The Book Tour Stops Here: A Review of "One Day in December" by Josie Silver, Served Up with My Version of the Book's "DS Special" Sandwich (+ a Giveaway!)

I'm very excited to be today's stop on the TLC Book Tour for One Day in December, a new novel by Josie Silver. Accompanying my review for this sweet love story is a recipe for a DS special (an unusual sandwich inspired by the book) and there is also a chance to win a copy of your own at the bottom of this post. Just what you need to make a Monday better.

Publisher's Blurb:

Two people. Ten chances. One unforgettable love story.

Laurie is pretty sure love at first sight doesn’t exist anywhere but the movies. But then, through a misted-up bus window one snowy December day, she sees a man who she knows instantly is the one. Their eyes meet, there’s a moment of pure magic…and then her bus drives away.
 
Certain they’re fated to find each other again, Laurie spends a year scanning every bus stop and cafe in London for him. But she doesn’t find him, not when it matters anyway. Instead they “reunite” at a Christmas party, when her best friend Sarah giddily introduces her new boyfriend to Laurie. It’s Jack, the man from the bus. It would be.
 
What follows for Laurie, Sarah and Jack is ten years of friendship, heartbreak, missed opportunities, roads not taken, and destinies reconsidered. One Day in December is a joyous, heartwarming and immensely moving love story to escape into and a reminder that fate takes inexplicable turns along the route to happiness.

Paperback: 400 Pages

Publisher: Broadway Books (October 16, 2018)

My Review:

If you love a good rom-com, especially one set at least partially around the holidays, One Day in December is your book. It's sweet, romantic, touching and perfect for snuggling into with a hot cup of tea or cocoa. I have never been a big believer in love at first sight, but it's hard not to sympathize with Laurie when the stranger she locked eyes with through a bus window and feels an immediate attraction and connection to shows up a year later as Jack, the new boyfriend of her best friend and flatmate Sarah. Although they recognize each other, in order to project Sarah, they pretend they don't and then spend ten years in each other's orbit, fighting what at the least is a very strong attraction and at most, might possibly be true love. The story is told from both Laurie and Jack's points of view and I couldn't help feeling for them both and rooting for them--even if I didn't always love their actions. There is some humor, some wipe-your-eyes moments, and it reads like something you might find as a holiday date night movie (not a bad thing in the mix of horror and heavier topics I have been reading about) and it swept me up in the "will they or won't they" drama and with the various life turns the decade has in store for them. One Day in December is an engaging and quite enjoyable contemporary romance to add to your winter TBR pile and if it sounds like a book you'd enjoy, there's a giveaway to win a copy of your own at the bottom of the page.

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Author Notes: Josie Silver is an unashamed romantic who met her husband when she stepped on his foot on his twenty-first birthday. She lives with him, her two young sons, and their cats in a little town in England called Wolverhampton.

Connect with Josie on her Website, Twitter, and Instagram.





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Food Inspiration:

There is a good amount of food in One Day in December that included fish-and-chips, beer, cold kebabs and cheap wine, pudding, a breakfast sandwich of biscuit, bacon, beetroot and mushroom, salad, ice cream, cereal, Benedictine (liqueur), saveloy (a highly-seasoned British sausage), coffee, eclairs and cream horns, vintage champagne, pizza, turkey, frozen berries for smoothies, a mention of pineapple on pizza, ham on custard and banana on pizza, Ben & Jerry's Karamel Sutra ice cream, gin, hamburgers, Pink Lady cocktails, lemonade, Penicillin (a cocktail with whiskey, ginger and honey), baked beans, chocolate mousse, coq au vin, grapes, chciken vindaloo, wheat juice and kale, cashews, bolongnese sauce, stew, rum punch, canapes, quinoa and quails egg, salmon mousse, champagne cocktails, cake, pudding, poached eggs on English muffin, roast lamb, Darjeeling and shortbread, a Victoria sponge, duck liver pate, chicken, salmon, a "chocolate-three-ways" dessert, Tuna Nicoise, cod baked with lemon and parsley, green beans, "lurid blue and green" cocktails, crisps, sangria, Bailey's and banana cake.

