The Book Tour Stops Here: A Review of The House of Eve by Sadeqa Johnson, Served with a Recipe for Carrot-Pineapple Cupcakes

I am excited to be today's stop on the TLC Book Tour for the buzz-worthy new novel The House of Eve by Sadeqa Johnson. Accompanying my review is a recipe for Carrot Pineapple Cupcakes with Apricot Cream Frosting that fits the essence of the book. 

Publisher's Blurb:

From the award-winning author of Yellow Wife, a daring and redemptive novel set in 1950s Philadelphia and Washington, DC, that explores what it means to be a woman and a mother, and how much one is willing to sacrifice to achieve her greatest goal.

1950s Philadelphia: fifteen-year-old Ruby Pearsall is on track to becoming the first in her family to attend college, in spite of having a mother more interested in keeping a man than raising a daughter. But a taboo love affair threatens to pull her back down into the poverty and desperation that has been passed on to her like a birthright.

Eleanor Quarles arrives in Washington, DC, with ambition and secrets. When she meets the handsome William Pride at Howard University, they fall madly in love. But William hails from one of DC’s elite wealthy Black families, and his par­ents don’t let just anyone into their fold. Eleanor hopes that a baby will make her finally feel at home in William’s family and grant her the life she’s been searching for. But having a baby—and fitting in—is easier said than done.

With their stories colliding in the most unexpected of ways, Ruby and Eleanor will both make decisions that shape the trajectory of their lives.

                                                    Publisher: Simon & Schuster (February 7, 2023) 
                                                                            Hardcover: 384 pages

My Review: 

I had a feeling I was going to enjoy The House of Eve from the start--historical fiction is my jam. I had to keep reminding myself not to order it from my monthly book club subscription because I had signed up for the tour--especially hard when publishing got delayed for the very good reason that it was picked for Reese Witherspoon's book club and it started generating lots of buzz. It's great when a book gets a lot of hype, and ends up deserving it. Sadeqa Johnson has written a compelling story about strong young black women and the hardships and choices they faced in the 1950s. 

Teenage Ruby doesn't have an easy life, left to live with her aunt when her uncaring mother's boyfriend focuses his attention on her. She is studying hard to gain a scholarship and be the first one in her family to attend college when she meets a young Jewish boy and their hidden relationship results in pregnancy. Eleanor is attending Howard University when she meets William, studying to be a doctor and from one of the upper crust black families in Washington DC. They are in love, but his mother doesn't approve and isn't happy when pregnancy speeds up their marriage plans. Their stories are told in different ways, Ruby's in first person and Eleanor's in third person, which I wasn't sure was going to work, but it did. Both of their stories and how they dealt with their circumstances were engrossing and I found myself quickly caught up in their plights. 

The House of Eve is not a light read, but it's a good and ultimately hopeful one. I appreciated the author's afterword about how she came to write the novel and the lack of information compiled and published on unwed black women. She noted, "I'm drawn to writing historical fiction because I feel charged to tell the truth about American history, whether grim or happy." Sadeqa Johnson is a talent and her storytelling has me moving her novel, Yellow Wife, up to the top of my TBR pile.   

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Author Notes: Sadeqa Johnson is the award-winning author of four novels, including Yellow Wife. Her accolades include the National Book Club Award, the Phillis Wheatley Book Award, and the USA Best Book Award for Best Fiction. She is a Kimbilio Fellow, former board member of the James River Writers, and a Tall Poppy Writer. Originally from Philadelphia, she currently lives near Richmond, Virginia, with her husband and three children. To learn more, visit SadeqaJohnson.net.

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There were food mentions throughout the book such as scrapple, okra, and fried fish, tuna salad, chocolate-covered pretzels, ice cream and candy, chicken soup with matzoh balls, pastrami sandwiches, spaghetti, seafood salad, wilted spinach, cocktail shrimp, cheese and Ritz crackers, stew, avocado with vegetables, sweet tea, biscuits, crab cakes and sunny-side-up eggs, and poundcake, pies and baked goods.

