Review: Mixed Feelings
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 03 8, 2012
Okay, first off - there was no "America" in the early 15th century.  Remember, "in 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue."  I didn't check the other historical information provided, but that error was glaringly obvious.Some of the recipes looked really interesting.  However, I ran into some problems.The "bacon, turkey, and cheese meatloaf" is something of a misnomer, to me, because it's ground beef with turkey bacon on top.The Italian Herb meatloaf says "Cover loaf with seasonings,2 tbsp breadcrumbs, crumbled bacon, onion, mushrooms, and cheese."  Now, maybe that's workable, but frankly, I'm not willing to run the risk of ruining the meal by putting the seasonings on a topping mixture rather than mixing them in.  The recipe has mushrooms listed only once, but the instructions call for them to be added into the mixture AND on top, without indicating that the total amount should be separated.  I also don't get why I would put breadcrumbs on top in addition to in the loaf, especially when the recipe calls for sauce to be poured on top after cooking for an hour.  Seems to me like it would be a soggy mush.Finally, there's the Parsley and French Fried Onion meatloaf.  It calls for a can each of sliced carrots and potatoes.  The instructions say to bake the meatloaf for a total of an hour, then "add vegetables to taste."  This just doesn't make any sense to me.Of note, the vegetarian recipe does call for an egg.Ultimately, there are some recipes I may try but I'm probably going to double-check the recipes first, which means that the book is not as useful to me as I'd like.  The only reason I'm even willing to go to this extent is because I picked the book up for free.  If I'd purchased it, I'd request a refund and look elsewhere.