February 2013

 

February2013

 

The Literate Epicures met at the Newtown Bookshop to discuss and enjoy recipes from The Canal House Cooking Volume 7 – La Dolce Vita. This tome celebrates the fall harvest and holiday season with Italian recipes, some classic, some reinterpreted Canal House style. My apologies in advance, it seems my phone decided the photos of the dishes were so delicious looking it ate them. I am trying to get my teenage tech wiz to retrieve them from my elusive SD card file, but until then you will have to rely on my pitiful descriptions.

 

We began with a Canal House recipe that is not in this particular cookbook, but one I had been looking for an excuse to make. The Potted Crab and Meyer Lemon recipe originally appeared in a spring 2012 issue of Bon Appetit magazine, but since it was a Canal House recipe I decided to make it as a bonus dish in addition to the Jam Tart that is in La Dolce Vita. This is a dish that everyone enjoyed and I will make again. It was easy to put together, only 4 ingredients, and a fantastic result that was served over toast points. Very rich and lemony it is a perfect started for any time of year.

 

Margy made the Minestrone and she also commented that it was very easy to make. She had difficulty finding Romano beans and ended up substituting green beans which was a great option. She also substituted vegetable stock for the beef stock to make it truly vegetarian. This is a great soup that definitely highlights the wonderful veggies and one could easily substitute veggies of the season.

 

Janet made the Chick Peas with Stewed tomatoes. She also commented on how easy it was to make with readily available ingredients. She did caution that the recipe calls for canned San Marzano tomatoes, and one must check the label to make sure they are the real thing. It seems there may be imposter canned tomatoes labeled San Marzano that aren’t really from Italy, it is worth searching the aisles of the supermarket for the far superior imported ones. This was a delicious dish that appealed to the vegetarians and meat eaters alike.

 

Brenda made the Meatballs with Mint and Parsley. Ground pork, ground veal and “a slab of prosciutto” were the meats that were mixed with ricotta, eggs, parmesan, mint and parsley. The sauce was made by deglazing the pan with white wine and then adding heavy cream. Brenda was a Prosciutto virgin before this recipe, but will definitely be incorporating it in future recipes. She was hesitant about the cookbook, not really sure the recipes were of interest, but she ended p loving the book. We all agreed the meatballs had a lovely texture and flavor and the mint added a nice flavor without being overwhelming.  

 

Gerry made the Stuffed Onion Piedmontese. She also mentioned that they were easy to make with the prosciutto and breadcrumb stuffing and that the same stuffing could be used in other veggies. She was very pleased with the recipe, her family really enjoys onions in all forms and this one didn’t disappoint. A wonderful side dish that will be made again.

 

Marian made the Cheesecake from Rome’s Jewish Quarter. Lemon and zest, cinnamon, only 3 Tbsp of sugar and ricotta combined to make a delicious cheesecake with a slightly different texture than what you may be familiar with. It took lots and lots of bowls and lots and lots of folding, but the end result was worth it! A great way to end an Italian meal.

 

As I mentioned in the beginning, I also made the Jam Tart. The short crust was enhanced with a few tablespoons of white wine and was easy to work with. A good quality jarred jam worked nicely in the short crust, though homemade would have taken it over the top. This was not a complicated recipe, and is an easy way to add a homemade dessert to a weekday meal.

 

Everyone enjoyed the Canal House Cooking Vol 7 cookbook and will go back to it when the mood for Italian strikes.

 

Our next cookbook is Edwardian Cooking: 80 Recipes Inspired by Downton Abbey's Elegant Meals. With the huge popularity of the series, many of us are really excited about cooking from this book for the March meeting. Yours truly has already made 3 recipes from it and they have all been wonderful!

January 2013

Happy New Year! I hope the second week of January finds you rested and recovered from the holidays and ready to explore some new cookbooks and recipes. So many times as January dawns we make promises that revolve around food. Eat less, eat more whole grains, eat no grains, eat only organically grown foods, eat local, eat exotic, etc. I made one resolution. Not one food related resolution, but ONE resolution. I am making a promise to all of you, dear readers, to faithfully blog each and every meeting of The Literate Epicures of Newtown for all of 2013. Hopefully, I don’t let anyone down with that commitment.

 

In keeping with that promise, here is the rundown of last night’s meeting of the Literate Epicures of Newtown.  We decided to hark back to our roots and chose Ina Garten’s  Barefoot Contessa FOOLPROOF.

