Simple (and Edible) Pasta E Fagioli and Pesto Bread for Cook the Books October/November Selection: Cooking with Fernet Branca

Yes, I am a day late for our Cook the Books October/November Selection: Cooking with Fernet Branca by James Hamilton-Paterson and hosted by Simona of briciole. I could give you plenty of excuses but it's mostly work, life and just not spending much time in the kitchen. Also, and I'll address this later--the food inspiration wasn't strong in this book, so I finally made something that I was craving, Pasta e Fagioli and Bread with Pesto to dip into it. 

Publisher's Blurb:

Gerald Samper, an effete English snob, has his own private hilltop in Tuscany where he whiles away his time working as a ghostwriter for celebrities and inventing wholly original culinary concoctions––including ice cream made with garlic and the bitter, herb-based liqueur known as Fernet Branca. But Gerald’s idyll is about to be shattered by the arrival of Marta, on the run from a crime-riddled former Soviet republic, as a series of misunderstandings brings this odd couple into ever closer and more disastrous proximity . . .

My Thoughts:

This was quite the quirky book and one that would not have been on my radar without Simona and Cook the Books. At times very funny, at times a little annoying (mainly Gerald, but occasionally Marta) and never once did it make me crave food--which I guess was the satirical point of it. At least I am hoping that the many recipes using otter and cat were a joke. I think you have to be a fan of farce, especially British farce and humor to fully appreciate it. Gerald, a British biography writer, is such a priss and Marta, a Eastern European composer so very down to earth, yet mysterious, and these neighbors don't get a long, or think much of each other. Gerald is always perfecting crazy recipes with the above mentioned ingredients, and there is copious amounts of Fernet Branca, an herby liqueur that I have never tried, but that Gerald and Marta seem to think each other drinks to excess. There are Italian directors and British boy bands and lots of misunderstandings and adventures. Overall, an amusing romp, it kept me reading it to see what would happen, but I probably wouldn't revisit it or look for the two other books featuring Gerald. 

As stated before, not a lot of craveable food was in the pages with the exception of some Florentine cookies and a dish of cold eggplant with pesto that sounded delicious. Gerald seems to try to come up with the most obscure and disgusting dishes he could work on "perfecting."

For my bookish dish, I had some leftover Thanksgiving turkey legs and I wanted a soup with pasta and beans--so of course pasta e fagioli, and then I put the pesto from the eggplant dish onto some French bread with a little dusting of parmesan. Simple (and edible, thank you) comfort food. 

Simple Turkey Pasta e Fagioli

By Deb, Kahakai Kitchen

(Serves 4 to 6)  

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil 
1 large onion, chopped 
3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp each dried oregano and dried basil + two bay leaves
6 cups vegetable stock + extra if desired 
1 can diced tomatoes + juice
2 cups cooked or canned beans (I used borlotti from the import section of my local grocery store)

the meat from one large cooked turkey drumstick, finely chopped, optional
1 heaping cup elbow macaroni or other small pasta 
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Put the oil in a large, soup pot over medium heat. When hot, reduce the heat to medium-low and add the onion. Cook, stirring, until it softens and starts to turn brown, about 15 minutes. 
Add the garlic and dried herbs and cook, stirring, for a minute or two, then add the stock and the tomatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer gently, stirring every now and then, about 20 minutes. 

Add the  beans, turkey meat if using, and the pasta, and adjust the heat once again so the mixture simmers. Cook until the pasta is al dente, about 10-15 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning to your preference with salt and pepper. Serve, garnished with pesto bread slices on top. 

Notes/Results: Just a simple, homey and meaty soup that hit the spot for a week spent with a stuffy nose. For the pesto bread, I just toasted French bread slices and spread them with store-bought pesto and then sprinkled finely grated parmesan cheese on top. There are very tasty dipped into the soup. I would make both again.

So, yes, the deadline for this round of Cook the Books was yesterday, but if you want to join in the next one, I will be hosting our December/January round with the novel, Miss Cecily's Recipes for Exceptional Ladies by Vicki Zimmerman here at Kahakai Kitchen.

