The Book Tour Stops Here: A Review of "A Line of Blood" by Ben McPherson, Served with a Boozy Whiskey Affogato

I'm happy to be a stop on the TLC Book Tour for A Line of Blood by Ben McPherson, a darkly suspenseful mystery/thriller. The focus of this book is a family that looks relatively normal from the outside but is actually full of secrets and issues. Yep, below the surface this family is pretty much a hot mess, so accompanying my review is a bit of a cold mess--a scrumptious and boozy Whiskey Affogato, inspired by my reading.

Publisher's Blurb:

Whose secrets cut deeper?
Your family’s.

Whose secrets do you fear?
Your neighbor’s.

Whose secrets can kill?
Your own.

For Alex Mercer, his wife, Millicent, and their precocious eleven-year-old son, Max, are everything—his little tribe that makes him feel all’s right with the world. But when he and Max find their enigmatic next-door neighbor dead in his apartment, their lives are suddenly and irrevocably changed. The police begin an extremely methodical investigation, and Alex becomes increasingly impatient for them to finish. After all, it was so clearly a suicide.

As new information is uncovered, troubling questions arise—questions that begin to throw suspicion on Alex, Millicent, and even Max. Each of them has secrets it seems. And each has something to hide.

With the walls of their perfect little world closing in on them day after day, husband, wife, and son must decide how far they’ll go to protect themselves—and their family—from investigators carefully watching their every move . . . waiting for one of them to make a mistake.

A Line of Blood explores what it means to be a family—the ties that bind us, and the lies that can destroy us if we’re not careful. Highly provocative, intensely twisty and suspenseful, this novel will have you wondering if one of them is guilty—or if all of them are—and will keep you on edge until its shocking final pages.

You will never look at your loved ones the same way again. . . 
 

Hardcover: 416 pages
Publisher: William Morrow (September 29, 2015) 

My Review:

The Mercer family, Scottish Alex, his American wife Millicent, and their eleven-year-old son Max live fairly comfortably in the North London neighborhood of Finsbury Park (which the locals refer to as "Crappy"--due to the dodgy parts). One evening Alex and Max climb into the neighbor's yard looking for Foxxa, their cat, and end up following her into their neighbor's house where they discover him--very dead--in his bathtub. The body is on lurid display and Alex does not react fast enough to prevent Max from seeing it--something that is a common thread in the book as Max constantly sees, hears, and is told far too much for his young years. What looks like a suicide turns into a murder investigation, with Alex at the top of the suspect list. As the police investigation continues, secrets surface, including an especially damaging one about the relationship between the neighbor and Millicent. Soon it's more than Alex under suspicion and his marriage and life keep unraveling with each turn of the page.

This is one of those books that a lengthy story explanation would spoil some of the intricate twists and turns of the plot so I am not going to go into a lot of detail. It's best just to say that if you like psychological thrillers with a dose of dark family drama you will want to read A Line of Blood. I found myself engrossed in the story from the start and full of tension while reading it. Part of the tension came from the storytelling--McPherson does an amazing job of building the drama, reeling me in, convincing me I had it figured out, then continuously casting lines out in other directions and making me doubt my conclusions. The story is told from Alex's point of view and it's not clear how reliable he is and so it is easy to cast suspicion on everyone. The generally creepy vibe that surrounds this family makes it possible to believe that any one of them could be involved in their neighbor's death. The other area of tension was from the characters themselves--no one was really likable for various reasons and I really wanted to smack Alex and Millicent for their lack of maturity and parenting skills. They have an eleven-year-old son that they seem to treat partially as a peer and partially as an afterthought. They live in a little house where they can hear almost everything going on within their house, yard, and nearby neighbors' houses, yet the conversations, fights, and actions they take seem oblivious to the fact that anyone can hear them--especially their son. Any nap or nighttime sleep seemed to be fair game for all manner of inappropriateness to come out. In addition to what Max might have witnessed, as the marriage implodes Alex in particular shares too many details with his son, and the fact that Max is a master manipulator, sets up even more issues and more family breakdown. McPherson manages to keep the dysfunction and craziness to just this side of reality though, so even if these aren't characters you know (or want to know), they still ring true. Complex and off-kilter, A Line of Blood kept me up past my bedtime and made my blood pressure elevate.

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Author Notes:  Ben McPherson is a television producer, director, and writer and for more than ten years worked for the BBC, among other outlets. He is currently a columnist for Aftenposten, Norway’s leading quality daily, and lives in Oslo with his wife and two children.

Find Ben on Twitter and Facebook.
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For my book-inspired dish, it seemed like most of the food mentions were simple meals,  breakfasts, and beverages--particularly coffee and alcohol. I decided to combine those two ingredients with the ice cream, chocolate, and milkshakes Max liked and make a Boozy Whiskey Affogato. An 'adults only' drink/dessert, but somehow I imagine Max would have been given some--or found a way to get it himself. ;-)

Whiskey seemed to be in constant supply in the story. It would have likely been an Irish whiskey in the Mercer household, but since I had good Kentucky bourbon/whiskey on hand, that's what I used. 

