Author Topic: Holiday Open House ~ December 1-31  (Read 52239 times)

BooksAdmin

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Holiday Open House ~ December 1-31
« on: November 13, 2009, 10:31:48 PM »
Holiday Open House ~ December 1-31


LINKS

Culinary Mysteries

Authors & Their Recipes
---------'Tis the season to be jolly and to talk about:
 BOOKS  AND  FOOD

Who's your favorite cook?
Julia Child?   Nigella Lawson?   Emeril?

Or maybe they exist only in books:
Diane Mott Davidson's Goldy Baer?
Joanne Fluke's Hannah Swenson?

Have you ever tried their recipes?

Come join us this holiday season,
share your thoughts.
What's good to read and good to eat?


Discussion Leaders:   Pedln & JoanK

pedln

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Re: Holiday Open House ~ December 1-20
« Reply #1 on: November 16, 2009, 09:47:44 AM »
We’re fast approaching that wonderful time of year with family, friends, fellowship, AND food.  And here at SeniorLearn it goes without saying, AND BOOKS.  Of course, books.  And during this coming holiday season we want to combine Books and Food.

You are all invited to our special Holiday Open House, December 1 – 20   so we can gather together to visit and chat about our favorite food people – real or otherwise.  Who or what comes to your mind when you see “Books & Food?”

For many of us it might be a fun cozy mystery by someone like Diane Mott Davidson or Joanne Fluke.  Or maybe it’s Joanne Harris and her Chocolat.  And even though I don’t cook as much as I used to, I still love to read recipes.  For years, there was always a cookbook on the bedside table.  How about you?  Do you have a favorite chef you like to read?

Have you ever tried to make anything that came out of a novel?  Lots of folks tried Potato Peel  Pie – add beets, was one suggestion.  Our Senior Center Swap Book has a modified recipe for Diane Mott Davidson’s Banana Pecan Muffins, good for using those overripe bananas.

So on December 1 just knock on the door and walk in.  The coffee will be ready, the wassail bowl full, and lots of good things from everyone to share.

JoanK

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Re: Holiday Open House ~ December 1-20
« Reply #2 on: November 16, 2009, 03:07:43 PM »
For me, books and food have always gone together. In my "bookie" family, when mom called "Dinner's ready", everyone who didn't have a book ran to get one, to have something to read during dinner. Many years later, the cafe at the local Borders was the hangout place for local seniors: grab a couple of books you might want to buy, a cup of coffee and pastry, sit, read, or compare books with friends.

Come and share your books and food memories. What do you munch while you read? Are there foods that have been introduced to you through books? What is your favorite food related book? Why do so many mysteries have food in them? Which cookbooks make the best read? The best food?

This is the place to discuss all this., And December 1-20 is the time. We should have loads of fun, and without a single calorie!!

This site will be open for posting on December 1st. See you then.

pedln

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Re: Holiday Open House ~ December 1-20
« Reply #3 on: November 26, 2009, 01:58:15 PM »
Welcome to SeniorLearn’s Holiday Open House.  Lots of books, lots of food, both here in ample supply. So do come in, have some punch or tea, and how about one of Laura Child’s Key Lime Scones? Laura  writes the Indigo Tea Shop mystery series, set in Charleston, SC and featuring shop owner Theodosia Browning.  You’ll find recipes in her books and also interesting  tidbits about Charleston.

My library is holding a new book for me -- Gaile Parkin's Baking Cakes in Kigali.  I'm looking forward to reading it because the friend who recommended it said it is very uplifting to read after all of the other things we've seen and heard of in Rwanda.

Quote
Baking Cakes in Kigali is a tale in fourteen confections, and behind each cake lies a story. As baker Angel Tungaraza busies herself with her customers' orders, we learn about their lives  . .  .  .Hauntingly charming, funny, and involving, Baking Cakes in Kigali , set in Rwanda, is a novel about the real meaning of reconciliation - about how, in the aftermath of tragedy, life goes on and people still manage to find reasons to celebrate.

And what about you?  What foodbooks have you been enjoying lately?

PatH

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Re: Holiday Open House ~ December 1-20
« Reply #4 on: December 01, 2009, 12:29:54 AM »
Well, this discussion is tailor-made for me, since books and food are my major obsessions.  I'll buy cookbooks just to read, whether or not I intend to cook from them.

Does anyone remember Mama Leone's Italian restaurant in New York City?  Mama's son wrote a cookbook (Leone's Italian Cookbook, by Gene Leone) which has a lot of good recipes, but also has the story of the restaurant, which is pretty interesting.  Mama started it to put her habit of cooking for her friends (including Enrico Caruso) on a sound basis, and it took off from there.

