Cooking With Ideas

Fifteen is a Great Number: Janet Evanovich and Stephanie Plum

I am never sure about book series that involve alphabetical titles (e.g., Sue Grafton) or numbers (yes, Janet Evanovich). But, I admit to being hooked on the sort of crazy, not challenging reads of Evanovich's featuring Stephanie Plum. (Thanks, by the way, to blog.newsok.com for the picture of the book.) Steady readers of the section of this blog focused on murder mysteries know that; I mention her on occasion, though I have never reviewed anything before. No, I have never read her romance-y type books, just one through fifteen. And yes, I do wonder if Grafton will stop and kill Kinsey Millhone at Z or whether, like an opera house or movie theater, she will go on to AA through ZZ. In Evanovich's case, of course, there is no real upper limit but the imagination, I suppose. And, she still has imagination, even though there are occasional moments when Plum and her pals seem a bit stale. Not this time, though. Why? Because the foodie themes of her novels -- which usually consist of Plum's mother's cooking (often pot roast), her own efforts to deal with food (peanut butter and anything sandwiches, and food from Mr. Clucky's) -- just got a bit more heated. Yep, the body in this one is a guy named Chipotle whose barbecue sauce is famous and who is in town for a cook off. Between that and Mr. Clucky, that's about all there is to the foodie theme that goes with number fifteen's title, Finger Lickin' Fifteen. Oh wait, no, there's also the various attempts to concoct a barbecue sauce; steady readers of Evanovich will not be surprised that things get set on fire, explode, and . . . occasionally turn out edible. And, of course, fans will not be surprised by the bad guys -- nor by the ongoing romances between Plum and Morelli (on a brief hiatus here) and Ranger (who has his own trouble this time out). Nor will you be surprised by Lula or Granny or. . . . But hey, formula fiction is great in part when it gets the right ratio of formula to novelty.

By the way, the book is a signed one I got at the bookstore at Hobart and William Smith Colleges. No, I do not think the signature makes this book any more (or less) valuable than it was before Evanovich wrote her name on the blank page. Murder mystery readers who have read John Dunning's Bookman series (aka his Cliff Janeway series), know that the operative word in valuing books has to do with the combination of RARE with HAS A MARKET and, of course, in this case the first is undoubtedly absent. But, having a signed book is fun - and makes the book even more woth the hour or two it takes to breeze through Stephanie Plum's New Jersey. So, read it for the fun, not the foodie, nor the literary, panache. Have fun. 

For a recent video interview Evanovich did with the NY Times, click here. And for a Boston Globe review of this book, try here.

For her WIckipedia biography, try clicking the little blue spot to the left. You'll find more than her original (unmarried) name there. Among other things you will discover she went to a women's college. Hurrah.

For a contest to name book 16, click here. It ends August 2009, so get cracking! (If you need inspiration, click here for a youtube of Johnny Cash singing Sixteen Tons. Trust me, its worth few minutes. If you prefer Tennessee Ernie Ford's version (and are shocked it is on youtube), click here. (NO, I did not enter it; go ahead if you want.) 

Eating Around New Hampshire

New Hampshire (thanks to www.locallender.info for the picture of the state to the left!) is not the most foodie location of all time, but I do eat there on occasion. And not just (ok, only once) at a joint called Ruthies in Merrimack where presidential candidates often stop. (On that topic click here.) Yes, NH remains the first primary and yes, there will be another election. We know that because of all that horrifying coverage of Sarah Palin -- who reminds us all that equality may mean women only have to be as good as the worst imaginable man for the job. (On Palin, see the Huffington Post here and then see Palin's own site to remind yourself why you will never ever vote for that twit.)  Anyway, here are a few NH restaurants to consider:

