Date I made these recipes – April 9 – April 15, 2017 –
National Library Week
Voracious – A Hungry
Reader Cooks Her Way Through Great Books by Cara Nicoletti
Published by Little, Brown and Company
ISBN: 978-0-316-24299-8; © 2015
Recipe: Red Flannel Hash (from the short story
"The Best Girlfriend You Never Had" by Pam Houston) – p. 261-262
The Book Club Cook
Book – Recipes and Food For Thought From Your Book Club's Favorite Books and
Authors by Judy Gelman and Vicki Levy Krupp
Published by Jeremy P. Tarcher/Penguin
ISBN: 1-58542-322-X; © 2004
Purchased at Arc's Value Village
Thrift Stores, Richfield ,
MN
Recipe: Mrs. Nesbitt's Angel Food Cake with Lemon
Cream from the book No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt - The Home Front in World War II by Doris
Kearns Goodwin.
How is it possible that I just this year learned about National Library Week? How?
Because I tell you what folks, the title of one of today's cookbooks, Voracious [reader] fits me to a
"t."
Not too long ago, my brother commented on how he couldn't
believe the speed with which I plowed through my book stacks as a child, and I
wish I could show you film because his imitation of me was pretty hilarious. According to his re-enactment, I would speed
read a book, slam it down, pick up another, rinse and repeat. I wish I had kept track of how many books I
read but if memory serves, the answer is "a lot."
My love of books was such that when my 10th grade
English teacher asked us to think about a college major, I thought to myself
"Well, I like to read and write and so English,
final answer." Three years later, I
enrolled at Northern Michigan University
Let me just say that the sheer volume of reading to be done
as an English major made me happy that I was an unofficial student of the Evelyn Woods Speed Reading method[1]otherwise,
I would have died on the vine. Most of
my classes were comprehensive reviews of literature from either a country
(American Lit, British Lit) or an author such as Shakespeare, Chaucer, Milton
Many years after these exercises in torture, I enrolled in
law school. Law school also requires a
lot of reading (and analyzing but in a different way) and thanks to some friends
who had gone before me, I did not bat an eyelash when each professor assigned
200 pages or more of reading to be done by the next class. You should know that sometimes "the next
class" was the next day. Since each
law school student took four classes a semester (sometimes five), that meant
that we read 800 pages a night (4 classes x 200 pages per night). Yes, you may insert a "wow" emoji
here.
Alas, because all this class reading took up so much of my
time, reading for pleasure was difficult and my library use decreased
dramatically. That made me sad but it
was only a little blip in the scheme of things.
In fact, let's take a look-back at my library history starting with
grade school.
Believe it or not folks, my tiny little Catholic school had also
a tiny little library. To this day
(many, many years later), I still remember the layout and recall also, that I
read every Nancy Drew book there was
to be read. Those Nancy Drew books pretty much got the ball rolling for me and
libraries.
My next library was the town's public library that was
housed in the combined junior high and high school. I can't say as I remember too many
townspeople coming in to check out books, but I sure did. One of my mom's friends told her that when
her daughter checked out a book about the circus, my name was all over the
borrower card. I have vague recollections of the book and wish I could remember
it so I could see if I could acquire it after all these years.
By the way, please tell me that you remember "borrower
cards?" Please. If not, Google
that term and you'll see exactly what I mean.
Borrower cards were lined paper cards that were housed in the front of
the book in a little - what shall we call it – pouch? The borrower in question wrote his/her name
on the card and the librarian stamped the card with the due date and kept it so
they would know when the book was due.
The librarian also stamped the "pocket" with the due date so
the borrower knew when the book was due.
When the book was returned, the card went back inside its little pocket
all set and ready to go for the next borrower.
It sounds complicated but it was really very easy.
When I was in 12th grade, I became a student
librarian, and let me tell you, a lot of power and authority came with the [use
of that] stamp! I loved stamping
books! Loved it. Stamping [checking out] books was way more
fun than shelving them or typing up library classification cards for the card
catalog.[2]
In college, and in law school, my semesters were spent
reading assigned books for my classes so reading for pleasure (and borrowing
from the library) was out of the question.
