The Reading Mouse: Rose Under Fire

Can a companion book ever live up to its predecessor? Find out what I think about Code Name Verity's companion, Rose Under Fire.

The Reading Mouse: Days of Blood and Starlight

It's hard to review a book sequel without spoiling the first book, so I don't even try. But I stayed in bed all day reading, so that should tell you how good Days of Blood and Starlight is.

The Reading Mouse: Sandcastle Girls

The Sandcastle Girls by Chris Bohjalian is utterly unlike any book I've read this year. If everyone in my family hadn't already read it, they'd be getting copies for Christmas.

Making Islands: Knitting!

Somehow, knitting makes sense to me all of a sudden!

The Reading Mouse: Favorite Holiday Books

Have a favorite holiday book? Here are mine!

The Reading Mouse: A Long Long Sleep

I love reading retellings of fairy tales. Read about how much I loved A Long Long Sleep by Anna Sheehan over on The Reading Mouse.

Reading Mouse: The Perks of Being a Wallflower

We can agree that usually the book is better than the movie. But what if it's about even? That's how I felt about The Perks of Being a Wallflower - read about it on The Reading Mouse.

Making Islands: Mother May I Go and Swim

I made this embroidery for my mother over the summer. Check it out at Making Islands.

The Reading Mouse: Meanwhile

Do you want to know about the most epic graphic novel ever, which just happens to start with the question chocolate or vanilla? Then read about Meanwhile by Jason Shiga over at The Reading Mouse.

Vote in the Lamb Pro-Am

I have heard so many nice things about my pumpkin, rice, and lamb dish, I really appreciate all of them. I'm glad I can share my family's story and recipe with everyone.

But now's the time I need you to do a little something for me. Head over to the Lamb Pro-Am site and give me a vote! I'm at the bottom of the list, right above the big "Cast Vote" button. You can't miss me.

How the voting works: Out of the ten fabulous blogs participating, the four with the top votes will move on to the live competition. Those four will be paired with local chefs Michael Scelfo (of Russell House Tavern), Jay Silva (of Bambara), Mark Orfaly (of Pigalle), and Jason Cheek (of KO Prime). They will cook with their chef and present their dish at the Lamb Pro-Am event on November 6th. You can buy tickets here, or enter to win a pair on the voting page.

Of course, there are some absolutely mouth-watering dishes in competition with me. So while I want you to vote for my pumpkin rice-stuffed lamb roast, take some time and visit the other competitors too. Everyone did a wonderful job adapting the competition to highlight their style of cooking.

The Lamb Burger from Boston Burger Blog - I love the use of pomegranate seeds on top!

Guinness Braised Lamb Poutine from the Small Boston Kitchen - Sweet potatoes + lamb = delicious

Three Peppers Lamb from Jacqueline Church - Don't look at me strangely when I say I wanted to lick the picture of her dish.

Autumn American Lamb Supper from Doves and Figs - The only other roast-for-roast-sake in the competition, and dear god, lamb fat cornbread!

Roast Lamb Tacos from Two Recipes - the zesty Mexican-inspired marinade for the meat sounds wonderful!

Moroccan Style Lamb Chapati from Just Add Cheese - More pumpkin, but in an entirely different format.

Lamb Potstickers from Umommy - Not one but TWO fantastic kinds of lamb dumplings.

Guatemalan Lamb Tacos from the Gringo Chapin - He humbly talks about street food, but I've never seen street food look that good.

Bagel Action Figures, and other amazing things from Finagle a Bagel

I've been a fan of Finagle a Bagel since I took a small class on bagels at their now-defunct Coolidge Corner shop a year or so ago. Someone from their headquarters in Newton showed us how to make bagel dough, then they took us into the back of the shop to boil, top, and bake our own half dozen. I tried their chunky vegetable bagel that day and totally fell in love.

But I'm loving Finagle even more now. They've released a bunch of webisodes, available on their website and on YouTube, featuring five guys in the baking plant. They all made me laugh, but Action Figures and Schmears were by far the funniest. Watch the first two below, then watch the rest at the Finagle a Bagel website.

Blogging By Mail: Indulge Me

It's been over a year since the last Blogging By Mail, hosted by the wonderful Stephanie at Dispensing Happiness. This time around, the theme was "Indulge Me" - at such a hectic time of year, this is the perfect way to pamper yourself a little bit.