 

My Favorite Pappa Al Pomidoro Soup (And Fried Basil Croutons) for Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammie) Sundays

Back to a no soup making week, this week. It was a great day for it, rainy and cool but I was busy and slightly under the weather with asthma. That made me think about this Ina Garten Papa Al Pomidoro Soup that I first made back in 2008 over Christmas Weekend when I was too sick to go to Oregon. Excuse the early days pictures. 

I ate meat on the regular at the time and the topping of ciabatta, fresh basil, and pancetta but I have made the topping again, several times since, with the bread and basil. It's the best part of the soup. Here it is on Creamy Red Pepper & Tomato Soup with Fried Basil Croutons from Christmas Eve 2017. 

Pappa Al Pomidoro

Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics, Ina Garten

(1/2 Recipe Below Makes 6 Servings) 

1/2 cup good olive oil
2 cups chopped yellow onion (2 onions)
1 cup medium-diced carrots, unpeeled (3 carrots)
1 fennel bulb, trimmed, cored, and medium-diced (1 1/2 cups)
4 teaspoons minced garlic (4 cloves)
3 cups (1-inch) diced ciabatta cubes, crusts removed
2 (28-ounce) cans good Italian plum tomatoes
4 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
1/2 cup dry red wine
1 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
For the topping:
3 cups (1-inch) diced ciabatta cubes
2 ounces thickly sliced pancetta, chopped
24 to 30 whole fresh basil leaves
3 tablespoons good olive oil, plus more for serving
Salt and pepper

Heat the oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. Add the onions, carrots, fennel, and garlic and cook over medium-low heat for 10 minutes, until tender. Add the ciabatta cubes and cook for 5 more minutes. Place the tomatoes in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade and process just until coarsely chopped. Add the tomatoes to the pot along with the chicken stock, red wine, basil, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper. Bring the soup to a boil, lower the heat, and allow to simmer, partially covered, for 45 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

For the topping, place the ciabatta cubes, pancetta, and basil on a sheet pan large enough to hold them in a single layer. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and toss well. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 to 25 minutes, until all the ingredients are crisp. The basil leaves will turn dark and crisp, which is perfectly fine. Reheat the soup, if necessary, beat with a wire whisk until the bread is broken up. Stir in the Parmesan and taste for seasoning. Serve hot sprinkled with the topping and drizzled with additional olive oil.

What I said about it then: 

Notes/Results:  This makes a lot of soup--Ina says it serves 6 and as usual, they would be "ginormous" servings.  I made a half batch, which was at least six, decent-sized servings, but I ate it all the past few days and actually wish I had more. Don't omit the topping--if you don't do meat, still bake the basil and ciabatta cubes and then grate some Parmesan over it when you serve.  This soup is delicious and I will make it again. Thanks Natalie for a great recipe pick!  Since it's Christmas, the Barefoot Bloggers have until 12/31 to post this recipe and you can check out their results here.

Linking this Ina soup up to I Heart Cooking Clubs November Potluck:

Now let's check out the Souper Sundays kitchen and see who is here:

Judee of Gluten Free A-Z Blog shares Mediterranean Tomato and Red Onion Salad, saying, "Tomato and red onion salad is simple to prepare yet makes a lovely presentation and is very delicious. It's made of a few ingredients and can be thrown together quickly. With all the rich heavy food for the holidays, why not serve some healthy low calorie salads as well."

Radha of The Magical Ingredients for a Wholesome Life from the Heart of My Home brought Roasted Cauliflower Soup and says, "This is a simple, creamy, and delicious soup made with roasted cauliflower. A piping hot bowl of this soup is a perfect one as the temperature dips. For a vegan version, add coconut milk. Serve with a crusty bread or garlic bread."

Finally Tina of Squirrel Head Manor brings Dal Makhani from the local Indian shop, saying, "The Indian market always has interesting fare on their shelves.  They also have the best fresh green beans and lots of other fresh produce.  Pity it's located so far from our home so we don't go often.  I'm loving this prepackaged Dal Makhani for lunches."