But really, there could be no better dish to represent this book than Sarah and Laurie's "DS special"--the sandwich they created, named after their flat on Delancey Street:

"Sarah's sandwiches are the stuff of Delancey Street myth and legend. She's taught me her holy breakfast trinity of bacon, beetroot and mushrooms, and it took us the best part of two years to settle on our signature dish, the DS special, named after our flat. 

She rolls her eyes, laughing, 'You can make it yourself, you know.' 

'Not the way you do it.' 

She preens a little opening the fridge. 'That's true.'

I watch her layer chicken and blue cheese with lettuce, mayo and cranberry, an exact science that I've yet to master. I  know it sounds hideous, but trust me, it's not." It may not be your average student food, but ever since we hit on the winning combo back in our uni days we make sure to always have the ingredients in the fridge. It's pretty much our staple diet. That, ice cream and cheap wine.

'It's the cranberry that does it,' I say after my first bite.

'It's a quantity thing,' she says. 'Too much cranberry and it's basically a jam sandwich. Too much cheese and you're licking a teenager's dirty sock.'"

The only challenge I had to making it is that I don't eat meat or chicken, but I thought the combo was interesting and it fits the book as over the ten years of ups and downs of their lives, we find Laurie and Sarah making and eating the sandwich several times. No one else seems to like appreciate the combo of ingredients like they do and the book is just as much about their friendship as it is a romance. 

After thinking long and hard about something to replace the chicken with and nothing sounding good, I decided to make a version of it using vegan chicken.Now I know I may have lost some of you already on the chicken and blue cheese layered with lettuce, mayo, and cranberry, so faux chicken may just put you over the edge... but, it truly had to be tried. A stop at Whole Foods had me grabbing a pack of Tofurky Slow Roasted Chick'n, canned cranberry jelly, a container of blue cheese crumbles and a head of romaine with a seeded multi-grain bread rounding out the ingredients. At that point, there really isn't a recipe beyond the above description so I kept the "quantity thing" of the cranberry and blue cheese in mind and just went for it.

Notes: Better than expected may not seem like high praise but this sandwich was actually good. I knew the cranberry and blue cheese would work for me as I love salads with blue cheese and berries and combined with a thin layer of mayo, crisp lettuce and hearty bread, it was delicious. The one discordant note for me was the soy chick'n. I am not a huge fan of soy 'meats' to begin with and there is just something off-putting about the smell and look of it. Still, if I am going to put it on a sandwich, it will be one like this sandwich where the robust flavors of the other ingredients work to mask what I don't like about the faux chick'n. I actually ate the entire sandwich, along with chips or crisps as they are called in the book's U.K. setting. I think if you eat chicken and like blue cheese and cranberry, you might really like this one. If you try it, let me know. I'll be experimenting with my leftovers. ;-)

I'm linking this unique sandwich up at Souper Sundays here at Kahakai Kitchen where each week we share soup, salad and sandwich recipes from the Blogosphere. Here is the link to this week's post.

 
I'm sharing this post with the Weekend Cooking event at Beth Fish Reads, a weekly event that is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share. For more information, see the welcome post.

***Giveaway!***

 
The publisher is generously providing a copy of "One Day in December" to give away (U.S. addresses only, sorry) here at Kahakai Kitchen.

To enter the Rafflecopter Giveaway below, leave a comment (Because I like to read them!) ;-) telling me about your favorite sandwich or an unusual combination of ingredients you like AND/OR why you'd like to win a copy of "One Day in December."

There are a couple of other optional ways to get more entries to win: 1) Tweet about this giveaway or 2) follow me on Twitter (@DebinHawaii) and/or author Josie Silver (@JosieSilver_).(Note: You can still get extra entries even if you already follow these accounts.)

Deadline for entry is midnight (EST) on Monday, November 5th.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Good Luck!

Note: A review copy of "One Day in December" was provided to me by the author and the publisher via TLC Book Tours. 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 TLC Book Tour and what other reviewers thought about the book here.