An affogato (Italian for 'drowned') is a coffee dessert, usually consisting of a scoop of gelato or ice cream topped with a shot of hot espresso and sometimes a shot of liqueur. The espresso melts the ice cream into a creamy and delicious spoonable or drinkable mess. It really doesn't require a 'recipe' but this is what I did below. ;-)

Whiskey Affogato
By Deb, Kahakai Kitchen

For each affogato:

about 3/4 cup scoop of your favorite gelato or ice cream (vanilla, chocolate, coffee...)
1 oz whiskey or alcohol of choice
2 oz hot brewed espresso or strongly brewed coffee
shaved dark chocolate for garnish

Scoop ice cream into cup or glass. Pour whiskey on ice cream, then top with the hot espresso and sprinkle with chocolate shavings. Serve immediately.

Notes/Results: All of the important food groups are represented here: ice cream, coffee, alcohol, and chocolate-so what's not to like?! I have never been a huge whiskey flavor fan but it works well with the coffee and ice cream--very much like an Irish coffee only better. You can sub in any alcohol or liqueur you like--spiced rum, Kahlua, Frangelico, Amaretto... Prepping the glasses of ice cream ahead of time and letting the ice cream scoops get very frozen will make it melt slower but make sure your espresso/coffee is made at the last minute so it is very hot and very fresh. Decadent, messy and a bit dangerous--a pretty perfect dessert. ;-) 

Note: A review copy of "A Line of Blood" was provided to me by the publisher and TLC Book Tours in return for a fair and honest review. I was not compensated for this review and as always my thoughts and opinions are my own.

You can see the stops for the rest of this Book Tour and what other reviewers thought about the book here.

 

"That's a Good Life Smörgå"--Swedish Smoked Fish Sandwich with Pickled Cucumbers for Cook The Books: "Yes, Chef" by Marcus Samuelsson

As much as I love foodie fiction, there is something about hearing the story of a well-known and respected chef and learning how they found success that completely captures my interest. With Yes, Chef, a memoir by Marcus Samuelsson, our Cook The Books August/September pick (hosted by Rachel, The Crispy Cook), the journey is particularly fascinating. Born in Ethiopia and ill with the tuberculosis his young mother succumbed to, young Marcus was brought back to health, adopted by a loving Swedish family and raised in Sweden. He trained in Europe, traveled the world expanding his palate, and eventually found his place in the New York food scene. Yes, Chef is an absorbing, honest, and not always flattering look at a young chef and his drive to succeed.

I have to confess that it took me a while to warm to Marcus Samuelsson, who first came to my attention when he competed on Top Chef Masters. I found him to be the potent  combination of too cocky and too whiny that turns me off. It took a few years and watching him mentor and give feedback to less-experienced chefs on Chopped and The Taste that eventually changed my mind. You can tell he really wants to help others succeed. There is an honesty in the book that I appreciate and I liked seeing his growth from boy to chef to man, but some of those less positive feelings did come back in parts where I felt like his story and his hard work to get where he is were somewhat eclipsed by a chip on his shoulder. I don't mean to minimize his struggles with discrimination, nor could I ever imagine what it was/is like to walk in his shoes, but there were times when I wanted him to stop with the poor me attitude and focus on the positive. The best parts of the book for me came from his more humble moments and when his love for his family and the respect he has for his mentors and his staff came through. 

Although I found his restaurant experiences and how Marcus developed his creativity, passion and food knowledge engrossing, it was his early food memories with his family that touched my heart. The lessons he learned in the kitchen of his maternal grandmother or Mormor (cooking with love, carefully building flavors, and making the most of the ingredients you have) made me smile. The pleasures of simple food, best illustrated in his trip with his father to Smögen to work on the family fishing boats, are what inspired my dish for this round--the simple open-faced sandwich with smoked mackerel that his aunt prepared and his uncle's reaction to it.

"In the kitchen Nini had laid out four open-faced sandwiches: sliced boiled eggs, roe paste, mayonnaise, and a sprinkling of chives on a piece of brown bread. With a knife, she quickly filleted the mackerel, dressed it with black pepper and garlic, and topped each piece of bread with the warm, flavorful fish. 

I carried Torsten's plate over to the table, placing it in front of him. He took a bite, and I could see in his face the pleasure he took in the rich simplicity of the meal: the flaky chunks of fish, the velvety texture of the egg, the saltiness of the roe. Then he closed his eyes. "That's a good life," he said."

--Yes, Chef

Between those words that I kept going back to, and honoring my quarter-Swedish blood, ;-) I decided to make a That's a Good Life Smörgå or a Swedish open-faced sandwich. I kept the essence and most of the main ingredients of the one Marcus described--brown bread (rye), hard boiled eggs, mayo, chives and (deep breath) mackerel. 

Why the deep breath? Mackerel and I have an issue. It's a long story involving a slightly tipsy evening at a Japanese-style pub or izakaya with a friend, where a combination of noise, beer and translation had the daily special of raw saba (mackerel) placed in front of us. Had it been smoked, grilled, or even raw and cut in small thin slices, I would likely have no issue, but this one just lay on the plate; it's small head looking up on one end, and it's tail sticking up on the other with the center chopped into chunks. Being adventurous foodies, we gamely egged each other on and managed to eat part of it, washed down by big gulps of beer--but it wasn't pretty and it has made me shy away from anything mackerel-ish in the years since. 

