We Have a Winner!–”Like Water for Chocolate”

It proved to be a difficult but fun decision to select a winner from all the wonderful dishes inspired by “Like Water for Chocolate” by Laura Esquivel, for our judge–cook, blogger and photographer extraordinaire, Ben Herrera from What’s Cooking?. A fan of the book and of the magical realism genre,  Ben left us this comment on the round-up post that I thought was great so I am reprinting it here in case you missed it.

Ben says:  “OMG What an amazing array of recipes you guys cooked! Here’s my take on the book. The genre is known as magical realism, probably best known in the novels of Garcia Marquez, and it can be difficult to adopt if you are not very familiar with it or don’t like books with a lot of “fantasy” embedded in the story. I personally love this book because 1) it portrays the real Mexican food that is rarely seen outside Mexico. The food my grandmother and mom made in their kitchen and restaurant in which they poured countless hours and parts of their soul preparing it. 2) I love history, and thought this book is not a history book or necessarily historically accurate, it takes place during one of the most difficult times in Mexican history, La Revolucion. 3) I just love magical realism. Garcia Marquez, Isabel Allende, Juan Rulfo, Borges, are some of my favorite writers and their books make me believe that magic is everywhere, we just need to look a little closer. Again, great work everybody I am really, really enjoying this post!”

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And now on to our winner!

From Ben’s email:

“Here I am finally! OK after reading all the posts several times I have come to a final decision… not easy at all because I think they all did a great job! And the winner is:

Foodycat and her Mexican chorizo.

I loved all the recipes, especially the mole ones and the Aztec Chili Truffles, they are all great accomplishments, but I went with the homemade chorizo because that is one of my favorite Mexican ingredients, and not so easy to make I must say, and because she used it in one of my favorite breakfasts, huevos con chorizo.

I really enjoyed doing this and reading all the recipes and book reviews. Thanks a lot for giving me this opportunity.

Cheers!”

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Congratulations to Foodycat who becomes our first three-time winner of Cook the Books! We may have to get a special badge made!  Congrats and thanks to everyone who participated, as you made Ben’s decision a challenge. And of course many thanks and much appreciation to Ben for being such a great judge!

I am now officially handing the hosting torch over to Johanna of Food Junkie Not Junk Food for her pick, “Eating for England” by chef and author Nigel Slater.

BTW: Just in case you missed the last post announcing our next three books after “Eating for England” you can find it here.

Happy reading, cooking, eating!

Deb

It’s That Time Again–Announcing Our Next 3 Cook the Books Titles!

While we are waiting to find out who our winner from the “Like Water For Chocolate” round-up is, and before I turn things over to Johanna for our April-May selection: “Eating for England: The Delights and Eccentricities of the British at Table” (Have you started reading this one yet? I am loving it!), we thought we would announce our next three picks to take us through the end of the year at Cook the Books so you can start locating them.  We have three great books, a little something for everyone, all are in paperback and hopefully they are books you can find used or at your public library.

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Cook the Books Selection  for June-July 2010

Rachel, The Crispy Cook is taking us with her to a very special cooking school with her selection of “The School of Essential Ingredients,“  the bestselling debut novel from Erica Bauermeister, who teaches writing and English literature courses at the University of Washington.  In the novel, eight students gather once a month at Lillian’s restaurant for a cooking class and a few life lessons as well.

You should have this selection read and your dish posted by Friday, July 30th.

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Cook the Books Selection  for August-September 2010

For me, Deb, of Kahakai Kitchen, curries, samosas, dal and other Indian dishes are some of my favorite foods, so I am taking us on a trip to exotic India with noted cook, author, (over 30 cookbooks and other books and counting!), actress,  and world-renowned authority on Indian cuisine, Madhur Jaffrey. Jaffrey’s “Climbing the Mango Trees: A Memoir of a Childhood in India.” is about her large family, unusual childhood growing up in Delhi, the “power of food to evoke memory” and it also includes over 30 family recipes to make our mouths water. Mmm..I can smell the cardamom and cinnamon now.

