A Feast of Four New Cook the Books Selections

Greetings Everyone! I hope you are all snuggling in with our current book selection, Sarah-Kate Lynch's The Wedding Bees and dreaming up something fun to cook and blog about. In the interim, I and my Cook the Books co-hosts have been rustling up some new book selections for us to read and cook from and I am pleased to announce the literary line up that will take us through the next year:

August/September 2015 Book Pick:

Yes, Chef, by Marcus Samuelsson (2012)
Hosted by Rachel, The Crispy Cook

You may know Chef Marcus Samuelsson from hearing about his New York restaurant Red Rooster or his time as head chef at Aquavit or from appearances on Top Chef and Iron Chef, but I found the story of his youth tremendously interesting in his memoir, Yes, Chef. Marcus was born in rural Ethiopia and when he and his mother and older sister contracted tuberculosis in a 1973 epidemic, his mother walked 75 miles with her children to a hospital in the capital city of Addis Ababa, where she unfortunately succumbed to the disease. Marcus and his sister were adopted by a Swedish family, where he squeezed in Saturday cooking lessons with his grandmother, Helga, when he wasn't on the soccer field. A sports career didn't pan out, so he poured his extensive energies into cooking school and various apprenticeships at world-class hotels and restaurants around Europe.

Samuelsson is passionate about "chasing flavors", and experimenting with ingredients and cuisines from around the globe, and I learned a lot about layering taste and texture in dishes from this book. I hope you all will enjoy it as much as I did.

Submissions due: Wednesday, September 30, 2015

-Rachel

October/November 2015 Book Pick:

The Hundred-Foot Journey, by Richard C. Morais (2011)
Hosted by Deb, of Kahakai Kitchen

"People have recommended The Hundred-Foot Journey by Richard C. Morais as a great foodie read to me over the past few years but I just have not gotten around to reading it. I did see the film adaptation, and it made me want to delve into the book, so what better way to get it onto my reading list than to choose it as my October/November 2015 pick? From Bombay to Paris, this novel traces the culinary journey of Hassan Haji from his childhood above the humble family restaurant in India, to discovering French cooking in a small French village, and then finding celebrity as a chef in Paris. I think there will be plenty of delicious food to inspire us in this book.  

Special Note: The fabulous Camilla of Culinary Adventures with Camilla is hosting November's round of the monthly foodie movie event Food 'N Flix and has selected the movie version of The Hundred-Foot Journey. We will be pairing up and doing an optional tie-in of this book with Food ‘N Flix for those of you interested in both reading and viewing this charming story. Details to come!

Submissions due: Monday, Nov. 30, 2015

December 2015/January 2016 Book Pick:

A Place at the Table, by Susan Rebecca White
Hosted by Debra, of Eliot's Eats 

Do you like a good traditional pound cake recipe and inspired Southern cuisine?   Do you like a novel with Southern charm (and that Southern Gothic element as well)? What about a good quirky character ensemble?

Suzan Rebecca White's novel, A Place at the Table, combines all of these elements.   The novel's prologue describes a disturbing scene in Emancipation, North Carolina during the late 20s, but the bulk of the novel takes place during the 80s and 90s in Georgia, Connecticut and New York City.  How does a character from an era of lynchings and fear intertwine with more modern characters trying to make their way in NYC?  

I hope you enjoy finding out the answer and following the three main characters of Alice, Bobby, and Amelia as they all make their way to find peace with themselves and the world around them.

-Debra

Submissions due: Sunday, January 31, 2016

February/March 2015 Book Pick:

The Unprejudiced Palate: Classic Thoughts on Food and the Good Life, by Angelo Pellegrini (1948)
Hosted by Simona, of Briciole

What did America look like to an immigrant Italian child? How did this child applied his philosophy of life, rooted in Italy, to his new home in Seattle? In this book, the first he published, Pellegrini tells his story but also the way he sees life and in particular the way he approaches growing, making and eating food (and wine too).

Pellegrini’s prose is pleasant and precise (in his “day job” he was an English professor), with the affectionate intensity typical of Italians when they talk about things that are dear to them.

He was not part of any school of thought nor did he follow any fashion: with grace and kindness, he told things as he saw them and as he did them.

I hope you will enjoy this food writing classic.