Deciding that I love most all other smoked fish and feeling my smörgå just wouldn't be the same with smoked trout or salmon, I decided to retest the mackerel waters. (The fact that smoked mackerel was significantly less $$$ than my other smoked fish options sealed the deal.) The package I bought was black pepper mackerel--no need for dressing. I have no love for, but no real issues with fish roe, but it was ridiculously spendy for a package that I didn't think I would use up, so I mixed a small amount of capers into my garlicky mayonnaise for a salty feel. For a pop of color and a bit of welcome bite, I added very thinly-sliced red onion and watermelon radish to the mix.
 

According to Marcus, Swedish food is connected by pickles and jam, and having a serving of pickles alongside rich foods enhances the flavor experience. A Swedish pickle is salty, sour, and quite sweet and follows the 1-2-3 blend of one part vinegar, two parts sugar, three parts water. I used the recipe from his website for Quick Pickled Cucumbers. The flavor of these (sweeter than my usual pickling recipes) reminds me a lot of the pickled cucumbers my mom made for my dad.

Marcus says, "These pickles are second only to lingonberry jam as the favorite Swedish condiment."

Quick Pickled Cucumbers
From MarcusSamuelsson.com
(Makes About 1 1/2 Cups) 

1 English (hothouse) cucumber
1 Tbsp kosher salt
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup white wine vinegar
1 cup sugar
1 bay leaf
2 allspice berries

Slice the cucumber as thin as possible (use a mandoline or other vegetable slicer if you have one).  Put the slices in a colander, toss them with the salt, and let stand for about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine the water, vinegar, sugar, bay leaf, and allspice in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and let cool.
Rinse the salt off the cucumbers, and squeeze out as much moisture as possible. Put the cucumbers in a medium bowl and add the pickling solution; they should be completely covered by the brine. Cover and refrigerate for 3 to 6 hours before serving.

Notes/Results: While mackerel will likely never be my top menu choice, a smackerel of smoked mackerel on a sandwich or in a spread is on the "yes" list. This sandwich is full of great flavor and texture with the dense dark rye bread, the creamy garlicky mayo, smoky and peppery fish, silky egg and the sharp pungency of the radish and red onion. The sweet and vinegary cucumbers are a perfect counterpoint to the richness of the sandwich. A pretty good life, indeed. ;-)  

The deadline for this round of Cook the Books is tomorrow, September 30th and Rachel will be rounding up the entries on the CTB blog soon after. If you missed this round and like food, books, and foodie books, join us for our October/November round when we will be reading The Hundred-Foot Journey by Richard C. Morais, hosted by yours truly. Come join us! 

 

Chocolate Rochers with Hazelnuts, Rice Crisps, or Salted Caramel Peanuts for Food 'N Flix 5th Anniversary: The Goonies

I have participated and hosted several different blogging events over my seven+ years of blogging but my hands-down favorite has to be Food 'N Flix. This brilliant creation of cooking and film came from my friend Heather of girlichef and it celebrates its 5th Anniversary this month.(See the announcement post here.)

I have joined in from the beginning with the first pick of Chocolat and have loved seeing how each movie has inspired everyone to take to their kitchens and create their dishes. I would love to say that I participated in every one of the 60 movies selected but sometimes life gets in the way, and I have missed six movies by my count--including three this year when I was on a blogging break.

Movie Collage from Food 'N Flix

For this anniversary month, we were able to go back to any of the 60 films from the past five years which was quite a dilemma. Did I go back to a favorite film or go back to one that I missed? And, if I did go back to a missed film, which of them to choose?! (Trust me this is tough for an indecisive Libra!) ;-)

Finally I looked at the films I missed and decided to go to the one I regretted missing the most, May 2015's pick The Goonies, hosted by girlichef herself. Is it the best film, or the foodiest film? No, but it is fun, nostalgic, and having spent a good portion of my life in Oregon, I believe there is a state law that says you have to love The Goonies if you have ever lived there since it was set and most of the filming done in Astoria on the Oregon coast.

It's a sweet story with a group of underdog kids--'goonies'-who will be losing their homes as their families are being forced to sell to make way for a country club. They find a map that could lead them to the treasure of "One-Eyed Willie" and his band of pirates, while trying to escape a family of (really inept) criminals after the same treasure. Good and silly fun and haven't we all felt like a goonie at least once in our lives?!

Food inspiration in the film run mostly to junk food--pizza, corn chips, Pepsi, whipped cream, candy--especially Baby Ruth bars, and lots of ice cream. I wanted to make some kind of candy and something quick and easy to fit my busy month and habit of waiting until the last few days before the deadline to post. 