You should have this selection read and your dish posted by Friday, September 24th.

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Cook the Books Selection  for October-November 2010

Leave it to Johanna from Food Junkie Not Junk Food to get us into the belly of the restaurant kitchen with Bill Buford’s “Heat: An Amateur’s Adventures as Kitchen Slave, Line Cook, Pasta Maker and Apprentice to a Dante-Quoting Butcher in Tuscany.“ Buford left his job as an acclaimed writer and editor at The New Yorkerto apprentice in the kitchen of Mario Batali’s Babbo restaurant, and the book follows his adventures there as well as on his journey to Italy to discover the secrets to pasta-making and pig slaughtering.

You should have this selection read and your dish posted by Friday, December 3rd.

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There you have it–our next three selections and your reading list through the end of 2010! We hope that you join us reading these great foodie books, cooking and eating some wonderful food inspired by them and of course sharing it all with good friends.

Your hosts,

Deb, Rachel & Jo

Note: If you are new to Cook the Books, welcome! We are a bi-monthly virtual book club, reading great food-related books and cooking and posting dishes inspired by them. Anyone is welcome to join our group. If you have any questions, you can find the details here, or leave a comment and we’ll get back to you.

The Roundup–”Like Water For Chocolate”

Time to round up the wonderful dishes inspired by the classic foodie novel: “Like Water for Chocolate” by Laura Esquivel. There were varying reactions to the book, some loved it, some liked it and for others it just wasn’t their cup of tea (or hot chocolate!). Regardless of how our members reacted to the fanciful fairy tale-like plot, it certainly sparked creativity and inspired some delicious Mexican dishes!

The talented Claudia of Honey From Rock was inspired to research the elusiveChampandongo, a layered meat casserole from the book. Claudia says, “It reminded me a bit of an ancient Greek tragedy, only with more sex and magic, besides recipes, which is usually fun. So, for a strange tale, I thought an unusual concoction was called for here.  Something not seen on the ordinary Mexican restaurant menu, and, one I’d never made or heard of.  My research didn’t turn up very much on the origin of, or alternate recipes for Champandongo. This dish has also been called a Mexican Lasagna, as it layers meats, sauce and cheese with tortillas, rather than pasta.” Her family enjoyed the dish and ate multiple servings!

Ty’s Mommy, from The Seventh Level of Boredom found the book a too fanciful in the story and the recipes for her tastes, but that didn’t stop her from turning out a batch of spicy Aztec Chili Truffles. She says, “So, I thought about the book; its name obviously had some inspiration lying in it (I mean, really, its CHOCOLATE….) and the burning desires that Tita felt throughout the book reminded me of one of my favorite candy recipes. Aztec Chile Truffles. Yep, if you’ve ever had Mexican hot chocolate, you’re going to be all over this one. You can make these chocolates as mild or as spicy as you want (yes, that’s right, I used ‘chocolate’ and ‘spicy’ in the same sentence.) Don’t judge, just give it a try. …Now we can all feel the burn, just like Tita. Enjoy!“

Rachel, The Crispy Cook, one of my wonderful co-hosts for Cook the Books says, “I was delighted to transport myself back to the early 20th century Mexican ranch belonging to the de la Garza family. Ultimately I settled on making a treat of cookies and hot chocolate for my family on a blustery weekend afternoon. followed my usual scratch recipe for hot chocolate from the back of the cocoa powder container (cocoa, dash of salt, warm milk and a bit of vanilla), spiced up with a hint of cinnamon. For accompaniment, I hit a bunch of cookbooks for Mexican baking recipes and chose to make a gluten-free version of Polvorones de Canela (Cinnamon Cookies) from The Moosewood Collective’s cookbook “Sundays at the Moosewood Restaurant”. These are terrific served warm with hot chocolate to dunk them in. They also pair well with coffee.”