 

We had some lovely starters to whet the appetite. Marianne made the Tomato Crostini with Whipped Feta. The recipe suggests either colorful heirloom tomatoes or cherry tomatoes. Marianne was fortunate enough to find colorful heirloom cherry tomatoes! Now January tomatoes are not known for their quality, they often resemble red billiard balls in texture and flavor, but these little gems were delightful. The whipped feta was the perfect foundation to perch a mound of the tomato shallot vinaigrette mixture. Fresh and tasty, we all decided it is a winner.

 

Brenda made the Fig and Fennel Caponata which was an inspired blend of flavors. Big bonuses for this recipe, every ingredient was readily available and it is made on the stovetop – no oven required! She loved that it was so easy and produced such a wonderful dish.

 

Anne made the Caramelized Bacon. She also commented that it was very easy, but had difficulty finding Applewood smoked bacon so she substituted Hardwood smoked bacon. It didn’t matter one bit it was delicious! The brown sugar, nuts, syrup, etc were put into a food processor and ground into a thick paste. She then topped the bacon slices with the syrup mixture and baked it on a foil lined pan. It did take a little longer than written, but the end result was outrageously good and on everyone’s “must make” list.

 

Marian brought the Jalapeno Cheddar Crackers which were a little deceptive. They were wonderful and rich but we decided they are a little closer to a savory shortbread than a true cracker. The recipe calls for 5 oz of grated sharp white cheddar. Marian cautioned that when one is grating the cheese in the food processor, it is against ones best interest to open it before it has come to a complete stop. The canine residents of her home were the lucky recipients of several ounces of freshly grated cheddar as it flew in graceful arcs across her kitchen! After a quick check for more cheddar, she was on her way to making the perfect treat to nibble with cocktails. Another plus to this recipe is that you can make several “rolls” of dough and slice and bake them as needed so you always have fresh goodies to offer unexpected guests.

 

Joanna made the Roasted Beet Salad which was a feast for the eyes as well as a treat for the taste buds. A bed of fresh emerald green arugula topped with the beautiful garnet red beets (she mentioned she had never roasted beets before, and really liked the result) and creamy white goat cheese had the perfect balance of peppery notes, creamy notes and just a hint of sweet from the beets. We all decided that beets are really under-utilized and there should be more recipes and methods for making them.

 

Yours truly made the Isreali Couscous with Tuna and it was quite good. I am not a canned/jarred tuna fan and even I thought the dish had merit. Isreali Couscous is a larger cousin of the couscous we all know and love. In the larger version, it is a little toothier and had a little more substance and held up nicely to the oil cured olives, scallions, roasted peppers, lemon, fresh basil and of course the imported jarred Italian tuna. Very simple to make, it was the perfect choice for me to put together after a hectic day at work.

 

Janet made the Jambalaya and though she was very pleased with the results, she felt there were a lot of ingredients and steps to complete this dish. The chorizo and chicken had to be browned separately; lots of ingredients had to be hand chopped, and there were a LOT of steps! She agreed that it was delicious, but would only make it again for a special occasion – this is not a middle of the week after work type of dish!

 

Toni brought the Sweet Potatoes and was very pleased to let us all know that it was super easy, only 3 ingredients and one of the most delicious sweet potato dishes any of us had ever tasted. Instead of the cloying overly sweet sugar or marshmallow topped things that find their way to our holiday tables, these were bright and light and a really lovely compliment to almost any main dish we could name. Along with the baked and mashed sweet potatoes, there is a little orange juice and just a bit of zest to add that lift to the whole dish. Definitely on the make again list for many of us.

 

After enjoying all the savory offerings, some of us went back for seconds (okay, I know I did and I didn’t keep tabs on anyone else LOL) it was time to try the desserts. Lisa brought the Chocolate Chunk Blondies. Oh myyyyyyyyyyy (I wish I had an audio file of George Takai and his world famous “Oh Myyyyyyyyyyy” to hot link here) they were amazing! They were that perfect balance between cakey and just a tiny bit of brown sugar chewy with massive chunks of awesome chocolate (the recipe called for one of those easily available yellow bags of chunks, Lisa used the upscale super deluxe yummy chocolate and not one complaint!) these are something I must make soon. Or never, since if there was an entire pan of them in my house I would be sorely tempted to eat the whole thing. Definitely a fantastic recipe.