  

 

Ruth's Shrimp Curry (Made Into) Soup with Basmati Rice for Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammie) Sundays

Another very busy week at work rolling out leadership development workshops had me too busy to do much cooking until the weekend so I'm combining my Souper Sundays and IHCC posts once again. Our theme for this week's I Heart Cooking Clubs is all about using gourmet pantry ingredients. I think of things like exotic spices--curry, cardamom, cinnamon and turmeric, and cans of creamy coconut milk. I also think of my fridge and freezer as part of my pantry and I had a couple of potatoes that needed to be used, some mini peppers and a half-bag of frozen peas. I put them all together into Ruth's Shrimp Curry--making it into a soup with plenty of creamy broth and cooked basmati rice in the rice cooker to have on the side. It will make for some great lunches this week. My changes to Ruth's recipe (from Comfort Me with Apples via Genius Kitchen) are in red below.

Genius Kitchen says, “This simple and delicious recipe was in Ruth Reichl's book "Comfort Me With Apples". It is a classic American style curry - easy to make and doubles or triples easily.”

Shrimp Curry Soup
Adapted from Ruth Reichl's Shrimp Curry via GeniusKitchen.com
(Serves 6)

1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, smashed
(I added 1 cup sweet mini bell peppers, chopped)
(I added 2 small Yukon Gold potatoes, diced)
1/4 cup butter (I reduced to 2 Tbsp)
4 Tbsp curry powder
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1/4 tsp cinnamon 
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp red chili pepper (I used Aleppo pepper)
1 Tbsp flour (I used almond flour)
1/2 cup heavy cream (I used non-dairy creamer)
1 cup coconut milk, well-stirred (I used 1 can of coconut milk)
2 cups chicken broth (I used 4 cups vegan non-chicken broth)
(I added 1 cup frozen green peas)
2 tsp freshly-grated lime zest
2 lbs large shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
salt and pepper to taste
garnishes: roasted peanuts or cashews, raisins, cilantro, chopped ginger
serve with rice, mango chutney

Cook the onion and garlic in the butter in a heavy 5 quart pot over moderate heat, stirring, until the onion is softened, about 4 minutes. Add the spices and flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Whisk in the cream, coconut milk, broth and lime zest and bring just to a boil. Simmer the mixture, stirring constantly, until it begins to thicken, about 2 minutes. Add the shrimp and simmer, stirring, until the shrimp turns pink and is cooked through, about 4 minutes. Stir in the lime juice, and add salt and pepper to taste.
 
Ladle the curried shrimp over rice and top with garnishes as desired. Serve the mango chutney on the side.

Notes/Results: Really good--full of curry flavor, rich and creamy, and works really well as a soup with the extra broth. I put in the veggies I needed to use up--potatoes and mini sweet peppers and peas from the freezer but you could add in what ever veggies you want. Obviously it's shrimp curry, but Ruth's spices are good so if shrimp isn't your thing you could use fish, chicken, mushroom, or tofu in the broth and it would be fabulous. Ruth serves her shrimp curry with sweet things like chutney and raisins but I prefer mine with roasted cashews and cilantro. Easy and Tasty, I would happily make it again.

Linking up at I Heart Cooking Clubs where this week's theme is Pantry Gourmet--Ruth Reichl recipes made with good pantry ingredients.

 
Now, lets take a look into the Souper Sundays kitchen:

Debra of Eliot's Eats shared a book-inspired Pumpkin Chili with Black Beans and Sausage and said, "It’s obviously now soup weather and soup comforts the soul, right? Jessica and her family needed comfort. If I had been her best friend and next door neighbor, I would have made up a bowl of soup to deliver nightly. (Hopefully, this recipe is better than the sweet potato chili from the book.) ... This soup is better on the second day. I made it for our supper and then served it the next day to friends who came over for lunch. The flavors were more melded and it was a little less spicy (if that’s possible)."

Judee of Gluten Free A-Z Blog brought her Creamy Parsnip Soup: Instant Pot or Not and said, "Are you familiar with the parsnip? It is a root vegetable that looks like a carrot but is white. It's loaded with nutrients and tastes mild and delicious especially in soup. It is sold in a bag in the produce isle of the supermarket. ... I frequently add a parsnip to soup recipes to give a soup a little extra sweetness, but this is the first time I actually made a parsnip soup. It's a nice soothing comforting creamy soup."