Foodycat remembers loving the book when it first came out but not so much when she reread it–finding Tita’s true love Pedro to be a “waste of space” (a sentiment shared by many CTB members in varying degrees!)  However it didn’t stop her from coming up with an amazing dish. She says, “The description of Tita’s painstaking preparation of the chorizo drew me in, and I was very keen to make some – although in a much smaller quantity and without nearly as much chilli! Of course, once I had my batch of chorizo, I had to decide what to do with it. I made a Sunday breakfast of chorizo con huevos – eggs scrambled with chorizo. I served it on a warm tortilla, topped with grated cheese, quartered cherry tomatoes and chopped coriander. I think Mexican chorizo is going to become a much-favoured ingredient around our house!“

My other wonderful co-host Johanna, of Food Junkie Not Junk Food found inspiration from “Like Water for Chocolate” as well as the movie version of another foodie novel,“Chocolat” for her Chicken Mole. She says, “The recipe for mole describe in that part of the book sounded delicious, but complicated at the same time, so I decided to follow another recipe instead which, coincidentally was inspired by the book as well. The recipe for chicken mole I cooked up comes from the book Unwrapped: Green & Black’s Chocolate Recipes: From the Cacao Pod to Muffins, Mousses and Moles.It is a very easy recipe that has amazing results. Even M. who was very skeptical at first as he doesn’t like chocolate very much, absolutely loved it. What is there not to love anyway? The meat falls off the bone, the sauce is rich, spicy and succulent and the chocolate just gives an extra layer of flavour without becoming too obvious. Plus it is dead easy to make. We enjoyed it with some tortillas the first day and as a sauce on orzo the second. I would definitely be making it again!“

Another take on mole, this time as a sauce for enchiladas from Kim from Stirring The Pot. She enjoyed the book and says  “A tragic love story with magical food, Like Water For Chocolate, was a great read. Inspired to make a recipe containing chocolate, I had my heart set on making Mole. I found the perfect recipe while watching the new Food Network show, Mexican Made Easy with Marcela Valladolid. Her Easiest Ever Chicken Mole Enchiladas looked amazing and take only one hour. I was instantly sold on making this recipe.” Although she found the recipe easy, it did take time. effort and lots of pots and pans. Still Kim says, “I enjoyed making this recipe. I love the chance to cook with new ingredients and explore in the kitchen. The Mexican chocolate is literally delicious and I can see myself using it for many other recipes.“

Mole proved to be a popular idea for this CTB round but it was amazingly different in each dish. Joanne, from Eats Well With Others and certified squash lover, added pumpkin to her mole sauce, for this Spicy Grilled Chicken with Creamy Pumpkin Mole Sauce. Joanne says she loved the  ultimate message  of the book and agrees “That food holds more power over us than we would ever think or could ever know. It is linked to emotion. To memory. To love. It can make or break our day. The right meal. At the right time. With the right combination of ingredients. Is worth a thousand words. Or more. …And so while I would love a little magic in my life. There’s always the danger that it won’t be the magic of fairy tales and happy endings. But that of a little village in Mexico where nightmares as well as dreams can come true.Instead. I’ll just take the food. Which elicits a safer kind of magic. In its own right.“

Natashya from Living in the Kitchen with Puppies made a colorful  Mexican-Style Breakfast as her entry. She says, “I liked the idea of the story but I found that the reader is always kept at a distance. It is hard to identify with the characters and ultimately care about them. The book was made into a movie in 1992 and I would like to see it, just to see how on earth they translated it to the screen. The tale is larger than life, fantastical in its telling. I have some trouble finding Mexican ingredients in suburban Canada and had no idea what to make until my friend Foodycat made a Mexican style breakfast. Perfect. I can do that! warm up the tortillas. Spread with refried beans and heat through. Top with grated cheese, chopped tomatoes and avocados. Add a sunnyside-up egg and garnish with sliced green onions (and cilantro if you have some). Dot with sour cream mixed to taste with puréed chipotle peppers in adobo. Voila! Tasty and healthy Mexican-style breakfast.“