The Common Man is a chain (or at least a group of restaurants) but I had Sunday Brunch at what I think is the original. It's in Merrimack NHand even if it is note ht original it is the only one I have ever been to so to me it is not even a chain! What did I have for Sunday brunch?  Well, I had lots of what was ut out --but not even I could try everything. I had eggs in a country fritatta, a little chocolate crossant,   bacon, sausage, sliced pork (very thin),  fruit, and some swell mashed potatoes. I also had a tiny little eclair for dessert; and along with my coffee a bellini but it turned out to be basically served right out of a bottle.The food was great despite my favorite macaroni and cheese not being on the buffet. The drinks -- coffee and bellini -- disappointing. Also available on the buffet: ham with a pineapple cream sauce, a white fish. corned beef hash, salads (green and caesar), blinis, apple crumble, cakes, jello, and loads of other tidbits. Great for a Sunday brunch. And, by the way, they have good handicapped parking.

The Cracker Barrel is most definitely a chain, but it is one that has only a single place in NH. I did not like the chain in my memory, a dim one of a horrifyingly bad meal off some exit somewhere years and years ago. But, I was humoring people and so I  ended up at the only one in NH. The rocking chairs on the porch started to entice me, despite their countrified uniformity. And, I am sort of horrified to say I ended up really liking my meal. In fact, I had a hard time choosing from the menu as there were several things I wanted for lunch. What did I eventually do? I had pulled pork (in a tomato-y barbecue sauce) with mac and cheese on side and some corn (niblets). Perhaps best of all, I had two biscuits which were light as air, slathered with real butter. No, I did not have dessert. I did, though, have an excellent raspbery lemonade (which my sister who tried it labeled 'tart' but I thought was perfectly balanced between sweet and savory). I did indulge in a tiny little taste (or two) of a fried shrimp; these were very nicely salted. And, I wandered a bit in the attached "country" (NOT) store -- my only temptations being real moon pies (in boxes of 12) and what I actually got: a $1.59  Goldenberg chocolate bar which I remember from my youth; it turns out the label on this one said the bar was a WWI ration bar and famous in Philadelphia. Who knew? (Wanna know more? Try here or here at the Candy Blog. This last entry does show weird new marketing for the chews; try here for the old marketing.)

More New Hampshire Eats? Check out a prior entry on this very blog entitled  Life Free or Die

Rio Tomatlan

Rio Tomatlan is a Mexican restaurant in Canandaigua that is simply one of the best Mexican restaurants I have ever been to. It is on Beeman street, has a bar with loads of kinds of Mexican beer as well as (ok, I have not tried them) an equally sizable list of varieties of tequila. While the ambience is not perfect (yes, there is actually music on occasion, but again, I have not heard it), the kitchen is open 'til 10 pm, and the food is worth it. It is definitely worth it.And this even despite someone I frequently dine with reporting that the service itself is incredibly erratic; every time I have been there it has been very good.

So, what have I had to eat at Rio Tomatlan? First, I should confess: I absolutely love mole sauce. And Rio Tomatlan  makes swell mole sauce. (Why does the name make me think of C.S. Lewis's Narnia books? I think it is just the mild similarity to the name Aslan, but still. . . ) Anyway, one of the dishes I really like is blue corn chicken enchiladas with mole sauce. There were 3 enchiladas with chicken that was moist and lvely. And I wanted to lick the mole off the plate. More recently, I had their enchiladas verde (served flat, oddly enough, with the most swell green tomatillo sauce ever).  Here too their sauce was absolutely amazing. It is a verde sauce to beat all verde sauce, a tart taste explosion in your moth. Rio Tomatlan is also recommended by those who know for their tilapia tacos and for a very good chocolate cake with flan between the layers. And, the pico de gallo with chips (the chips are made there) is always good; not to mention an appetizer quesadilla with poblano pepper and corn in it. The latter (actually called Quesadill de Rajas on their menu)  comes along with a bit of green sauce, red sauce, and a creamy white sauce. Let me just say it: they make very good sauces.

If I had a quibble, I would say that there is a tad too much chicken around the menu, but that is truly just a quibble (especially since I have tasted some swell pork tacos). All in all, very very good.There is loads of parking near by as well, and the beer list is fairly varied.