But once the semester was over, and with apologies to DJ Khaled, all I did was "read,
read, read, read, read." In
college, I took perverse pleasure in reading the "trashiest" (my
mother's words) novels I could find; my mother's literature selection was
pretty tame. It didn't really matter the
book's topic so long as it was entertaining and believe me, after reading
serious literature during a 16-week semester, just about everything was
entertaining. I repeated this same
process while on break from law school although this time around my
"trashy" novel selection was pretty tame and not coincidentally, focused
on law or law-enforcement related novels.
These days, I am happy to report that I am devoted to my
local St. Paul Library (housed in a beautiful Carnegie library building) and am also a Friend(s) of the St. Paul Library (Friends are donors/supporters).
From time to time, I give to and borrow from the Hennepin
County (Minneapolis )
Library although the St. Paul
system is closer to me. (Happily, one
card serves two library systems as well as the Ramsey
County system of St. Paul .)
Right now, I finishing up the second of two books I borrowed and am on
the wait list for the latest David
Baldacci novel. I have no problems
with putting a book on hold and waiting for it although some authors seriously
need to cut down on their pages because it can be a challenge to get through
650+ pages in three weeks! Just sayin'...
And now we come full circle to two cookbooks related to
books and reading and I thought it would be perfect to make something from each
in observe of National Library Week. True confession: I was/am way behind schedule on cooking and
blogging, oh well.
Each book's Table of Content includes books that I read
(borrowed from the library or purchased) as well as some I wish I had
read. Let's take a look:
Voracious – 23
books read out of 50
A sampling of what I read includes:
- Pippi Longstocking (Recipe:
Buttermilk Pancakes – p. 64)
- Nancy Drew (Of course! Note there are 64 N.D. books total) (Recipe: Double Chocolate Walnut Sundae – p. 19)
- Anne of Green Gables (Recipe: Salted Chocolate Caramels – p. 47)
- Homer Price (This book is a "classic" from the 1940's and recalls fictional character Homer Price's very bad but very funny day working in a doughnut shop) (Recipe: Old-Fashioned Sour Cream Donuts – p. 53)
- Lord of the Flies (Recipe: Nope, not even going to go there. If you read the book, you can probably
guess what the recipe was.)
- Great Expectations (Recipe: Pork
Pie – p. 124)
- Moby Dick (I hated this book. During the course of my high school and college English major studies, I think I was assigned this book to read three times, maybe four. Hated it then, hate it now. Hate.) (Recipe: Clam Chowder – p. 130)
- A Confederacy of Dunces (Hil-larious!) (Recipe: Jelly Donuts which will make sense to you if you read the book – p. 191)
The Book Club
Cookbook – a paltry 30 out of 100?
How is that possible? (Likely
answer: because I haven't been in a book
club for a couple of decades?) A
sampling of what I read includes:
- The Da Vinci Code (Recipe: Rosemary Spaghetti – p. 85, and Death By Chocolate – p. 85)
- The Devil Wears Prada (Never, ever did I picture Meryl Streep as Miranda Priestly while reading this book and yet it works, right?) (Recipe: Sun-Dried Tomato and Goat Cheese Pizza – p. 95)
- The Grapes of Wrath (Recipe:
Artichoke-Jalapeno Spread with
Tomato Bruschetta Topping – p. 167)
- Nickel and Dimed (Recipe:
Mozzarella Sticks – p. 300)
- Jane Eyre (Childhood favorite) (Recipe: Walnut Cheese Sandwiches – p. 210)[3]
- My Antonia (Recipe: Spiced
- The Poisonwood Bible (Recipe:
Tropical Fruit Salad – p. 353)
- A Prayer for Owen Meany (Recipe: Banana Pineapple Smoothie – p. 363)
- A Walk in the Woods (I have not
seen the movie and don't plan to because the book stands on its own. It's side-splittingly funny.)