 
Tina of Squirrel Head Manor is getting back to normal after Hurricane Michael and shared a Simple Green Salad she paired with lasagna. She said, "Well. Getting back in the swing of things I stuck with non complicated meals, made this chicken lasagna (recipe HERE) that I posted in August. It's a tried and true meal. To keep it simple we had a gussied up green salad with lots of cukes, shredded carrots, grape tomatoes, bib lettuce and mushrooms."

Mahalo to all who joined in this week!
 
About Souper Sundays:

Souper Sundays (going since 2008) now has a format of a picture link each week where anyone interested can post their soups, salads, or sandwiches at any time during the week and I post a recap of the entries the following week.

(If you aren't familiar with Souper Sundays, you can read about of the origins of it here. 

If you would like to join in Souper (Soup, Salad, and Sammie) Sundays, I would love to have you! Here's how...

To join in this week's Souper Sunday's linkup with your soup, salad or sandwich:

• Link up your soup (stew, chili, soupy curries, etc. are fine), salad, or sandwich dish, (preferably one from the current week or month--but we'll take older posts too) on the picture link below and leave a comment on this post so I am sure not to miss you. Also please see below for what to do on your blog post that you link up her in order to be included in the weekly round-up.

and 

On your entry post (on your blog):

• Mention Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammies) Sundays at Kahakai Kitchen and link back to this post. (Not to be a pain but it's polite and only fair to link back to events you link up at--so if you link a post up here without linking back to it on your post, it will be removed.)
• You are welcome to add the Souper Sundays logo to your post and/or blog (optional).

An InLinkz Link-up

 
Have a happy, healthy week!
 

Ruth's Roasted Tomato Soup with Cheese Toast for Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammie) Sundays

Yes, this is my third week of making a Ruth Reichl soup and this soup looks similar to last week's Perfect Fall Soup. But in my mind, you can never have too much soup and a good tomato soup is always welcome for a starter or for a meal--especially when you have a good toasted cheese bread for dunking. 

From Ruth's blog post titled Red and Robust,she says, "Incredibly easy, and extremely satisfying. I’m just hoping we don’t eat it all; this will be the most wonderful freezer find when the snow starts to fall."

Roasted Tomato Soup
Slightly Adapted from RuthReichl.com 
(Serves 4) 

2 lbs tomatoes (about 5), cored and cut into quarters
1/2 tsp sea salt, or to taste 
3 cloves garlic
2 onions, quartered
extra-virgin olive oil
1-3 cups water (I used the juices from the roasting + about 1 1/2 cups)
1/4 cup cream (I omitted--but it would certainly be welcome)

Heat an oven to 375 degrees

Place the tomatoes, onions, and garlic pieces on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper, shower with salt and splash generously with olive oil. Put into the oven for about an hour.

Squeeze the cloves of garlic out of their skins and put them, along with the tomatoes and onions into a blender or food processor. Add 1 1/4 cups water and blend. Add more water if you’d like thinner; I think 2 cups of water is about right, but you might like more or less.

Taste for salt, reheat a bit and then swirl in a little cream before serving.

Notes/Results: Just sweet and flavorful from all of the roasting and rich and delicious--a simple little tomato soup that doesn't need much else to make it a starter for a meal, or a light lunch. It's vegan if you don't drizzle the cream or use coconut milk and of course, skip the cheese bread or use good vegan cheese. This is perfect comfort food and I look forward to it in lunches this week. I'll happily make it again.

Linking up to I Heart Cooking Clubs where this week's theme is Snacks & Beginnings. I think a cup of this soup is a perfect beginning.

 Now, lets take a look into the Souper Sundays kitchen:

Thankfully, Tina of Squirrel Head Manor weathered Hurricane Michael successfully although she had no power for several days. She still managed to eat well and says, "The charcoal grill has been a blessing, First night home Doug grilled burgers, I heated beans on the camping stove and made a salad.  We ate outside as the temperatures were a bit cooler." So happy you stayed safe, Tina!

