I thought it would be fun to host a cookbook review on It’s a Keeper (IAK).  Some of my readers and Facebook/Twitter follwers who wanted to participate don’t have blogs of their own to share their recipes on, so I offered up a guest post on IAK to give all of my readers the opportunity to share their reviews.  This one is from my good friend, Natalie.

Having been a faithful follower of “It’s a Keeper” for about a year now, when Christina mentioned a group cookbook review, it sounded like fun.  But…. my husband and I are following a Low-Carbohydrate diet, at least until Lent is over, so I had to really look for a recipe or two that we could eat and enjoy without feeling guilty.  So I paged through Ina Garten’s cookbook and found Parmesan-Roasted Broccoli – I love broccoli and I love cheese, and better still, both are relatively low in carbohydrates – perfect.
As a bonus, it was really quite easy to make.  Here’s the recipe.

Is it a Keeper?
The only modifications that I made were that I cut the recipe way down since there were only 2 of us eating dinner that night, and I used minced garlic rather than sliced because it’s what I had on hand.  I also mixed the minced garlic and oil with the raw broccoli in a bowl prior to putting it on the baking sheet to get them more evenly coated.

Well, was it a keeper?  Not without modification.  It was WAY too lemony for me, and I really like lemon.  The first thing I did after tasting it was check the recipe again to make it did say 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and not teaspoons.   I did use the correct amount for the recipe, but it was just way too much for me.  I will definitely try it again, but next time I will eliminate the lemon zest altogether and maybe cut the lemon juice in half, and then tweak it from there.

Natalie is from northeastern Pennsylvania, and is an amazing working mom. In addition to being a super-mom and a great cook, she also runs a successful construction business and donates countless hours to helping area non-profits. She is a regular, loyal reader and commenter here on It’s a Keeper.  Please give her some Comment Love!

Christina

If you like this post, be sure to stay connected by signing up for my email feed in the box on the right and following me!