Book Reviews - 2021

 Quick Review of Books I read this year:  2021 - only books I finished.  

East of Eden:  What a way to start the year!!  A reread, but I had forgotten everything from 20+ years ago. The problem with starting with the best, is that you only go down in quality.  But, it also saves you from plowing though some doozies.  

Olive Again, Elizabeth Stroud:  Another master class in beautiful writing.  I liked this better than Oliver Kitterage, the prequal, perhaps because I was mentally prepared for the book to be sad. But, I found hope instead!   

Actress, Anne Enright:  First book I read by this prolific Irish author.  It is written from the POV of a famous actress' daughter. Loved the descriptions of Dublin in the twentieth century.  I will read more from this author.  

Such a Fun Age, Kiley Reid:  Didn't like the characters.  Already forgot most of the book.  

To Be a Man, Nicole Kraus:  Love the writing of this author, and remember that this collection of short stories is well written.  I don't remember any of them, except that many of them take place in Israel. 

 

Trouble in Paradise, Elin Hilderbrand:  The last of Hilderbrand's Winter in Paradise trilogy.  I read it in one day. It was the best of the bunch, and made me want to go to St. John the VI more than ever.  I am a huge fan of Hilderbrand. 

Our Lady of Perpetual Hunger, Lisa Donavon:  A truly hard worker writes a great memoir. She writes about her journey to becoming a chef and writer with vulnerability and care.  I hope the pandemic gave Donavon some time to rest.    

 

Beach Read, by Emily Henry:  I liked this more than The People You Meet on Vacation, which is her second book, published this year (I could not even skim it...).  This was fun mostly because of its setting on the Upper Peninsula, which I have never been to, but might want to visit someday.  I could not get over the outrageous premise.

Searching for Sylvie Lee, Jean Kwok: The author's prose and dialogue were well crafted.  The Dutch setting was the highlight, and the mystery was just the amount of mysterious I like.   

The Island of Sea Women, Lisa See:  A deep and gory dive into Korean history based around the story of the sea women on a Korean island.  Beautifully executed, thought-provoking, and long.  

A Children's Bible, Lydia Millet: While I was probably ready for something a bit lighter after Island of Sea Women, this popped up on my library holds. Thankfully, it was short.  I am sure there is some analytical essay published about this allegorical end-of-the-world tale, but I didn't search for it.  This was interesting, but truly for literary nerds. 

   

Bravey, Alex I Pappas:  Another memoir.  This Olympic runner and screenwriter did have a powerful story to tell of her childhood, and the challenges she overcame to become a competitive runner.  She is fifteen years younger than me (maybe more...) so it was interesting hearing about her high school/college years and how they differed from mine, and made me wonder how those years will be for my daughters.   

Big Summer, Jennifer Weiner:  I have never steered towards Weiner, only catching her books when they appear in the "New Fiction" section of our library.  I really enjoyed this escape, that I read in a dark time. Always love books on Cape Cod!  

Seating Arrangements, Maggie Shipstead:  Downloaded during sleeplessness.  Read it in two days and loved it. WASPy lit at its finest!  Four months later, I was sorting through the basement bookshelf and found the hardcover I already had....  

The Dutch House, Anne Patchett:  Patchett is flawless as usual, and I loved it.  Loved the male narrator, of which I never read enough.

The Huntress, Kate Quinn:  My first Quinn book. It focuses on Nazi war crimes and the Soviet Women's Air Corp.  Enjoyed the European and Boston setting.  Stereotypical characters abound, but I was still interested in where this story was going.  

Eliza Starts a Rumor, Jane Rosen:  Discovered that Elin Hilderbrand recommended books on Instagram, and saw she recommended this newer "chick lit" book.  An extremely fun read with social commentary on Westchester and Manhattan mothers. 

Kitchens of the Great Midwest, J. Ryan Stradel:  Anne Bogel of Modern Mrs. Darcy did this book for her online book club, and while I didn't participate, I read the book.  It was such a different book, and ends up somewhere  you will never guess.  I think about it way more than I thought I would after I finished it.