Mippy

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Re: Holiday Open House ~ December 1-20
« Reply #5 on: December 01, 2009, 06:55:21 AM »
Good morning!  This looks like a great idea!
quot libros, quam breve tempus

nlhome

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Re: Holiday Open House ~ December 1-20
« Reply #6 on: December 01, 2009, 07:59:32 AM »
Good morning also. This should be a fun discussion.
I particularly enjoy a book, a cup of coffee and a molasses cookie about mid morning while sitting next to the tree. Of course, that assumes I'm not at work, the tree is up and I've had time to get to the library.

I found a book on my shelf that I must have bought years ago, Very Merry Mysteries - containing three mysteries. The first is by Charlotte McLeod. That will start my holiday reading.

Babi

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Re: Holiday Open House ~ December 1-20
« Reply #7 on: December 01, 2009, 08:41:12 AM »
Checking in.  Looks like fun...
  I did pick up a couple of light 'Christmas' mysteries, but their only
relationship to the holiday was the timing.  Well, Lily Bard (Shakespeare's
Christmas) did discuss the Christmas menu with Jack.  She proposed to
make Spinach Madeleine instead of his proposed English peas. I'd never
heard of  Spinach Madeleine, but if you're interested, here it is.

 
 Spinach Madeleine
Prep Time: 30 Minutes
Yields: 5-6 Servings
 
Ingredients:

2 packages chopped spinach, frozen
4 tbsps butter
2 tbsps flour
2 tbsps chopped onions
½ cup evaporated milk
½ cup reserved spinach liquor
½ tsp black pepper
¾ tsp celery salt
¾ tsp garlic salt
6 ounces Velveeta Mexican cheese, sliced into ¼-inch cubes
salt and red pepper to taste
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
 
Method:
Cook spinach according to directions on package. Drain and reserve liquid.
In a medium saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Add flour, stirring until
blended and smooth, but not brown. Add onions and sauté 3-5 minutes or
until wilted. Add evaporated milk, spinach liquor and Worcestershire
sauce slowly, stirring constantly to avoid lumps. Cook mixture until
smooth and thick, stirring constantly. Add seasonings and cubed cheese.
Stir until melted and combine with cooked spinach. This may be served
immediately or put into a casserole and topped with buttered bread crumbs.
The flavor is improved if the latter is done and kept in refrigerator
overnight.


 
"I go to books and to nature as a bee goes to the flower, for a nectar that I can make into my own honey."  John Burroughs

dixierose4

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Re: Holiday Open House ~ December 1-20
« Reply #8 on: December 01, 2009, 12:42:22 PM »
This is the first time I have posted and what a "delicious" way to start.  I will most any book and cook books are high on my list.  Try one of Anthony Bourdain's entries.  His books are a savory assortment and keep me enterained.  I am enjoying the comments and suggestions.  Thank you

fairanna

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Re: Holiday Open House ~ December 1-20
« Reply #9 on: December 01, 2009, 12:52:09 PM »
PatH I am glad to see others buy cookbooks to read. Some of my best recipes I have found reading at night a cookbook. I dont recall a book that was also a story with recipes but THAT SOUNDS LIKE A GOOD IDEA TO ME. As and Air Force wife who lived many places and ate "odd" food or at least food prepared in a new way I became addicted to buying cook books from each and about each country. My one son says I am an exotic cook and I guess when you serve chicken cordon bleu , eggplant parmesan for an evening meal it is a bit different than most family meals.

The best recipe books though are the ones where woman put a cookbook of their recipes. The one I am posting is in a booklet the Wives Club on Okinawa assembled. We had to wait to get base housing so we lived UP ISLAND which meant places built to rent to the Americans. We were in a little sort of alcove near the top of the mountain that makes up Okinawa....the wives would contribute to a meal for all of us when our husbands were somewhere else ..and this recipe I need to put in some sort of permanent collection of my favorites, since the page is well used, blotched eggy color with toasted edges.

Thanks once again to Gladys Uyahara, my good neighbor "up island"

Wheat Germ Rolls

Combine 2 c unsifted flour, 2 pkg of undissolved dry yeast, i/2 c sugar +1 1/2 tsp salt in the bowl of an electric mixer. Stir well to blend. Add 1/2 c soft oleo or crisco along with 1 1/2 cup of hot tap water. Beat at medium speed for 2 min. Scrape bowl . Add 2 eggs +another cup of flour.Beat a high for 1 min. Stir in slowly 1 c of wheat germ and 2 more C of unsifted flour. until mixture leaves side of bowl. Turn onto a floured board and knead 5-10 min( 5 will usually do it)adding 1/2 to 1 cup of flour.Cover with plastic wrap and a towel and allow to rest for 20 min.Punch down divide into 3rds..roll out and cut each circle into 12 wedges..starting at the wide edge roll into crescents  Place on greased baking sheets ( mine hold each 18 crescents)
cover loosely with plastic wrap..refrigerate 2-24 hours. Preheat oven to 375 remove rolls from refrigerator and the plastic allow to stand 10  min..Bake at 375 for 15 -20 min. I know it seem like  a lot of trouble but it is really easy and since this a basic dough you can also make cinnamon rolls are any way you want to use the dough.