Other reviews? Try here or here. Or check out urban spoon:

Location: 5 Beeman Street, Canandaigua, NY

Phone: 585-394-9380

Picnic Chicken with the Best of 'Em

The chicken might be the Delaware State Bird. I don't really know. (This picture is from www.netstate.com and is labeled Delaware State Bird Blue Hen Chicken. Thanks to them for the picture.) Most of the chicken I see, though, looks nothing like this. Oh, yeah, once in a while, driving down the road I find myself saying -- oh, hey, look at those chickens wandering around. I even think on occasion about the Easter chicks I had, that oddly unlike anyone else's, grew up to be chickens. (And one rooster.) But mostly, chicken does not look like this in my world. It comes in whole or part -- and is labeled free range, organic, or not -- and I get it at the grocery store or, occasionally, at the farmer's market from someone who actually raised the darn things. But, I eat a lot of chicken. One of my favorite "junk" foods is chicken tenders. Yep, me. And I do not mean the healthy version, I mean the deep-fried version.

But, most recently, I did try a somewhat more health (only because not deep fried) version of picnic chicken. Here's how I did it after reading around on line for a while -- pour a few cups of buttermilk over 8 chicken thighs and 8 drumsticks. Marinate it like this for up to 12 hours. (I have no idea why, but it did make the chicken tasty, and juice-y. Sort of tart maybe?) Then, roll the chicken bits in breadcrumbs to which you have added herbs (say some oregano, thyme, basil all dried.) Yes, these were better than seasoned bread crumbs that you buy pre-seasoned, but not as good, probably, as if I had a) made bread crumbs or b) gotten bread crumbs at normal bread. And, then bake the darn things. Try not to do it at midnight, which is what I did because I thought the chicken was intended for a picnic the next day and . . . well, that's when I remembered I had to do it. Cook it at about 400 degrees for about 45 minutes to an hour. Be sure to put some olive oil (preferably not extra virgin) on the bottom of the pan you bake it in. Then let it cool on racks. Tasty. If you discover part way in that you have people who cannot have gluten, try this without the bread crumbs. Use lots of salt. It turned out ok. Next time, perhaps, I will try it with some sort of rice flakes.

The whole notion of oven-fried is a little oxymoronic, but hey, it tastes pretty good. And there are loads of recipes for over-fried chicken to try -- just google away> There are even loads of them on www.epicurious.com. Meanwhile, it was oddly good -- almost as good as chicken tenders cooked by someone else.

The Last Chinese Chef: A Novel

Nicole Mones' The Last Chinese Chef is swell. It was enough to make me think: "I should go to China." I discovered it while traveling and have been telling people "You have to read this" ever since. (I suppose I should have known about it; it has been nominated for various prizes and the author write, on occasion, for Gourmet. Indeed, I think this was excerpted in the magazine (not that I noticed) as the first work of fiction to be so honored.

So, the book does show signs of Mones' background. The protagonist writes for a chi-chi foodie magazine (called "Table" rather than "Gourmet") and her editor is a friend named Sarah (some reviews have said, read Ruth Reichl). Whether more of this is drawn from her background, only the truly literati will know. The novel is rooted in grief for a lost husband, and another loss which I will leave undescribed to avoid spoiling the book some -- but let;s just say a loss of integrity possibly. It is rooted, as well, in a trip -- from an America the protagonist usually writes about (including refusing to write celebratory holiday tales and writing, instead, about those who eat out on those days) to a traveler to China, for deeply personal reasons (covered a tiny bit by a favor her editor friend does, of assigning a piece for her to write while there). She has stripped her life while mourning -- and perhaps this trip is to rebuild, we thnk as readers at the outset. And we are right, in many ways. There is a budding romance, there is a lot of food (and the revelation to the protagonist that Chinese food is definitely NOT Chinese American food). There is cooking, and there is reflection on the cultural embeddedness of food, and the meaning of transplantation -- migration -- from one culture to another and of significant cultural change in the form of the Cultural Revolution. Interspersed throughout is a concocted 1925 food classic from China, entitled The Last Chinese Chef, purportedly by Liang Wei. In the course of hte novel, the many cultural meanings of food are elaborated -- relationship and community, balances of various sorts; and, the meanings of generational change, of a new multinationalism, of the move from imperialism to communism and. . . to the Olympics emerges.