When William is seeking forgiveness from Eleanor, he brings her a big piece of carrot cake from the bakery. It made me crave a good carrot cake, and so I decided to showcase these carrot cupcakes I made back in 2009. They lean to the healthy as they are from a spa cookbook, but they are delicious--the pineapple and applesauce make them very moist. 

Carrot-Pineapple Cake with Apricot Cream Frosting

Adapted from Cooking With the Seasons at Rancho La Puerta

(Makes one 8-inch cakes or 12 cupcakes)

The book says, "Most carrot cakes deliver healthy ingredients with loads of fat. In this very simple, moist cake, applesauce is substituted for the usual oil, and crushed pineapple adds moistness and flavor. The cake is delicious even without the creamy frosting--try serving it lightly dusted with powdered sugar, alongside a citrus salad or fresh pineapple."  

2 eggs

zest of 1 orange

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup applesauce

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup all purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

2 cups grated carrots

1 1/4 cups drained crushed pineapple in juice

1/2 cup shredded coconut, sweetened or unsweetened

Apricot Cream Frosting:

6 dried apricots, cut into 1/4-inch dice

4 oz Neufchatel or low-fat cream cheese

1/2 cup powdered sugar, sifted

1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly brush an 8-inch pan with oil. 

Beat the eggs with the orange zest and sugar until thick. Stir in the applesauce and the vanilla. Sift the flours, baking powder, and baking soda into a large bowl. Stir the egg mixture into the flour mixture, then fold in the carrots, pineapple, and coconut.

Spoon the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack and cool completely.

To make the frosting, soak the apricots in hot water until they are very soft. Drain thoroughly. With a hand mixer, whip the Neufchatel until smooth and fluffy. Beat in the powdered sugar and the 1/4 tsp vanilla, fold in the apricots. Spread the frosting evenly over the top of the cooked cake, and cut into thin wedges to serve. 

Note: The cookbook suggests variations such as adding 1/2 cup golden raisins, soaked and drained to batter, sprinkling the chopped apricots over the cake instead of mixing them in the frosting, adding chopped pecans to the batter, or making it as a loaf cake or cupcakes.

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Note: A review copy of "The House of Eve" 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 learn what other reviewers thought about the book below.

Book Review Tour Stops:

Friday, March 3rd: @bookmom22
Friday, March 3rd: IG: @mamabookwormreads  and TT: @mamabookwormreads 
Friday, March 3rd: @addictedtobooks86
Saturday, March 4th: @stephreadsalot on TikTok 
Monday, March 6th: @notinjersey – REVIEW
Monday, March 6th: @storytimewithshelbs on TikTok 
Wednesday, March 8th: @subakka.bookstuff – REVIEW
Wednesday, March 8th: @lindahamiltonwriter on TikTok – REVIEW
Thursday, March 9th: Run Wright and @karen_runwrightreads – REVIEW
Thursday, March 9th: @bookdragon217 – REVIEW
Friday, March 10th: 5 Minutes for Books – REVIEW
Friday, March 10th: Kahakai Kitchen – REVIEW
Monday, March 13 th: Helen’s Book Blog – REVIEW
Tuesday, March 14th: Books Cooks Looks – REVIEW
Wednesday, March 15th: @rachellelovesbooks – REVIEW

 

The Book Tour Stops Here: A Review of "On a Night like This" by Lindsey Kelk, Paired with Chocolate Fudge Brownies

Happy Aloha Friday! I am very excited to be today's stop on the TLC Book Tour for On a Night Like This, a new rom-com novel by Lindsay Kelk. Accompanying my review is a suggested recipe pairing, fudgy and delectable frosted brownies. 

Publisher's Blurb:

Within days of wishing she could change her life, Fran Cooper is acting assistant to a celebrity, on a yacht in the Mediterranean, and en route to a tiny Italian island and the glittering Crystal Ball, along with the world’s rich and famous.