Polpette di Fagioli or Bean Cakes were the dish Simona from briciole selected. She says, “When I first read the book, I was not into cooking, so I viewed the recipes only as a literary device. This time, I was more sensitive to how skillfully they are woven into the narrative: “for Tita the joy of living was wrapped up in the delights of food.” Much as I admire the recipes in their context, though, I had a hard time fitting them into my kitchen and my personal taste. So I decided I would prepare a Mexican-style bean dish, since I like beans and “Putting the beans on to cook was the first thing Tita did when she got up at five in the morning.” But no recipe I looked at caught my eye. What did catch my eye last fall were these organic, locally grown Flor de Mayo beans: aren’t they pretty? I saw a recipe that intrigued me in my beloved Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, by Deborah Madison: Black Bean Cakes. I know that Flor de Mayo beans are not the same as black beans, but that did not prevent me from wanting to use the pretty beans to make bean cakes. I realized that, at this point, I was quite removed from the book and its atmosphere, but what could I do? That’s where inspiration had brought me.“

Finally, here at Kahakai Kitchen I made a simple dish from Mexican cooking authority Diana Kennedy, Shrimps in Pumpkin Seed Sauce and served it with some Classic Mexican Rice from Rick Bayless. (although not too classic because I subbed in brown rice!). “Like Water for Chocolate” is probably the first foodie book I read many years ago and I still admire the way the food and recipes were woven into the story and how much it made me want to go into the kitchen and cook Mexican food. Both dishes were simple, flavorful and I loved the color of the bright pink shrimps in their bright green sauce.

Hold the presses!

We do have one late entry from Glennis from Cantbelieveweate’s Weblog who got delayed because of a death of a co-worker’s spouse in her work family. I wanted all of you to be able to see her dish so I am adding it to the round-up. Glennis found the book entertaining, although the characters frustrating, and she had a hard time deciding on one dish so ended up with an entire Mexican Dinner Plate. She says, “I put together my sopa seca de fideo, refried beans, a sope filled with beans and shredded beef topped with shredded cheese, floutas and mini tacos.  It didn’t look like that much food until I sat down to eat it!  There’s a light dusting of parmesan cheese over the entire plate, and there’s shredded lettuce with tomato and avocado slices for a working garnish.  Hot pico de gallo was served at the table.  Oh my.  We each had to taste a bit of everything…and both of us decided the flautas and mini tacos will reheat!“

A fabulous group of really delicious dishes. If only we could bring them together for one big Mexican food-themed party and all get a chance to taste and enjoy them! It will be a difficult decision for our esteemed judge for this round the talented blogger, cook and photographer Ben Herrera from What’s Cooking? Growing up in his parent’s restaurant kitchen, Ben really knows his Mexican cuisine and is a big fan of the book, so he is the perfect person to pick our winning dish. Once Ben has made his decision, I’ll be back to announce it and then hand over the reins to Johanna from Food Junkie Not Junk Food and our journey to Great Britain for “Eating for England” by chef and author Nigel Slater.

February/March Book Selection: “Like Water For Chocolate” by Laura Esquivel

Happy February Everyone!

This is Deb from Kahakai Kitchen here with a bit about our current Cook the Books selection, “Like Water for Chocolate: A Novel in Monthly Installments with Recipes, Romances, and Home Remedies“  by  Laura Esquivel. “Like Water for Chocolate” was one of the first “foodie” novels I read when it was published here in the U.S. in 1992, and it has remained a favorite of mine over the years. Apparently it has become a favorite of many others too, originally published in Spanish as “Como agua para chocolate” the book been translated into 30 languages and there are over three million copies in print worldwide and also a wonderful movie. For some of you it may be a new find and for others, rereading a classic, but regardless, I hope you enjoy the novel and the opportunity to delve into some Mexican culture and cooking.