Thank you Tina, Judee, and Radha for joining me this 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 to Souper Sundays in order to be included in the weekly round-up.
• Although we are pretty wide on what defines a soup, sandwich or salad, entries that are clearly not in the same family (ie: desserts, meats, random main or side dishes that aren't salads, etc.) are meant for another round up and will be deleted. 

and 

On your entry post (on your blog):

• Mention Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammies) Sundays at Kahakai Kitchen and add a 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 this post or my blog on your post, it will be removed.)
• You are welcome to add the Souper Sundays logo to your post and/or blog (completely optional).

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to ente

Have a happy, healthy week!

 

The Book Tour Stops Here: A Review of "No Names To Be Given" by Julia Brewer Daily, Served with Two "Egg in the Hole" Recipes

I am happy to be on the TLC Book Tour for No Names To Be Given by Julia Brewer Daily. Accompanying my review are links to some favorite Egg-In-the-Hole recipes inspired by my reading.

Publisher's Blurb

1965. Sandy runs away from home to escape her mother’s abusive boyfriend. Becca falls in love with the wrong man. And Faith suffers a devastating attack. With no support and no other options, these three young, unwed women meet at a maternity home hospital in New Orleans where they are expected to relinquish their babies and return home as if nothing transpired.

But such a life-altering event can never be forgotten, and no secret remains buried forever. Twenty-five years later, the women are reunited by a blackmailer, who threatens to expose their secrets and destroy the lives they’ve built. That shattering revelation would shake their very foundations-and reverberate all the way to the White House.

Told from the three women’s perspectives, this mesmerizing story is based on actual experiences of women in the 1960s who found themselves pregnant but unmarried, pressured by family and society to make horrific decisions. How that inconceivable act changed women forever is the story of No Names to Be Given, a heartbreaking but uplifting novel of family and redemption.

Publisher: Admission Press (August 3, 2021)  

Paperback: 334 pages

My Review:

There are many things to like about No Names Given. I think the idea of this book is a good one and liked that as an adopted child with a similar backstory, the author wrote this book about the experience of three young women who came from different circumstances and found themselves pregnant and sent to a maternity home in New Orleans in 1966, a time when the consequences of unwed motherhood were devastating and often covered up with the babies adopted out. I like that it delved into what circumstances were like for these women feel like that seems realistic. While the individual stories of Sandy, Becca, and Faith were compelling, it was hard to delve deep enough into their characters to feel connected and I found the dialogue clunky at times which pulled me out of the story. Midway through the book, it switches to twenty-five years later and more of a mystery vibe for the women to figure out who knows their secrets and wants to expose them and destroy their lives and careers, but that part of the story didn't have any real teeth to it. There were several plot points that felt too convenient and coincidental and that made it hard for me to believe it would have played out the way it did and left me somewhat disappointed in the ending. This is a debut novel, so points for that, and I imagine that it was cathartic for the author to write given the tie to her own history. I'd love to read more about her personal, real-life journey to learn about her past someday. 

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Author Notes: Julia Brewer Daily is a Texan with a southern accent. She holds a B.S. in English and a M.S. degree in Education from the University of Southern Mississippi. She was the founding director of the Greater Belhaven Market, a producers’ only market in a historic neighborhood in Jackson, and even shadowed Martha Stewart. As the Executive Director of the Craftsmen’s Guild of Mississippi (300 artisans from 19 states) which operates the Mississippi Craft Center, she wrote their stories to introduce them to the public. Daily is an adopted child from a maternity home hospital in New Orleans. She searched and found her birth mother and through a DNA test, her birth father’s family, as well. A lifelong southerner, she now resides on a ranch in Fredericksburg, Texas, with her husband Emmerson and Labrador Retrievers, Memphis Belle and Texas Star.