When she – quite literally – bumps into a handsome American called Evan, a man able to keep his cool in the face of chaos, the magic really begins.

Evan makes her a promise: no last names, no life stories, just one unforgettable night. Yet Evan belongs at the Crystal Ball and Fran is a gatecrasher. They may be soulmates, but their homes are an ocean apart, and their lives a world apart. They’ll never meet again – unless, on a night like this, everything can change forever…

Publisher: HarperCollins (January 18, 2022)

Paperback: 352 pages

My Review:

Sometimes I need a good frothy feel good book, not at all taxing and with a sense of humor and fun. On a Night Like This was just that--a rom-com in book form, and just what I needed for the February blues. Fran Cooper is feeling stuck in her life in a small English town, engaged but not happily, and looking for a job that doesn't involve being a teacher which is the plan her fiancé's family is pushing her towards. A temporary opportunity to do was she does best, be a personal assistant, pops up and she is soon on a yacht headed to the social event of the year, while babysitting a mega-famous singer. Of course things begin to go very off course and soon Fran is crashing the Crystal Ball and runs into Evan, the handsome stranger she had a "meet cute" with earlier in the day. Although they come from different worlds, they decide to hang out for just one magical night...

I really enjoyed this book, it's predictable sure (think Cinderella without the stepmother and stepsisters), but it was a lot of fun, sweet and cute and I enjoyed Fran and watching her finally begin to come into her own. Evan is fairly swoon-worthy and although the romance is a bit insta-lust/love, it works. There is enough snark in Fran, her friend Jess to make me laugh out loud several times and keep a smile on my face. If you are looking for = good winter escape feel-good romance, On a Night Like This is a great pick!  

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Author Notes: Lindsey Kelk is a writer and children’s book editor. When she isn’t writing, reading, listening to music, or watching more TV than is healthy, Lindsey likes to wear shoes, shop for shoes, and judge the shoes of others. Born in England, Lindsey loves living in New York but misses Sherbet Fountains, London, and drinking gin and elderflower cocktails with her friends. Not necessarily in that order.

Find out more about Lindsey at her website, and connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

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Food Inspiration: 

There was quite a lot of food in On a Night Like This from British snack foods to pepperoni pizza. Mentions included muffins, coffee, custard pudding, banana bread, a ham sandwich, Hobnobs, Terry's Chocolate Oranges, pasties, tea sandwiches, scones, chicken and spicy rice, tropical fruit, a giant freshly-baked chocolate chip cookie, Percy Pigs, McCain oven chips and a Findus crispy pancake, Toblerone, assorted cocktails, orange San Pellegrino, cheesecake, cheese, sandwiches, sliders, macarons, chocolate brownies, tea, a bag of Quavers, and Bailey's. 

If I were picking something to represent the book in food, I'd go with something chocolate, like a delicious brownie. Nothing comforts and soothes like chocolate and this recipe for Chocolate Fudge Brownies with The Best Chocolate Buttercream Frosting from the Joy the Baker Cookbook are still one of my favorites. The Ovaltine powder in the frosting is addicting and definitely moreish. And if you want to enjoy it with a cup of coffee laced with Bailey's, well I won't tell anyone. ;-)

Note: A review copy of "On a Night Like This" 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.

   

The Book Tour Stops Here: A Review of "Deer Season" by Erin Flanagan, Served with Fudgy Frosted Brownies

Happy Aloha Friday! I am excited to be today's stop on the TLC Book Tour for Deer Season by Erin Flanagan. Accompanying my review is a recipe for Fudgy Frosted Brownies. 

Publisher's Blurb:

It’s the opening weekend of deer season in Gunthrum, Nebraska, in 1985, and Alma Costagan’s intellectually disabled farmhand, Hal Bullard, has gone hunting with some of the locals, leaving her in a huff. That same weekend, a teenage girl goes missing, and Hal returns with a flimsy story about the blood in his truck and a dent near the headlight. When the situation escalates from that of a missing girl to something more sinister, Alma and her husband are forced to confront what Hal might be capable of, as rumors fly and townspeople see Hal’s violent past in a new light.