I have been meaning to whip up Jacques Pépin's Chocolate Rochers with Hazelnuts and Cornflakes from More Fast Food My Way and conveniently enough, it fit the movie (love it when that happens) as Jacques says, "Rochers is a French word meaning rocks, or little boulders, which is what these little chocolate confections look like." Or, as I like to think of them, little chunks--after the always hungry Lawrence "Chunk" Cohen. They are imperfect to look like Sloth, but are sweet and wonderful on the inside.

Jacques made his rochers out of bittersweet chocolate, half with hazelnuts and half with cornflakes, and says you can make them with any cereal, nut, dried fruit and chocolate you like. I picked a mix of good bittersweet and dark chocolate and kept the hazelnuts (there's a nod to Oregon there). Instead of cornflakes, I used the brown rice crisps cereal I had on hand, and for my final third I added some Planters Salted Caramel Peanuts--for a Baby Ruth-ish feel.

Chocolate Rochers
Adapted from More Fast Food My Way By Jacques Pépin
(Makes about 2 to 4 dozen--depending on the size you make them)

12 oz bittersweet chocolate. or chocolate of choice
1 1/2 cups whole, nuts, toasted
2 1/2 cups cereal of choice

Line a large pan or cookie sheet with plastic wrap or wax paper and set aside.

Break chocolate into 1-inch pieces and put them in a glass bowl. Microwave on high for about a minute. Wait a minute or two, stir with a rubber spatula  and microwave again, 30 seconds at a time, stirring in-between, until chocolate is melted, smooth and glossy. (You should have about a cup or so of melted chocolate.) 

Place the toasted nuts in a medium bowl and pour 1/2 of the chocolate on top. Mix well with a spoon to coat the nuts with the chocolate. Using a tablespoon, scoop up a spoonful of the chocolate-nut mixture and push the mixture off the tablespoon with a teaspoon onto the lined pan. Repeat.

Place the cereal into a medium bowl and add the remaining chocolate. Mix well with a spoon until completely combined and cereal is coated. Spoon the mounds onto the lined pan.

Cool the rochers until hardened. (I used the fridge as it is still warm and humid here.) The rochers will keep for 2 to 3 weeks stored in an airtight container in the fridge, or up to 2 months in the freezer.

Notes/Results: There you have it--easy and delicious. Jacques notes that he got the idea from Jacques Torres and that these make great holiday treats. I think they would be fun and simple for kids to make. My favorite were the hazelnuts to which I added a little sea salt, but the rice crisps version, and the salted caramel peanut ones were both pretty yummy too. A nice little treat to have when a chocolate craving hits, I will make them again. 

In addition to Food 'N Flix, I am linking these to I Heart Cooking Clubs where it is Potluck week. You can see which IHCC cooks and what recipes everyone made by checking out the picture links on the post. Quick note--the new IHCC chef for October-April was selected and we will be cooking along with nutritionist and cookbook author Ellie Krieger, so come and join us if you like recipes where delicious meets healthy. ;-)

The deadline for this 5th Anniversary round of Food 'N Flix is tomorrow, September 28th. Heather will be rounding up the different entries at girlichef shortly after. If you missed this round but love food, films, and foodie films, join us for October and some Halloween fun with Hocus Pocus, hosted by The Lawyer's Cookbook.

The Book Tour Stops Here: A Review of "The Art of Crash Landing" by Melissa DeCarlo, Served with a Greek(ish) Pearl Couscous Salad with Lemon-Caper Dressing

On today's TLC Book Tour stop I am reviewing The Art of Crash Landing, a debut novel by Melissa DeCarlo. If you think you have problems or don't make the best choices, wait until you meet Matilda (Mattie) Wallace who is crashing fast and seems bent on repeating many of her late mother's mistakes. Mattie is not going down without a fight however, and although there is potential for some heartbreak in the story of a woman who is close to reaching bottom, there are plenty of laughs too. Accompanying my review is a fabulous Greek(ish) Pearl Couscous Salad with Lemon-Caper Dressing, inspired by my reading. 

Publisher's Blurb:

Broke and knocked up, Mattie Wallace has got all her worldly possessions crammed into six giant trash bags and nowhere to go. Try as she might, she really is turning into her late mother, a broken alcoholic who never met a bad choice she didn’t make.

When Mattie gets news of a possible inheritance left by a grandmother she’s never met, she jumps at this one last chance to turn things around. Leaving the Florida Panhandle, she drives eight hundred miles to her mother’s birthplace—the tiny town of Gandy, Oklahoma. There, she soon learns that her mother remains a local mystery—a happy, talented teenager who inexplicably skipped town thirty-five years ago with nothing but the clothes on her back. But the girl they describe bears little resemblance to the damaged woman Mattie knew, and before long it becomes clear that something terrible happened to her mother. The deeper Mattie digs for answers, the more precarious her situation becomes. Giving up, however, isn’t an option. Uncovering what started her mother’s downward spiral might be the only way to stop her own.