You can connect with Julia on her website,  Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

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There was quite a lot of food and a lot of southern food in the book. Mentions included catfish, corn, dumplings or a stew, chicken pie, bakes sweet potatoes, onions and bell peppers sizzling on a griddle, a hot dog and a bottled strawberry drink, eggs in a hole, French toast, point cake, chocolate chess pie, mason jar of pimento cheese slathered on crackers, Salisbury steak with hot brown gravy, dinner rolls, green salad with blue cheese dressing and bacon bits, black coffee, strawberry cake with cream cheese icing, roast, gravy and peas, hamburgers, hot chocolate, cherry snow cone, French pastries with layers of fillings, coffee with chicory, cold cuts, grape soda, bread, pears, petit fours, mixed nuts, tiny cucumber sandwiches and fruit punch with vanilla ice cream floating in it, seafood, brandy, muffulettas, shrimp and oyster po'boys, beignets, turkey and oyster dressing, glass bottles of Coca-Cola and moon pies, club sandwiches, pecan pie, fresh fruit, shrimp cocktails, beef stew, peanut butter crackers, sherbet pushup, chips, ginger ale and saltine crackers, potatoes, sweet ice tea, blackberry cobbler, fried chicken, tiny quiches, stuffed mushrooms, grilled cheese sandwich, banana popsicle, soup, baked ham with pineapple rings and whole cloves, birthday cake, crawfish étouffée, cupcakes, peanuts poured into a glass bottle of coke, turtle soup, ham and cheese croissants, potato salad, fresh lemonade, chicken salad, tenderloins from the grill, peanut butter on every table as an appetizer, scrambled eggs, champagne, tiny crab cakes and oysters on the half shell, grits and biscuits, shrimp salad, Angels on Horseback (grilled oysters wrapped in bacon), hot crab dip with toast points, tiny grits cakes topped with Mississippi sausage, and a meat and three (southern special of meat, three sides, cornbread and sweet tea).

For my bookish dish, there wasn't one dish that really stood out for me except the eggs in a hole that Becca's housekeeper and mother-figure growing up makes her. It's a small mention but since I grew up with it myself (it was called "ding-dong eggs" at my house) and it's a favorite nostalgic breakfast or occasional dinner for me. I have featured it on the blog a few times and would have made it this week but work and some new COVID-related duties have really kicked my butt this week and I have been coming home, eating things I can heat up quickly and falling asleep before 8:00 PM most nights and just didn't have the energy to make a pretty dish and take pictures of it.

So, here are two favorites from the past--one a classic, eggs in a bread frame and the other a grilled cheese (also mentioned in the book) combination. The links in each lead to the recipe post. 

First up, the Grilled Cheese Egg in a Hole that combines two favorite classics. 

Then a more classic Egg In a Hole.

You can't go wrong with either of these! 

 

I'm sharing this post with the Weekend Cooking event  being hosted by Marg at The Adventures of An Intrepid Reader. It's a weekly event that is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share. Here's a link to last week's post. 

Note: A review copy of No Names to Be Given 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. 

 

Mark Bittman's Garlic Fideo Soup: Noodly Comfort Food for Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammie) Sundays

I wanted a very broth pasta soup this week and I always like a good dose of garlic so I went with Mark Bittman's Garlic Fideo Soup. Fideos mean noodles, usually vermicelli and I can buy packages of it in the hispanic/Latin American food section in my local supermarket. If you can't find it, Italian angel hair or vermicelli pasta will work--you can break it up to get small pieces.

The only challenge is that I just bought one 7-oz bag of fideos, so I made the executive decision of filling in with 7-oz of Israeli couscous for the rest of my pasta. Also, because I liked Aaron Sanchez's Sopa Seca (Dry Soup) I made back in March so much, I added a cup of salsa to the mix. It's OK, Mark Bittman's recipes are always great jumping off places for me. 

Mark Bittman says, "You can’t go wrong with a soup made of lots of fried garlic and noodles topped with fried bread crumbs. Chicken stock would work well if you have some handy."

Garlic Fideo Soup

Slightly Adapted from Mark Bittman via The Bittman Project & How to Cook Everything

(Makes 4 Servings)

1 lb fideos, or capellini or other very thin pasta (I used 7-oz fideos + 7 oz Israeli couscous)
1/4 cup olive oil 
1/4 cup chopped garlic 
salt and pepper
2 tsp sweet paprika (preferably pimentón) 

6 1/2 cups vegetable stock or water (I used 6 cups non-chicken stock)

(I added 1 cup of prepared garlic salsa)

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley, cilantro, or epazote, plus 2 Tbspfor garnish
1/2 cup fried bread crumbs (see below) for garnish (I used seasoned panko crumbs)

Put the noodles in a sturdy bag and whack them with a rolling pin or the back of a knife, breaking them into 1- to 2-inch pieces. (My pasta was already broken up.)

