CTB Lunch in Paris: A roundup

Hello everyone!
Thank you all so much for participating in this round of Cook the Books. I was quite pleased that you found the book very appealing both as a read as well as a cooking inspiration and that most of you wanted to cook I hope to have you with us for next round as well. Elizabeth Bard will be sending us her verdict soon, so stay tuned.

Ok here we go…

1. Eliot of Eliot’s Eats  had grand ideas when she started reading the book (I think many of us did…). She says about the book: I had not studied anything this close since graduate school and I had not eagerly underlined and penned my own thoughts in the margins since my undergraduate days.   Bard’s writing style lent itself to some “aha” moments (or at least for me) as she discovered a new identity in a foreign land.   My copy of Lunch in Paris began to resemble the dog-eared copies of novels that stuffed my backpack in college.I love her conversational style and her ability to not take herself too seriously. However life had other plans for her and all she managed to whip up was a nice pot of mint tea.  No worries though, the book will still be there for future references!

2. Tina from Life in the Slow Lane at Squirrel Head Manor  loved the book and was really shaken by the descriptions of Yanig’s condition and the fact that the family never got a second opinion. Tina says: This is a memoir I would recommend for anyone who enjoys reading about France, cross cultural exchanges as well as some fine recipes. We have already made several and plan to try more soon. She made two delicious recipes from the book: pasta ala Gwendal and Ratatouille served with grilled lamb.

3. Kaye from In Kaye’s Kitchen admits that Lunch in Paris is not the kind of book she would pick herself, but could relate with the book in many wayssince she also moved to France herself (early retirement rather than love).  She had to laugh at the importance of having your name on a utility bill and now keeps a copy in my checkbook, in case I need to show it somewhere.  Kaye  also made a whole meal inspired by the book: haricots verts (green beans) with walnut oil (she actually produces her own), Lamb Tagine and a cherry clafoutis. What a lovely dinner for a springtime evening!

4. Lauren of a Very Hungry Bookworm also wanted to make many of Bard’s recipes. She says:[ Lunch in Paris] makes me want to jump on a plane and get back to Paris as soon as humanly possible.  Through this story of romance and food and her romance with food, Bard brings the food of France to life.  Each chapter takes on a different part of her relationship with her French husband, France, and food, ending with a series of recipes that she mentions in the chapter. Since her kitchen was in dire need of a spring clean she had to  settled for a “Zen” cherry-apricot yogurt cake. Pas mal…

5. Claudia of Honey from Rock was the only one of the readers to really comment on how annoying Parisians are: By the time I’d finished, it was perplexing indeed why anyone would subject themselves to the place long term.  Only true love.  Good food and beauty are available in more congenial locales. Though, as long as you’re not having to deal with the attitudes yourself, it can be humorous. Claudia made the Roast Wild Boar but used green mango instead of apples and Mango liqueur instead of Calvados as these were theclosest local ingredients she could get her hands on.I’d like to try that version too!

6. Maria of Organically Cooked was the reason why we all red this book in the first place. You can read her initial review of the book here. She found many similarities between herself and Elizabethe in the way they both cooked in tiny spaces with loads of local, seasonal ingredients and the first time around she decided to invest in some ramekins to  make Pots de Chocolat. Since then Maria has made several dishes from Lunch in Paris which is quite remarkable as her family is not always open to novelties. I think this strongly proves that good food is just universal!

7. Heather of girlichef   admits that “the food scenes and the recipes woven into every chapter…every tale…are probably my favorite parts of the book… I love that food is not an afterthought, but a normal part of everyday life for Elizabeth, Gwendal, and her new extended family. I’m pretty sure food is one of the reasons she fits into the French scene so well“. Heather made mussels with white wine and fennel because she “was inspired by the vacation on the island of Bell-Ile, off the coast of Brittany…and American body image vs. French body image. Plus, my own husband has been passively reminding me that he’s been wanting mussels for more than a year (far more) now.”. 