 

Shelly made the Carrot Cake with Ginger Mascarpone frosting. Heavenly! There is no other way to describe the unbelievably moist cake studded with candied ginger and topped with clouds of the ginger infused creamy light frosting. She did mention that there were a lot of steps, but the end result made this a truly spectacular dessert. Like the Jambalaya, it may not be something you can throw together on a whim but it is so good it is worth planning an afternoon around baking to serve this to people you love.

 

Overall we were all pleased with the book, some of the recipes seemed a little intimidating and  involved, but after making them and discussing we all had a much higher opinion and will be reaching for this one a regular basis.

 Click this link to see more about Canal House Cooking Vol 7

The next meeting is Tuesday, February 12 (7:00 PM) at The Newtown Bookstore. We will be cooking from Canal House Cooking Volume N° 7: La Dolce Vita by Melissa Hamilton and Christopher Hirsheimer which is also available at The Newtown Bookstore. Hope to see you there!

 

 

Literate Epicures August 2012

We are back at the Newtown Bookshop for meetings! Yes, it is under new ownership and located 2 doors down from the old location, but Kathy is a wonderful hostess and very generous in allowing us to meet there on the second Tuesday of the month. The August cookbook selection was The Best of Americas Test Kitchen 2012 and it was well received by all.  The general consensus was that everyone enjoyed the science and rationale behind the recipes and the explanations of why certain flavors go well together and why certain techniques are needed to obtain the desired results. We began the festivities with a lovely Sangria that Lisa brought.

This is a “go to” recipe from the previous ATK Best of and we are all very thankful that she harked back to the prior book. The sangria was wonderful! Fruity and delightfully sweet without being cloying, it had just the right balance of citrus to wine and was just the right beverage to start the evening.

Marianne made the Artichoke Tart that was gorgeous to look at and tasted even better. She made the variation listed in the book that used sundried tomatoes and we were all glad she did. A food processor was definitely appreciated in the prep of this one and used for all three phases – dough, filling and topping. It was time consuming to make but she would definitely make it again (in stages) with lots of planning.

Debbie decided on the Gazpacho which was the perfect dish to highlight the bounty from her garden. There were lots of ingredients and a lot of chopping. Better than average knife skills are needed for this one to make sure all the lovely bits of veggies are uniformly presented and it must be made in advance to allow the flavors to meld. She loved that it is thickened with a “hearty white bread” and olive oil emulsion and not only did the texture and flavor benefit from this mixture, the soup took on a lovely pastel tomato color that was beautiful with the brilliant colors form the veggies. The croutons she made to top the soup were out of this world. So good in fact, she refused to take any left overs home because she was afraid she wouldn’t be able to stop eating them.

Colleen made the Panzanella which again was a perfect choice for this time of year when tomatoes are at their best. We all agreed that it was very tasty and the vinaigrette had the perfect balance of velvety smoothness from the olive oil and acidity from the vinegar. A keeper for all summer dinners.

Toni made the Prosciutto Stuffed chicken breasts, and though it was meant to be served as an entrée, it was awesome cut into bite sized pieces and done with toothpicks as an appetizer.  The breasts were butterflied and filled with prosciutto, Fontina, butter and tarragon. She mentioned that it was a fairly easy recipe and the results were outstanding. Definitely different and one must like tarragon (I can’t imagine who doesn’t, but I guess there are a few) it is something I will be serving for late sumer and fall cocktail parties. Really a wonderful dish.

Brenda made Spanakopita and it was terrific! It was quite labor intensive with the layers of Phyllo, butter and grated cheese and the filling from fresh spinach steamed until it just wilts but retains the brilliant emerald green. The addition of Greek yogurt to the more traditional ingredients of lemon, dill and mint was really nice. It was different than the cottage cheese type mixture, but no less delicious.

Margie made the Chickpea Cakes which were unusual and very tasty. The cake mixture called for toasted bread crumbs from a whole wheat white bread (hearty white again anyone?) and seemingly they are quite delicious even before they are mixed into the cakes. Now she did warn me that if I included the next part, she “is a great shot with a .357”! I guess I am taking my life in my hands tying this, but here goes….. She made the crumbs in advance and left them to cool on the counter. When she came down a little later, the plate was almost completely empty except for a few telltale finger streaks that remained in the pitifully few crumbs left on the plate. Seems her DH  decided they were delicious as is, and didn’t wait for the rest of the recipe! Once she made another batch (this time hiding them from Hansel) and mixed them with the chickpea mixture, she discovered that the first few were a little crumbly. She soon got the hang of working with them though and turned out some very tasty treats. She served them with a lovely sauce (as I recall it was similar to a tzatziki) and would definitely make them again.