Dear Edward, Ann Neopolitina:  Declined this book from the new fiction Library section multiple times, before it finally called to me, and I loved it.  The premise seems so stupid (ie: the life of an only surviving boy on an airplane), but Neopolitina makes the story realistic and authentic. 

The Push, Ashley Audrain:  Recommended by someone who I thought liked happy books. This is not good.  Children are hurt, commentary is made. I would skip.  

An Onion in my Pocket, Deborah Madison:  Madison's new memoir about how she began her life in food is interesting, especially to a cookbook lover like me.  It would be super interesting to hear about her Buddhist monastery days, though, and she holds back from what could have been a great book. 

Between Two Kingdoms, Suleika Jaoud:  Now Jaoud did not hold back, and she did write a great book. Probably the best memoir I have read in a few years.  Definitely the best "surviving sickness" memoir.  If you think she won't go there, she does.

Rules of Civility, Amore Towle:  From the same author as A Gentlemen from Moscow, which I loved.  I loved this book too, the 1920s NYC setting, the stories, the surprises, but I didn't love it as much as A Gentlemen. 

Wintering, Katherine May:  A description of an autistic British woman's coping mechanisms through a difficult period and her ponderings on these mechanisms. As a Christian, I want to send her the gospel, but instead I settled for hearing about her cold water plunges and trips to see the Northern Lights. She did inspire me to attempt more cold water swims on Martha's Vineyard this summer.

Vanishing Half, Britt Bennett:  A book club pick and best seller. Really enjoyed this fast read about sisters. Bennett writes a good story, but felt a tinge unrealistic to me.    

The Great Circle, Maggie Shipstead:  Shipstead's newest novel.  It was good, but a bit long, even for the century long saga that it is. 

 

Monogomy, Sue Miller: Relationships, middle age, cities, bookstores. It seems to be a book formula that works for me. Loved this realistic novel with good dialogue.

 

  

Finding Freedom, Erin French:  Another food memoir.  French overcame single motherhood, a terrible marriage, and rehab to open a destination restaurant in Maine. This was good. I still won't pay for Magnolia Network though.  

Musical Chairs, Amy Poepple: Another fun chick lit read recommended by Elin Hilderbrand.  Rom com and classical music are well combined! (Poepple is also a Wellesley grad.)

The Great Believers, Rebecca Makkai: Beautifully written, historical documentation of the AIDS crisis in Chicago in the 1980s .  Depressing. 

Small Admissions, Amy Poepple:  After Musical Chairs, I read Poepple's previous work. Not as good, but relatable as a former twenty something in NYC myself. 

The Emerald Mile, Kevin Fedarko:  Took me months to finish because I never truly focused.  Great book about rafting in the Grand Canyon, the Canyon's history as a national park, and dam engineering.  Fascinating, and now trying to book Grand Canyon rafting trip before it dries up.  

Commonwealth, Ann Patchett: Always love Ann, and now sad I am running out of her other books to read.  Loved the plot twists in this.  

 

 

Golden Girl, Elin Hilderbrand: My favorite summer beach read author did not disappoint! I will be so mad when she stops writing.

The Meaning of Mariah Carey, Mariah Carey:  Written for her fans, and I am not a strong fan, but definitely interested in her life, as her music was in the background of my entire young adulthood.  I learned she wrote her own music, and I admired her more. 

 

Lorna Mott Comes Home, Diane Johnson: I didn't know that Johnson had a new book out - her first in many years.  The author of Le Divorce writes about a dysfunctional family circa 2008. Her usual "la-di-da" fare with social commentary and humor.  Cover could have been better designed:

The Wreckage of my Presence, Casey Wilson: I did not know who this was when I read this. Maybe that was better?  Essays about her life that are humorous and sentimental. It did lead me to her friend June Diane Raphael's podcast The Deep Dive, which is a favorite.  

The Bookshop on the Shore, Jenny Colgan:   First time reading on of the UK's most prolific chick lit authors.  Same predicable plot, but fun to read about it in the Scottish Highlands.

  

The Paper Palace, Miranda Cowley Heller:  A tragic family history written in sensual detail that takes place on Cape Cod.  Stunning.  Rated X.

