Feb/March Round Up: Be Ready When the Luck Happens

Thanks to all who read Ina Garten's Be Ready When the Luck Happens, the Feb/March selection. I am listing the inspired-by recipes in posting order. 

Wendy was first and posted before I even had the announcement up. She's an Ina fan and has more than a few of her cookbooks:

Her memoir was just as engaging as her personality on television and in her cookbooks.   I LOVED this memoir.  I got it from the library a couple of days before I left on vacation, thinking I would read it on the plane.  I picked it up that first day and finished it before our trip.  

Speaking of her trip, she made this lovely meal when she returned. She took the recipe for Garten's Barefoot in Paris Cookbook for Crispy Salmon with Lentils. This is a quick and easy meal that looks delicious. 

Next up was Camilla with, to quote Ina, "frosting delivery systems." These delights are also known as Ina's famous coconut cupcakes.

Camilla was not very familiar with Ina's rise to fame but she enjoyed the book and learning about Ina's early life:

I especially loved her culinary epiphany in France - how they shop, how they cook, and how they eat. I had a similar revelation when I lived and worked in Italy. It's the same thing: foods are eaten in-season; shopping is done in specialty shops; and dishes are made to enhance the natural flavors and quality of the ingredients.

Besides making the cupcakes, she adapted Ina's recipe and made a gluten-free coconut cake. She also was inspired to make Ina's recipes for  Pan-Fried Onion Dip, lentil soup, and a chocolate cake. Look for those recipes soon at her site.

I always admire Amy's honest and transparent book reviews. She was not a huge fan of this selection:

It was kinda nuts, but it was like watching a train wreck - but a train wreck that happens to work out for the best, because as the title suggests, she is very lucky in that all of her ventures very extremely successful.

Now the second half of the book. I think I would be generous rating it a 1.5. At this point Ina has become a household name, so the remainder of the book is a walk through her success. We read about every book she writes, buying her Paris apartment, filming her shows, and while name dropping celebrities (my dear {insert celebrity}, the wonderful {insert celebrity}, the "make me (the reader) want to stab my eyes out" {insert celebrity}). It was so boring!!!!

But, Amy still found some delicious inspiration from a recipe on Ina's website: Avocado Toast with Soft Boiled Egg. 

This does look like a delicious lunch (or brunch, or breakfast, or brinner) dish.

I (Debra at Eliot's Eats) was up next.

I loved reading this book and learning more about Ina, especially her early life (with some unfeeling parents) and her college years and White House career. She is pretty transparent in this work and I thought at one point she might have admitted to doing some illegal substances with a well-known NYC foodie. (No judgement.) She admits that her marriage (which seems ideal and perfect now) once hit some rocky spots with Jeffrey and her actually separating. She chronicles the feelings of coming to age during the feminist movement but still thinking she needed to hold on to some of the domestic traditions that held her back.

I was surprised there were not more recipes in the book but I did find the best brownie recipe ever! 

Simona ran into a bit of bad luck with this selection. By the time she was able to get off the wait list at the library and grab a copy of the book, she found herself ill. 

When I finally started reading it and doing some research on her recipes, I got sick, in a way that made experimenting in the kitchen out of the question for a while. I am finally better, but also short on time and not yet comfortable in straying far from foods I know I can consume. I had made the recipe below a few times while reading the book, before getting sick and I made it again after I got better, as it belongs to the "safe" category. Adjusting to life happening, I  may say.

 

Above is her Root Vegetables and Escarole with Tofu. Simona, I hope you are feeling much better now.

Claudia was "clueless as far as the author goes." She summarizes her thoughts on the book (and Ina's life) here:

Ina, as we read in her memoir, was shaped by a sad, difficult and actually abusive childhood.  You come to realize afresh that some people really should not have children at all.  Because of which upbringing, Ina Garten it seems was driven to assert herself in adulthood.  With her accomplishments and ambition in the face of obstacles, at times including her marriage, it was a wonder to me that her relationship with her husband, Jeffrey survived.  She was blessed indeed with that man in her life, and that they were both able to grow through it all.

She made Oven Baked Asparagus Risotto from Ina's Go-To Dinners and deemed it "very good, delicious in fact."

Claudia, I don't even know how to write your part of the round up. I am so truly sorry for your loss and I cannot even imagine what you are feeling. Know that we are all sending you good thoughts and as much comfort as we can virtually. 