A drama about the complicated relationships connecting the residents of a small-town farming community, Deer Season explores troubling questions about how far people will go to safeguard the ones they love and what it means to be a family.

Publisher: NEBRASKA (September 1, 2021)

Paperback: 320 pages

My Review:

Deer Season quietly crept up on me and I found myself engaged from beginning to end in this literary mystery set in a small Nebraska community in the 1980s. Character driven with characters, who while not always likable, feel real and will stay with me. Clyle and Alma Costagan are childless, and have become family for Hal, their intellectually challenged farmhand and they look out for him, even as he is approaching 30. They aren't happy when he goes on a deer hunting trip with a couple of locals and when he comes back early saying he shot a deer, and with a dented truck with bloodstains, they think the hardest thing to do will be to smooth over the issues with his hunting permit and help him clean up. Unfortunately a teenage girl, Peggy Ahern, is missing and soon the community is suspicious of Hal, and Alma and Clyle do their best to defend him while having their own thoughts and worries about what Hal is capable of. 

The story is told by partially by Alma, a hard woman to like and considered by most to be an outsider since Clyle brought her back from the city when his mother died. The other chapters are told by Milo Ahern, Peggy's 12-year-old brother, wise beyond his years, and my favorite character in the book. I enjoyed the 1985 Nebraska setting and the cast of small town characters that make up Gunthrum. The mystery is solid and slow and steady tension is built to the end, but it is the relationships and the the meaning of family and loyalty that are the standouts. One of my favorites for the year so far, Erin Flanagan is a talent, and I'm going to look up her short story collections to read more from her. 

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Author Notes: Erin Flanagan is a professor at Wright State University. She is the author of two short story collections, The Usual Mistakes (Nebraska, 2005) and It’s Not Going to Kill You, and Other Stories (Bison Books, 2013).

You can Connect with Erin on her website or Twitter. 

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Food Inspiration:

I am a little bummed because there is plenty of food in Deer Season and I highlighted it in my Kindle e-book copy but then it reset and I lost all my notes. :-( Very sad! From memory, mentions included coffee, peanut butter toast, ham and eggs, pancakes, spaghetti, poached eggs, sausage, Oreos, potato salad, sugar cookies, oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, venison, cinnamon rolls, lasagna, fish sticks, meatloaf, baked pork chops, macaroni and cheese, potatoes, salad with Dorothy Lynch (a brand of salad dressing), Runzas (a pocket sandwich) and crinkle cut fries, venison and beer. I am sure there was more but that's a least a sample. 

For my bookish dish I decided to go with brownies. There's a mention in the book about Peggy, the missing girl, would sneak into the pan of brownies and cut a quarter of an inch off from the cuts already made and keep doing it over and over, thinking no one would notice but her mother did. Mainly, I was craving chocolate and brownies! ;-) I don't make brownies (or even bake) very often but when I do, I like this recipe from the Joy the Baker Cookbook that I first made years ago for a cookbook spotlight event. 

Chocolate Fudge Brownies with Frosting
Adapted from Joy The Baker Cookbook
(Makes one 8-inch (or one 11-x-7) pan)

1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Place a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat to 350F. Grease and flour an 8-inch-square baking dish and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

Bring about 2 inches of water to a boil in a medium saucepan. In a medium, heatproof bowl, add butter and unsweetened chocolate. Place the bowl over, but not touching, the simmering water and allow to melt. Stir to incorporate. Once melted, remove the bowl from the simmering pot. Whisk in brown and granulated sugars. Whisk in eggs, yolk, and vanilla. Add the flour mixture, all at once, to the chocolate mixture. Fold together with a spatula until well incorporated. Fold in chocolate chips.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Bake until a skewer inserted in the center of the brownie comes out clean. Remove from the oven and cool completely before frosting.