Note: As this book was originally published decades ago, it exists in various editions, the most recent of which is part of Random House's Modern Library Food series(the ebook is also available). I have the 1984 edition, which has an afterword by MFK Fisher, describing the rather inauspicious beginning of her acquaintance, and later friendship, with Pellegrini. 

http://www.amazon.com/The-Unprejudiced-Palate-Classic-Thoughts/dp/0812971558

-Simona

So there you have four mouthwatering books that we hope will tempt you to read, cook from and blog about in the months to come. Please join us at our virtual table with your submissions for the roundup every other month. New bloggers are always welcome. 

Gotta buzz off back to The Wedding Bees.....

-Rachel

Our June/July Cook the Books Selection: The Wedding Bees

A few years ago, I read the novel Blessed Are the Cheesemakers by Sarah-Kate Lynch and quite enjoyed it. In fact, I featured it in a post on my blog. As a home cheesemaker, I particularly appreciated the descriptions of making cheese and also the musings on life by one of the characters. 

Therefore, when I read Betty's note on our suggested reading page mentioning another novel by Sarah-Kate Lynch, The Wedding Bees (2013) I took notice. My usual readings are fairly dark, as I have a passion for crime novels, but every now and then I enjoy reading a sunny, sweet story. 

Sugar Wallace did not believe in love at first sight, but her bees did. . . .
Every spring Sugar Wallace coaxes her sleepy honeybee queen—presently the sixth in a long line of Queen Elizabeths—out of the hive and lets her crawl around a treasured old map. Wherever the queen stops is their next destination, and this year it's New York City.
Sugar sets up her honeybees on the balcony of an East Village walk-up and then—as she's done everywhere since leaving South Carolina—she gets to know her neighbors.

I don't associate NYC with hives and honeybees, so this introduction got piqued my curiosity. Would you like to know what happens to Sugar, her queen and her motley crew of neighbors? Then get hold of a copy of the book and join the Club this month and the next as we read it. The novel does not include recipes but it mentions a number of dishes and celebrates a precious ingredient, honey, which can be used to make a variety of dishes. I am looking forward to seeing what Sugar's story inspires you to make.

Submissions for this round of Cook The Books are due by end-of-the-day Monday, August 3, 2015. Anyone can join by reading the current selection, preparing a dish inspired by its contents and writing about it. Let me know when your entry post is up by commenting on this post and/or sending me an email at: simosite AT mac DOT com. 

New to Cook the Books? Check out our About and Guidelines pages or leave a question in the comments on this post. 

Simona of briciole

April/May Round-Up: The Feast Nearby

Welcome all to the April/May round of Cook the Books.

This month’s Cook the Book round featured Robin Mather’s The Feast Nearby.   In this book of essays, Mather describes “How I lost my job, buried a marriage, and found my way by keeping chickens, foraging, preserving, bartering, and eating locally (all on forty dollars a week).”

I found Mather to be plain spoken and although passionate about her lifestyle, she is not preachy or judgmental.  She is practical.   I learned a great deal from her such as trying to purchase cheese trims from a local cheese monger, drying cherries, and making mead.   I love that she also likes to have a meal of “nibbles” in the summer months.   And, I applaud that she not only advocates for local farmers, but also for local purveyors and businesses like grocers, millers, and meat packers.

I have a new idol in Mather so I appreciate you, the CTB membership, for allowing me to host this round.

Now, let's get to the round-up.

I have to feature Wendy, from A Day in the Life on the Farm, first.   Wendy posted her recipe and review way back in March.   

Wendy loved Robin and loved the book because it is not only  "about eating and shopping locally, which is near and dear to my heart and a lifestyle I try hard to emulate, but the author lived on only $40 per week for food right here in my home State of Michigan."  Wendy wondered why she had not heard of the book before CTB.

Since it was still 40 degrees in Michigan at the time of her posting, she chose to make Mather's Navy Bean Soup.

Navy Bean Soup

Wendy was the early bird this round so she deserves to go first.   The rest of the round-up is in no particular order.

Cathy of Delaware Girl Eats, baked up some delicious looking  oatmeal cookies .   She was taken by the "homey pleasures" in The Feast Nearby and Cathy reminisced about her own challenges of living on $20 a week after she bought her first home in the 80s.   She baked her mother's "simple, homey cookies.   The recipe is similar to the one in the book for oatmeal, maple syrup drop cookies.  It never fails to please." 

Oatmeal Crispie Cookies with Pecans

I agree.  Who can't pass up a warm oatmeal cookie, especially with those memories behind it?

