Carrot Risotto and The Fault in Our Stars

Every once in a while (and lately, more often) a book labelled for "young adults" breaks through to the "adult" reading world and becomes a must read.  Perhaps this started with Harry Potter, continued with Twilight, Hunger Games, Divergent.  For the most part the YA books I always here about are series, are fantasy of some way.  The Fault in Our Stars is a YA book that has broken through but is different - it is just one time thing, and rather than taking place is some futuristic world or have teenagers changing into werewolves, it is firmly grounded in reality - the sad reality of kids with cancer.  While it may seem callous, if you haven't read the book, to make some sort of food associated with a book about kids with cancer, John Green treats the subject with the seriousness it deserves, but also with wit, whimsy, romance and humor.  The book is a tearjerker, no doubt, but it is also an eye opener that shows tragedy is not one dimensional.  

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Margarita Week: Chili Grapefruit Margarita

The internets have told me that this week is National Margarita Week!  The perfect inspiration for me to get back to cocktails on bookcooker.  This little hot ticket is a chili grapefruit margarita. The perfect drink as the dreary winter drags on.  If you are like me and did not plan a tropical vacation to help get you through it (or maybe you live in Southern California or Florida - damn you!), this drink can help dull the pain... for one night at least!

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The Goldfinch and Welsh Rarebit

If I could make a dish with vodka, Oxycontin and tragedy that would be perfect for Donna Tartt's engrossing and heartbreaking The Goldfinch.  Tartt is one of my favorite authors  - but she is rare among contemporary novelists in that she takes about 10 years per book.  Undoubtedly the anticipation adds to the enjoyment of her books, and it is the anticipation that powers the reader through her hefty tomes.  The Goldfinch is like those before it is long - but it is worth the effort and I different in some ways from Tartt's previous works.  What I loved about The Secret History and The Little Friend was the hidden mystery and subtle but constant sinister atmosphere underlying the story. With The Goldfinch Tartt adds something else to the mix - a character that the reader really emotionally connects to - Theo Decker.   Many reviewers have dubbed The Goldfinch "Dickensian" and there certainly is that spirit in this book - it spans many years, has a wide array of eccentric and interesting characters and most importantly tells the coming of age story of an orphan.  Theo is a young pre-teen who lives in New York with his beautiful and engaging single mother.  On their way to a parent teacher conference at Theo's school the mother-son pair stop at the Metropolitan Museum to peruse a collection of Dutch artwork Theo's mother was interested in.  A huge bomb explodes during their visit  - Theo's mother is killed but Theo miraculously survives.  But with his mother's death (and the unreliability and absence of his father) he becomes like an orphan if not literally one.  The book traces Theo's coming of age and entrance into adulthood - documenting how the trauma of the bombing and the loss of his mother scars his every moment thereafter.  This welsh rarebit pictured above represents one of the rare good and comforting things in Theo's life - his friendship and eventual home with a quiet quirky antique dealer known as Hobie.  More about the book and the dish after the jump.

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Greens, Biscuit and Telegraph Avenue

I am a big Michael Chabon fan.  The Adventures of Cavalier and Clay is one of my top 10 favorite books.  I was excited about when Telegraph Avenue came out - Chabon always creates characters that are quirky and unique but who I emotionally connect to (even though they are almost always male).  Alas, Telegraph Avenue didn't do it for me in the way Chabon's previous work has.  It took me over a month to get through it, which is a departure for someone who usually reads books in a week or two.   In the end I made it through and am glad that I did, but I am not sure I would recommend the book to others.  Telegraph Avenue is a street in Oakland that is traditionally African American but runs from Oakland into Berkley so serves as a symbol in the book of the particular Northern Californian mix - hippie, African American, affluent liberal whites.  The novel is about race, gentrification, growing up, love, marriage, family, fatherhood, sexual identity and friendship.  To me the book felt overstuffed - with ideas, with themes, with obscure movie and music references, and with long descriptive sentences.  It was hard for me to connect with the characters because of all of this other stuff.  While I didn't love the book, it did present good food inspiration.  As soon as I read the words "yeasted biscuits" I was intrigued.  I have made regular buttermilk biscuits often and lamented that they did not rise as high as the ones I would get in hipster Southern restaurants.  I hoped yeast would get that sky high look I had yearned for.  In the book, one of the main characters, Nat, makes these biscuits, along with greens and fried chicken, in an attempt to win over some people in his neighborhood to support the used record store he owns with his best friend Archie in an epic battle with a hip hop superstore looking to move into the neighborhood.  I decided to focus on the greens and biscuits - together a great warming winter supper. 

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