That Summer, Jennifer Wiener:  Looking for a lighter read, like Big Summer, but got Me Too on Cape Cod.  Blah.

Olympus, Texas, Stacey Swann:  Again, I went looking for a fun read and was truly having fun reading this until a twist turns this into another tragic family history. Small town Texas lights up for those of us who are ignorant.  

 

Good Company, Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney:  Similar to Monogamy - about a long-time marriage and its sudden turn.  Loved it and realizing that I have a "type" of book.  

The Midnight Library, Matt Haig:  I think the author wrote this too 1) show off his philosophical knowledge, and 2) to dream up as many scenarios of a life as a person can have.  I appreciated his effort and fun scenarios.  

The Empathy Diaries, Sherry Turkle:  I am a longtime fan of Turkle, and was interested in reading the autobiography of her first thirty years.  

Hourglass: Time, Memory, Marriage, Dani Shapiro: Well written reveries on the author's marriage and marriage in general. Don't remember more than that. 

 

Inheritance, Dani Shapiro: Her follow up book about the amazing discovery she made while writing the previous book. Her ruminations on family are addictive.  

White Fur, Jardine Libaire:  Another Elin Hilderbrand rec. 1980's WASP life clashes with Puerto Rican poverty that starts at Yale and ends unexpectedly.  Mesmerizing and cringy. Rated XX.

The Plot, Jean Hanff Konelitz: A hot book based around the publishing industry (hmmmmm?).  The plot did move along. Can you figure it out?  

The Last Thing He Told Me, Laura Dave:  I don't even remember what this is about.

Malibu Rising, Taylor Jenkins Reid:  A quick pool read. And really only that.

The Invisible Husband of Frick Island, Colleen Oakley:  A pleasant surprise. A different plot for a rom/com that is somewhat realistic and cute to boot. 

 

Evvie Drake Starts Over, Linda Holmes:  The main character had no kids and lived in small town Maine. Didn't click with me, but it was fine.

A Place Like Home, Rosamunde Pilcher:  A Pilcher book I had not read, which was a miracle.  Anything she writes it heartwarming.  

Crossing to Safety, Wallace Stegner:  A reread that made all the books after it dreck.  The best of the best.  

The Other Black Girl, Dakota Dalila Harris:  Any book following Crossing to Safety is going to suffer.  This was good, but I am still not really sure what happened in the end.  

Haven Point, Virginia Hume:  A family story that is based in coastal Maine.  Of the five Maine based books I read this year, this one described the best climate. I will enjoy anything that takes place in a New England summer colony.  

Crying in H Mart, Michelle Zauner:  A women's memoir about the death of her Mother and their relationship. Bryn Mawr graduate.

The Mothers, Britt Bennett: By The Vanishing Half author. I thought this was a bit better because it was more realistic.  Wish there had been more of "the mothers".  

Animal, Lisa Taddeo:  A wounded woman on her worst behavior.  Readable. 

This Must Be the Place, Maggie O'Ferrell:  Magnificent. A story of love and betrayal that starts in Ireland and spreads everywhere.  

Food Saved Me, Danielle Walker:  Walker, who suffers from a chronic illness, tells her story of how her dietary choices saved her health, and her journey to becoming a cookbook author and inspiration for other sufferers of chronic illness.  

Small Things Like These, by Claire Keegan:  A beautiful, small novella set in 1980's Ireland. Gave my reading life a needed jolt.

A Woman is No Man, Etaf Rum:  Takes place in my old work neighborhood of Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. Can picture the entire book!  Moving story as well.

Normal People, Sally Rooney:  Don't know what took me so long! I am almost ashamed I waited so long, but now I am sad I am done.  Can't wait to read her other books. And after so many books recently read that take place in Ireland, I am ready to book a trip!  

Cookbook Review - Julia Turshen's Simply Julia

This book was borrowed from the library. 

 I completely missed Turshen's last three cookbooks, most likely because they did not appear in the New Non-Fiction Book section of our library (which is next to the children's section - older cookbooks are upstairs, in the very back, so I will never make it there, probably ever).  I was attracted to the title, as "simple" is a lifestyle goal for me, as well as the pictures of the food, her home, and her life with her wife in upstate NY.   