Amidst my haze of the flu (Captain Trips, as I've taken to calling it), a small box arrived for me. I quickly opened the box, and for such a small package, it was jam packed with goodies. Arlene from the Food of Love put together a wonderful assortment of goodies to keep me comfy and cozy this winter. Her card, with a fun spa theme, kicked it all off, and the spa theme continued with an espresso chai candle, a rose bath bomb from Lush, banana coconut soap (it smells like a tropical drink!), a soothing eye pillow, scrubby bath gloves, and of course, some chocolate to enjoy in the bath. I think I'm going to wait for our next snow storm to take advantage of all of this (well, maybe not the chocolate...).

Arlene's site has tons of delicious recipes, including lots of comfort foods and a whole slew of recipes with Weight Watchers points (which I'm sure I'll be paying attention to come January). Check it out!

The Edible Word: Confections of a Closet Master Baker, Part 2, Plus my recipe for Katayif

As I mentioned, one of the moments that hit me hardest while reading Confections of a Closet Master Baker was when Gesine was talking about her mother's favorite recipe, Zwetschgendatschi. She talks about baking this for her mother as she was dying from cancer, and she talks about baking this for a man who had first tasted it in Germany during World War II. It's a short chapter, but I fought off tears as I read that her mother, who kept a very strict diet, made and ate an entire tart on the day she dropped Gesine off at college, and how Gesine made her version for her aunt's birthday. I wanted to go home and bake one immediately, to pay tribute to tradition and family (even if it's not my own family or my own tradition).

But I discovered that my mother had taken the tart pans with her to our summer house, and my friend only had a large tart pan (too large for the recipe in the book) for me to borrow. I'll hold off on making Zwetschgendatschi, then, until I can do it right.

In the meantime, I wanted to contribute a recipe to the Edible Word that means something to me. It's not my mother's favorite recipe, nor does it hold any special memories like Gesine's Zwetschgendatschi, but it does remind me of family and tradition and all that jazz.

I don't read or write or speak Armenian, which definitely separates me from many of my Armenian friends and acquaintances. Being second/third generation American can do that to you. But between my mother and my own curiosity, I have learned to make many Armenian dishes that my peers would never contemplate making. I grew up eating many of these dishes, but there are few in my generation who make them, and they are something of a lost art now.

I remember going to a cooking class at our church when I was a kid (one of the few times that non-religious me stepped into a church) and watching all the old ladies, dressed in black with their hair tied up in buns, as they showed us how to bake things like simit. And I remember sitting at my grandmother's kitchen table, "helping" (but really just mucking everything up) as we made berag and she taught me how to fold the dough into tight little triangles.

Katayif is another Armenian dish that you don't find all that often. And that's a shame, because it is pretty easy and amazingly delicious. It used shredded filo dough (often labeled “Kataifi" on the package) and a delicious vanilla custard that thickens up (especially when eaten straight out of the fridge). One pan serves a ton of people, too, so it's great to serve at a party.

Cream katayif also always makes me laugh. When pronounced correctly, the "K" sounds like you're clearing your throat, kind of like the word "loch". And somehow, the "C" of cream invariably always gets pronounced the same way. But "cream" is in English, and "katayif" is in Armenian, and yet they both get the Armenian pronunciation. My brothers and I always over-pronounce the hell out of those "C"s and "K"s, and just thinking about it makes me laugh.

Cream Katayif

2 cups heavy cream
2 cups light cream
4 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ cup cornstarch
½ cup whole milk

2 lbs shredded filo dough (often labeled “Kataifi”), divided
1 lb (4 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and divided

2 cups sugar
1 cup water
1 tsp vanilla extract

Make filling ahead of time and cool completely before proceeding. Combine heavy cream, light cream, sugar, and vanilla in a medium saucepan. Mix cornstarch and milk together until cornstarch is dissolved, then add to cream mixture. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly until thickened (to pudding consistency). Cool completely.

Preheat oven to 375°. Butter the bottom and sides of an 11x15 inch pan. In your largest mixing bowl, pull apart 1 pound of dough until it is light and fluffy and there are no clumps. Pour ½ lb (2 sticks) of melted butter over the dough and toss to coat evenly. Press dough into the pan, patting down as tightly as possible. Pour cooled custard evenly over the dough. Repeat the shredding and buttering process with the second pound of dough and ½ pound butter, then press into pan over the custard.

Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until golden brown. While kadayif is baking, combine sugar, water, and vanilla extract in a small pan and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar. Boil until syrup is clear.

Pour hot syrup over hot katayif, then cover with foil for 15 minutes. Cut into squares and serve warm or at room temperature. Leftovers are good straight from the fridge.