Put the oil in a large pot over medium-low heat. When it’s hot, add the garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until soft and beginning to color, 5 to 8 minutes.

Raise the heat to medium-high. Add the noodles, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring almost constantly, until they darken, a minute or 2. They will probably not cook perfectly evenly — some will become darker than others — but avoid letting more than a few pieces blacken.

Add the paprika and most of the parsley and stir for a minute to coat the noodles. Add the stock, taking care to loosen any noodles or garlic that might have stuck to the bottom of the pan. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the noodles are just tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Serve right away, garnished with the remaining 2 tablespoons or so of parsley and the bread crumbs.

To Make Breadcrumbs: Tear a few slices of good-quality bread (preferably a day or two old) into pieces and put them in a food processor. Pulse a few times, then let the machine run for a few seconds until coarsely chopped. For every 1/2 cup of bread crumbs, heat about 1 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet. When it’s hot, add the crumbs and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Season with salt or and drain on towels; use immediately. 

Notes/Results: Really good, similar to the Sopa Seca and just as delicious--garlicky and satisfying. I know I made a lot of changes to the recipe but I am happy with all of them, even the couscous. The breadcrumbs are a great textural addition to the soup--their crispness a good contrast with the soft pasta. I would happily make this again. 

Linking up to I Heart Cooking Clubs where this week's theme is Cinco de Mayo.

Let's see who is here in the Souper Sundays kitchen this week: 

Tina of Squirrel Head Manor is here with a salad to share. She says, "This salad of baby spinach, beefsteak tomatoes, avocado and toasted walnuts was a fabulous accompaniment to the leftover chicken dinner. Easy to toss together. Pull the stems off the baby spinach leaves. Chop any type tomatoes you like and slice avocado. Toast the walnut halves at 350 F for about 10 minutes. I rubbed a little olive oil on the walnuts. Toss all ingredients and add favorite dressing. We used red wine vinegar and olive oil."

Radha of The Magical Ingredients for a Wholesome Life from the Heart of My Home is here with two dishes to share. First up her Cilantro Pachadi Raita which can be served as a cold soup. She says, "Cilantro pachadi aka raita is made with cilantro, coconut, and yogurt, spiced with cumin and Thai green chili. ... Also, this can be chilled and served as summer soup too. When you are serving as soup, the following quantity may serve one whereas as a condiment for an Indian food platter, would serve four."

Her second dish is Kochumber Salad and she says, "This is quick refreshing salad made with crisp cucumbers, firm tomatoes, crunchy onions and with a squirt of lime juice. The flavors in the salad marry well and gives a flavor burst in your mouth. This can be served along a meal and every bite of it gives the refreshing satisfaction of a great meal. This has no oil, high in fiber, and is a very healthy salad. This can be prepared in 10 minutes."

Thank you to Tina and Radha for joining me this 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 to Souper Sundays in order to be included in the weekly round-up.
• Although we are pretty wide on what defines a soup, sandwich or salad, entries that are clearly not in the same family (ie: desserts, meats, random main or side dishes that aren't salads, etc.) are meant for another round up and will be deleted. 

and 

On your entry post (on your blog):

• Mention Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammies) Sundays at Kahakai Kitchen and add a 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 this post or my blog on your post, it will be removed.)
• You are welcome to add the Souper Sundays logo to your post and/or blog (completely optional).

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Have a happy, healthy week! 

 

Baked Macaroni and Cheese with a Garlicky Ritz Cracker Topping for "The Newcomer" By Mary Kay Andrews #TheNewcomerParty

I am very excited to be joining my friends at The Book Club Cookbook, St. Martin's Press and some fellow bloggers for #TheNewcomerParty to celebrate the book birthday of The Newcomer, a new novel by Mary Kay Andrews. We were tasked with reading the book and coming up with a dish inspired by it and so I offer up Baked Macaroni and Cheese with a Garlicky Ritz Cracker Topping. 

Publisher's Blurb:

In trouble and on the run...