I have had guests who almost made a meal out of these rolls...they ate less of the main menu and one young man ate 12 not too long ago.

What am I reading ? some good new cookbooks and a mystery story by an lady author who lives near my daughter about 3 hours away,,the story is set in the community of Stanardsville VA called Death on the Bella Constance by Ann Mullen..the latest in her series  going to copy the spinach recipe I LOVE SPINACH

marjifay

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Re: Holiday Open House ~ December 1-20
« Reply #10 on: December 01, 2009, 02:21:25 PM »
Yes, Pat, I remember Leones Italian Cookbook -- from the 1960s I think.  I probably have it around here somewhere.  Yum!

I just got MOLLIE KATZEN'S VEGETABLE HEAVEN cookbook with over 200 yummy recipes for uncommon soups, tasty bits, entrees, side dishes, desserts.  Can't wait to try some.  She wrote that great 1977 Moosewood Cookbook.

Another great cookbook I want to buy is 500 LOW SODIUM RECIPES by Dick Logue.  His 512 pages of recipes have lots of ways to get yummy flavor without salt.   

Marj
"Without books, history is silent, literature dumb, science crippled, thought and speculation at a standstill."  Barbara Tuchman

JoanK

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Re: Holiday Open House ~ December 1-20
« Reply #11 on: December 01, 2009, 03:06:48 PM »
Boy, I made the mistake of reading the posts just BEFORE I ate -- won't do that again, I'm literally drooling.

Hi, all. some old friends and some new ones -- the greatest mix.

DIXIEROSE: WELCOME, WELCOME. Pull up a chair make yourself to home.

ANNA: "the page is well used, blotched eggy color with toasted edges". That's exactly how a good recipe should look.

I can't cook anymore, but I'm blessed to get good cooking from others. And I love to read about food. Those of you in "The Mystery Corner" know I read the mysteries with a food theme. I thought I knew them all, but look at the link in  the heading that Pedlin found. I don't even know half.

Lots more to say, but I'vr GOT to eat. Back later.

ginny

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Re: Holiday Open House ~ December 1-20
« Reply #12 on: December 01, 2009, 06:40:30 PM »
Golly what a great idea and discussion, thank you all for the fabulous looking recipes and recommendations. I'm going to make some of these and read those not edible (books :))  and will report back on the results!

Nlhome, if you can get your hands on Charlotte MacLeod's Rest You Merry you won't regret it, it, like The Christmas Crimes at Puzzel (spelled this way for a reason) Manor by Simon Brett are my all time favorites.

But in honor of this discussion I just reread Poirot's The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding, and it's also as good as it gets, big manor house, guests, snow, and a murder, it's just super. Only 50 paperback pages long so they usually put it in another volume, but Agatha Christie explains that it was dedicated to the old fashioned Christmases she enjoyed as a guest while a child, it's very touching, the whole thing is a Christmas gift, and she labels them as types of food offerings, entrees, etc.

I got the Dean brothers's  new cook book, because a couple of the recipes looked good and actually the pork loin with apple cider was about as good as anything you'll ever eat. I like Ina Garten's (the Barefoot Contessa) cookbooks, I guess because she is so calm, and I'm not. :)

Pat H, oh yes, Mama Leone's,  would love to see that cookbook, I remember her before she moved to the hotel and even there if you liked something a new plate of it went out the door with you free, that was a wonderful restaurant, I thought.

Pedln, let us know about Baking Cakes in Kilgali, it looks wonderful. I was just reading Elspeth Huxley, one of her African mysteries, but the animal bits in it were more than I could deal with. I like her writing tho, very much.

Anna thank you for that recipe for Wheat Germ Rolls, I almost managed wheat rolls this Thanksgiving, I'm determined to try again, that looks good, and so does the Spinach Madeleine, Babi!

And since this discussion is about food and merriment, I've got a joke for you! If you heard it on NPR, don't give it away till people have a chance?





There was a Russian scientist and a Czechoslovakian scientist  and they went to Africa to study the habits of the  hippo.

 

They found a huge herd of them with two standing off a bit, a huge male and a female.

 

The natives told them not to approach but they didn't listen.

 

Suddenly there was the noise of thundering hooves, dust clouds raised and total noise and confusion.

 

When the dust cleared the scientists were gone.

 

A veterinarian was called in, they were able to catch and operate on the female hippo and found the Russian inside.

 

You know what THIS means, said the veterinarian!

 

 What does it mean?

hhahaaaaa




JoanK

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Re: Holiday Open House ~ December 1-20
« Reply #13 on: December 01, 2009, 07:02:27 PM »
I lost a post. Hope I didn't post it in the Kim discussion. Anyway, welcome to all I covered in it.