Paperback: 432 pages P
ublisher: Harper Paperbacks (September 8, 2015)

My Review

I really enjoyed the humor in The Art of Crash Landing. Mattie has a sarcasm and snarkiness that I responded to and she made me laugh out loud several times with her thoughts and comments. On the other hand, Mattie was a hard character to connect with for much of the book. She is immature for her age (30), has the soul of a grifter, possesses a lack of any accountability for her actions and choices, and is completely insensitive to others. It's a risk to have a main character that is hard to like and does not appear to be headed for a big character arc of redemption, but Melissa DeCarlo accomplished what I thought she wouldn't--she made me warm to Mattie as the book progressed. I would still place her in the category of "fun to have a cup of coffee with" rather than a good trustworthy friend but, by the end of the book doggonit, as much as I wanted to shake her and tell her to pull up her big-girl panties and stop blaming a tough childhood for her issues, I wanted to give her a hug too. I appreciated her spunk and snark, her push to find answers, and seeing glimpses of a heart. The book leaves optimism for her further growth, but I could just as easily see Mattie sliding back into past behaviors and bad choices. Yes, I want to shake her again...

There was much that made The Art of Crash Landing an enjoyable read. The loyalty of Mattie's stepfather 'Queeg' was touching, her pain at her mother's death and the memories of the events leading up to it were soul-wrenching. Those spots of sadness were offset by Mattie's own humorous outlook and attitudes which provided plenty of fun, as did her grandmother's smelly French bulldog twins--both named Winston, and her relationship with the uniquely-pierced, snarly, potty-mouthed Goth teen Tawny. I loved the small town of Grandy, Oklahoma with its quirky residents and how much DeCarlo made it come to life with her descriptions. The mystery of where things went wrong for Mattie's mother is absorbing and while I expected Mattie to figure it out as soon as I did, it kept me reading chapters to see what happened when she put everything together. The Art of Crash Landing is a smart and fun read with moments that pulled at my heartstrings and moments that made me snicker and snort. Melissa DeCarlo has crafted an impressive debut novel that shines with wit and energy from start to finish. 

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Author Notes: Melissa DeCarlo was born and raised in Oklahoma City, and has worked as an artist, graphic designer, grant writer, and even (back when computers were the size of refrigerators) a computer programmer. The Art of Crash Landing is her first novel. Melissa now lives in East Texas with her husband and a motley crew of rescue animals.
 
Find out more about Melissa at her website, and connect with her on Facebook and Twitter.

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Food Inspiration:

Maddie is broke and pretty much exists on a combination of stale food in her grandmother's cupboards and freezer, handouts, swiped apples and crackers from her library job, some fast food, and a couple of dinner dates, so it was a bit of a struggle to find my food inspiration. It seemed insensitive to make a drink with the alcoholism in the book, or to pick a food with painful connotations of Mattie's past. If I ate meat it surely would have been pork chops as it completely cracked me up when Mattie called a woman she was in a tug-of-war with over a pink bike "pork chop" (as in "F*#% off, pork chop.") Who does that and gets away with it? ;-)  Finally a dinner date between Mattie and attractive paraplegic paralegal Luke sparked a dish as it seems Mattie and I share a love for Greek salads. 

Wanting a more substantial meat-free meal and having boxes of Israeli couscous and chickpeas in the cupboard, I decided to add them to the usual mix of cucumber, tomato, red onion, and feta. I have been looking for a reason to make April Bloomfield's Lemon-Caper Dressing (recipe below) and I thought it would be an excellent addition to the salad since it has a bold flavor that would be readily absorbed by the pasta and beans.

I am not going to give you a detailed step-by-step of how to make a Greek (or Greek(ish) in this case) salad--you should just pick your ingredients and toss in the amounts you like. 

For this salad (about 4 good-sized portions) I used:

• 3 cups cooked pearl (or Israeli) couscous
• 1 1/2 cups cooked or canned chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 of a small red onion
• 1 pint of grape tomatoes, sliced in half
• 1 English cucumber, skin on, halved length wise, then sliced (I don't bother scooping out the the seeds)
• 1/2 cup kalamata olives, sliced in half
• 3 Tbsp each coarsely-chopped fresh mint and flat parsley
• about 4-oz good feta cheese, crumbled
• black pepper to taste (you shouldn't need salt with the dressing & capers, olives & feta)
• Lemon-Caper Dressing (recipe below) + lemon segments from dressing recipe, chopped, to taste. (I used the whole 3/4 cup--the pasta soaks it up) 

A few quick tips: 

• Make the salad dressing and pour 1/4 cup of it into a large bowl with the sliced red onion and let them sit for 15 minutes or so while you cook the couscous and chop and prepare the other ingredients. This will take some of the bite out of the onion.
• Put the warm couscous and the chickpeas into the bowl with the onions and add another 1/4 cup of the dressing. Gently mix it together. This will allow the couscous to absorb the dressing flavors.
• Add the other ingredients (except for the feta) and gently stir to mix. Add the final 1/4 cup of dressing, or add remaining dressing to taste. Season to taste with the black pepper--you should not need much (if any) additional salt.
• Don't add the feta until you are ready to serve the salad.
• This salad is good cold but I really like it better at room temperature and even better several hours after being made or the next day when the flavors are blended and absorbed. 