I have to say it. I loved this book. Read it. I do not love every book I read. But I love the ones I put on this blog that are about food. I am sure there are criticisms to be made. Perhaps the Chinese history is off or the food not as lovingly described as you woudl want. But this book, well, it is special. It made me think in new ways about loss and possibility, hope and freedom, and, most definitely, about food and the creation of meals.

Check out Nicole Mones's website for some reviews of the book from such prestgious places as "The Wall Street Journal" and, though also available there, an NPR thing here. Also available there, but hey to make it easy, is a reading of a part of the novel by Mones and different excerpt by someone else. Fopr an NY Times Review, try here. For an intervierw with Mones in the "California Literary Review", here's where to click.

Coming Up

(Thanks to www.lavera-rus.ru for the picture.) Between shopping sprees, a bit of cooking, and everything else recently, there are loads of things on board to be read and reviewed and . . . . including, for example:

Janet Evanovich's newest, Finger Lickin' Fifteen, which features a dead guy (hey, it's a murder mystery and for those of you who know Stephanie Plum, you know the deaths occur very early!) named Chipotle

A New (to me) magazine called "Jamaican Eats"

Joel Berg's All You Can Eat (yep, another book)

In the Kitchen by Monica Ali (does that tell you another book? You got it)

And last but not least on this list (and the first of these I will be dipping in to): The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows (For a bit on this book and why it is co-authored, click here.)

And that does nto even count what I am already in the midst of reading (or cooking or eating)! So, keep your eyes "peeled."

Check out this Magazine. . . . .

Canandaigua Magazine styles itself as a magazine "from Victor to Naples and everywhere between." And I just discovered in a while ago. It has had an article on Rheinblick (a German restaurant in Canandaigua reviewed here recently) as well as a discussion of nearby farmer's markets. All in all worth the perusal!

Stone Cat Sausage

I am a big fan of the Stone Cat Cafe for a variety of reasons. A William Smith alum co-owner plus a dandy (now husband) chef named Scott plus a view to die (and/or kill) for . . . plus . . . well, only in the past decade or so have I come to love sausage. I know -- probably Taylor Pork Roll was (is?) some sort of sausage and I have loved it all my life (and am thrilled Wegman's now carries it in Canandaigua). And yes, I came to love sausage in part above the 49th where, in Medicine Hat, I had spectacular sausage.

So, Stone Cat and sausage? Yes, they sometimes have it on their menu. And Scott does in fact make a variety of sausages. I remember some pickled parsnips shredded alongside some years ago. But I am writing about a new wonder now: Stone Cat sausage grilled on my own tiny little Weber grill, rescued from its long retirement in the basement recently, and put to work with some Matchlight to make: Stone Cat sausages on the grill. They were absolutely great. Totally. Not enough words to say how swell. MMMMMM.

What kind? Well, we had four of each of two types: A linguica sausage and a maple juniper sausage. The latter carmelized a bit more quickly when grilled, and the former was a bit spicier.But they were both dandy, and with a suitably hot set of ashy charcoal, grilled in about 20 minutes (though that may have been a tiny tiny bit too long). The first night we served them just with a simple salad; teh second night the maple juniper went along with leftover Indian food. MMMMM. Both types are nicely meaty and made from pork (which means, for sausage lovers, that the meat is not distracted by loads of weird sponge-y filler.)

The moral of this story: Yes, I have finally recovered from my youthful reading of Upton Sinclair's muckrakish novel entitled The Jungle. I love (Stone Cat) sausage. You will too when they get to marketing it. Ask when they will when you hit the restaurant in Hector!

For an earlier review of the Stone Cat Cafehere at Cooking with Ideas, try here.