(Recipe: Very Yellow Lemon Meringue
Pie – p. 473. By the way, this was
a strong contender for a while.)
- The Spirit Catches You and You Fall
Down (Hmong Eggrolls with Hot Dipping Sauce – p. 410)
If you have not heard of or read the last book, The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down,
you must get on board right now.
MUST. It's the story of a Hmong
family that includes a daughter with epilepsy.
This family did not understand epilepsy but believed in their hearts
that her ailment was because "The Spirit Catches You and You Fall
Down." For the longest time, they
tried traditional Hmong methods to rid the daughter's body of this spirit, but
when that didn't work, they sought out western medicine assistance with mixed
results. This book chronicles the
family's quest to fix their daughter and the inevitable clash of east meets west. It was both heartbreaking and enlightening
and I loved it.
Even though I could wax poetic about even more books
included in these two cookbooks, we'd be here all day so let's get on with my
selections:
From Voracious, I
selected "Red Flannel Hash." I
love beets (thus, the "red flannel" and I love hash. I opted not to make the poached eggs
accompanying this dish but will include the recipe anyway; the hash itself is
very filling. This recipe was inspired by the story, "The Best Girlfriend
You Never Had." I have not read
this story, nor am I likely to read it, but this should not dissuade you from
trying out both the recipe and the story.
I have to confess that I also never read the book, Charlotte's Web (I know, I know: what is wrong with me? In my defense, this was just not in my
children's literature library), and was sorely tempted to make Pea and Bacon
Soup – p. 75-77 – but could not bring myself to do so because, you
know...bacon.
From The Book Club
Cookbook, I selected the absolutely delicious "Mrs. Nesbitt's Angel
Food Cake" inspired by the book No
Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor
Roosevelt – the Home Front in World War II by noted historian Doris Kearns Goodwin. I love Doris
and her books but this book weighs in at 759 pages and that many pages requires
a time commitment I don't have right now.
I hope it didn't escape your attention that I have not read
either of these two writings which is somewhat cosmic and certainly not
planned, but there it is.
Before I get into the recipes themselves, let me just say
that I think a James Beard Award is
in order for the company(s) that decided to separate egg whites and egg yolks and
to put each product in a carton for ease in use. Brilliant!
Smashing! Capital! Why am I so
excited? Well, you need 10-12 egg whites for the angel food cake and the
thought of separating all those eggs, never mind trying to figure out a use for
the leftover yolks gave me pause. Pause,
I tell you! You can find these liquid
egg whites in most grocery store's eggs and dairy sections.
Here then are your literary recipes both of which were
fantastic. As to the books, I waxed
nostalgic over many of the titles in each but just don't have time to reread
them all as I have plenty of books on my "To Read" list for this
year. As always, there are too many
books, not enough time.
And although I am terribly behind on posting this salute to
libraries, I once again have to commend our public library system and all the
librarians and support staff working in them.
"Free" is a good thing – free access, free lending, free
classes and services and frankly, free education. When I was a youngster in 7th
grade, I had to give a speech for a class and I'll never forget my theme: "Reading
is your road to learning." (Feel free to quote me!)
Go "learn!"
Red Flannel Hash –
Serves 4 generously
For the hash
1 ½ pounds fingerling potatoes, peeled and cut into ½-inch
cubes
1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into ½-inch cubes
2 medium beets, peeled and cut into ½-inch cubes
1 pound thick-cut bacon, cut into chunks
1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
4 thyme sprigs
For the poached eggs
¼ cup white vinegar
4 large eggs
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Set a steamer basked over a large pot filled with enough
water to just reach the bottom of the basket.
Place the fingerling potato and sweet potato cubes in the basket and
bring the water to a boil over medium heat.
Cover the pot and steam the potatoes for 7 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.
Next, steam the beet cubes for 12 minutes. (Ann's
Note: You may want to steam all
vegetables a bit longer than directed to ensure doneness.)