Food 52 says, "At first glance, this is a shockingly brash dressing. April Bloomfield uses not just lemon juice, but whole lemon segments, and more mustard than could possibly seem like a good idea. But she also knows about restraint, and adds just enough addictive nips of caper and shallot to keep you going, and gentler undercurrents of lemon juice, salt, and sugar."

I made a few changes based on what I like (whole capers) and what I had on hand (honey instead of sugar). I ended up just segmenting one lemon and chopping the sections because (I am lazy and also) I didn't want big pieces of lemon competing with the other strong flavors in the salad. Because you get more juice sectioning, I added the juice from another 1/2 lemon. My changes are in red below.

Lemon-Caper Dressing
Very slightly adapated from April Bloomfield via Food52.com
(Makes 1 Cup) (I got about 3/4 cup)

2 medium lemons (I used 2 1/2 lemons--see note)
3 Tbsp finely chopped shallots
2 Tbsp Dijon mustard (choose one whose flavor you like on its own)
2 tablespoons drained capers, finely chopped (I used 3 Tbsp, drained, unchopped)
1/2 teaspoon Maldon or another flaky sea salt
1/2 teaspoon superfine sugar (I used honey)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil  

Segment the lemons over a bowl to catch the juices (see note below). Set aside. 

Squeeze the juice from the membranes into a separate bowl, add the rest of the ingredients, and stir well. 

Add the lemon segments and toss gently to coat them without breaking them up. Use straightaway or chill in the fridge, covered, for up to an hour. 

Note: To segment the lemons: Use a sharp knife to cut off just enough of the fruit's top and bottom to expose a full circle of the flesh on either end. Stand the lemon on one of its ends, place your knife point at the seam where the fruit meets the pith, and use a gentle sawing motion to cut away a wide strip of pith and skin, following the curve of the fruit from top to bottom. Repeat the process until all you have left is a nice, round, naked fruit. If you've missed any white pith, trim it off. Make a cut down either side of each segment, right against the membrane, and gently pry out each segment, one at a time. Flick out any seeds, and set the segments aside in a bowl, reserving the juicy membranes.

Notes/Results: Colorful and packed with flavor, this salad really hit the spot. Not a traditional Greek salad--why I called it Greek(ish), but with similar flavors. I really love the dressing but I am a fan of the three big flavors in it--lemon, mustard, and capers--and it is pungent with all three. I think it made a nice change from the sometimes strong vinegar taste of some Greek salads and it's pungency really works well to flavor the couscous and beans. You can adapt it to your tastes with other veggies--fennel, carrot, or red pepper, or switch out the couscous to a whole grain like barley or farro, or use quinoa or rice if you want something gluten free. I find pearl couscous to be fun to eat (love those little pasta spheres) and the beans add protein and the fiber the couscous lacks. I will definitely make this again--both the dressing and the salad.

 
I am linking this review and the dish inspired by the book to Novel Food--an event celebrating food inspired by the written word and hosted by my friend and fellow Cook the Books co-host Simona of Briciole. The deadline for this round (#25!) of Novel Food ends Monday, September 28th. 

Note: A review copy of "The Art of Crash Landing" was provided to me by the publisher and TLC Book Tours in return for a fair and honest review. I was not compensated for this review and as always my thoughts and opinions are my own.

You can see the stops for the rest of this Book Tour and what other reviewers thought about the book here.

 

Banana Bourbon Coupe with Macadamia Nuts and Ice Cream

This week at I Heart Cooking Clubs our theme is Seasonal Specialties--Jacques Pépin recipes that feature ingredients that are in season right now wherever we live. We do have growing seasons in Hawaii for certain items, but a good amount of produce grows year-round or at least most of the year. I decided to twist the theme slightly and pick something more local than truly seasonal--bananas. My favorite bananas are Hawaii-grown candy apple bananas for their sweetness and tangy flavor. I have been eyeing Pépin's Banana Bourbon Coupe recipe from Fast Food My Way, liking the fact that it features bananas as a topping, and that I could use other local ingredients like honey and lime juice, and even swap out almonds for some Hawaiian macadamia nuts and use Maui sugar cookies. I also thought that the boozy banana topping cried out for vanilla ice cream, so I put some in the mix.

Jacques says, "This is one of those recipes that you prepare on the spur of the moment with whatever is available. I went skiing in Vermont with my good friend Jean-Claude, and we invited some guests for dessert. All we had were a few bananas and some cookies. We mixed some bourbon (of course we had lots of wine and liquor!) with honey and lime juice, tossed in the bananas, and served them over crushed cookies in wide shallow glasses for Champagne (called coupes). The toasted almonds add crunch."   

Banana Bourbon Coupe
Adapted from Fast Food My Way, Jacques Pépin
(Serves 4)

3 Tbsp honey (I used rainbow honey from Kauai)
3 Tbsp bourbon (I did use bourbon but rum would also be nice here)
1 Tbsp fresh lime juice (I used local lime)
4 bananas (about 1 1/4 lb total) (I used candy apple bananas)
3 Tbsp sliced almonds (I subbed in roasted macadamia nuts)
4-6 plain cookies depending on size, such as store-bought sugar cookies (I used these)
1 tsp lime zest strips or grated lime zest
(I added vanilla ice cream)

Combine honey, bourbon, and lime juice in a bowl. Peel and slice the bananas crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices and toss them in the honey mixture.