Mark Kurlansky's Newest (Or is it Youngest?) Book

As you know, once in a while -- and pretty darn frequently lately -- I get books in the mail because of this blog. Hurrah. My favorites are books that arrive before publication -- and I try -- I really really do try -- to review them before they are due out. It seems like the least I could do for their authors -- and for the publishers that send them on to me. This time, I am a bit late. Mark Kurlansky's The Food of a Younger Land ( a book that I received as an uncorrected proof for limited distribution) is in bookstores already as a hard back. And, I assume, all the attendant oddities, from typos (which seem to plague the last 75 pages or so, perhaps as the editor got tired as s/he approached the deadline for this limited version) to the absent index and bibliography are gone in the bookstore version. (Ok, the last of these I actually do miss. I love a good bibliography.)

Anyway, for Kurlansky's official site, click here. I loved his book Salt, reviewed right here on this site, so was all set to love this one too. It's quite different -- and was fun -- but I have to admit (at least this limited proof) is a little tiny bit redundant (with whole segments seeming to appear twice, unless my slow reading got a bit out-of-order) and my excitement waxed and waned a lot across the book. It's a worthwhile read, just not quite as much fun as Salt -- perhaps because it is not (mainly) Kurlansky's own prose. (Even George W. Bush liked Salt.)

Why not just Kurlansky? This book is actually a collection of pieces drawn from pieces written by the writers of the Federal Writer's Project of the WPA, a "make-work initiative" created by the New Deal of Franklin Roosevelt. (Click here for "More on the WPA.") Perhaps even more relevant in these days of economic crisis, the WPA was responsible for all sorts of things -- including a Writer's Project that put out what are now classic travelogues of the US (called the American Guide Series; see here)  as well as collecting slave narratives and writing American Life Histories. Though never published, the Project also collected loads of material on American food and foodways of the era. When? The mid-1930s. Who? Lots of not-so-famous people, as well as names we all now recognize (or should) since the project also employed established writers or folks who went on to be established. Examples include: Saul Bellow, Nelson Algren and May Swenson. They also underemployed -- and underpaid, for example, Zora Neale Thurston, for reasons associated with race and racism.

Despite my yearning for more of Kurlansky's own views, this was an intriguing book, organized into regions, and reporting on a foodscape which seems long gone and for which we are, perhaps, nostalgic. Both the now-exotic (or the always exotic, depending on one's class background and region of origin) and the once familiar appear. From prairie oysters to clambakes, from rabbit to squirrel, from farm homes to New York hotels, this collection of bits and pieces -- ranging from a few sentences to a few pages, gives glimpses into another world.Or should I say worlds? There are various Native Americans represented here, as well as African American history (here called Negro) in its rawest as reported on occasion in a dialectic form. Italians in all their exoticism, Irish, Scandanavians, . . . My favorites might be the one I was most familar with about Horn and Hardart's (I have a vague memory of the automat myself!) -- and a diatribe against mashed potatoes that came from Oregon. But there is much more that is fun and informative; cowboys and lutefisk and coca cola parties. Perhaps a bit of religion here and there, including an Alabama foot washing. From the record of pioneers gathering for annual picnics on the West Coast, served by their children and children's children to all sorts of other examples, there are hints at the already-disappearing nature of all this -- even though the transformative power of highways, railroads, World War II, and much more intervenes between then and now. For those interested in the homogenization of American culture, there is much here to ponder. So too for those inttrigued by the historical entanglements of gender, food and region. Women here are not the women of the 21st century. (Nor of course are the men, but somehow the place of women seems odder, more unfamiliar, at least to me.)

For a whole range of reviews of this book, try here  or here or here or here for a video discussion with Kurlansky and for a related NPR story on relevant material in the Library of Congress, try here. This led to this site with pictures and loads of archival material. Wow. Oh wow.

For an argument that Obama should resurrect something like the Federal Writers Prpject and/or the WPA, see this article or this blog post.For some oddities on all this, including perspectives on arts and . . . this site and that one offer hints. Who, by the way, invented the word "wingnuttery"?