The Edible Word: Confections of a Closet Master Baker, Part 1

In today's book market, it is quite possible to read only food memoirs and have no time left to read anything else. And I would probably read many more food memoirs if I didn't love a variety of other genres and wanted to spread the love around amongst them all (I'm currently reading some time travel comedy, although it's lagging a little, and I'm ready for some short story horror). So when Stephanie at Dispensing Happiness said she was organizing a reading/blogging group for a new food memoir, I signed up immediately.

And I'm really glad I did. I was sent a copy of Confections of a Closet Master Baker by Gesine Bullock-Prado and felt immediately compelled to put down that time travel comedy (yes, I've been reading it for a while now - I told you it was laggy!) and dive straight in. I mean, with a first line of "I saw the devil at age three and he gave me chocolate. It changed my life forever." how could you not want to start reading?

I loved every moment of this book. Gesine jumps around from her childhood in Europe (where her mother was an opera singer) to her life in Hollywood (working for her sister's production company and slowly losing her soul) to the machinations of a working bakery in Vermont (where she escaped to after Hollywood), and yet the story doesn't feel disjointed at all. Each snippet of story lets us into her world a little more. While reading, I wanted nothing more than to curl up on the couch with some coffee and a piece of cake and keep reading (I was on the go, however, and it was above 90° out - curling up wouldn't have felt that good). Gesine's tone goes from light and entertaining to heartfelt and sad in moments - I was choking back tears, sitting in a cafe that wasn't nearly as nice as her own bakery, as I read about her mother's favorite recipe.

I was excited about this book even before it arrived on my doorstep. I was in Austin a few weeks ago for a conference, and while doing my food research for the trip, I discovered that Gesine had recently helped to open a new bakery in town. And on my first day in town, my friend and I went to Hut's Hamburgers for lunch and noticed that Walton's Fancy and Staple, Gesine's new bakery, was just down the street. So we stopped in for dessert, and I totally fell in love with the place. Over the course of the trip (5 days in total), we visited the bakery three times, bringing more and more people with us each time. I loved the space, filled with cozy cafe tables and a variety of plants and beautiful furniture and objects like the jars above. It was airy and bright, and there was even a second room of seating that provided a more intimate and quiet space.

So over three visits, I got to try many of the bakery's offerings, including a few that I would later read about in her book, such as Golden Eggs and Savory Rock Scones. Above are a cream puff and one of Gesine's famous macarons (and a lovely cup of espresso). And everything at Walton's was downright cheap, at least according to my Boston sensibilities. When I got home and started reading the book, I was happy to have a better idea of all the foods Gesine was mentioning. Reading the book made me hungry enough - at least I knew what some of the stuff tasted like!

You can also check out Gesine's blog and read the first 15 pages of the book on Amazon.

Part 2 of my post is here.

Walton's Fancy and Staple

Why I Will Be Thinking About Hot Pockets for the Next Three Days...

Last night, I had one of the geekiest nights in a long time. It started out with seeing Jim Gaffigan live at the Berklee Performance Center with the roommate (with tickets that we bought back in March!). Then I met up with some friends to see Jonathan Coulton at the Paradise (if you haven't heard his "Re: Your Brains", give it a listen right now) with what may have been the highest concentration of geeks in one place that I've ever seen. Then I met back up with the roommate to see a midnight showing of the influential Metropolis, complete with a live band, at the Coolidge Theatre.

But throughout the concert and the movie, all I could think of was Hot Pockets. If you're already a fan of Jim Gaffigan, you know why. If you've never heard of him though, watch the clips below and you'll understand why he's such a great comic. The Hot Pockets bit is one of his most famous (along with an amazing set about bacon... "God, how can he have so many jokes about bacon?!"). In fact, many of his best bits are about food, so what's not to love?


Oh, and representatives from Hot Pockets were actually there, handing out coupons and pens outside the venue. The best part? The pens play the Hot Pockets jingle when you press a button! The roommate and I both got them and have left them around the apartment to play with whenever the spirit takes us...

More good Jim Gaffigan food-related clips...

Monkey Business in a Japanese Restaurant

I would totally eat at this place if I were visiting Japan. I mean, monkey waiters!

And the people who were interviewed must think waiters and children are pretty bad if the monkeys are a better alternative...

Best of Boston Dining 2008

Boston Magazine's yearly Best of Boston came out back in August, and since then, they've been throwing parties for the different selections (such as Best of Fashion, and Best of Boston North and Best of Boston South). Last night, though, was Best of Boston Dining at the 808 Gallery at BU, and man was it a great party.