Ginny: I have no idea, but I hope it's a groaner.

I've eaten at both Mama Leone's and Moosewood: two great restaurants, but both with lines going out the door and around the block to get in. Moosewood is in Ithaca, NY. When we visited my daughter at Cornell, we always wanted to go there (she's a vegetarian) but usually didn't have the patience. Now she cooks from the cookbook.

ALF43

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Re: Holiday Open House ~ December 1-20
« Reply #14 on: December 01, 2009, 09:40:11 PM »
hahahah oh it's a groaner alright!
Books are the bees which carry the quickening pollen from one to another mind.  ~James Russell Lowell

JoanP

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Re: Holiday Open House ~ December 1-20
« Reply #15 on: December 01, 2009, 09:55:34 PM »
ahahaha, Andy, a groaner is RIGHT!  The Czech is in the ... ;D

Isn't this a fun discussion - and look, some new posters too!  Welcome!  I love it!  More recipes.  
Babi, I intend to get on that Spinach Madeleine recipe...maybe I'll substitute something else for the Velveeta.  Do they still make Velveeta?
Is Mama Leone's still in business?  We used to go there all the time in the 60's.  I thought it closed in the 80's - I hope not.  It's one of these places you want to stay right where it always was.


PatH

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Re: Holiday Open House ~ December 1-20
« Reply #16 on: December 01, 2009, 10:23:11 PM »
Groan. I'd heard that one before, but it's still funny.

Yes, JoanP, Mama Leone's is gone.  It changed location a few times (bad idea) and closed for good in 1994.

Mippy

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Re: Holiday Open House ~ December 1-20
« Reply #17 on: December 02, 2009, 06:44:44 AM »
oh my Ginny!    aaaaarrrrrrgh  ... as J. Depp would say ...
   or in a cartoon clipped from a Boston newspaper:
        Pirates of New England say:      aaaaaaaaaghghghg   (no r's)
             sorry ... doesn't retell.

Hi, JoanK ~  I used to read lots of those food-mystery books, but these days they are not digesting ...  er...   going down as well.   But any suggestions are quite welcome, in case I want to dive back into mysteries.
quot libros, quam breve tempus

PatH

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Re: Holiday Open House ~ December 1-20
« Reply #18 on: December 02, 2009, 08:08:02 AM »
Aaaaaaghghgh!  Retells to me. Tee hee.

Babi

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Re: Holiday Open House ~ December 1-20
« Reply #19 on: December 02, 2009, 08:53:41 AM »
Yes, Velveeta is very much in evidence, JOAN. Possibly it is used because
it melts easily. That may be a consideration in choosing the cheese.

 Thanks for mentioning the Charlotte MacLeod book, GINNY. She is a
favorite of mine.  And I may just have the "Christmas Pudding.." in a
volume of Poirot on my shelf. Got to check that out asap.
"I go to books and to nature as a bee goes to the flower, for a nectar that I can make into my own honey."  John Burroughs

mrssherlock

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Re: Holiday Open House ~ December 1-20
« Reply #20 on: December 02, 2009, 12:38:39 PM »
Doesn't everyone read cookbooks recreationally?  In my fantasies I can cook anything I read and I cavalierly increase, decrease, add, eliminate ingredients as I see fit, much to the improvement of the dish.  When the spoon hits the pan, however, I am stuck in the same old rut.  The next cookbook, however, will transform me into the latent chef I was meant to be.  before computers I used to write  recipes at the end of the chapters of my old copy of Joy of Cooking by Erma Rombauer.  Almost ovenight, it seems, the book fell apart and many of my treasures were lost, never to be found again.  I would think that, once written down, a recipe would be forever retained someplace but alas, no.  I had an absolutely scrumptious recipe for Sweet and Sour meatballs, using five lbs of ground pork for a start.  Another was a teriyaki sauce with red pepper flakes, out-of-this world.  The Elk Creek Inn on the California coast had a creation called Eierkuchen, like a pancake made with stiffly beaten egg whites, perfect smothered in fresh strawberries perfect for a summer supper.  All gone, alas. 
Jackie
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. Edmund Burke

pedln

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Re: Holiday Open House ~ December 1-20
« Reply #21 on: December 02, 2009, 01:28:45 PM »
Oh my gosh, I was going to say, “draw me a picture,” but all of a sudden it came.  Very good, Ginny, I had not heard that version before.

It’s just terrific to see everyone here, and a very special welcome to dixierose.  We’re delighted that your first seniorlearn post is here.  I’m not familiar with Anthony Bourdain, but my library has two of his books – No Reservations and The Nasty Bits (usable trim, scraps, and bones)  Doesn’t that sound intriguing.