Frost when cooled. Brownies last, well wrapped, at room temp for up to 5 days.

Note: Joy the Baker has an amazing buttercream frosting (here) that I would have made but it calls for Ovaltine in it which neither I or my store had. I looked online and ended up with this recipe from TaraTeaspoon.com (here) that I think is both easy and delicious. You could also leave these fudgy brownies unfrosted, but why not just go all the way?! ;-)

Notes/Results: These brownies are so chocolatey and fudgy and I love a fudgy brownie! With the layer of frosting they are especially decadent and I am going to need to give them away because I have already eaten two since this afternoon. I put them in the freezer, both because I like slightly frozen brownies, and also to get them out of my sight. Although Joy the Baker's frosting is suburb, I would happily make these brownies and this brownie frosting 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. 

Note: A review copy of Deer Season 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. 

 

Pineapple Upside Down Cake and a Book Review for the #BigLiesinaSmallTownParty

I am very excited to be taking part in the #BigLiesinaSmallTownParty this week, celebrating the paperback release of Big Lies in a Small Town, a novel by Diane Chamberlain and sponsored by The Book Club Cookbook!

For this recipe party, we were tasked to read the book and make a recipe inspired by it. Although I'll discuss some of the food in the book below, there was one recipe I knew I had to make given the correlation to the state I call my home, Hawaii; Pineapple Upside Down Cake!  

But first, let's talk about this book, full of secrets and lies in a small southern town. 

Here's the cover blurb: 

North Carolina, 2018:
Morgan Christopher's life has been derailed. Taking the fall for a crime she did not commit, her dream of a career in art is put on hold—until a mysterious visitor makes her an offer that will get her released from prison immediately. Her assignment: restore an old post office mural in a sleepy southern town. Morgan knows nothing about art restoration, but desperate to be free, she accepts. What she finds under the layers of grime is a painting that tells the story of madness, violence, and a conspiracy of small town secrets.

North Carolina, 1940:
Anna Dale, an artist from New Jersey, wins a national contest to paint a mural for the post office in Edenton, North Carolina. Alone in the world and in great need of work, she accepts. But what she doesn't expect is to find herself immersed in a town where prejudices run deep, where people are hiding secrets behind closed doors, and where the price of being different might just end in murder.

What happened to Anna Dale? Are the clues hidden in the decrepit mural? Can Morgan overcome her own demons to discover what exists beneath the layers of lies?

Publisher : St. Martin's Press (January 14, 2020)
Publication date : January 14, 2020

My Review: 

I can't believe this is my first book by Diane Chamberlain! I have a couple of her novels on my Kindle but time and massive TBR piles keep getting in my way. I was drawn to this book right off the bat as historical fiction is my jam, and I love dual narratives and timelines. I also love art and stories about artists and their process, so I enjoyed how vividly those aspects were captured both in Anna painting the post office mural as part of the New Deal Public Works of Art Project, and in Morgan's restoration of Anna's work decades later. I am impressed with the research that the author did on these subjects, as well as the local history of the very real Edenton, North Carolina. I always say that the best historical fiction has me Googling the historical events surrounding it, and Chamberlain had me reading all sorts of extra information.

Character-wise, she pulled me into these two young women's lives immediately, both are lost and at a crossroads, and both have tragedy in their pasts. I found myself happy to flip back and forth in the chapter perspectives, equally interested in both story lines. There was enough tension built in wondering what happened to Anna that I sped through the book and didn't want to stop reading it, but I wanted to savor it too. I also liked how well Diane Chamberlain tied the stories together, particularly at the end of the book. My only very minor complaint is that the ending and epilogue had me wanting even more of both women's stories. That's testament to how much I enjoyed Big Lies in a Small Town. I would recommend it to any fans of historical fiction, southern-set fiction, art, and mystery fans. I am going to be investigating Chamberlain's The Silent Sister next as, it's on my Kindle and ready to go.