Each of Turshen's recipe titles are written out in her print at the top of the page, reflecting a working chef's notebook.  There is one recipe per page that includes some commentary, ingredients, and directions.  The 110 dishes are separated into sections - my favorite section  entitled "Eleven Chicken Recipes". Each section is intermingled with personal reflections on her childhood, family, career ladder, and relationship.  

I held onto this cookbook during the summer months and was not able to try as many recipes as I would have liked, mostly because so many of them seem like they should be made in the cooler weather.  Favorites included Low-and-Slow Baked Greek Chicken + Potatoes, and Sticky Chicken, which my children devoured.  The kids also ate the Sesame Rice Bowls with Tofu, Quickles + Peanut Sauce, which was described as a weeknight pantry dish but had over twenty ingredients. Yet, it came together quicker than the ingredient list, as promised.  The Mustardy Cracker Crumb Fish and Sizzle Burgers, standard Fifties nostalgic recipes, were not as popular in our household.  I only tried one sweet recipe from her Eleven Memorable Sweets section, her Orange + Greek Yogurt Cake (now having held onto the book until early Fall), and was disappointed in its flat flavor, which maybe had more to do with my dislike of whole wheat flour.  

I am sure longtime fans of Julia's will love adding this to their library and cooking through the recipes this winter. If I ever make it upstairs at the library, I will definitely check out more of her cookbooks. 

Using up Ingredients - Plum Chutney

 Last evening I pulled out a pork tenderloin and some leftover pancetta to make the following recipe:  

                             Pork Tenderloin with Plum Chutney - Bon Appetite  (we did not make the chutney)  

I even had kitchen string!  Justyn grilled it and we served it up with leftover rice, sautéed spinach, and leftover spicy plum chutney that none of my girlfriends tried at book club (nothing personal).  This book club took place over a year ago, so I was eager to get this out of my refrigerator, especially since I filled it up with Thanksgiving food.   We paired it with a highly tannic Nebbiolo that cut through the pancetta's saltiness perfectly.  

I always love to find a perfect recipe for the perfect ingredient.  Now I just have to make it again, because there is still half the chutney left in the jar! A little goes a long way!     

Ground Meat with Rice for dinner

 I have started a new meal cycle program - which I will talk about in a later post (I mean, how long do these cycles last before I get distracted.....) .  But, one of the meals this cycles includes ground beef with rice - a very easy combination which my children devour, even the one who claims to not to like rice 😕. It is also a gluten and dairy free combination - which always wins in my book! 

 Ground meat and rice can be seasoned/added to multiple ways to make the combination reflect most food cultures.  In the past, I have traditionally done this recipe:  

Spicy Turkey Stir-Fry With Crisp Garlic and Ginger Recipe - NYT Cooking (nytimes.com) - It has an Asian tinge that includes Fish/Soy/Basil flavors. Very easy to come together and gobbled up little complaint by the goblins (especially if basil happens to not touch their dish).  This specific recipe is actually a riff on a recipe Melissa Clarke wrote in one of her cookbooks, that I have photocopied and have stained in a folder - and I usually do that one. 

I also recently tried this Americanized beef/rice combo ala Julia Turshen/Vivian Howard: Turshen's Sizzle Burgers and Howard's Tomato Rice.  Turshen writes about Sizzle Burgers in her cookbook Simply Julia, which involves simply sautéing ground beef (or turkey) patties, and serving them with caramelized onions over rice.  In Deep Run Roots, Howard remembers her Mother serving ground beef patties once a week over Tomato Rice, a dish she claims she, "can rhapsodize over its simplicity, and make everyone a cook."  I combined the two dishes, and the kids ate it, even the tomatoes. It was easy.  Check Check!  

Last night, I made Spanish Beef and Rice Bowls With Avocado Recipe | Real Simple .  I left out the olives.  My oldest said it was "delicious."  My husband said it didn't make enough.  The 5 year old actually ate the rice, and my plate was clean in five minutes.  Another weeknight win!  