Many of the winners were on hand with samples of their dishes that helped bring them to the top. And while I didn't (and still don't) agree on some of the choices, there were many restaurants there last night that truly brought their A-game to the show.

The Beehive (winner for Best Family-Friendly Brunch and Best Pickup Bar, oddly) featured a killer roast pork with foie gras stuffing - so tender that the dinky little plastic forks could cut through it, and they even gave us some of the ribs to get every last morsel of goodness off of.

Diesel Cafe (Best Coffeehouse) presented sandwiches, spreads, and drinks that were much better than I remember from my time spent in Davis Square - the Lil' Piston (their version of a caprese sandwich) was so intensely flavorful that I can't imagine eating a whole one for lunch, and their jasmine limeade was a very refreshing choice.

Hungry Mother (Best Comeback) offered up little biscuits with ham and pepper jelly - sweet and salty, they were perfect little snack bites.

Church (Best Neighborhood Brunch, Fenway/Symphony) offered some un-brunchy options, like the Vanity cocktail and fantastic shrimp ceviche on tortilla chips - I've been meaning to make my way to Church for a while, but this cemented my desire... I guess I'll have to order a Gluttony when I do go.

ChocoLee Chocolates (Best Chocolates) had some of the most perfectly balanced chocolate flavors I've seen in ages, such as dark chocolate with salted caramel and dark chocolate with fig filling.

This party was a great way to get introduced to some places I had never heard of (hello, ChocoLee), to get peeks at places I've been wanting to visit (Beehive, Hungry Mother, and Church), and to revisit places I had previously brushed aside (Diesel Cafe). I'm definitely looking forward to visiting all those places!

HIMYM's Best Burger in New York

How I Met Your Mother has to be one of the best shows on TV right now. So imagine how happy I was to see last night's episode, a virtual love letter to Chowhound? Marshall (and, inexplicably, Regis Philbin) search for the perfect burger in New York.

It's all here, everything that makes this show great - the writing ("I said I don't like Chinese"), the facial expressions (Marshall clearly in love with the burger), the little things you barely even see (like Robin licking the glue off the deposit envelope out of hunger). Plus, the episode dispensed with Ted's search for the Mother of the title and instead focused on the group of friends (the thing that truly makes the show great).

Whether you like food, the chowhounding process, HIMYM, or just good comedy, definitely give this episode a watch.

Geeky Pie Chart Humor

I love GraphJam, especially when there are food-related posts (see here and here).

Ricotta-Stuffed Squash Blossoms

I have been travelling and/or busy on farmers market days this summer, so I have sadly not been able to partake of all the available goodies very often. I did manage a visit last week, though, and I couldn't have been happier to see squash blossoms welcoming me.

I've been fairly obsessed with squash blossoms since I spent a summer in Italy. There was this fancy pizza restaurant/inn in the next town over, and they made a killer fritti misti plate, with all types of fried goodies. The best things on the plate, though, were the sage leaves and the squash blossoms - so delicate and crisp, it was like eating delicious air. Squash blossoms can be a little hard to find in the states, though, and at one point, I was almost resigned to ordered a whole box of them from a local farm (although how my family could have eaten that box before it went bad was beyond me). One summer, I convinced my father to plate extra zucchini plants so I could steal flowers whenever I wanted.
But now, I can count on seeing squash blossoms at least a couple of times a summer at the Hmong booth at the weekly market. Hell, they might have them every week, but I tend to go later in the day, so they might be sold out. And every time I see them there, I practically jump up and down with joy.



Stuffed Squash Blossoms
12 squash blossoms
1 cup ricotta
1/2 cup crumbled feta, or about 4 ounces
1/4 finely chopped parsley, or about 2 large handfuls of leaves
zest of 1/2 lemon
salt and pepper
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup flour
1/2 grated parmesan cheese
olive oil

Blossom cleaning tips: Before using the squash blossoms, gently open them up (which means you may need to rip a small tear down one side)and pry out the stamen using your fingers or a small knife. Then submerge the flowers in cool water while you prepare the filling so any dirt will rinse off.

Mix together ricotta, feta, parsley, and lemon zest until combined. Add salt and pepper to taste. Gently place a spoonful of filling in each blossom, closing the flower around the filling and lightly pressing closed. Fill all the blossoms before beginning to fry.

Add olive oil to a large pan, about enough to cover the bottom, and heat over medium heat. Once oil is heated through, dunk the blossoms in egg, and then in the flour mixture. Shake off any excess flour before adding to the pan. Flip flowers over after they have browned. These cook quickly, so pay close attention! Serve immediately.