April/May selection: The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club

For the April / May 2025 edition I chose the novel The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club by Helen Simonson (May 2024)

At some point last year, upon returning a book to the library via the Libby app, I was offered the option to "skip the line" and borrow a sought-after novel with a long, intriguing title. I accepted the offer and soon I found myself drawn to the story and even more so to its historical background: the period post-WWI and Spansh flu pandemic, and the challenges the time posed to women, war veterans and the UK at large.

It is the summer of 1919 and Constance Haverhill is without prospects. Now that all the men have returned from the front, she has been asked to give up her cottage and her job at the estate she helped run during the war. While she looks for a position as a bookkeeper or—horror—a governess, she’s sent as a lady’s companion to an old family friend who is convalescing at a seaside hotel...

But things are more complicated than they seem in this sunny pocket of English high society. As the country prepares to celebrate its hard-won peace, Constance and the women of the club are forced to confront the fact that the freedoms they gained during the war are being revoked.

I enjoyed Simonson's style so much that after finishing this novel, I borrowed her earlier ones: The Summer Before the War (where again the war in question is WWI) and Major Pettigrew's Last Stand.

While the novel i selected is not food-oriented, it includes a number of references to foods. I hope it will provide inspiration and, above all, an interesting read.

Simona, briciole

Deadline for contributing your post: Saturday, May 31, 2025.

 

Leave a comment below with a link to your post or email me at simosite AT mac DOT com

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Remember that membership in our book club is open to anyone and we hope you will join us by reading these selections and creating inspired recipes. New participants are always welcome and so are returning ones. For more information about participating, click here.  

Land of Milk and Honey: The Roundup

Well, we had a good variety of dishes inspired by this strange, dystopian novel.  As well as some strong likes and dislikes!  Here they are, in order of posting.  Please visit all the links for the full stories, and leave comments on them.

First off, and really outstanding I must say, was Amy, of Amy's Cooking Adventures, with her Mirror Glazed Galaxy Cake.  Just beautiful, and so appropriate for the book.

She said, in brief, "Yeah…even though I’m usually all for dystopian stories, this one did not do it for me. It was bizarro land.

Next in was Debra of Eliot's Eats who brought a Green Juice Smoothie to the table, celebrating all the green that the damaged planet was missing.  She really enjoyed the novel, saying "I thought this was one of the best books I have read in a while. I could not put it down."

Next, Marge of The Intrepid Reader and Baker made us a dessert, Japanese Strawberry Shortcake.  Sounds good to me!  She noted that, "It's fair to say I didn't love this book, and I was glad when it was done, but sometimes that is what being in a book club is about right? You read the selection knowing that it might not be the kind of book that you would normally read."  Yes truly, we sometimes do get stretched!

Then Simona of Briciole, arrived bringing us a serving of Radicchio with Red Grapes, "a little bitter and a little sweet" and the contrast in taste and color seems quite appealing.  She had mixed thoughts about the novel, and mentioned "Readers who enjoy dystopian stories may agree with the praises bestowed upon this one." 

I, Claudia Honey From Rock, came in last, just under the wire, with a meal based on the "the years-old fish and bioengineered flour" mentioned in the Publisher's Weekly review in the introduction post. Ventresca Tuna in a Bechamel Sauce with Brazilian Cheese rolls made from tapioca and breadfruit flours. The curly kale would not have been available to the rest of the planet however. Or probably the Béchamel sauce with its butter and milk.  I was among the group who didn't really enjoy the book.  

I hope no one got left out.  If so, let me know.  

News Flash!!  I did miss this very early post which came in on Christmas Eve of 2024!!  My Apologies to Wendy, of A Day on the Life on the Farm, who brought us a very comforting Roasted Vegetable Soup with Pomegranate arils.  She said, in brief:  "There is tons of food in this novel including prehistoric animals that were brought back to life from DNA by the scientists working in this lab." (The mountain research center where the chef was working)

Now we're on to our next selection, Be Ready When the Luck Happens, a memoir by Ina Garten, and hosted by Debra of Eliot's Eats.