Janet made the eggplant casserole. Actually, she may have made it two weeks in a row, since she had the wrong date and was all set to go the previous Tuesday! She thought it was a long involved recipe with lots of steps, but the final result was excellent. IT began with slicing the eggplant into thick rounds and painting each one with olive oil. They were then baked until they were golden brown – much less work and more calorie friendly than frying. She opted for fire roasted tomatoes and it was a good choice. The smoky background was really good with the cheesy casserole and homemade crumb topping. Do you sense a theme here? Seems a LOT of the recipes use real bread for the crouton or crumb component and we all agreed they are much tastier than anything that comes out of one of those canisters that have been sitting on the grocery store shelf for ages.

 (I missed a pic of this one - sorry Gerry!)

Gerry opted for the Chicken Riggies – a dish that she remembers having for the first time in Utica, NY. She told a fun back story about arriving in Utica late one night and needed to find something substantial for dinner. At the restaurant she and her family chose, she asked a patron who was just leaving what was the best thing on the menu. Without hesitation he replied, “Chicken Riggies!”. Still unconvinced, when they were seated, she posed the same question to the waitress and got the same response. It was so good, they went back to the same restaurant the following night just so they could order it again. She had tried a few recipes since then, but none came close to the original until now. This recipe naled it and is just as good as her memory of the first time. She was worried it would be too spicy, but the lovely sauce tamed the heat perfectly.

 (I missed this pic too - we were too busy eating!)

Jeanine made the Gingerbread Cake and Maureen added the Mascarpone Mousse topping for it. This is another very involved recipe that required a lot of steps and a lot of dirty bowls, but the final product was amazing. Bright and flavorful from both fresh and ground ginger, it has a lovely base of Stout which gives the cake a richness that is almost indescribable. The Mascarpone Mousse is from a different cookbook and was really great on the wonderfully rich cake. I am a huge ginger fan and this cake really fits the bill with the double dose of ginger and just a hint of other spices.

Yours truly opted for the Coconut Lime Sugar Cookies. Like so many above, I found there were a lot of steps and a lot of bowls, and some odd ingredients (1 TBSP milk – really? Like that is going to affect the outcome in 2 dozen cookies?) but I persevered and made the recipe exactly as written.  I almost couldn’t wait for them to come out of the oven to give them a try. Fortunately, one broke as I was moving it to the cooling rack, so it was the perfect opportunity to give it a quick taste. It was good, but not TDF and certainly not as “lime-y” as I had hoped, and the coconut was good, but again didn’t have as much impact as wanted. The secret to success, Grasshopper, is to WAIT! By the time we met on Tuesday (I had made them the night before) the lime was definitely present and the coconut was noticeable and they really were one of the best sugar cookies I have ever had.

The general consensus was that everything we tasted was good, each dish was well seasoned and delicious. This is a wonderful cookbook for ambitious novice cooks or those with more experience and they are all familiar recipes that have been updated or have a slight twist that makes them just a little unusual.

 The next meeting is at Newtown Bookshop on September 11 at 7:00 PM and the cookbook is Emeril 20-40-60: Fresh Food Fast by Emeril Lagasse. It is available from the Newtown Bookshop or can be special ordered form the same by calling (215) 968-2400

May 2012

The Literate Epicures braved the rainy night to have the opportunity to share their favorite recipes highlighting ARTICHOKES or CHERRIES. There were only a few of us, but we had a terrific time. The evening began with a couple of wonderful artichoke appetizers. I tried to link recipes where I could, I hope it worked.

Marianne brought Steamed Artichokes with Herbed Butter. Definitely delish and will be made again. Perfectly steamed artichoke leaves were served with melted butter that was infused with oregano and a few other herbs. Elegant simplicity at it’s finest.

Brenda had never made artichokes before so this was an adventure for her. Fresh artichokes were quartered, trimmed and steamed and served with a lovely vinaigrette. The recipe is from Williams Sonoma under Artichokes Vinaigrette.