Judee of Gluten Free A - Z Blog shared a perfect-for-fall Acorn Squash Server post on making a soup bowl from an acorn squash, She says, "If you are looking for a good idea for Thanksgiving, look no farther. Acorn Squash and mini pumpkins make beautiful decorative serving pieces for fall holidays!" Judee will be filling her squash bowls with the Roasted Chestnut Soup she shared last week. 

 
Shaheen of Allotment2Kitchen brought Savoury Purple Rainbow Carrot Rice Pilau and said, "I was quite surprised how the purple carrots bled into the white basmati rice and tainted it with a purple hue.  It actually looked quite pretty and quite nice to eat. ... As I had some left over, I decided to take some into work for lunch as a savoury rice salad dish.  You could reheat it in the microwave or eat it at room temperature."

Mahalo to all who joined in this week!
 
About Souper Sundays:

Souper Sundays (going since 2008) now has a format of a picture link each week where anyone interested can post their soups, salads, or sandwiches at any time during the week and I post a recap of the entries the following week.

(If you aren't familiar with Souper Sundays, you can read about of the origins of it here. 

If you would like to join in Souper (Soup, Salad, and Sammie) Sundays, I would love to have you! Here's how...

To join in this week's Souper Sunday's linkup with your soup, salad or sandwich:

• Link up your soup (stew, chili, soupy curries, etc. are fine), salad, or sandwich dish, (preferably one from the current week or month--but we'll take older posts too) on the picture link below and leave a comment on this post so I am sure not to miss you. Also please see below for what to do on your blog post that you link up her in order to be included in the weekly round-up.

and 

On your entry post (on your blog):

• Mention Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammies) Sundays at Kahakai Kitchen and link back to this post. (Not to be a pain but it's polite and only fair to link back to events you link up at--so if you link a post up here without linking back to it on your post, it will be removed.)
• You are welcome to add the Souper Sundays logo to your post and/or blog (optional).

An InLinkz Link-up

 
Have a happy, healthy week!
 

Ruth Reichl's "Perfect Fall Soup" (Orange Squash & Veggies) for Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammie) Sundays + 5 Favorite Orange Squash Recipes

We had some rainy days and slightly cooler weather going into this weekend which definitely makes me think about fall. Ruth Reichl's Perfect Fall Soup with its golden color and slightly sweet flavors also brings fall to mind. 

I made a couple of changes--mainly changing the butternut squash for kabocha squash which is plentiful here and I also really love the bright color and slightly sweeter flavor. I also pumped up the savory side with a bit of non-chicken soup base and a dash of Aleppo pepper. Ruth tops her soup with apple, olive oil and balsamic. I kept the crisp apple but added some salty feta and chopped chives. My changes are in red below.

Ruth says, "This is, to me, the perfect soup for this time of year.  It’s about the easiest soup I know, one that transforms a handful of simple ingredients into something, soft thick, almost creamy.  It’s deliciously soothing.  The color is gorgeous, it’s inexpensive – and also vegan."

Perfect Fall Soup (Squash Soup)
Slightly Adapted from RuthReichl.com
(Serves 4)

1 onion, coarsely chopped
1 stalk celery, coarsely chopped
2 carrots, coarsely chopped
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 lb peeled butternut squash, cut into 3/4-inch dice (I used kabocha squash) 
1/2 lb Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into 3/4-inch chunks
2 tsp sea salt, or to taste
2 1/2 cups boiling water (I added 1 Tbsp vegan non-chicken soup base)
(I added a pinch of Aleppo pepper) 
Garnishes: diced Granny Smith or other crisp apple, olive oil, balsamic vinegar. (See below)

 
Put onion, carrots, celery and olive oil into a large casserole and cook for about ten minutes, until they become soft.
 
Add squash, potatoes, and salt. Stir in boiling water, bring to a simmer, and allow to cook for about half an hour, until the squash and potatoes are very soft.
 

Puree, in batches, in a blender.  Be cautious; hot soup can be dangerous.
 