Toast the sliced almonds, either in a skillet or the oven, until they are lightly browned and fragrant and set aside. (I used roasted, salted mac nuts so I didn't toast them further.)

At serving time, crush the cookies coarsely and divide the crumbs into four glasses. (I topped the crushed cookies with part of the banana and a few small scoops of vanilla ice cream, then layered on more bananas and crushed cookies.) Spoon the banana mixture on top of the cookies and garnish the desserts with the toasted almonds and lime zest.

Notes/Results: With the ice cream, this was like a yummy, boozy, tropical sundae. I liked the bourbon but think it would also be really good with the banana rum I have in my bar cabinet. The crunch of the sugar cookie crumbs and the toasted mac nuts was a nice contrast to the creamy vanilla ice cream and the lime juice and zest added to the tropical flavor. I would definitely make it again--keeping the ice cream addition. ;-)

You can see what the other IHCC participants did with their seasonal ingredients by checking out the picture links on the post. 

 
 

The Book Tour Stops Here: A Review of 'Paris Time Capsule' by Ella Carey, Served with a Recipe for Porcini Mushroom Risotto

Based on the way the weather is over most of the country right now, I realize I have absolutely nothing to complain about--but good golly I am tired of the constant heat and humidity that has taken over my usually temperate Hawaii weather. I have run my air conditioner more in the past six weeks than in the past six years combined. It has made me long for an escape and with the right book and the air turned on, I can almost believe I am somewhere else--somewhere cooler. Paris Time Capsule by Ella Carey is that right kind of book, one that can transport me to a different place and even back to a different time. It's an absorbing mix of historical fiction, romance, mystery, and travelogue, and it's today's TLC Book Tour stop. I am serving up my review of this novel with a bowl of Porcini Mushroom Risotto--a dish inspired by the book and one that conjures up fall--especially when enjoyed with the air con fully on.  

Publisher's Blurb:

New York-based photographer Cat Jordan is ready to begin a new life with her successful, button-down boyfriend. But when she learns that she’s inherited the estate of a complete stranger—a woman named Isabelle do Florian—her life is turned upside down.

Cat arrives in Paris to find that she is now the owner of a perfectly preserved Belle Époque apartment in the ninth arrondissement, and that the Frenchwoman’s family knew nothing about this secret estate. Amid these strand developments, Cat is left with burning questions: What was Isabelle de Florian? And why did she leave the inheritance to Cat instead of her own family?

As Cat travels France in search of answers, she feels her grasp on her New York life starting to slip. With long-buried secrets coming to light and an attraction to Isabelle de Florian’s grandson growing too intense to ignore, Cat will have to decide what to let go of, and what to claim as her own.

Print Length: 282 pages

Publisher: Lake Union Publishing (May 26, 2015)

My Review: 

There are so many things to love about Paris Time Capsule--a chance to travel to Paris and the French countryside via the author's vivid descriptions, an absorbing combination of romance, mystery and historical fiction, and especially the fact that this novel is based on a true story. There actually was a secret apartment in Paris discovered in 2010. (You can see pictures of the real apartment here on the Paris Time Capsule website.) As in the story, the apartment was originally owned by Marthe de Florian, a French courtesan, and there was indeed a painting of her by Giovanni Boldini, a noted portrait painter of that era. Ella Carey's imagination created the story of Cat and the mystery of why the apartment remained unoccupied since World War II. I didn't actually see the pictures of the apartment's contents until after I read the book, but Carey described it so well that the pictures were almost exactly what I was imagining in my mind. It was easy to love Cat, the main character, and to covet her wardrobe and eye for style. There is the quintessential sexy leading man Loic to drool over--in addition to the descriptions of the Cat's clothing, the antiques, architecture, and all of the gorgeous scenery. It is a romance, so you read it knowing that there is a happy ending of some sort coming but I liked that there were some twists to the mystery about the apartment so the story itself wasn't predictable. After coming off some darker reads lately, Paris Time Capsule was a welcome change and a fun escape. If you are a Francophile and like some history and romance in your fiction, curl up with this book and some real hot chocolate in a French coffee bowl and enjoy!

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Author Notes: Ella Carey is a writer and a Francophile who can almost claim Paris as her second home. She has learned French since she was five and has degrees in music, majoring in classical piano, and in arts, majoring in modern European history and nineteenth-century literature.

Writing has always been Ella’s real passion, but she has worked in various other guises. As an emerging author, Ella has had her work published in The Review of Australian Fiction.
She has traveled to France more than a dozen times and drew on her many experiences there when writing Paris Time Capsule. Ella knew straight away that the fascinating true story of the abandoned apartment was a perfect fit for her, with its blend of history; impossible, decaying romance; and mystery–not to mention Paris. Ella released Paris Time Capsule as an indie book in 2014, and it rose to number 10 on Amazon in the US. This revised and extended edition is now released with Lake Union Publishing. A feature film screenplay version of the book is in development.