Yours Truly made Artichoke Puffs in Roasted Peppers from Cold Weather Cooking by Sarah Leah Chase. This was a “go to” recipe for a long time at my house, but I hadn’t made it in years. I honestly don’t know why, it is really good and got lots of compliments. It will be making regular appearances again since it was fairly easy and quite good.

Janet brought Pork tenderloin in a Cherry Sauce. The sauce used dried cherries that are reconstituted in port and created a luscious sauce. I can absolutely imagine how delicious it would be over a crispy roast duck as well. I’m so glad she shared the recipe, it will be made again soon.

Liza made a Triple Cherry Cheesecake from Epicurious. She mentioned it is definitely a 2 day recipe (or longer depending on schedule) but is worth every bit of effort. Rich, creamy heavy cheesecake is blanketed with an amazing cherry topping that draws from several cherry flavors. You may want to save this one for special occasions unless your cardiologist is on speed dial.

The next meeting is June 12 at my house and the spotlight ingredients are Spinach and Apricots. No, you don’t have to use both ingredients, pick one that focuses on the ingredient, make the dish to share and bring copies of the recipe. Happy cooking and I can’t wait to see everyone again!

January 2012

A New Year and two new cookbooks! How much fun was it to cook from Lidia’s Italy in America and Time for Dinner. Unfortunately, I was not able to attend, but I have made a few recipes from the book and I know from the photos and reports that it was a great one to pick.

First up is Margy’s Lentil Soup (Pasta e Lenticchie). It was very easy and she decided to switch it up as a vegetarian offering. Omitting the ham could have been a big risk, but she ad libbed a few extra spices and used a flavorful vegetable broth and it was just delicious.

Next was Lisa with the Sausage, Bread and Pepper Frittata (Frittata con Salsiccia e Peperoni) and she also commented on how easy it was to pull together this recipe. She loves the cookbook and will be making a lot of dishes from it for her very fortunate family.

Colleen made the Italian Ice Cream Cake (Cassata). She mentioned that though it was fairly easy, it was really messy!!! (Sorry Lisa, Colleen got the exclamation points this time) She ended up using her hands dipped in water to smooth the ice cream layer, but added they are the most useful tool in the kitchen anyway.  The most time consuming part of the recipe was shelling all the pistachios, since she couldn’t find them already shelled. Seems it was well worth the effort since it got rave reviews!!!

Brenda made the Fusili with Spinach Walnut Pesto (Fusili al Pesto de Noci) and everyone really liked it a lot. She toasted the walnuts to bring out the flavor and used a bag of fresh spinach that she blanched. She allowed that it might work with frozen spinach too. She observed that there seem to be a lot more fried dishes in this particular book, where a lot of Lidia’s other books have very little fried foods.  She really liked the background stories for each section too.

Toni also thought the cookbook was great. She made the Braised Fennel with Sausage (Finocchio Brasato con Salsiccia) and it too got rave reviews. She took the sausage out of the casing and cooked it with the onions and tomato paste, and added the fennel, salt, pepper and a little bit of pepper flakes. From all reports, this was very popular and a lot of people said they would plan to make it at home for their own families.

Sharon made the Almond Pine Nut cookies (Amaretti con Pinoli) and they turned out to be the most expensive cookies she has ever made. Half way through mixing the dough, smoke started seeping out of the motor on her mixer!!!(Hey  Lisa, Sharon got a couple of exclamation points too!!!) Fortunately, she was able to finish mixing them before any further excitement. The recipe called for 1 ½ to 2 cups of pine nuts, which can be a little pricey even with the added expense of a new mixer, and the dough was a little sticky to work with, and the recipe only made 21 cookies, but even with all of those considerations the end result was bliss.

Janet wasn’t sure she was going to make it, she had a prior commitment, but she was a trouper and not only brought wine, she even added great bread with olive oil and a very yummy spice blend from Tastefully Simple to put in the oil. It was absolutely the perfect addition to the other goodies.

Marianne made the Spinach Custard Cups from Time for Dinner, and though she didn’t have enough ramekins, she had a lovely set of matching coffee cups that worked perfectly! Fresh thyme and whole milk with the spinach resulted in a creamy delicious concoction that everyone loved.