8. Alicia of Foodycat  admits that  she was expecting a bit of the cliché:affectionate mocking of the quaint local customs, realisation that they are so much more in touch with the circle of life than we are (whichever peasantry is the exotic other on this occasion), self-deprecating stories about cultural ineptitude and a couple of recipes featuring ingredients that are hard to come by outside that particular village. That is doing it a great disservice; Lunch in Paris is not that book. Alicia was inspired to make a Mushroom Tarte Tatin, not a recipe from the book, but quite French in spirit nonetheless.

9. Rachel of the Crispy Cook admits that she fell in love with Gwendal and that she has a few dog-eared pages in Bard’s book for delicious recipes that I will make when various edibles come into season. For CTB she made raspberry financiers easily transforming the recipe to gluten free by substituting the flour with brown rice flour. Oh, and she also made the cake stand herself!

10. Deb of Kahakai Kitchen liked the book as well. She says: [Bard] writes conversationally, like chatting over a cup of tea with a fun and witty friend and so descriptively that you share her experiences and can almost taste the food. Speaking of food, there are plenty of delectable recipes at the close of each chapter that caused by copy of the book to be studded with sticky tabs (and quite possibly a few drool spots). Deb  made the Cauliflower and Tahini soup from the book,  but changed teh recipe around a bit to suit her new dietary challenges and used her own, homemade tahini!

11. I cannot participate in this round since I am hosting, but you can read all about my white asparagus with prosciutto and poached egg here.

Our Next Book: Lunch in Paris by Elizabeth Bard

Hello everyone! In this CTB round we will be leaving exotic, adventurous Caribbean to visit erotic, cosmopolitan Paris.

“Lunch in Paris” is Elizabeth Bard’s memoir, the story of a young
American woman who fell in love not only with a man but with a whole
culture. Through learning to cooking French recipes, shopping in open
air markets and battling bad-tempered butchers she discovers the
beauty of a city and explores the secrets of the French psyche.

Speckled with sexy recipes and a passionate love story in the world’s
most romantic city, Lunch in Paris is sure to make your heart beat a
little faster:

Book excerpt:

“The chocolate centre flows like dark lava onto the whiteness of the
plate. The last ounce of stress drains from my body…. I have
discovered the French version of Death by Chocolate”.

Elizabeth Bard is an American journalist based in Paris. Lunch in
Paris is her first book and has been a New York Times and international best seller.You can follow Elizabeth’s continuing
culinary adventures on her blog ( elizabethbard.blogspot.com), facebook and twitter pages: www.elizabethbard.com,
www.facebook.com/LunchinParis, www.twitter.com/ElizabethBard

Elizabeth Bard has kindly agreed to judge this CTB round, so please send your submissions to me (jdimopoulos@foodjunkie.eu) by FRIDAY MAY 27th.
Thank you! 
Johanna (foodjunkie.eu)

Presenting the Next Three Cook the Books Picks

Deb, Jo and I have put our heads together to pick the next three CTB foodie book picks for our book club and wanted to announce them so that you can all scour your local bookstores, libraries, friend’s bookshelves and the Internet to get copies ahead of our club deadlines.

The very next round of Cook the Books will be hosted by Jo and she has picked Elizabeth Bard’s “Lunch in Paris: A Love Story with Recipes”. The deadline for this round is May 27, 2011. 

After that, we will have the following three books to read:

Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen.  Round hosted by Rachel, The Crispy Cook. Entries due July 25, 2011.

CTB regular Girlichef suggested that we consider any of Allen’s novels (you can always leave a book recommendation as a comment on one of our posts), and so I got her first book, Garden Spells, to read and consider for CTB.  I was entranced by this debut novel about a caterer and gardener who has been handed down special powers from her family. When her estranged sister comes back home with a daughter in tow, this sets off a series of entwined events that change the little town of Bascomb, North Carolina in unexpected ways.  Looking forward to cooking up some things from the garden and featuring herbs during this round.

Next up will be: A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from my Kitchen Table, by Molly Wizenberg. Round hosted by Deb of Kahakai Kitchen. Entries due Sept. 26.

Deb says: “After her father’s death from cancer, getting back to her studies and life in Seattle didn’t feel right for grad student Molly Wizenburg. Instead she headed headed for Paris, ostensibly to do research on her dissertation, but there she found herself following her heart and and stomach and turning to a life of food and food writing. Starting the wildly popular blog “Orangette” as a way to record her thoughts, recipes and impressions, her descriptive writing and delicious recipes brought her countless international readers, a monthly column in Bon Appétit, and even a passionate long-distance romance that turned into true love.