Babi, thanks for the Spinach Madeleine recipe.  I love spinach, especially when it’s in a mix and can be put in the oven in a casserole.  And Anna, isn’t that the truth about those cookbooks put together by women.  I still have my barely held together cookbook from the Union Church of San Juan, PR, back in the ‘70’s.  And every time I use it I think of the people we knew there.

My girls have had Moosewood cookbooks ever since they had their own kitchens.  I didn’t know there was a restaurant by the same name.

All these wonderful posts have been sending me to my library catalog and google.  Can’t find Hercule Poirot’s Christmas Pudding, but did find Agatha C’s Murder for Christmas at the library.  Also Charlotte MacLeod, but no Rest You Merry.  And Hercule Poirot’s Christmas is available on You Tube, as well as Netflix.  I don’t know if there’s any good food there.

It was fun being away – lot’s of interesting things to eat and drink.  Pomegranate Wine – a little sweet, but good, pumpkin rolls, and a yummy appetizer made with layers of cheese, pesto, sun-dried tomatoes and pine nuts.  Spent the weekend in Baltimore with daughter and friend.  Liz wanted to know if she could eat crab at every meal.  She came close.  One night the girls walked to an Afghan restaurant and brought back take-out, which included a special fried sweet potato concoction.

Thank goodness for freezers.  It's a drippy horrible rainy day, and I'm not about to replenish the larder.  But I know there's a container of homemade hams and beans waiting for my dinner tonight.





evergreen

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Re: Holiday Open House ~ December 1-20
« Reply #22 on: December 02, 2009, 01:54:23 PM »
What an interesting conversation!  I always learn new things from listening to your discussions.

Where else would I learn that Mama Leone's closed finally in the 1990's.  Shades of my misspent youth.  One of the things I remember about Mama Leone's was that we always wound up in conversations with the people at the tables around us, which made it seem like one big happy family...

My grandmother passed along a cookbook prepared for their parish church.  All the ladies from surrounding farms contributed recipes.  All the ingredients for each recipe are listed, but no amounts.  The directions had little detail........like mix the ingredients and cook for two hours.  My mother insisted that all the ladies just knew how much to use....It's a laugh-out-loud-book.

I 'm keeping a list of books you mention.  I'm sorry I don't have any Christmas books to contribute.  There are a few mentioned on my Kindle lists, but I don't know if they're any good.

What interesting posts!  I still want to learn the punchline to Ginny's joke.

evergreen

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Re: Holiday Open House ~ December 1-20
« Reply #23 on: December 02, 2009, 01:58:36 PM »
Oops.  Never mind.  LOL.

Mippy

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Re: Holiday Open House ~ December 1-20
« Reply #24 on: December 02, 2009, 02:13:23 PM »
Pedln ~ Nice to read you were in Baltimore ... pronounced  Bal'more by us who lived nearby, once.   As in Bl'more Orioles!
And also good to hear you are safely home again.

All of you talking about recipes passed down in the family are so very, very lucky!   My mother only wanted to keep me out of the kitchen, so I wouldn't make it "messy" and taught me zero about cooking.  However, I think her recipes mostly came from Ladies Home Journal and other similar magazines, so I didn't miss much.   She did bake extraordinary cakes and pies -- all birthday cakes were homemade in those days.

My father's mother was the great cook in the extended family, but she cooked by eye/taste without any written recipes at all.   She did let me help, when I was a tiny girl, to cut out home made noodles and pasta, after the dough was rolled out on the kitchen table.  Her chicken soup was to die for!
quot libros, quam breve tempus

JoanK

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Re: Holiday Open House ~ December 1-20
« Reply #25 on: December 02, 2009, 02:53:15 PM »
MIPPY: I didn't know you used to live near B'lmore (or if I did, my Senior memory didn't retain it) Where?

The food mystery that I couldn't digest was one by Diana Mott Davison(sp?). Her detective is a caterer, who cooks when stressed. She and her friends are being chased by the bad guys and running through the woods for their lives, when they spot a cabin. They go in, decide they're hungry. She cooks them a gourmet omelet (I think she brought the eggs with her, in case she needed them while she was fleeing, but found the rest of the ingredients in the cabin-- what cabin doesn't have the ingredients for a gourmet omelet), they ate it, and resumed fleeing for their lives. I don't remember whether they did the dishes or not).

I don't think even I am that dedicated to food. But most of the foodie mysteries go very well, especially if you make sure you are munching on something while you read. More on them later.

Speaking of which, what is your favorite thing to eat or drink while you read?

Mippy

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Re: Holiday Open House ~ December 1-20
« Reply #26 on: December 02, 2009, 04:21:10 PM »
Hi, again, JoanK.   We lived in D.C., either in the Maryland suburbs or right in Georgetown ... too many details ... for about 17 years.

Good subjuct: Favorite things to consume while reading?
In the evening, tea without caffeine ... lots of different flavors ...
   and a bit of fruit or a couple of cookies ... nothing heavy.