While the beets are steaming, fry the bacon in a cast-iron
or other heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat until lightly crisp. (Ann's Note:
I've cooked thick-cut bacon many times but it doesn't crisp the way
regular bacon does. It still tasted
great but I don't think it ended up "lightly crisp" and I cooked it a
long time.) Add the chopped onion
and minced garlic and cook over low heat.
Once the beets are steamed, add them to the skillet, along with all of
the potatoes and the thyme. Cook,
stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are crispy, about 20 minutes. Discard the thyme sprigs.
To poach the eggs
Fill a sauté pan or skillet with water. Add the vinegar. Heat the vinegar-water over medium heat until
very hot, but do not let the water come to a boil, or even to a simmer. You want it to be at the point where bubbles
are forming at the bottom of the pan and steam is rising from the surface.
Crack 1 egg into a ramekin and create a whirlpool in the
water with a spoon. Gently slip the egg
into the water and let it cook for 20 seconds.
After 20 seconds you can start very gently nudging the white around the
yolk. If the egg is sticking to the
bottom of the pan, just use a spatula to loosen it. Cook for about 3 minutes –
the white should look cooked, but you should still be able to see the yolk
wiggling around inside. Lift it out with
a slotted spoon, place it on a paper towel to drain, season with salt and
pepper to taste, and serve on top of the red flannel hash.
Repeat with the remaining eggs.
Mrs. Nesbitt's Angel
Food Cake with Lemon Cream – Yield: 8 to
10 servings
For the cake
1 ¼ cups egg whites (10-12 eggs) (Ann's Note: Make your life
easier and buy egg whites in a carton found in your store's refrigerator
section. You will need just over one
carton for this endeavor so buy two.)
1 ½ teaspoons cream of tartar
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
½ teaspoon almond extract
1 cup sifted cake flour
¼ teaspoon salt
For the Lemon Cream
½ cup heavy cream
¼ cup confectioner's sugar
½ cup lowfat lemon yogurt
Preheat oven to 375F.
Beat the egg whites until foamy.
Add the cream of tartar, then gradually add 1 cup of the sugar, beating
continually, until the whites stand up in peaks. Beat in the almond extract. Sift flour.
Sift together the remaining ½ cup sugar, flour, and salt. Gently fold flour mixture into egg whites, ½
cup at a time, just until flour is moistened.
(Ann's Confession: I used my
Kitchen Aid and might have over-folded by just a bit but it didn't seem to
matter as the cake baked perfectly."
Pour the batter into an ungreased 10-inch tube pan and bake
30-35 minutes, until the top feels springy to the touch. Invert the cake pan and stand it on a bottle
to cool.
When cake is completely cooled, loosen its edges by running
a spatula or thin knife around the edge of the pan. Gently shake the cake onto a serving
plate. Top with Lemon Cream and garnish
with strawberries.
To make the Lemon Cream, beat the whipping cream and
confectioners' sugar until soft peaks form.
Fold in the lemon yogurt. Serve
immediately.
Ann's Note: Damn, this was good!
[1]
Remember Evelyn Woods Speed Reading
courses? When I was growing up, Evelyn
advertised her services everywhere – comic books, magazines, newspapers. I am totally joking about speed reading
although I do set a brisk pace when it comes to reading books. At any rate, those of a certain age will
hopefully get this reference. Please
feel free to chuckle.
[2]
Three words: Dewey Decimal System. Loved it then, love it now. That is all.
[3]
First, I am doing you a solid by not requiring that you name all the authors of
these books. You're welcome. If you were an English major though, it
was/is practically a degree requirement such that all these years later, I can
still rattle off most authors, even contemporary authors. And as an aside, I'll never forget reading Jane Eyre for a high school class –
maybe 10th grade – and then getting tested on it. One of the questions asked was "What was
the name of Mr. Rochester's horse?" and I wrote "I don't know. Trigger?" This was absolutely incorrect but it made my
teacher laugh. Why? Because at the time, singer and actor Roy Rogers and his wife, Dale Evans, were very famous
"Western" stars and Trigger was Roy 's
horse. Once again, those of a certain
age...
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