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Author Notes:  Diane Chamberlain is the New York Times and international bestselling author of The Stolen Marriage, The Dream Daughter, and Big Lies in a Small Town. She lives in North Carolina with her partner, photographer John Pagliuca, and her sheltie.

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

Connect with St. Martin's Press at @stmartinspress on all social media

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Food Mentions: 

For food in the book, there was a variety mentioned from both decades including soft-boiled eggs and sausage in a flat patty, grits, sweet tea, coconut cookies, Cheerios, Nabs (a peanut sandwich cookie), burgers, chocolate-iced sheet cake, pastries, Yankee Pot Roast, a ham sandwich, butter cookies, a chicken wrap, BLT, and chef's salad, a dinner of fried chicken, whipped potatoes, collard greens, corn and canned tomatoes, Moscow Mules, beer, a lunch plate of chicken salad, tuna salad, a bit of candied apple, and a slice of American cheese, chicken and dumplings, biscuits, pad Thai, cold leftover stew, ginger cookies, eggs and melons, blueberry muffins, pizza, and Hunan chicken and egg rolls.  

There were a few things I was tempted to make like the collard greens, the Moscow Mule (mainly because I bought a copper mug on Zulily) ;-) or the coconut cookies, but it was a scene where Anna meets her landlady Miss Myrtle, when she first arrives in Edenton that sealed my dish pick. 

"They sat down to a snack of tea and squares of pineapple upside down cake baked by Miss Myrtle's maid, Freda, who offered Anna a warm smile but didn't speak."

Pineapples are a sign of hospitality in the South, and since I live in the land of pineapples and Aloha, I wanted to make this dessert classic. If you know and visit this blog, you hear me say time and again that I AM NOT A BAKER!  This is true and why I pulled in a boxed cake mix to simplify it (and it's much cheaper than buying a bunch of baking ingredients that I seldom use). A can of Dole pineapple rings and their juices, a jar of maraschino cherries, brown sugar and butter rounded out the mix to make it partially homemade. 

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Courtesy of Duncan Hines

(Makes about 8-10 servings, depending on pan used)

 

non-stick cooking spray

1 stick butter (1/2 cup)

1 1/2 cup light brown sugar

1 large can Dole Pineapple Slices in 100% Pineapple Juice (rings + reserved juice)

7 maraschino cherries, or more depending on size of pan

1 box Duncan Hines Signature Perfectly Moist Pineapple Supreme Cake Mix (or yellow cake mix of choice)

1/3 cup vegetable oil

3 large eggs

whipped cream to serve, optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease the sides of pan (I used a large round pan) pan with cooking spray. Place the stick butter into the pan and place in the oven while it is pre-heating, making sure to pull it out once the butter is melted and bubbling. 

 

While the butter is melting, combine the cake mix, liquid (use the pineapple juice from draining your can of rings as the majority of the 1 cup water called for in the cake mix recipe (I got about 3/4 cup of juice) and use water to make up the rest of the called for amount), vegetable oil, and egg. Mix for about 2 minutes at medium speed with an electric mixer.

 

Sprinkle the pan melted butter heavily and evenly with the brown sugar. Arrange the pineapple slices and cherries on top of the brown sugar. And gently pour the cake batter on top of the pineapple slices and cherries. (I give the pan a couple of light taps on the counter to evenly settle the batter.)

 

Bake cake about 35 minutes or until a toothpick or skewer comes out clean when poked into the center of the cake. Let the cake cool on a rack for about 10 minutes then run a knife on around the sides of the pan to loosen the cake. Place your serving platter on top of the cake and carefully flip it over so your pineapples are now on top.  Pour any remaining juices in the pan all over the cake.

 

I like to serve it warm with whipped cream on the side--although it is perfectly delicious cooled as well. Enjoy!  