If you always have ground beef in your freezer, and rice in your pantry, you always have this weeknight win of a dish ready to go!  

Reflecting on Nine Months of Pandemic Cooking - 2020

 Since I got married in 2010, I have kept track of every dinner I have every made.  This is the first time I have looked back on a year of cooking and reflected upon the results.  

Thus, my reflections.  

1) January and February 2020:  During these two months,  I was practicing ( and had been practicing for five previous months) the FasterWay diet, and trying to incorporate the program's meals (recipes) into my family's life, because I was paying for the program's recipes. As a result, I  lost 15 pounds and wanted to maintain that loss.  Yet, the FasterWay recipes were not good.  Nine years of near daily cooking had made me a better cook than those recipes.  The calendar also shows that I was cooking only about four evenings a week during these two months, and I can't even remember how we spent our time outside the house.  

2) March 2020:  First half of the month, I stopped paying for the FasterWay recipes, and tried to maintain a dairy and gluten-free diet on my own.  The challenge really begins halfway through the month, for obvious reasons.  

3) April/May 2020:  I run a pretty tight meal schedule, as I've described in my previous post. "Eating Out" is replaced with steak.  Going to the grocery store becomes my only way out of the house.  We eat a lot of Reid's Fine Foods.  The workers still don't recognize me after taking my temperature almost daily.  

4) May/June 2020:  Try and use beets and carrots from our garden. We eat our first asparagus harvest!  We eat outside every meal. The weather saves our lives. 

5) June/July/August 2020:  Large group cooking at the Vineyard for family.  Using up the tomatoes in the garden. Lots of panzenella salads with no cheese, since I am largely avoiding mozzarella (though still occasionally making the old tomato mozzarella standby).  

6) September/October/November/December 2020: Zoom school returns. Preschool returns and saves my life. We return to a pretty standard meal schedule that is largely dairy-free, but with a new emphasis on feeding the kids what they like (even more than before...).  Recipes focus on Chicken Pot Pie, Meatloaf, and other kid friendly fare. I finally made pie crust (my one pandemic goal).  I cooked no holiday meals for the first time in ten years.  

New cook books acquired this year:  Sam Sifton's See you on Sunday and Vivian Howard's This Will Make it Taste Good.

Cookbooks used the most: 

1) Skinnytaste's One and Done, as well as her first and original Everyday continue to be used almost every other week.  Her Turkey Meatloaf and Chicken Pot Pie are two of the kids' favorite meals.  

2) The Dinner Plan and Keepers:  I continue to cook through these gems.  All the recipes are on point and well tested.  I have repeated mostly salmon recipes, mainly the Southwest Salmon, and the Yogurt Marinated Salmon.  

3) Jenny Rosenstrach's Dinner a Love Story/Celebrations/Dinner: The Playbook.  Her marinated grilled chicken recipes are always summer hits, i.e.. her Picnic Chicken, and her Yogurt Marinated Lemon Grilled Chicken. Also, her prose and blog were a balm during quarantine. 

4) New York Times Food App.  No competition for its search functions, and the fact that it stays open as you cook the recipe.  

Recipe Review 2020 

 I couldn't think too hard about this, or I would never write this.

Best overall dish:  Vivian Howard's Chicken Toast from This Will Make it Taste Good.

Best comfort food that never gets old:  Burgers from Reid's Fine Foods. Add Chef Alyssa's Tomato Jam, and you are transported.  

Best Stew:  Southern Living's One Pot Beef Stew.  I tried many this past year and I always enjoy the dab of Dijon mustard added at the end of this one.  

Best New Potato Salad:  Sam Sifton's Potato Salad from See you on Sunday surpasses any potato salad I have ever made.  It will be hard to make a different one in the future.

Best and most versatile vegan meal:  Melissa Clark's Black Bean Tacos with Pickled Onions.  Kids eat them and can add cheese.  I get a dairy-free/gluten-free meal that is really, really good and easy.  

Best dairy free soup:  Mark Bittman's Carrot Soup.  Uses coconut milk.  With the use of an immersion blender, there are not many dishes to clean.  Win/win!  