After she discovers her sister Tanya dead on the floor of her fashionable New York City townhouse, Letty Carnahan is certain she knows who did it: Tanya’s ex; sleazy real estate entrepreneur Evan Wingfield. Even in the grip of grief and panic Letty heeds her late sister’s warnings: “If anything bad happens to me—it’s Evan. Promise me you’ll take Maya and run. Promise me.”

With a trunkful of emotional baggage...

So Letty grabs her sister’s Mercedes and hits the road with her wailing four-year-old niece Maya. Letty is determined to out-run Evan and the law, but run to where? Tanya, a woman with a past shrouded in secrets, left behind a “go-bag” of cash and a big honking diamond ring—but only one clue: a faded magazine story about a sleepy mom-and-pop motel in a Florida beach town with the improbable name of Treasure Island. She sheds her old life and checks into an uncertain future at The Murmuring Surf Motel.

The No Vacancy sign is flashing & the sharks are circling...

And that’s the good news. Because The Surf, as the regulars call it, is the winter home of a close-knit flock of retirees and snowbirds who regard this odd-duck newcomer with suspicion and down-right hostility. As Letty settles into the motel’s former storage room, she tries to heal Maya’s heartache and unravel the key to her sister’s shady past, all while dodging the attention of the owner’s dangerously attractive son Joe, who just happens to be a local police detective. Can Letty find romance as well as a room at the inn—or will Joe betray her secrets and put her behind bars? With danger closing in, it’s a race to find the truth and right the wrongs of the past.

St. Martin's Press May 4, 2021

Hardcover 448 pgs

My Review: 

 

Heading from spring into summer, it's a great time for beach or pool books--those books you want to relax with, outside, on a lazy sunny day. The Newcomer is a great beach book from it's Florida beach town setting to the drama and romance in its pages. Letty is on the run with her young niece after finding her sister dead, keeping her promise to keep Maya away from her father if anything happens to Tanya. A magazine article left in Tanya's "go-bag" has her heading to The Murmuring Surf, a resort hotel a bit past its prime on the Florida coast. There she finds the kind-hearted owner, her suspicious but attractive police detective son, and a bunch of (mostly curmudgeonly) regular hotel guests who aren't too excited about the newcomer in their midst. 

 

Letty is a great character and easy to root for as I am a sucker for stories where the main character is trying to find their place in the world. Her 4-year-old niece, Maya, is adorable, and the supporting characters are entertaining and added a lightness and humor to the book. The blend of suspense and romance is good, overall--maybe a little too insta-romance between Letty and Joe as he goes from immediately suspicious cop to falling for her and helping her hide. The story is a bit predictable, but there is a certain comfort in that for a summer book--I don't mind not having to think too much. Overall, I enjoyed The Newcomer and it made me realize how long it has been since I delved into one of Mary Kay Andrews' books and how breezy, entertaining, and good fun they are. If you like a little drama and mystery in your romance, pour yourself a cold glass of lemonade or a tart cocktail and enjoy this one by the water.

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Author Notes: Mary Kay Andrews is The New York Times bestselling author of The Beach House Cookbook and more than twenty novels, including The Weekenders, Ladies' Night, Spring Fever, Summer Rental, The Fixer Upper, Deep Dish, Blue Christmas, Savannah Breeze, Hissy Fit, Little Bitty Lies, and Savannah Blues. A former journalist for The Atlanta Journal Constitution, she lives in Atlanta, Georgia.

 You can find her on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

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Food Inspiration: 

There are great advantages to reading an #ARC on my Kindle and marking up notes on food so easily but when your Kindle glitches and erases all of said notes when you are 3/4 through the book, it's not so great. Rather than my usual comprehensive list of food mentions, I am going to have to go by memory. At least I had already decided on a dish! OK, there was lots of pizza from the local Italian place, McDonald's take-out, tomato and chicken noodle soup and grilled cheese sandwiches, ham salad sandwiches, carrot sticks, grapes, shrimp, barbecued chicken, baked beans, macaroni and cheese, coleslaw, day-old store-bought roles, fruit and cheese platter, lots of cookies, steamed stone crab claws with a tangy mustard sauce and a crisp green salad, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, spaghetti, chicken fingers, hot dogs, steamed carrots and broccoli,hamburgers and cake and punch among other things. 