What does everyone else choose?
quot libros, quam breve tempus

salan

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Re: Holiday Open House ~ December 1-20
« Reply #27 on: December 02, 2009, 07:11:17 PM »
Ummm, what do I consume when I am reading???  It depends on the season, the time of the day or the type of book I am reading.  When I am reading books that take place in the U.K., I love a cup of tea.  Normally, I like a cup of coffee unless it is too late in the evening.  In the summer, I like a glass of iced Russian Tea (old, family recipe), or cherry limeade with lots of crushed ice.  AND home made cookies--they go with anything any time of the day or year!!

I just finished Joanne Fluke's Candy Cane Murder. It had lots of cookie recipes that I copied and hope to get around to baking this season.  There were 3 novelettes in this book.  Joanne Fluke was fairly good, and so was the one by Leslie Meier called Candy Canes of Christmas Past; but the middle one, The Dangers of Candy Canes by Laura Levine was really dumb (in my opinion).  It almost turned me off reading Christmas mysteries!
Sally

nlhome

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Re: Holiday Open House ~ December 1-20
« Reply #28 on: December 02, 2009, 07:49:07 PM »
Re: favorite things to consume while reading - sometimes in the evening, a glass of red wine, a piece of chocolate, and a good mystery. Morning, a good cup of coffee and a muffin and the newspaper. At bedtime, a book is enough.

Ginny, the MacLeod book I have is Rest You Merry, and I am enjoying it.

mrssherlock

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Re: Holiday Open House ~ December 1-20
« Reply #29 on: December 02, 2009, 08:17:44 PM »
Most of my reading is in bed but when not in bed I like somethung crunchy, like popcorn or nuts with orange juice.
Jackie
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. Edmund Burke

PatH

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Re: Holiday Open House ~ December 1-20
« Reply #30 on: December 02, 2009, 08:34:17 PM »
I read all the time, so anything I eat, I eat while reading.  Breakfast with the newspaper, lunch and dinner with whatever book, and maybe snacks in between.  Bed too, but I don't eat in bed (mostly).

JoanK

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Re: Holiday Open House ~ December 1-20
« Reply #31 on: December 02, 2009, 09:58:02 PM »
With me right now, it's a cup of cocoa. there's something cozy about cocoa and a book.

Mippy: I'm a DC native: lived in the area most of my life.

SALEN: I like Joanne Fluke's mysteries, Her detective owns a cookie store, and is baking cookies while she solves murders.  Warning Someone (I think Stephanie) tried her recipes and said they were too sweet -- that you have to cut down on the sugar. Davidson's above are awfully rich -- I gain weight just looking at them. But I haven't tried any.

If you check the food-related mysteries above, there are piles of them. It's clearly become a sub-genre in mysteries. Has the same thing happened in other genres-- food related romance books, food-related sci-fi books (Nah, people in Sci-Fi books never eat. Or if they do, it's some hi-tech pill.).

bellamarie

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Re: Holiday Open House ~ December 1-20
« Reply #32 on: December 02, 2009, 10:38:16 PM »
Greetings to all, these recipes look delicious!  I am a snuggle reader, I have to be in my favorite lazygirl chair, with my afghan, my dog Sammy curled up next to me and a hot cup of General Foods International Suisse Mocha, with some kind of cookie, my favorite is Pepperidge Farm Goldfish S'mores.  YUM!

Okay ladies and gents...I have a mystery for you all to solve.  I have begun reading Jane Austen's books.  I have just completed Sense and Sensibility.  I will begin Pride and Prejudice next.  So...since I am just becoming familiar with Austen, I have a bit of a dilema.  I googled literary recipes so I could bring one to share.  I came across this book titled:  Kafka's Soup A Complete History of World Literature in 14 Recipes by Mark Crick
In this book is a recipe that was taken from one of Jane Austen's books, and for the love of  might, I have not been able to find which of her books it is from.  So all you Austen fans, here are the passages with the recipe included.

As a sacrifice to propriety, Mrs. B___ agreed that the dish would be a traditional one.  With the day of the luncheon drawing near, Mrs. B__ was suffering terribly with her nerves.  The event that she had announced with such anticipation had ceassed to be a source of pleasure.  On the contrary, it was unfair of the local ladies to allow the burden of organising such gatherings to fall so often to her; and was it not strange that Mrs. Eliot had not returned the courtesy of the dinner that she had given a fortnight past?  Such were the mutterings of Mrs. B___as she paced the garden seeking inspiration, when the sounds of a carriage crossing the lawn announced the arrival of Lady Cumberland, who suggested a small rehersal.  So it was that the two neighbors found themselves in the kitchen at Somercote, still busily searching for a proper suitor for the eggs.  While Lady Cumberland sat drinking tea,  Mrs. B___chose for her employment to search the pantry, stalking the absent suitor.
     "Parsley might do,"  said she.  The herb was a regular at the house and the chance that it might combine well with her eggs meant that Mrs. B___could only think well of it:  "Good-looking, with an easy unaffected manner."  Lady Cumberland 's reaction was unequivocal:  "Too much  curl to its leaf, and too often seen in great bunches at fishmongers.  It would be a most unhappy connection."