“A Homemade Life” is a collection of recipes and recollections, meals and memories, all illustrating the tremendous power of food as love–to get us through the hard times, help us remember the good times and bring us together in a way nothing else can.”

Then we will travel on to Greece to check out:

Harlot’s Sauce: A Memoir of Food, Family, Love, Loss, and Greece, by Patricia Volonakis Davis. Round hosted by our own Greek food expert Jo of Food Junkie, Not Junk Food. Entries due Nov. 29, 2011.

Jo describes the book as follows:

“Ever wondered what life in Greece might be like for a non-Greek (before the crisis of course), what Greek men are all about and how can one survive in a foreign country? Well you’ll definitely find answers in our book pick: Harlot’s Sauce: A Memoir of Food, Family, Love, Loss, and Greece, by Patricia Volonakis Davis. It is the story of Patricia herself who falls in love with Greek Gregori, follows him to Greece and tries to make her marriage work. In the meantime however she gives us vivid descriptions of Greek life, culture food and more.

Patricia Davis (http://www.patriciavdavis.com/), is also the founder and editor-in-chief of the non-partisan Harlot’s Sauce Radio e-magazine and podcast, as well as the president of Harper’s Davis Publishing.

So there you have it: three more delicious reads to savor through the rest of the year.  Happy Reading and Cooking!

We Have a Winner… for “An Embarrassment of Mangoes”

Thanks to all of your culinary and writing efforts, our wonderful author and judge Ann Vanderhoof had a difficult time in choosing a winner for this selection of Cook the Books, “An Embarrassment of Mangoes.”

Here’s what Ann had to say direct from the Receta!

——

Thank you so much for choosing An Embarrassment of Mangoes for your book club and, especially, for asking me to judge the entries. What a delicious opportunity for an author to get an intimate look at how readers respond to her book!

I got tremendous pleasure from reading all the entries, and seeing what the book inspired you to cook. But, hey, a winner must be picked, and Deb said it was up to me to set the criteria. I settled on two broad ones:

1. The writing had to capture something of the spirit of the book – whether that was the feeling of the Caribbean, or the hunger for escape, or the exploration of something different or new.

2. The entry had to make me hungry. For Caribbean food.

Fat lot of good this second one did me. All of you made me want to run immediately to my galley and cook. I loved the way you riffed on the meals in the book, and I wanted to taste everything. A couple of special mentions: Crispy Cook’s idea of using the lobster shells from Dingis’s Curried Lobster to make a base for Lobster Rice to accompany it was brilliant. I’m going to try it for sure (…next year; lobster is now out of season here). Ditto Kahakai Kitchen’s Pineapple Cream Cheese to go with my Papaya Banana Muffins. I could taste what a great pairing it would be. Foodycat’s Shark and Bake with Shadow Benny Sauce (and fried plantains on the side) was irresistible – how did she know that’s one of my favourites in food-obsessed Trinidad? (And my favourite place to eat it is Maracas Beach, not on Receta; frying bakes and fish and plantains in my tiny galley is a hot, challenging exercise.) And Can’tbelieveweate’s Lime and Coconut Pie…one look at that photo and I craved a piece. Maybe two.

But the winner is…Eliot’s Eats. I thought her Fish Taco Salad was a nifty spin on the classic fish taco, and mango salsa is a fabulous combo with fried fish. She’s right: Eating it al fresco, accompanied by a cold island beer, would be just the ticket – and I plan to try it in Receta’s cockpit (substituting a local fish like dorado for her tilapia, and a little sugar cane syrup for her agave nectar, which isn’t available in the Eastern Caribbean, where we are). That said, it was her lovely, evocative writing that tipped her into first place. I loved her use of dialogue and description (“And the stars. I wanted to lay out at night on watch and feel the vastness of space and sea envelop me”), and the way she used her adolescent reading to launch her story. She writes a mean photo caption, too.