"Letty picked at the food on the paper plate. The barbecued chicken had a tangy-sweet sauce, and the lukewarm macaroni and cheese reminded her of Mimi's, cheesy and buttery with a thick oven-browned crumb topping, and the vinegar-brined coleslaw made a nice contrast to the chicken." 

It was the macaroni and cheese that I settled on because it reminded Letty of her grandmother's and it sounded good. From the sounds of it, it was baked and I decided to make a simple creamy version and pump up the crumb topping by using garlic Ritz crackers, mixed with seasoning, melted butter and grated Parmesan cheese.

I made a half batch of this recipe only because I feared I would eat every bite of it if I made a full one. You can alter your cheeses to your favorites of course--just make sure that you grate them yourself so that your sauce is smooth and not gritty..My half-batch made two of my small casserole dishes full so I added the topping and baked one and left the topping off the other and froze it. (Let's see how long it lasts before I yank it out of the freezer and dig in!)

 

Baked Macaroni and Cheese with a Garlicky Ritz Cracker Topping 

By Deb, Kahakai Kitchen

(Makes 8 Servings)

 

1 lb dried pasta, elbow macaroni or other pasta shape of choice

1 stick butter, divided

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

2 cups whole milk

2 cups half-and-half 

3 cups sharp cheddar cheese, coarsely grated

2 cups Velveeta or processed American cheese, cubed

1 cup Gruyere or Gouda, coarsely grated

1 pinch dried mustard 

salt and black pepper

 

For Topping:

1 sleeve Garlic Ritz Crackers (about 13 crackers)

1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

1/2 tsp smoked paprika

1/2 tsp garlic seasoning blend (May I suggest The Book Club Cookbook's Lord of the Fries Brewpub Garlic Fries Seasoning?)

pinch black pepper

Cook pasta 1 minute short of package instructions, drain and put into a large mixing bowl.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease your baking dish(es) and set aside. Mix your grated and cubed cheeses in a large bowl and set aside.

Meanwhile, melt 6 tablespoons of the butter in a large, deep saucepan or pot over medium heat. When melted, whisk in flour and continue whisking for 1 to 2 minutes until it turns golden and bubbles. Gradually whisk in the milk and half-and-half until mixture is completely smooth. Continue whisking until bubbles form on the surface and mixture is heated through, about 2 to 3 minutes. 

Gradually add cheese to the hot milk mixture, 2 cups at a time, whisking until creamy and smooth each time you add cheese. Sauce should be thick and creamy.  Once all cheese is melted, pour the sauce into the bowl of drained pasta and gently mix until all the pasta is coated in the cheese sauce. Stir in mustard and salt and black pepper to taste. 

Pour macaroni and cheese into prepared baking dish(es).

To make topping: Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a small bowl in the microwave. Place the Ritz in a large Ziploc bag and crush until small crumbs. Add the shredded Parmesan, melted butter, smoked paprika, garlic seasoning, and pinch of pepper. Mix together in the bag until well combined. 

Sprinkle topping generously over the prepared baking dishes of macaroni and cheese. Bake about 25 - 30 minutes until macaroni and cheese is bubbly and top is golden brown. Serve and enjoy!  

Notes/Results:  What's not to love? Creamy macaroni and cheese that is rich and decadent  and a crispy, buttery, cheesy, garlicky crust. I swear I could just be happy eating the crust by itself. ;-) If you are feeding small children, or vampires, you could use regular Ritz or just serve it as a stove-top macaroni and cheese but to me the topping really makes this dish special. I would happily make it again.

I'm sharing this post with the Weekend Cooking event  being hosted by Marg at The Adventures of An Intrepid Reader. It's a weekly event that is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share. Here's a link to this week's post. 

Check out this link for the #TheNewComerParty at The Book Club Cookbook to see the other bloggers taking part and their delicious recipes!

Mahalo to St. Martin's Press (@stmartinspress) and The Book Club Cookbook for the review copies of the book, and for hosting this fun event. I received no compensation for my participation and, as always, my thoughts and opinions are my own.  

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