Announcing… Our Next Three Cook the Books Picks!

It’s time to announce our next three bi-monthly foodie book selections! While you are delving into the current book, The United States of Arugula by David Kamp, you can start begging, borrowing or finding gently used copies to purchase of our selected books through the end of the year.

June/July 2012

Rachel, The Crispy Cook is having us put our foodie detective hats on for “Death By Darjeeling  (A Tea Shop Mystery)” by Laura Childs. Rachel says, “This cozy mystery is the first in a series of (now 13 titles) books featuring Charleston, South Carolina tea shop owner Theodosia Browning. Theodosia and her employees at the Indigo Tea Shop offers a wealth of teas and baked goods to sample at the shop and at various catered events, including an evening tour of historic homes. When an unscrupulous real estate developer turns up dead at this Lamplighter Tour, clutching an empty tea cup that held poisoned tea, Theodosia goes sleuthing to track down the murder.”

The deadline for “Death By Darjeeling” is Monday, July 30th.

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August/September 2012

At Kahakai Kitchen, I (Deb), have become enamored of a little book of food essays,“Home Cooking: A Writer in the Kitchen“ by Laurie Colwin. Colwin was the author of five books, as well as a food writer and a contributor to Gourmet and other magazines, who died unexpectedly and tragically young, in 1992 of a heart attack at age 48. “Home Cooking” is a small and wonderful collection of stories and memories about food, interspersed  with recipes. Colwin wrote in a casual, warm style and with such a sparkling sense of humor–laughing about herself and her experiences–both good and bad in the kitchen. If you haven’t experienced her before, I think you will fall a little bit in love with her writing. It’s a short book so if you are feeling extra ambitious, feel free to read her follow-up More Home Cooking: A Writer Returns to the Kitchen, as well.

The deadline for “Home Cooking” is Monday, September 24th.

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October/November 2012

Jo of Food Junkie Not Junk Food is giving us a glimpse of a food writer’s life gone bad with the novel “Heartburn” by Nora Ephron. Jo says, “Heartburn is the bittersweet story of Rachel Samstat, a food writer, who discovers that her husband Mark has been having an affair with another woman, whilst she is VERY pregnant. The worse part is that it is not just a fling, but a relationship which has been going on for some time and is not about to end. Nora Ephron’s “Heartburn” is actually based on her own disastrous four-year marriage to Watergate reporter Carl Bernstein and is a funny, witty, heartbreaking, and mouthwatering story all at once.“

The deadline for “Heartburn” is Monday, November 26th.

So grab a copy of each of these books and join us for some foodie fun! If you are new to Cook the Books we would love to have you join us–you can check out our guidelineshere.

Happy reading, cooking and eating!

Deb, Rachel and Jo

Our Current CTB read: United States of Arugula, by David Kamp

Hello everyone!

I hope you all enjoyed our previous sweet read and you are ready for something more…robust:

United States of Arugula: The Sun Dried, Cold Pressed, Dark Roasted, Extra Virgin Story of the American Food Revolution by   David Kamp.

From the author’s site: United States of Arugula is a book about one of the happiest developments of our time: the quantum leap forward in food choice, food quality, and culinary sophistication in America in the last sixty years or so. The book examines not only the social forces that effected this transformation, but the visionaries who changed American food for the better: among them James Beard, Julia Child, Craig Claiborne, and Alice Waters.” We should all find plenty of inspiration to cook from this fun look at the world of food.

The deadline for your entry for United States of Arugula is Monday, May 28th.

So please either email me at: jdimopoulosAT foodjunkie.eu, or leave your post comment here.

Thank you and Happy Easter,

Jo (foodjunkie.eu)

We Have a Winner: The Most Scrumdillicious Dish from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory!

Thanks to everyone who participated in our latest Cook the Books selection,Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl. Such wonderful dishes both sweet and savory, and excellent posts with your reviews, thoughts and feelings about reading (or rereading in many cases) this classic children’s book. If you didn’t get a chance to view the roundup and look at all the posts, here’s the link.

A very big THANK YOU! to our two fabulous judges, Natasha of 5-Star Foodie and her daughter Hannah, 5-Star Foodie Junior. It wasn’t an easy decision for them, but not only did they pick a winner,  Hannah had comments for each person on their entry. Thanks so much ladies!

Here is what they said:

Natasha said: “Hannah and I just went over all the entries and I am including her comments below as well as the winner selection.  This was so much fun!”

Hannah’s Feedback:

• Tina:   “Yes, the Buckets were poor so that had to use just the very few ingredients that were in their pantry.  They would definitely appreciate the beef roast, certainly better than the yucky cabbage soup“

• Camilla:   “This is a whole tasting menu!  The combination of nutella, pears, and Gorgonzola sounds really excellent.  I love balsamic vinegar so if you add the chocolate it must be fantastic in that glaze.“

• Rachel:   “The clickable nori wallpaper snacks look like a lot of fun!“

• Alicia:   “The chocolate roses are very pretty!”

• Debra:  “Yum!   Cherry and chocolate combination is my favorite.“

• Claudia:   “The flavored marshmallows are colorful and sound delicious with the chocolate.“

• Heather:   “I wonder if I drink these whether I would fly up like the Oompa Loompa in the book!“

• Deb:   “Oh this was the funniest part of the book with the giant blueberry!  The truffles are very cool!“

• Jo:  “I do love cake pops!“

Our Judges Verdict:

Hannah said:  “All the entries were very creative and everyone did a great job!.   I picked Camilla’s dishes as a winner because those dishes could have been on a 5 star restaurant menu!“.

Congratulations Camilla! …First time joining in CTB and walking away a winner! You can see all of the wonderful dishes Camilla made for her Wonka-inspired dinner here, at her blog Culinary Adventures with Camilla.

It’s now time to pass the Cook the Books hosting torch along to Jo of Food Junkie Not Junk Food and our April/May selection, The United States of Arugula by David Kamp. And, I’ll be back briefly in a few days to announce our next three CTB picks–so stay tuned. Happy reading and cooking!