     Mrs. B___ was not used to disagreeing with the better informed mind of Lady Cumberland, and now, her every cherished opinion of parsley's worth overthrown, she turned her eye to rarer visitors, including the tarragon.  She had always thought tarragon a difficult herb and hard to please.  "It refuses to grow here, it refuses to grow there, but fancies itself so very great, disappearing every winter I know not where.  I quite detest the plant."
     "French tarragon is an aristocrat among herbs, and although I think it too good for your eggs, I cannot deny that it would be a fine match for them," said Lady Cumberland.  Mrs. B___received the remark with all forebearance of civility and the slight on her eggs went unremarked.  But a recommendation from so high a source as Lady Cumberland could not be ignored, and Mrs. B___'s comtempt for the noble tarragon was soon forgotten.  The possibility that her eggs might find themselves cooked with the aristocratic herb sent Mrs. B__ into such a state of excitement that Lady Cumberland would have risen to leave were it not for the promise of luncheon.  Instead she instructed her host to produce the dish without delay"  "I suggest you begin."

     
Mrs. B___obliged by heating the eggs slightly to break up yolks and whites.  On Lady Cumberland's instruction she then passed the eggs through a sieve to remove the thread and further mix the white and yolk without creating the froth that can be "so unsightly."  No sooner had such an end been reached then she added the tarragon, which was by now high in her good graces.  She could barely hold back her raptures at how good the tarragon and eggs looked together and anticipated the happy moment when she would see the united, on toast.  Taking half the butter, Mrs. B___ spread it around the pan, and pronounced it to be the most tractable of ingredients.  The remaining butter she added in small lumps to the mixture, together with salt and pepper, before cooking the whole over a gentle heat, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom of the pan as she did.  As soon as the attachment seemed to strengthen she removed the dish from the heat and kept stirring:  the warmth of the pan was sufficient to complete the cooking before the eggs became too dry.  The delightful union Mrs. B__ then served with toasted bread, and with so much good taste and true merit that, when Lady Cumberland was obliged to declare the dish acceptable, the happiness of the guests was assured.  And so it proved to be the case, with the possible exception of Mrs. Eliot, who, when she detailed the particulars to her husband, remarked on the lack of finery or parade in the table setting and of the inferiority of the dish next to her own eggs benedict.  But, in spite of all the deficiences, the hopes, the sensitivities, and the appetites of the small band of true friends who gathered for luncheon were fully answered in teh perfect scuccess of the union. 

I can't wait to see who solves this mystery, and I finally find out the name of the book! 

Tarragon Eggs A' La Jane Austen (from Kafka's Soup)
40g butter
4 eggs
Ground pepper
Pinch of salt
2 teaspoons tarragon (fresh or dried)


“What on earth could be more luxurious than a sofa, a book, and a cup of coffee?...Was ever anything so civil?”
__Anthony Trollope, The Warden

PatH

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Re: Holiday Open House ~ December 1-20
« Reply #33 on: December 03, 2009, 12:05:32 AM »
Bellamarie, I am so glad you found Jane Austen.  I'm a total Austen addict, and feel that the books can be reread multiple times.  Sense and Sensibility was a good start.  If you like watching movies of books you have read, you should try the 1995 version, directed by Ang Lee, with Emma Thompson as Elinor, Kate Winslett as Marianne, Hugh Grant as Edward Farrars, and Alan Rickman as Colonel Brandon, doing a good job of showing why it's a good idea for Marianne to marry him.

Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion are about tied for my favorites.  There are excellent film versions of both (best watched after reading the books).  P & P, the lengthy BBC version with Colin Firth, and Persuasion, a 1995 version with Ciaran Hinds and Amanda Root.

Now, to get back to the question you asked: I can't imagine what book that recipe is from.  Austen's heroines don't cook, they order dinner.  Mrs. B__ might be Mrs. Bennett in P and P, but I don't remember a Lady Cumberland.  I'll have to work on it.

But don't let that slow you down; Austen is the greatest.

Babi

  • Posts: 6732
Re: Holiday Open House ~ December 1-20
« Reply #34 on: December 03, 2009, 08:47:04 AM »
 O, I do like pesto, PEDLN. A friend of mine, now deceased, introduced me to pesto made fresh from her own garden. I've been a fan ever since. There is a sandwich shop the next town over that makes a chicken pesto pizza that I love! I try to get one from time to time.