Cooking Resolutions for 2121

1) Continue the search for good dairy free recipes.

2) Continue to try different recipes for meatloaf/meatballs and chicken pot pie.  

3)  My husband wants me to make gazpacho.  

4) Make this NY Times pizza dough.  First I have to buy the flour.   

Bardo - Restaurant Review

Charlotte needs a restaurant like Bardo.  While "foodie" cities like New York, San Francisco, Toronto each had  Modern* style restaurants, Charlotte had NONE. For many deprived years, if your palate craved an eclectic fix, you had to get on a plane. Now, you only have to take a short trip from Uptown.  If you want to be extra hip and young, take a scooter!

The Nowaiters have a long restaurant history and seasoned palates, and many dicey Charlotte restaurant experiences.  Voted Best Restaurant by Charlotte Magazine in 2019 and Best New Restaurant by the Charlotte Agenda, Bardo had high expectations to fulfill, and within one hour, they met ours.

Located in the hip South End, Bardo is in a converted garage-like space with little signage to alert the passer-bys. The dining room is sparse of decoration and the open kitchen is Scandinavian-like in its cleanliness and movement. Electronica music beats lightly in the background, and waitstaff seem to move to the beat.  With  few tables seated at 6 PM, we gathered the attention of most service staff during out meal.

The center stage kitchen creates carefully arranged, locally foraged dishes from a variety of food cultures.   Menu items such as Aged Ribeye contain local beef, Carolina gold rice, yet is also served with kimchi, most likely made from local cabbage.  Scallops are served with pad thai and bamboo rice, and the asparagus was served as a tempura, but using the rare spring ingredient ramps.  We also reordered Bardo's signature dish, the "egg and grain", which is exactly how what it states, only delicately presented and more savory than your standard morning fare. The three dessert choices are all sweet and savory, such as carrot cake with cardamom, and ricotta with herbs and oxtails; each bite had a nip of acidity, yet kept you returning for more until your plated was wiped. While all dishes are meant to be shareable, they can also (and probably should be) eaten individually.

 Meanwhile, signature cocktails and an uncommon wine list made for hard decisions. Bardo strays from its local roots to introduce small wineries from far and wide.  Grapes available by the glass included standard chardonnay and pinot noir, to a chancier Malvasia Bianca (canned wine!) and Cabernet Franc. The cocktails stick with Bardo's sweet and savory theme by combining flavors such as banana cinnamon and rum in a drink called "Cruel Summer", or Gin, lemongrass, and mint in the fittingly named "South Mint."

While the Nowaiters could have tried every drink, and probably needed a few more dishes, we had places to go, a symphony to see, and babies to return home to. But we will be returning again and again, and then maybe get a burger afterwards.

Food: 43
Beverage: 15
Service: 20
Ambience: 17 (bathroom is awkwardly in the front of house)

Total: 95

* In this review, a "Modern" restaurant is one that experiments with local ingredients in the essence of the original ElBulli, for former iconic Modern restaurant which was in Spain.  

It's My Turn!

I finally get to cook Thanksgiving Dinner for my family this year!! (Now I am going to try and write this post without any exclamation marks.)

Reflecting on my previous post - Dream Thanksgiving and Christmas Meals - I find that my menu has not changed.  I am sticking to the Pioneer Woman's Beautiful Brussels Sprouts, and my Mother's Party Mashed Potatoes.  I am still going to have only two pies. My Mother is going to make her Apple Pie, and I am going to order Chocolate Pecan Pie from Great Harvest, along with rolls.
Questions to contemplate:
1) Should I order my turkey from Midwood Smokehouse? It comes smoked and is probably phenomenal.
2) What wine should I buy?  Definitely on the list - two bottles of Biltmore Champagne, North Carolina at its finest.  Should I take advantage of the Harris Teeter 15% of a half dozen bottles this weekend? Most definitely.
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Elisabeth has awoken from her mini nap.  Maybe I will just write mini posts now instead of waiting until I have a larger chunk of time. My appetite is back, and I have a lot to say.

(Also, I will throw away that Miso Paste in the refrigerator. I can't believe it has been over a year since it was purchased.)