Book Lovers Cookbook Event

[DFen911]

So I’ve been asked to come join a group of chefs from around the area to participate in the Literary Food World.

These folks read all these books and during their experience, as all books do, they find recipes within the story. Some are very explicit, others vague. But we’ve all read books where a dinner, feast or dessert is described. Here below are the items to be prepared and the books/authors. We must prepare them using the techniques and/or the ingredients as listed, to keep it as authentic to the book as possible. They sent me copies of all of them and reading thru them now. This is going to be fun!

Eggplant Caponata
Book – Bel Canto by Ann Patchett

Teriyaki Beef Skewers
Book – Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden

Wild Mushrooms on Toast
Book – Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

Strawberry Spinach Salad
Book – Millions of Strawberries Easter and Spring Poetry by Genevieve Taggard

Fred Saifnia’s Salad Shirazi (Tomato-Cucumber Salad)
Book - Nine Parts of Desire: Hidden World of Islamic Women by Geraldine Brooks

Worth the Fuss Grilled Lemon Chicken
Book – Herb’s Pajamas by Abigail Thomas (In the chapter Walter’s Book)

Genuine Roasting Idaho Potato Boats, or Restuffed Potatoes
Book – The Accidental Tourist by Ann Tyler

Scallion Ginger Fried Rice
Book – The Good Earth by Pearl Buck

A Gratin of Leeks
Book – A Thousand Days in Venice by Marlena De Blasi

Asparagus with Cream
Book – Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser

Apple Puffs
Book – Middlemarch: A Study of Provincial Life by George Eliot

[bjcotton]

That sounds like fun Sweetie! Wish I could join you. Take lots of pictures ok?

[Gourmet_Mom]

How cool is that! I can't wait to hear all about it.

[HomeCulinarian]

That sounds like fun, Denise. Do you make all of these dishes, or only some of them?

I just read Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society for my book club this month. It was a good read, but I don't recommend making that recipe!

http://www.guernseyliterary.com/
Here’s a recipe for a potato peel pie, but I warn you, it tastes like paste. The more authentic it is, the nastier. These ingredients will make a very small pie (expand at will):

1 potato
1 beet
1 Tablespoon milk

Peel the potato and put the peelings in a pie pan. Don’t cook the peels, because you’re in the middle of an Occupation and you don’t have any fuel. Boil the potato and the beet together in salty water, but not for very long, due to the fuel problem. Just until you can stick a fork in the potato. Take them out and mash them up with the milk. Pour the glop in the pie pan. Bake at 375 for as short a time as is consonant with digestion (fuel again), say, fifteen minutes.

The finished product will look quite attractive and pink. If you squint, you can almost imagine raspberries. Don’t be fooled. It looks a lot better than it is. However, if you forgot that you were in the middle of WWII and added a bunch of butter and milk and salt, it could be quite tasty.

[cjs]

Oh Denise, what fun that is going to be - I'm so anxious to hear what all you do and how everything is received!

[labradors]

Quote:

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I just read Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society for my book club this month. It was a good read, but I don't recommend making that recipe!

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A friend just gave me that book, saying that I HAD to read it and that I would love it. So far, I'm half way through it and am enjoying it thoroughly. What a pity it will be Mary Ann Shaffer's only novel.

[Cubangirl]

I have read at least half the books in Denise's list, but it never occurred to me to make recipes from them. Our book group read Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and I loved it as well. I love reading (now mostly mysteries) and cooking so I often read books which combine both. I used the pork chop brine from one of Dianne Mott Davidson's book (still use it), before I read about brines in cooking magazines. I love Joanna Fluke, Isis Crawford and Krista Davis as examples. I love "food movies" as well such as Babette's feast.

[labradors]

Cubana,

When it comes to mysteries, have you read the Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane mysteries by Dorothy L Sayers? Not "food books," but great mysteries with really good British humour.

[cjs]

Forgot all about this thread. It playes right into that woderful book that I bought last summer, The Book Club Cook Book. I'll have to go thru and see if any of the above books are listed with the fods here.

Denise, have you done anything with the project yet?

[DFen911]

They still want to do the event but they've had some serious cutbacks (haven't we all) and thus had to scrap the project for now.