 I'm like Sally. What I nibble on usually depends on the time of day.
Cheddar cheese and something crispy is an afternoon favorite. Cookies
are always good.  Diet Dr. Pepper with the cheese; milk with the cookies. Hot cocoa in wet, cold weather.
 I don't bake much from scratch anymore. Cornbread, occasionally. The
ready-to-bake cookies are so good, why bother?

BELLA, I thought at first I recognized Mrs. B___ and Mrs. Eliot, but I
feel sure I never read this abstract re. the parsley and tarragon, etc.
I am at a loss, and wonder if "a la Austen" means 'in the style of', and
not an actual quote.
"I go to books and to nature as a bee goes to the flower, for a nectar that I can make into my own honey."  John Burroughs

JoanR

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Re: Holiday Open House ~ December 1-20
« Reply #35 on: December 03, 2009, 09:38:54 AM »
Hi, everyone.  Merry pre-Christmas!!

I will certainly make that spinach casserole - it sounds delicious.  We have Thanksgiving dinner at my daughter's house since she has so much more room and there are many of us when we all get together.  She does the turkey, I bring the sides and others do desserts and wine.  We switch it around for Christmas  when I bring the roast or ham.  I plan to add the spinach casserole anyway - it would be great with ham.  Thanks, Babi!!!!!

About that Mrs B. and Lady Cumberland quote  -  doesn't it sound like something out of Angela Thirkell's books??  I haven't read her in years but one never forgets her style.

pedln

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Re: Holiday Open House ~ December 1-20
« Reply #36 on: December 03, 2009, 09:40:37 AM »
Oh my, Bellamarie, you’ve opened up a brand new can for us.  I haven’t read a lot of Austen, so can’t help you out with Mrs. B, although my first thought also was Mrs. Bennet.  But I did google Kafka’s Soup, landed at Amazon, and am looking at a literary feast of  food and books, including one title Movie Menus: Recipes for Perfect Meals with You.  (Hopefully there's nothing like that scene from Tom Jones )    :P

Anyway, you’ve given me an idea for my gourmet cook DIL’s birthday.  By the way, a fun movie for an Austen neophyte (like me) is Lost in Austen – a time travel film in which a young woman tries to help the Bennet girls.

What to eat when reading – I try not to eat, but if it’s an afternoon set aside for the pleasures of just reading, then popcorn is my choice.  Mostly I just try to sip, depending on where or when.  JoanK’s cocoa on a dreary day like yesterday, mostly tea, or sometimes a glass of wine when sitting on the front porch just before the dinner hour.

Do you all know Penzeys – the spice people?  They’re online, but they also have individual stores, which I try to visit if I have enough time when in St. Louis.  It smells so good in there.  You can also get on the mailing list for their catalog, which includes recipes, which I’m always tearing out.

The December catalog came yesterday and it’s loaded.  Have you ever heard of  a DUFF?  “A popular dessert enjoyed in England and Scotland.”  The picture shows a rather light cake with a yummy sauce.  Will have to copy the recipe, but first must retrieve DIL's recipe for green bean salad, that she served during my visit there.

Hi JoanR, we were posting right about the same time.

mrssherlock

  • Posts: 2007
Re: Holiday Open House ~ December 1-20
« Reply #37 on: December 03, 2009, 12:08:17 PM »
Aunt Dimity, she who communicates from beyond the grave by writing on a blank page, has been know to include recipes; in particular is lemon squares that looks divine.  I haven't made it because I would have to eat it all myself 'cause my family doesn't like lemon squares.  http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/a/nancy-atherton/
Jackie
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. Edmund Burke

PatH

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Re: Holiday Open House ~ December 1-20
« Reply #38 on: December 03, 2009, 12:09:52 PM »
Do you all know Penzeys – the spice people?  They’re online, but they also have individual stores, which I try to visit if I have enough time when in St. Louis.  It smells so good in there.  You can also get on the mailing list for their catalog, which includes recipes, which I’m always tearing out.
I get almost all of my spices from Penzey's.  They are very good quality, and you can get small bottles, so you can use them up before they lose strength.  Once you've ordered from them, you automatically get their catalog.  They have about the most uninspired website you've ever seen.

mrssherlock

  • Posts: 2007
Re: Holiday Open House ~ December 1-20
« Reply #39 on: December 03, 2009, 12:21:58 PM »
Mention of Penzey's reminds me that two other catalogs  relate  to this site.  Williams-sonoma is an up-scale cookery store which has  glossy catalogs including recipes.  http://www.williams-sonoma.com/

King Arthur Flour is devoted to the bakery side of the kitchen.  http://www.kingarthurflour.com/

Last but not least is my favorite cooking reading, the two magazines published by Christopher Kimball, of America's Test Kitchen:  Cook's Illustrated and Cook's Country 
http://www.cooksillustrated.com/
http://www.cookscountry.com/
Jackie
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. Edmund Burke