Kati made the Crab, Celery salad, and really liked the recipe despite what she felt was a disappointing quality issue with the crab itself. She also opted for cherry tomatoes since there isn’t a decent regular sized tomato to be found in January in our area and felt that this recipe would really sing in August when all the ingredients would be at their peak

All in all, everyone really liked the cookbook and liked not only the recipes that were made, but found many more that they are looking forward to sharing with family and friends. A winner!

A chill wind blows on this November evening, or so one would expect. Oddly, we seem to be celebrating a very late Indian Summer and it was unseasonably warm all day. Nevertheless, the Literate Epicures of Newtown were busy in their kitchens, baking, sautéing, simmering and freezing their offerings for the meeting later that night. Yes, I did say “freezing” since one of our intrepid chefs chose to bring a cocktail from the most recent book – Long Nights and Log Fires, Warming comfort food for family and friends.

Party girl Colleen chose the Vodka Cranberry Floaters to start the meeting with a bang. These are wonderfully festive with the bright red cranberry juice and the blueberries bouncing merrily in the glass. An interesting twist was that she froze the blueberries in cranberry juice in ice trays to add to the visual interest and so the punch retains its punch. Fun and festive, this should be a staple for every holiday party.

Toni continued the red theme with the Roasted Tomato Soup, which was a wonderfully rich soup, far superior to anything store bought. This has an interesting beginning, with the tomatoes, onions and garlic tossed with olive oil, salt and a bit of sugar and slow roasted at 325 for 1 ½ hours.  The veggies are transformed into tender sweet yumminess and then blended with additional vegetable stock to create a wonderfully intriguing combination of flavors. This tasted much more complex than the ingredients would indicate.

Brenda made the Baked Mushrooms with Manchego Béchamel. She was concerned that there might be a misprint on the butter, so she did increase it from the original recipe, and decided to leave out the cheese. She used button mushrooms, but allowed that any mushroom would work well in this recipe.  It really did take only about 20 minutes to bake, which allows plenty of time to mix up the fennel salad.  The fennel  was tossed with a very simple oil and lemon dressing and was the perfect crunchy foil for the sinfully rich mushrooms.

Margy made the Chicken, Leek and Tarragon Pot Pie and everyone was thankful that she did. Pot Pies can be wonderful creamy rich and homey or they can be absolutely awful. Fortunately, this was the former.  Margy used chicken thighs, removing the fat at the end, which added  richness and created a terrific combination of flavors.  The tarragon complimented the chicken and creamy sauce to perfection.  The leeks added a subtle onion flavor that is incomparable. Leeks are a milder cousin of the onion and are often the perfect ingredient when onion might be too assertive.  As she ran out of leeks, she added a little fennel which was a great chef moment.  The recipe states that the crust is easy to make, but the refrigerated dough in a roll was perfectly fine.

Marianne selected the Red Curry of Roasted Vegetables. She reports that this is a super easy recipe and she was able to double it so the family could eat and there were leftovers! Carrots, potatoes, pumpkin and parsnip are roasted to bring out the natural sweetness and then added to the savory soup base of coconut milk, red curry paste, Thai fish sauce and stock.  Over jasmine rice, this is a must make for the winter!

Mushrooms with Raisins and Apple Cider Vinegar were the next to be tasted, and they were wonderful. Julie put her organic spin on the recipe and everyone really liked the result. Rather than the shallots, Julie substituted in chopped Vidalia onion since she thought the sweetness would complement the dish. The recipe also calls for “runny honey” (which sent the author scrambling to google, I had never heard that term before) and discovered that it seems to be the kind of honey that will run off a spoon rather than a crystallized or creamed honey which is much thicker. Julie subbed organic raw honey and it worked perfectly.  Who knew that raisins would work so well with mushrooms?  Along with the cider vinegar and honey, the dish is finished with hot pepper flakes which added an unexpected spicy note that perfectly complemented the sweet and sour flavors.

Debbie brought the Thai Chicken Curry and was very happy to discover that it is the perfect recipe to use up any leftover veggies you might have lounging around. She did mention that roasting root veggies would work really well in this, too. The first time she made it she used low fat coconut milk and though it was good, making it a second time using full fat coconut milk really was an improvement. Also, rather than using Kaffir Lime paste, she used the whole leaves in the pot and pulled them out when serving. It came together quickly and had all the robust Thai flavors one could ask for – a definite winner!