“When do we dare to make our crazy dreams a reality and when are we prepared to just let them lie dormant and die?” she asked. “Can we really ever afford to say, ‘We’re really too old to do that’?” It gave me great pleasure to know that my book inspired her not just to cook something with Caribbean flavor, but also to think about questions like those. Eliot, I want to be a customer at your garden shop/bookstore/pottery studio/food truck.

Thanks again for allowing me to participate in your club.

warm wishes,

ann

aboard Receta, currently anchored in Deshaies, Guadeloupe

——

Congratulations Eliot of Eliot’s Eats!

We will be sending your coveted Cook the Books winner’s badge shortly to display proudly on your blog and will be adding you to the list of esteemed CTB winners on our sidebar.

Much thanks to the talented Ann Vanderhoof for writing such a wonderful escape for us and for taking the time (and internet access) to judge while on her current adventures!

Hey Cook the Booksters–stay tuned for a post from Rachel, The Crispy Cook with the next three books that we will be reading and cooking along to, after our current selection “Lunch in Paris” by Elizabeth Bard, hosted by Johanna of Food Junkie Not Junk Food.

“An Embarrassment of Mangoes” the Cook the Books Roundup!

It seemed that everyone enjoyed “An Embarrassment of Mangoes: A Caribbean Interlude” and relished sailing away to the Caribbean on the Receta with Ann Vanderhoof and her husband Steve, soaking up a little island life–no matter what the weather in their location! Fun times were had cooking up some delicious Caribbean-inspired fare too. Our tour guide and author Ann will be reading through the posts and picking her favorite interpretation of the book, so let’s see the posts and dishes she will have to choose from.

Foodycat says, “March in Hertfordshire is worlds away from the Caribbean. Wrapped up in several thick layers of clothes, listening to the rain on the conservatory roof, it was almost impossible to imagine the blue sky and sunshine Ann Vanderhoof describes in the current Cook the Books book club selection, An Embarrassment of Mangoes.” Foodycat made a delicious meal, starting off with a Mango Daiquiri before some hearty “Shark and Bake” Sandwiches with “Shadow Benny Sauce”and a batch of Fried Plantains, making the best of local ingredients she can get in the not so tropical U.K. Foodycat says, “It may not look much like Trinidad outside, but we still had our little taste of the Caribbean.“

My CTB co-host Rachel, The Crispy Cook also found respite from the winter weather in the book and says, “Long distance sailing holds no appeal for my hobbity self, but I was glad to have this vicarious vacation in a dust jacket while foot upon foot of snow and other variants of frozen precipitation visited my home pretty much every couple of days these many long winter weeks. It was nice to imagine myself basking in sunshine, sipping a rum punch and bopping to soca, that combination of soul and calypso music that screams “party time!” Rachel chose the enticing Dingis’s Curried Lobster and she whipped up a batch, using the lobster shells for a flavorful Lobster Rice as a base and ending dinner with the tropical Mango Crisp which she says “had a great zing from some chopped crystallized ginger.”

Claudia at Honey From Rock enjoyed the book which reminded her of her own sailing away phase that didn’t quite pan out like Ann’s. Claudia says, “Adventures as well as fruit. What an inspiring, envy provoking, and darn good read!” Claudia also was enamored of Dingis’s Curried Lobster which she says was “Fresh and intensely flavored, almost salsa like, we liked it very much. In fact, planning for more as soon as possible. It was perfectly accompanied by my favorite blend of brown, wild and white basmati rice, along with some Island Breadfruit Salad, and Guava Chutney.“

About the book Glennis from Can’tbelieveweate Weblog says, “We follow the couple from one harbor to the next as they explore their ports, meet the locals and learn about the local foods.  Ann tells it like it is…there’s no sugar coating her trepidations, or rain on her delights.  I hadn’t gotten far into the book at all when I started craving conch.  Now, how I’m going to satisfy THAT yen, I have no idea!  LOL!” Instead she created a Caribbean dinner with Five Spice Roasted Chicken, Coconut Rice, and Tangy Pineapple Salad; “Everything came together very nicely.  The rice is so mildly seasoned!  A bit of onion, curry, and the unctuous smooth taste of coconut milk.  This was a perfect backdrop for the spiced chicken.  The glaze for the chicken was just about good enough to lick the plate over, and the rice helped soak up every drop” If that wasn’t enough she followed up with a tangy-sweet Lime and Coconut Pie to finish a wonderful meal. (BTW: She still wants conch!) 