February/March Selection: Be Ready When the Luck Happens by Ina Garten

Back when the FoodNetwork was all I would watch on a Saturday afternoon, I enjoyed the dulcet calming voice and recipes of Ina Garten on The Barefoot Contessa. I really hadn’t thought much about her these past years even though her Boeuf Bourguignon recipe is my go-to Christmas dinner dish. This summer, however, I reviewed Cooking in Real Life by Lidey Heuck. (Lidey was an assistant for Ina for many years.) Then I heard an interview with Ina on Fresh Air promoting her upcoming memoir. I pre-ordered it. I had no idea that she had worked in the White House, that she spontaneously bought a specialty food shop in the Hamptons, and that she was a very reluctant FoodNetwork Star. I guess I wasn’t much of a fan girl back in the days of The Barefoot Contessa. Long story short… the February/March selection is Ina’s most recent book.

From the publisher:

Ina’s gift is to make everything look easy, yet all her accomplishments have been the result of hard work, audacious choices, and exquisite attention to detail. In her unmistakable voice (no one tells a story like Ina), she brings her past and her process to life in a high-spirited and no-holds-barred memoir that chronicles decades of personal challenges, adventures (and misadventures) and unexpected career twists, all delivered with her signature combination of playfulness and purpose. From a difficult childhood to meeting the love of her life, Jeffrey, and marrying him while still in college, from a boring bureaucratic job in Washington, D.C., to answering an ad for a specialty food store in the Hamptons, from the owner of one Barefoot Contessa shop to author of bestselling cookbooks and celebrated television host, Ina has blazed her own trail and, in the meantime, taught millions of people how to cook and entertain. Now, she invites them to come closer to experience her story in vivid detail and to share the important life lessons she learned along the way: do what you love because if you love it you’ll be really good at it, swing for the fences, and always Be Ready When the Luck Happens.

I hope you’re inspired by one of her personal tales like “1000 Baguettes” or “It’s Always Cocktail Hour in a Crisis." Perhaps you’ll choose a recipe from one of her thirteen cookbooks! Regardless, I think this will be a fun and interesting read. I always like a good food memoir. Posting deadline is March 31, 2025. Just leave a comment below with your link.

If you're new to CTB, check out the Guidelines  page here. We're a fun bunch so please join us. Just read Ina's book, get inspired, pop into the kitchen and create and then post about it. 

Until then...

Debra 
Eliot's Eats

December/January Selection: Land of Milk and Honey

Can you believe it, Mid Winter already, with Christmas fast approaching!  I picked this novel, Land of Milk and Honey, by C Pam Zhang, as our next selection for Cook the Books Club, without having read it, which, amounts to a disclaimer, just so you know.  From the reviews it sounded so very intriguing. They were all overwhelmingly raves!  

Just to illustrate: 

A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK
Finalist for the New York Public Library Young Lions Fiction Award

NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY NPR, HARPER'S BAZAAR, TOWN & COUNTRY, KIRKUS REVIEWS, ESQUIRE, ELECTRIC LITERATURE, SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN AND MORE! 

I will leave you all to make up your own minds and am looking forward to hearing your discussions about the novel, and what recipes you come up with, as there were a ton of food references here.  Basically a Sci-Fi, dystopian look at life on planet earth after an overwhelming global catastrophe!

From the Publisher's Weekly: Zhang's exquisite and seductive second novel (after How Much of These Hills Is Gold) centers on an unnamed chef, 29, who is trying to survive in the wake of an environmental catastrophe that wreaked havoc on the earth's biodiversity. Raised in Los Angeles by a single immigrant mother, the chef chased complex flavors and busy kitchens since she was 19. But when the disaster decimated kitchen ingredients and shuttered borders, she was left cooking with years-old fish and bioengineered flour: "Chef had lost its meaning... like fresh." In a desperate attempt to change her surroundings, she takes a head chef position at a secretive food research community on the mountainous Italian-French border, which holds a surprising storeroom with the world's last strawberries, Parmigiano, and boar meat. Her transition to cooking for investors she cannot meet is difficult--she has no access to the outside world and she can't stomach the rich food. But she becomes preoccupied with Aida, the boss's mischievous 20-year-old daughter, who shows up to test her cooking. Aida and her father see their facility as the planet's last hope, and the chef soon learns that her role extends beyond food to enabling a world that caters to their ambition. Wrestling with her desire for both excitement and stability, the chef must squash the inner voice that asks, "Hadn't I meant to feed anyone else?" ...

The deadline for posting your thoughts and inspired recipes will be Friday, January 31st, 2025.  If you are new to the game, and have questions, check out our Guidelines  page here.  I hope you'll read the book and join in.  Basically what we do is read the current book, then make a food preparation inspired by it, and post to your blog.  Leave a comment below with your post link.  Open to all! 

Aloha,

Claudia

Honey from Rock