There were two dessert offerings this night – the first was Gerry’s Cranberry Cherry Florentines. Sun dried cherries and cranberries are combined with bittersweet chocolate in a delectable cookie that is a symphony of flavors in each bite. They took a little longer to bake than the recipe indicated and she was hard pressed to squeeze 20 of them from the recipe, she mentioned she might make them a little larger next time. Rich and not overly sweet, this is a perfect ending to a wonderful meal.

The second dessert was the Apple Cinnamon Crumble Cake, a recommended alternative to the Pear and Ginger Crumble Cake. This was a strange batter since there was no salt and the consistency was unusual.  However, it turned out light and moist.  She was concerned about the crumb topping as it seemed a little soft, so, she refrigerated it for a more crumbly consistency.  After baking the cake, she realized she forgot the topping in the frig…oops!  She toasted separately on parchment paper and sprinkled over the cake.  If you are looking for a light, delicious dessert this is a great choice.

The next meeting is December 13 and will highlight recipes that have been contributed by our members and the staff of the Newtown Bookshop. Please be sure to email a copy of any recipe you would like included to Marianne (chopp_alt@yahoo.com) or to me (alexacooks4u@gmail.com) to make sure it is included in our cookbook. We will be cooking our own recipes on that night and sharing and stories or anecdotes that make them special for us, our families and friends. This promises to be a night that will touch your heart and your taste buds. In January, we are looking forward to celebrating Lidia Bastianich with her most recent book, LIDIA’S  ITALY  IN AMERICA and the other selection is TIME FOR DINNER from Cookie Chef’s Pilar Guzman, Jenny Rosenstrach,  Alanna Stang.   The staff of the Newtown Bookshop and I wish everyone a safe and Happy Thanksgiving and here’s hoping your table is overflowing with delicious food and your heart is bursting with love and happiness.

October 2011

Boo!

Yes, it is October and the Literate Epicures of Newtown have gathered on a crisp autumn evening. Fortunately, it was toasty and warm in the Newtown Bookshop, and there was fun and food to be shared. We had a great turnout – I would like to thank everyone in advance for making this our largest gathering to date and I am looking forward to meeting even more friends next month. We chose Mad Hungry Cooking for Men and Boys by Lucinda Scala Quinn and everyone found something delicious to make even if they weren’t cooking for a houseful of guys.

We began with Brenda’s Cold Sesame Noodles. She used Tahini, which should be readily available at most grocery stores and mixed up the tasty sauce for the noodles. The recipe called for linguini, which we found interesting, most of us had only had this dish with narrow noodles. Needless to say, this is a dish we have all had many versions of and there are a ton of recipes out there, some are more successful than others. Despite following the recipe to a tee, and even adding a little extra water when it seemed a little dry, this was one recipe that would have benefitted from adjusting the proportion of noodles to dressing. We all agreed the flavor was good, but it seemed a little dry.

Next up was the Spanish Frittata. Janet had a left over baked potato which was perfect for the recipe. As frittatas go, and as with a quiche, a lot of the flavor comes from the “add-ins”. This was a great recipe and a super canvas for adding all sorts of wonderful ingredients that have character. Bacon, cheese and fresh herbs all would have been welcome. As it was, it was very tasty, but the flavors were so subtle it was almost too plain. The method is foolproof so it is perfect for a brunch, lunch or snack but be sure to use your imagination to add some interesting ingredients to bump it up a notch.

Marianne made the Spinach Feta Pocket Pies. This was an ambitious undertaking since it required not only making the filling, she also had to make the pastry. She got the pastry together and chilled it overnight as the recipe suggests, then the next day put together the filling. The spinach feta mixture reminded me of Spanikopita and is wonderfully tasty. If you don’t have time to put the pastry together, this would be a great filling for an omelet or mix a cup into the Frittata egg mixture! Rolling out pastry dough can be challenging, but this is a nice dough that is pretty easy to work with. Once she got the pocket pies together, she realized she had quite a bit of dough left over so she ended up making more pocket pies with apple and cinnamon filling. Talk about a fantastic recipe that lends itself to lots of uses, this is one that everyone should have whenever a dough is needed.