“The moment they took their first bite of the cake, everyone was flooded with a great wave of longing… But the weeping was just the first symptom of a strange intoxication—and acute attack of pain and frustration—that seized the guests and scattered them across the patio and the grounds and in the bathrooms, all of them wailing over lost love.”

Set in Mexico in the early 1900′s during the time of the Mexican Revolution, the novel tells the story of Tita, the youngest daughter of a well-born rancher who falls in deeply love with Pedro, from a neighboring family. Unfortunately for Tita as the youngest daughter, family tradition dictates that her destiny is to remain single and care for her dominating, aging widowed mother, but she falls in love with Pedro anyway. Her mother quickly acts to stop it by making her sister marry Pedro, which he does to stay close to Tita. Tita’s only outlet for her passion and emotions is the food she cooks, causing those eating the food to experience everything Tita is feeling when they consume her food. It is a fun, fanciful and often poignant story of love, life and of course food, wonderful food! The book is divided into twelve chapters, one for each month and a recipe starts each chapter. The book itself  is a great starting point for inspiration, or pull out your Mexican cookbooks (Rick Bayless and Diana Kennedy are wonderful sources).

To join in the Cook the Books fun, all you have to do is read the book, cook up a dish or meal inspired by the story, and then post about it. (Don’t forget to leave a comment here or email me at debinhawaii@gmail.com about your entry so I don’t miss anyone), The deadline for this selection is Friday, March 26, 2010. After the 26th, I will post a roundup of your fabulous creations and  a winning post will be selected. The winner receives a badge for their blog, will be added to the Cook the Books blog roll and of course will receive much honor and glory!

Everyone is welcome so please join us! We look forward to seeing your dishes!

A Winning Taste for Adventure

After a little delay with email difficulties on my end, I am delighted to announce that our Cook the Books featured author, Anik See, has some comments to make about the posts we wrote about “A Taste for Adventure”.  She very eloquently states:

“I’ve read through all the entries, and understand that some (most) might think that my perception was a bit rose-coloured… Of course, not every day or every person I met was great, but the book is a condensed recounting of over 10 years of travel, so the good people, the ones you tend to associate with an experience or a country, tend to stand out. I think another thing that contributed to my wealth of good experiences was the fact that I was often on a bike, so people feel like they need to take care of you. I’ve been on a few trips without the bike and there has definitely been less food offered! I guess when you’re on a bike, it’s obvious that you’re hungry…  So it’s a good match for those interested in the food of a place.

Also, because I was on a bike so often, planning was almost impossible. I knew the direction I wanted to go, but that’s about it. Anything can waylay you when you’re on a bike – too many hills, or flat tires – and if you’re dead set on a destination at the end of the day you’ll invariably wind up disappointed. I’m convinced that I had many of these great experiences because I wasn’t dead set on reaching a certain place by nightfall (or because it simply wasn’t possible). I’m also convinced that if you go to a country with an open mind, people will open themselves up to you. Even post 9/11.

Anyhow, I’m honoured to have been chosen, and thrilled that so many people decided to cook from the book. It was a tough call, but my winner is Foodycat, both for her effort and enthusiasm, despite her nervousness. And Foodycat, I use a rolling pin for my murtabak too! I think you have to do it for years before you get the wrist flick right. Best of luck to you all, and have fun with the next round – one of my favourite foodie books!

Take care, and thanks again,

Anik”

Congratulations Foodycat, you join Claudia of Honey from Rock as our newest two-time CTB Champion!  And thank you again to our gracious author and guest judge, Anik See.  Now, I’m passing the torch over to Deb of Kahakai Kitchen for our next Cook the Books reading selection, Laura Esquivel’s “Like Water for Chocolate”.   I can’t wait to dive into that book myself!