Taste for seasoning. Serve topped with a drizzle of olive oil and/or balsamic, and the diced apple. (I used chopped Granny Smith apple, crumbled feta and chives.)
 

Notes/Results: I have a tendency to think of squash soup as baby food, but this one has lots of good flavor and the toppings add another dimension to the smooth puree. I really liked it and happily chowed down on a bowl and an extra ladelful for lunch.  Leave off the feta for a vegan soup and change up the toppings and extras as you see fit. Now, if I could could make it about 10 degrees cooler, my fall dreams would be complete. I'd make this one again.

 
Linking up to I Heart Cooking Clubs where this week is our Monthly Featured Dish/Ingredient Challenge: Orange Squash. We can pick any recipe featuring orange sqush or pumpkins from any of our IHCC Chefs.

Speaking of IHCC Orange Squash dishes, here are five of my favorites from a few of our past featured IHCC chefs:

 Tessa Kiros's Penne con la Zucca, or Penne with Pumpkin:

 
Donna Hay's Pumpkin (Kabocha) and Chickpea Curry: 

  
Ottolenghi's Parmesan & Herb Crusted Kabocha with Yogurt: 

 
Ina's Butternut Squash Risotto: (From my early blogging days--excuse the photo!)

 
Donna Hay's Sesame and Soy Butternut Bites:

Now, lets take a look into the Souper Sundays kitchen:

My friend Kim of Stirring the Pot shared Ruth Reichl's Parmesan Walnut Salad in Endive Leaves and said, "The nuttiness of Parmesan is wonderfully paired alongside walnuts. Then the Parmesan and the walnuts are coated with a light touch of mayo, lemon juice, and olive oil, as well as finely diced celery and parsley. You've got a bit of everything as far as texture and flavor go. It's chewy and crunchy and bright and flavorful. The slight bitterness of the endive leaves makes it the perfect vehicle for the nutty sweetness of the Parmesan and walnuts."

Shaheen of Allotment2Kitchen brought Black Chickpeas Salad with Coriander and said, "The feta here is optional, I used it as that is what I had in the fridge, but you could substitute it with halloumi cheese or if your going for a vegan or dairy free option, perhaps smoked tofu. I think you need a soft texture with the nutty black chickpeas and the fragrant herb brings it all together. ... What I like about this salad too, it that it is quite seasonal in colours - going all autumnal, but also a perfect salad to knock up for a Halloween feast if you are planning a vegan or vegetarian Black Food Menu."

Judee of Gluten Free A - Z Blog shared Roasted Chestnut Mushroom Soup and said, "Looking for something a little different for the holidays? Chestnuts are in season, and they make a rich tasting holiday soup! It's definitely something unique that will delight your family and friends. I plan to make it for Thanksgiving! ... Chestnuts taste creamy and a little on the sweet side - kind of like a mild sweet potato. Most people have probably never tasted a chestnut."

 
Mahalo to all who joined in this week!
 
About Souper Sundays:

Souper Sundays (going since 2008) now has a format of a picture link each week where anyone interested can post their soups, salads, or sandwiches at any time during the week and I post a recap of the entries the following week.

(If you aren't familiar with Souper Sundays, you can read about of the origins of it here. 

If you would like to join in Souper (Soup, Salad, and Sammie) Sundays, I would love to have you! Here's how...

To join in this week's Souper Sunday's linkup with your soup, salad or sandwich:

• Link up your soup (stew, chili, soupy curries, etc. are fine), salad, or sandwich dish, (preferably one from the current week or month--but we'll take older posts too) on the picture link below and leave a comment on this post so I am sure not to miss you. Also please see below for what to do on your blog post that you link up her in order to be included in the weekly round-up.

and 

On your entry post (on your blog):

• Mention Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammies) Sundays at Kahakai Kitchen and link back to this post. (Not to be a pain but it's polite and only fair to link back to events you link up at--so if you link a post up here without linking back to it on your post, it will be removed.)
• You are welcome to add the Souper Sundays logo to your post and/or blog (optional).

An InLinkz Link-up

Have a happy, healthy week!