Margie made a couple of dishes. The Cornbread is really good and spicy and we loved that it was studded with whole corn kernels and bits of jalapeno. It makes it very pretty as well as super tasty. Everyone really liked it and she said it was easy to put together. This might be the perfect side for a bowl of chili, and now that the weather has cooled, this could become a staple on a lot of tables. She also made a Brown Rice and Chicken with Napa Cabbage that I think came from Lucinda’s Blog. It was really interesting in that the chicken was poached in a soy sauce mixture. This let all those yummy flavors permeate the chicken and gave it the lovely mahogany color. It was tossed with shredded Napa and brown rice to make a really nice fresh tasting dish that everyone loved.

Debbie made the Pork with Won Ton Noodles that also came from the Mad Hungry Blog. This was an ingenious use of Won Ton wrappers – cutting them into ribbons and dropping them into the sauce to cook. Won Ton wrappers are found in the refrigerator section in the produce department of most grocery stores, and are extraordinarily useful for many different types of dish. Members offered ideas for their use from Ravioli to dessert cups. She also ad-libbed a little celery and again, everyone agreed the added crunch and flavor were really great. Debbie did mention that she would probably make it using ground turkey or chicken in the future to cut down on the fat content. Very tasty and worth seeking out.

Gerri made the New Orleans Red Beans. She thought they may have turned out too watery, but we all agreed they were fantastic. This is definitely a plan ahead dish since the beans require soaking, and several hours to cook, but the combination of flavors was really good. It starts with the usual elements of onion, celery and green pepper, but is soon elevated to sublime when the garlic, ham bone, herbs and hot sauce are added. Definitely one to make again, maybe cut back on the water a bit?

Toni brought the Spanish Rice. This is home cooked comfort food at its finest. She opted to leave out the ground beef and add crumbled bacon at the end which was a nice twist on the usual. I think everyone remembered a version of this dish from childhood, and if you haven’t made it in a while (or ever) then you need to bring it back to the top. This is the culinary equivalent of a hug. It just makes you feel good and it is a delicious well rounded meal.

I brought the New Orleans Style String Beans and they were killer. I had to sneak them out of the house before my family ate the entire dish, so you know I will be making them again and often.  If it wasn’t enough that they were sautéed in olive oil with garlic, then the seasoning mix of Cajun seasoning and honey was added to glaze the beans and, brace yourself for this one, they are finished with a flambé of cognac. They can be served hot or room temp and if you put these on the table for Thanksgiving, no one will ask where the green bean casserole with mushroom soup is – they are that good!

There was a wealth of desserts to pick from and each one was tastier than the next. Lisa made the Pumpkin Flan and it was truly “flantastic”. Velvety smooth and wonderfully rich with cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg to compliment the custardy pumpkin, this is definitely a “flantastic” way to end a meal. She found it interesting that the sugar was caramelized in the pan in the oven, a method most of us had never heard of, and mentioned it took much longer for the sugar to melt than is indicated in the recipe. Plan accordingly, because the end result is absolutely worth the time!

Leslie made Dolly’s Chocolate Cake for us to try. She really had no choice since she shared that her husbands nickname for her is Dolly – well it was a perfect selection. She made a lot of substitutions on the recipe and they all worked. Who knew you could use Greek yogurt and Earth Balance instead of buttermilk and butter and that soy creamer would work in place of heavy cream? She even took it over the top by adding amaretto for part of the liquid. Everyone who tried it liked it a lot.

 (no photo - my camera ate it)

Colleen made the Busy Day Chocolate Cake. We all agreed that one can never have too much chocolate and this recipe is fast and easy everyone should always have all the ingredients on hand. Bonus – you mix the ingredients right in the pan! What is not to love about that!? Just think – fresh homemade vegetarian/vegan friendly chocolate cake with all natural ingredients in the same time it would take to open one of those box things! Love love love it.

Liza brought the Crisp Chocolate Toffee Bars and we were all very thankful she did. These are not your back-of-the-bag chocolate chip cookies. If the back-of-the-bag ones went to a Swiss finishing school they might approach the level of these bar cookies. Crisp, buttery, and very grown up we agreed that the hint of salt that makes the toffee sing is the perfect complement to the chocolate chunks that were sprinkled through these cookies. These are so good, even if you have a bite without a chocolate chip, you don’t even miss it.

Over all we all really liked that there weren’t any exotic ingredients that were hard to find, the recipes are straight forward, have a broad appeal and are not difficult. The only negative comment that came up over and over again was, “The photography is so disappointing! I made this dish and it looks MUCH better than the one in the book.” Buy the book – skip the pictures.