In her spare time, Ella walks her dogs along the beach, speaks her particular sort of Franglais whenever she can, reads, loves to visit art museums and collects every beautiful book on Paris that she can possibly find.  She is hard at work on her second novel, which is also set in Paris. Ella lives with her two children and two noble Italian greyhounds, which are constantly mistaken for whippets.

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Food Inspiration: 

I actually expected more food presence in the book, always associating Paris and France with food, but there were certainly some classics to choose from such as cakes, French pastries, croissants, and baguettes with cheese and ham, market food stalls full of bright fruits, foie gras with spiced sauce and caramelized apples, lamb with herb sauce, and . a lunch of French Onion Soup. I was very close to making a meal that Cat shares with a helpful French family consisting of "a delicious crisp fillet of fish with tiny honeyed carrots, spinach, and a potato gratin." Cat made a mug of real hot chocolate with milk and dark chocolate that tempted me--but it's not the weather for it right now. It was risotto that finally inspired me when Loic takes Cat to dinner and they have the cafe's daily special--porcini risotto. Being both a risotto and a mushroom lover, I could not resist.

"The risotto was cooked to perfection. The woody taste of the porcini permeated the rice. Cat almost swooned over her first bite."

-Paris Time Capsule by Ella Carey

For my risotto, I most often prefer to just toss it together with a general 2 cups risotto rice to about 6 cups liquid, plus whatever else I want in there--in this case a mix of dried porcini, button mushrooms (they looked plump and fresher than the cremini at the store), and some shiitake for additional flavor and a different texture. Thyme and butter round out the flavor although you could sub in olive oil for the butter if you want a vegan version. Of course I had to have a fan blasting away to be able to find my zen happy place for the 30 minutes of stirring but it was well worth it. ;-)

Porcini Mushroom Risotto
By Deb, Kahakai Kitchen
(Serves 4 as Entree/6 as Starter)

1/2 cup dried porcini mushrooms
4 cups mushroom, veggie or chicken stock
3 Tbsp olive oil, separated
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 Tbsp butter, separated 
1 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves + extra to garnish
3 cups (ish) fresh mushrooms (I used 2 cups button and 1 cup shiitake), sliced
2 cups risotto rice 
sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Chop dried porcini mushrooms into bite-sized pieces and place in a large bowl. Add 2 cups of boiling water, cover, and let sit for 30 minutes. Strain out mushrooms, saving liquid and set both aside. 

Heat the reserved mushroom liquid along with 4 cups mushroom, veggie, or chicken broth in a medium saucepan until just at a boil. Reduce heat and keep at a simmer.

Meanwhile place 1 tablespoon of the olive oil into a stockpot or dutch oven and heat over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 5-6 minutes, stirring, until onions are softened and translucent. Add the garlic and cook for another minute or two. Add 1 tablespoon of the butter and the thyme to the pot, along with the button mushrooms. Cook over medium heat for 4-5  minutes. Add the shiitake mushrooms and the reserved re-hydrated porcini minutes and cook for another couple of minutes until the mushrooms have released most of their moisture and are lightly browned but not "mushy." Remove the mushroom-onion mixture from pot, cover and set aside.

In the same stockpot (no need to wipe it out after removing mushrooms), heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add the rice and stir until it is well coated with the oil and starts to turn opaque. Stir in the white wine and cook until it evaporates. 

Using a ladle, add a ladle-full of the hot broth to the rice and cook, stirring gently, until the liquid is absorbed. Follow the same process, adding the remaining broth a ladle at a time and stirring until the liquid is absorbed. Continue to cook and gently stir, letting the rice absorb each ladle of broth before adding more. (This should take about 20-25 minutes depending on your rice.) Once rice is creamy, but still just slightly firm, it is done.

Gently stir the reserved cooked mushrooms into the rice mixture, along with the remaining tablespoon of butter. Taste for seasoning and add salt and freshly ground black pepper as needed. Serve  immediately, garnished with extra fresh thyme leaves. If you want to add cheese, top risotto with shredded cave-aged Gruyere or Parmesan.

Notes/Results: This ended up being such a wonderfully mushroomy and creamy risotto. I tried an imported risotto rice (Campanini Vialone Nano) that I found in the gourmet section of a local grocery and it was so much better than the risotto rice I have been using. Much spendier (about $6 for the 16 oz box) but such large gorgeous grains that cooked up beautifully and held their shape well. When it's a for-company risotto or one like this, that I don't plan to add cheese to, I would definitely invest in this rice again. The dried porcini mushrooms are a bit of an investment as well but their intense nutty flavor adds much to the dish and you get the bonus of using the liquid to pump up the flavor of the broth. Although I tried this risotto with some shaved Gruyere on top, it didn't need it and was rich and decadent on it's own. Very swoon-worthy--I would definitely make this again.

Note: A review copy of "Paris Time Capsule" was provided to me by the publisher and TLC Book Tours in return for a fair and honest review. I was not compensated for this review and as always my thoughts and opinions are my own.

You can see the stops for the rest of this Book Tour and what other reviewers thought about the book here.