 

Notes/Results: What's not to like about pineapple upside down cake? It brings back childhood memories for me as my mom baked them sometimes when I was growing up. The pineapple juice and the pineapple cake mix give it an extra pineapple punch and the cherries, while not required, make it pretty and give it that retro vibe. It's just an easy-to-make, sunny, happy-vibe, and overall delicious cake that I will certainly make again.

 

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

Mahalo to St. Martin's Press 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. 

Find The Book Club Cookbook here:

Facebook: TheBookClubCookbook

Twitter: @bookclubcookboo

Instagram: @thebookclubcookbook

Pinterest: @bookclubcook

 

 

Sharing this post with the Weekend Cooking event 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.

 

 

A Mixed Berry Clafoutis to Welcome Julia Child to IHCC

We had already decided to select Julia Child as the next featured chef at I Heart Cooking Clubs before the Coronavirus made it more of a challenge to get particular ingredients for recipes. So for at least the next month, we have adpoted a "Needs, Must" theme at IHCC--meaning that you can cook any recipe from any of our past and present featured chefs (20 with Julia) and modify the recipe and ingredients as needed to accommodate what you have available.

I still wanted to make a welcoming dish for Julia and picked something easy, her Clafoutis recipe. If you aren't familiar, (according to Wikipedia) "Clafoutis, sometimes spelled clafouti in Anglophone countries, is a baked French dessert of fruit, traditionally black cherries, arranged in a buttered dish and covered with a thick flan-like batter. The clafoutis is dusted with powdered sugar and served lukewarm, sometimes with cream."

I have posted two on this blog: 

Blueberry & Elderflower Clafoutis: 

Cherry Clafoutis:

I didn't have fresh cherries so I used blueberries and a few sliced strawberries I had on hand for my fruit. I also had just brown sugar on hand and no powdered sugar. Finally, I don't thnk this is my finet effort as I was distracted by a work call while I was making it. Luckily, a clafoutis is a very forgiving dessert and it was delicious, especially with a generous drizzle of cream.   

The New York Times says, "This recipe is for a delicately sweet dessert whose elegance should not distract from its ease (it can be made while the rest of dinner is in the oven). Make sure you have fresh berries, and serve the result warm. We call for blueberries or blackberries here, but feel free to try it with whatever seasonal fruit catches your eye."

Julia Child's Berry Clafoutis 
Slightly Adapted from TheNewYorkTimes
(Yield 6 to 8 Servings)

butter for pan
1 1/4 cups whole or 2% milk
2/3 cups granulated sugar, divided (I used brown sugar)
3 eggs
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
1 pinch salt
1 cup flour
1 pint (2 generous cups) blackberries or blueberries, rinsed & well-drained (I used blueberries & strawberries)
powdered sugar in a shaker (I did not have)
cream to serve, optional
 
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter a medium-size flameproof baking dish at least 1 1/2 inches deep.

Place the milk, 1/3 cup granulated sugar, eggs, vanilla, salt and flour in a blender. Blend at top speed until smooth and frothy, about 1 minute.

Pour a 1/4-inch layer of batter in the baking dish. Turn on a stove burner to low and set dish on top for a minute or two, until a film of batter has set in the bottom of the dish. Remove from heat.

Spread berries over the batter and sprinkle on the remaining 1/3 cup granulated sugar. Pour on the rest of the batter and smooth with the back of a spoon. Place in the center of the oven and bake about 50 minutes, until top is puffed and browned and a tester plunged into its center comes out clean.

Sprinkle with powdered sugar just before serving. (Clafoutis need not be served hot, but should still be warm. It will sink slightly as it cools.)

Notes/Results: I probably should have used a little less fruit for the size of ceramic casserole I used but this was delicious and really hit the spot as I have been craving something sweet and baked this week. Because I'm not a baker, I love clafoutis because they really are low fuss and effort desserts. I liked the tartness of the blueberries I used with the mellower strawberries even though the more traditional cherry clafoutis will always be my favorite. I will hapily make this again. 

Linking up to Bon Appétit, Julia! at I Heart Cooking Clubs.

 
I'm also sharing it at 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.