Amy of Amy's Cooking Adventures went with a warming soup like Wendy; however, Amy was less than enamored by the book.  Amy first attempt for CTB was a salt rise bread that failed to cooperate.  Being resourceful, she searched her freezer to find lots of veggies from the previous summer's farmers markets.  She created a delicious soup that was "sort of hybrid between Bacon Corn Chowder and Chicken Tortilla Soup."   

Chicken Tortilla Chowder

Sorry you didn't enjoy the book. Amy.  At least you were able to create a delicious new soup.  

Simona of briciole and a fellow CTB co-host created some delicious and delicate looking strawberry scones.  Simona was inspired by the seasons:  "The narrative starts in the spring (primavera), which since childhood for me is associated with strawberries. Strawberry season in California starts earlier and last longer than in Italy, but I don't think I will ever get used to it, which is good, because it means every year, the thrill of tasting the first strawberry carries the same intense sweetness as when I was a child."

Scone alle Fragole / Strawberry Scones

I love that Simona oven-roasted the fragole.

Claudia writes at Honey from the Rock.   She "especially enjoyed the moments with Pippin, Robins's very clever parrot, having no idea that some varieties of parrot were so intelligent.  He understands and answers her.  Amazing."   As far as the recipes in the book go, the Jambalaya was calling her name.

Jammin' Out Jambalaya

She also points out the difference in growing climates between Mather's Michigan and her own home of Hawaii:  "We have a year-round growing season here in Hawaii, though preserving what we grow is still an excellent thing.  Using fruit that is abundant beyond what can be eaten out of hand, to prevent waste and save money.  Just think of all the wine I don't have to buy, because I grow the fruit and make it."   

I love a frugal wine maker!  (Claudia, do you ship overseas?)

Rachel, another CTB co-host, writes at The Crispy Cook.   She concluded that The Feast Nearby was "stuffed with good information on raising chickens, bartering (she swapped homegrown vegetables from her neighbor for a snug, handknit hat), grocery shopping locally, preserving and canning, roasting and grinding your own coffee. I learned a lot and enjoyed her down-to-earth writing and recipes. There's a lot of richness in living and eating cheaply, seasonally and well."  

Peppery Cherry Spoon Bread

She decided to experiment with baking with dried cherries and tackling Mather's Peppery Cherry Spoon Bread.   Rachel does suggest that next time she will adapt the recipe a bit and simply make "a cheesy, dried cherry-studded polenta" instead. 

I was glad to see Deb (the third co-host) from Kahakai Kitchen post her "Ethel Dip.".  (Deb, good to see you posting again.)  This dip was named after a family friend of Mather's and promised to be a crowd-pleaser. 

"Ethel" Dip

Deb realized that she already owned and read the book a couple of years ago but set about rereading it for CTB.   As she revisited the book, she found that "Mather's words and the food she cooks are simple, homey and great to curl up with at night before bed. It made me want to get a tiny cabin complete with a poodle, a smart African Grey parrot, and maybe a kitten, and try to live on $40 a week too. Since that's tempting but not realistic, Mather's book is the next best thing."

Last but not least is Camilla of Culinary Adventures with Camilla.   A few of you have mentioned the long subtitled to the book (and one of our members refused to read it because of it). Camilla was also "completely put off by the subtitle: How I lost my job, buried a marriage, and found my way by keeping chickens, foraging, preserving, bartering, and eating locally (all on $40 a week)"  and she "envisioned a self-absorbed memoir that was more focused on grocery receipts than the actual food."   Camilla was pleased to be wrong by her first impression.

You can't always judge a book by it's title!  :)

Mujadara

Camilla presented Mujadara, a recipe that was new to her.   Looks delicious, Camilla.

Finally (and I almost forgot to highlight my own recipe here), I also went into unfamiliar territory.  I had never cooked with lamb before and couldn't resist Mather's Marinated Grilled Lamb with lots of herbs, garlic and red wine.

Marinated Grilled Lamb 

We enjoyed this for our Easter dinner at Eliot's Eats.

Thanks to all who read The Feast Nearby and participated this round.   I hope we all found some tidbit of wisdom (or a new recipe) from Mather.   Since the books publication, Mather has vacated the cold climate of Michigan and currently resides near Topeka where she writes for Mother Earth News.   

Please join Simona for the next round of Cook the Books.  She has selected The Wedding Bees by Sarah-Kate Lynch.  You still have plenty of time to get your hands on a copy.  Posts will be due at the end of July.  Please look for an announcement post here soon.  (Simona, so far I am really enjoying the characters in The Wedding Bees.)