Lunch and Learn?

Is it possible to "lunch and learn"? The answer, according to the New York Wine and Culinary Center in Canandaigua, is a resounding "YES!" "Lunch and Learn" is their name for a food and wine pairing demonstration series they do -- in which I recently participated. In our case, the one-hour event was a demonstration by two women (hurrah) as chef and knowledgeable wine consultant. The chef was Cathy Parsons (bio available here) who I could swear I heard say she has lost 78 pounds. The wine instructor was Cheryl Pitti, a former member of the Air Force; for her bio click here and scroll down! The cost for their expertise: $30 per person. While this seems a bit price-y (and certainly did when I purchased the tickets for 8 of us), the whole shebang turned out to be quite good. The demonstration was informative -- and the lunch tasty.

Here's what we saw: The event began with a little introduction, providing an overview. Then, we watched -- and listened to -- the chef enact and narrate the creation of a meal. Her aim? A "gourmet" seeming meal that could be created and served quickly, using mainly (though not entirely) local and seasonal ingredients. The menu: chicken stuffed with goat cheese and strawberries alongside a pea "salad" which had pearl onions and bacon. The meal was accompanied with two wines, a rose from Anthony Road and a dry riesling from Dr. Frank. (Oddly, I preferred the rose; and was glad to learn what the difference is between a blush and a rose wine. For another answer, click here. Both were quite good.)

Here is part of what I learned. First, though I already knew this, I was reminded that an airline chicken breast is one which still has the little drumstick bit of wing attaches. Cute. Then, the chef showed us how to make a deep pocket-like slice into the breast (and reminded us where the chicken "tender" is) into which we could slide a bit of (in this case Lively Run) goat cheese and some sliced strawberries. (Other options include a more Mediterranean idea with sun dried tomatoes, kalamata olives, and some feta -- and frankly, something with blue cheese I cannot quite recall). The chicken breast is then baked -- at 350 I think for about 45 minutes. As I recall she did sear them off -- and did this by really really heating the pan first, then adding a tiny bit of oil. The searing ensures that the baking does not dry out the chicken. The second dish was fresh peas, shelled, blanched, and shocked, combined with bacon that had been cooked til crispy, and pearl onions (yes, these were Birds' Eye frozen onions) in a white sauce made from a roux. The main point she made on roux was: make it way way thicker than you think you are supposed to and cook it so that the floury taste disappears. Also important throughout her presentation: food safety issues around the chicken and also, she pointed out a maxim that is useful -- veggies from below ground (e.g., potatoes) go into water before boiling; veggies from above ground (e.g., peas) go in after the water is boiling. And like every other chef ever, she reminded us not to fool around with things too much; when rendering bacon, for example, do not spend a lot of time with a spatula moving the bacon around.

Of course, once she got done her demonstration, voila, mysteriously many dishes completed by others appeared for all of us! And, I have to admit, it was a lot better than I expected -- it was very good. And this was especially so because of the wine pairings. There were two wines, as I noted, and both went well with the relatively sweet chicken. For those of us of an age that think rose means either Mateus (yuck -- college days) or white zinfandel (again, yuck, days of yuppies and ?) the Anthony Road rose was actually really really good. (admittedly, I have not had either of the others in decades.)

After the meal, which was quite filling, I did indulge a bit more. Yes, there are beer tastings available in the tasting room and I had a tasting of 6 or so beers from New York State, ranging from Brooklyn to Cooperstown, to. . . well, all over the state -- and across a wide array of styles. Called the Empire Beer Tasting, I paid $5 for a taste of each of the following beers: Middle Ages Swallow Wit (Syracuse), Ommegang Hennepin (Cooperstown), Cooperstown Old Slugger (Cooperstown), Brooklyn Brown Ale (New York City), and Southern Tier IPA (Lakewood). The last was my favorite. One of my compatriots tried the juice tasting and came away with a case of Grower's Cooperative Grape Juice.

All in all, a lunch at which I learned a lot. So, yes, you can lunch and learn. Indeed.