but it congealed on the cold bird and was not an improvement. Aren't you glad I tried those bonehead moves so you don't have to? ha ha. Just make it and ENJOY!!!!!

Apple-Raisin French Toast Casserole
Rating: Unrated
Cynthia Feldman's rating

Yes, the flavor of this is delicious but the presentation is a bit lacking. The eggs don't really come up and around the bread and when it's baked it looks like a pan of bread slices! I think it may need more liquid or something.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream Cake
Rating: Unrated
Cynthia Feldman's rating

Beautiful presentation. Try sprinkling the balls of ice cream with some sprinkles before the final freeze. Made for my 10 year old daughter's birthday party and it was a big hit.

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Absolutely Ultimate Potato Soup
Rating: Unrated
Cynthia Feldman's rating

This one's a keeper. I've made it countless times. I have tweaked it however--I omitted the tarragon and cilantro (didn't have any on hand and thought it sounded strange to add those herbs anyway) AND I don't put any of the cooked bacon back into the broth to cook with the potatoes. I simply serve the yummy crunchy bacon on top of each bowl. Putting it in the broth only renders it soft and less appealing. Give this one a try!

Salmon Chowder
Rating: Unrated
Cynthia Feldman's rating

Wow! Is this one ever delicious! I had a big slab of Costco salmon in my freezer (about 1-1/2 pounds) so I sauteed it up and used it instead of the canned stuff. Soup was attractive and yummy. My kids still ask for it. Highly recommended!

Quick and Easy Monkey Bread
Rating: Unrated
Cynthia Feldman's rating

Something just isn't right here. The flavors and ease of prep are terrific but what you end up with is an uneven distribution of a hard crumbly sugary topping among bread. There has got to be a better way.

Dutch Apple Pie with Oatmeal Streusel
Rating: Unrated
Cynthia Feldman's rating

Wow, wow, WOW! Fantastic pie! I'm extremely fussy about apple pie and this is the best one I've ever made in thirty years! I did tweak the recipe slightly, taking into consideration all of the previous comments. Here's what I did: 1. Used a good homemade all butter crust and a glass pie plate 2. Used half Fuji and half Granny Smith apples, totalling 3 pounds (a little more than five cups) 3. Increased the flour to a rounded quarter cup 4. Omitted the lemon zest (don't like lemon and apple together) and the allspice (didn't have any) and substitued quick oats for rolled ones. I also discovered that you can do the initial baking of the apples and crust ahead of time. I had to leave, so I just took it out of the oven, lightly covered with foil and when I returned 3 hours later to finish baking it, it worked out great. With the full three pounds of apples I used, and all that streusel topping, it looks HUGE before it bakes but it comes out the perfect size. With a glass pie plate I dropped the oven temp to 360 degrees and I ended up baking it much longer (at least ten or fifteen minutes longer) until I could view the browned crust on the bottom (easy with a glass pan) This is crucial because otherwise you get a soggy crust on the bottom. We ate the pie after it had totally cooled and the slices held together perfectly. Delicious! Give it a try!

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Cream Cheese Pie
Rating: Unrated
Cynthia Feldman's rating

I am interested in making this recipe but I find it quite unclear. (I've been baking for thirty years so it's not inexperience) Is this to be served as a warm, hot, room temp or chilled pie? Do I bake the filling, chill it and then bake off the topping or leave the whole thing out at room temp before baking it off, or what? It seems like a cheesecake type of filling which would naturally be served cold but the recipe says to top it and bake it off and then serve. Confusing!!! Please, just one more sentence in the recipe would make it crystal clear to all of us.

Cinnamon Raisin Bread
Rating: Unrated
Cynthia Feldman's rating

This bread is fantastic. It is mildly sweet and delicious just sliced and buttered or toasted. I thought it would last long enough to try making it into french toast but we gobbled it up too fast. I made 2 changes: I used butter instead of margarine and I used half Bread Flour and half regular unbleached flour. It produced a dough that was easy to work with and loaves that were beautiful to slice. (Sometimes you bake a cinnamon raisin bread and there are gaps between the rolls and it's kind of a mess but not with this recipe). The only tips I have to offer are 1. Don't obsess over the measurement of flour. Add the flour slowly until you have a dough that is smooth and comes away from your clean, dry hand. It may be more or less than 8 cups, depending on the humidity of your room and the type of flour you use. 2. Be careful not to overbake it. I checked the oven at 35 minutes to make sure it wasn't too brown. I gave two of these loaves to friends and they loved it so you can bet I'll be making this one again and again. Thank you, Faye!

Pear Bread I
Rating: Unrated
Cynthia Feldman's rating

Yum! This recipe is fantastic. I used 3 bartlett pears and ended up dicing them (1/4 to 1/2") because shredding just made mush. This put chunks of juicy, sweet fruit throughout the bread. The pecans are a must - they add texture and great flavor. Two other notes: Mine baked faster than the recipe suggested (about one hour) and I sprinkled some coarse sugar (called Raw sugar in the supermarket) on top before baking and it made a wonderful, crunchy crust. Next time I think I'll add some diced candied ginger to the mix. Give this recipe a try!

Garlic Cheese Chicken Rollups
Rating: Unrated
Cynthia Feldman's rating

Very tasty. Recipe was kind of vague about the pounding out so I made mine about 1/2 inch thick and put the cheese at one end and rolled around it. This made for HUGE rolls so I'll cut the breasts in half next time so they're more manageable. I didn't use packaged spread (is this Boursin or Rondele?) so I mixed up PHiladelphia cream cheese (the brick) with a handful of chives and several garlic cloves in my food processor. A definite keeper.

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