Over at Kahakai Kitchen I was most taken by the recipe for Papaya-Banana Muffinsin the book because although papayas are plentiful year-round here, I rarely cook with them. I found the muffins extremely  moist, with great flavor–like a more complex banana bread. They were excellent on their own but even better with a spread of tangyPineapple Cream Cheese. Although I live on  an island  and was not suffering the effects of a cold winter, being a land-lubber (boats make me a bit claustraphobic and sea-sick), I enjoyed adventuring vicariously on the Recta through Ann’s descriptive prose from the comfort of my couch and kitchen!

Eliot from Eliot’s Eats recalled being swept away on another sailboat as an adolescent through a childhood favorite book “Dove” by Robin Lee Graham. Since that book made her want to escape, she was “worried” Vanderhoof’s book would do the same. Instead she was inspired to make an island-worthy Fish Taco Salad with Mango Salsa and says, “If nothing else,  Anne and Steve made use reevaluate a bit.  I don’t think we will be quitting our jobs anytime soon, but we are viewing things in a different light. And who knows, someday we may open that garden shop/bookstore/pottery studio/food truck combo!In the meantime, we will sit on our patio, dream our little dreams, and dine alfresco with a cold island beer.  Here is a little recipe that was inspired by the book (we developed it  from a fish taco dish). This is a great summer meal!“

Simona from briciole is more comfortable in the water than sailing on top of it, but she related to the book in her beautifully heartfelt post, through her diving trips to some of Vanderhoof’s ports of call saying, “Besides sailors, divers also enjoy visiting the Caribbean. A little piece of my heart is in that part of the world, on Little Cayman, the smallest of the Cayman Islands. We visited it the first time during our honeymoon and have returned every year ever since.” It inspired her to make a cool and creamy Mango Sorbet, “This is a really nice sorbetto, very easy to make and a with a clean, fresh flavor. I serve the sorbet fresh out of the ice cream machine and freeze what is left over.”

Jessica from The Literary Foodie was tempted by the book, saying “Besides the fact that I stuffed my life, cat and husband into the car to move across the country with no actual plan set up I am not normally an overly adventurous person.  I like security and plans.  So, the fact that Ann Vanderhoof’s memoir “An Embarrassment of Mangoes”, seriously had me contemplating the merits of learning how to sail just so Rob and I could go live on a sailboat all over the Caribbean is a pretty good testament to how inspired I was by this book.  If I had not already made my move, this probably would have pushed me over the edge.” Spying papaya at the market, she chose the Luperon Papaya Salsaand served it over Swordfish alongside Bahamian Peas ‘n’ Rice and washed it down with Steve’s ‘Ti Punch for a delicious Caribbean dinner.

Finally we have Natashya from Living in the Kitchen with Puppies liked how descriptive the book was and says, “Vanderhoof has a publishing background with Cottage Life Magazine, and chronicled their adventures wonderfully. From her own reluctance to being a full-time sailor, the trials and tribulations of life as first-time “cruisers” and the joy of discovery along the way, Ann includes us all. Reading the book is a mini-vacation in itself, and will have you longing for turquoise waters and pristine sands and, of course, an embarrassment of mangoes. For our bookclub dish I baked up a version of Ann’s Mango Crisp, and, if I close my eyes, I can pretend I am on a tropical island and not in minus 13 degree weather in Canadian so-called Spring.“

Thanks to everyone who joined in this round. I’ll be turning things over to our author, Ann Vanderhoof to choose her favorite post so  stay tuned this week to see who will win our coveted Cook the Books winners badge for this round. Not an easy decision with all these delicious dishes and wonderful posts! While you are waiting you might want to get started finding and reading our next selection, “Lunch in Paris: A Love Story with Recipes” by Elizabeth Bard, which will be hosted by Johanna of Food Junkie not Junk Food. I’ll be back soon with our results!