Category Archives: Other

Everything other than book reviews

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Weekend Cooking II: We Love Madeleines

This is an addendum post for the Weekend Cooking meme hosted by BethFishReads who can be found here.  Today I actually tried three of the recipes from the lovely little cookbook, We Love Madeleines.  I made the:

  • Fontina and Smoked Paprika
  • Basic
  • Cherry-Cornmeal

The Fontina & Smoked Paprika was my first savory madeleine ever and I really liked it.  The “cookie” had an intensely rich cheese flavor.  We had a bean soup tonight for dinner and they went with that really well, but I could also see serving them with chili.  The texture was soft and light…like little cheesy pillows 🙂  The recipe made 24, so you would need 2 regular sized madeleine pans – or you could just wash and re-butter between batches.

The Basic recipe produced a small batch (12) of a very good standard madeleine.  I appreciate the small batch because I have little self control when it comes to cookies.

The Cherry-Cornmeal was my daughter’s favorite.  I thought the cornmeal would overwhelm such a delicate cookie but it was a just-right balance between flour and cornmeal.  The chopped dried cherries combined with a glaze of citrus made a very tasty cookie (I don’t care for orange so I made mine lemon & lime instead).  This recipe also made 24 regular sized madeleines.

Overall, a well written cookbook with successful recipes in it (so far).  I liked the organization of the book overall and of the recipes on the pages.  The pictures were bright and I always prefer cookbooks to have pictures as they inspire me.  In the front of the book is a section which is  basically the dos and don’ts of madeleines.   Helpful information in general, whether you have made them before or not.

If you like madeleines or have madeleine pans pining away in a cupboard somewhere, this is definitely a book to consider.

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Weekend Cooking: We Love Madeleines

Weekend Cooking is a meme hosted by BethFishReads found here.

My entry relates to madeleines.  I have a set of madeleine trays that I have not used in at least a year, even though I do like them, I just don’t ever think about making them.  I was in the library this week and on the new acquisition shelf sat this book:

I picked it up and it has an amazing variety of madeleines, both savory and sweet.  The plan this weekend is to do some test batches of a few of the recipes, seems like a fun thing for a rainy weekend.

The varieties include:

  • the traditional basic
  • gluten-free basic
  • chocolate olive oil
  • chocolate and ginger
  • bacon and chocolate
  • pistachio and cardomom
  • lemon poppy seed
  • chorizo
  • smoked paprika and fontina
  • and lots more

I’ll post again when we have a few done to let you know how it went!

 

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Teaser Tuesday

 

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My teaser:

“I started to run.  A dark figure stepped into the path in front of me.”

from:  Awakening by S.J. Bolton

What about yours?

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Weekend Cooking – Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya

 

Weekend Cooking is a meme from Beth Fish Reads to be found HERE.

 

 

 

Today has been a good foodie day – started with lunch after a hard morning shopping.  Sat in the back yard with:

  • a delish pate (from Wegman’s not homemade this time)
  • fresh bread
  • soft, creamy brie
  • olives
  • Jersey Peach wine (actually a very nice tasting white, has a peach scent but doesn’t taste of peaches)

Basically ignored the chores calling to me and sat with a book and my mom and read.

Dragged myself in from the lounger in the sun and started to make dinner.  My daughter had been bugging me for Jambalaya and so I used my Epicurious App and it spat out this recipe from the March 2011 Bon Appetit magazine credited to Anna Beth and Vince Chao.

Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya

Ingredients

  • 12 ounces applewood-smoked bacon, diced
  • 1 1/2 pounds smoked fully cooked sausage (such as linguiça), halved lengthwise, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick semi-circles
  • 1 pound andouille sausages, quartered lengthwise, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch cubes
  • 1/2 pound tasso or smoked ham (such as Black Forest), cut into 1/2-inch cubes
  • 1 1/2 pounds onions, chopped (4 to 5 cups)
  • 2 large celery stalks, chopped
  • 1 8- to 10-ounce red bell pepper, coarsely chopped
  • 1 8- to 10-ounce green bell pepper, coarsely chopped
  • 6 large skinless boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1- to 1 1/2-inch pieces
  • 2 tablespoons paprika
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
  • 1 tablespoon chili powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon (or more) cayenne pepper
  • 3 10-ounce cans diced tomatoes and green chiles
  • 2 1/2 cups beef broth
  • 3 cups (19 to 20 ounces) long-grain white rice
  • 8 green onions, chopped (about 2 cups)
  • Chopped fresh Italian parsley

Preparation

  • Position rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 350°F. Cook bacon in very large pot over medium-high heat until brown but not yet crisp, stirring often, 8 to 10 minutes. Add smoked sausage, andouille, and tasso. Sauté until meats start to brown in spots, about 10 minutes. Add onions, celery, and bell peppers. Cook until vegetables begin to soften, stirring occasionally, 10 to 12 minutes. Mix in chicken. Cook until outside of chicken turns white, stirring often, 5 to 6 minutes. Mix in paprika, thyme, chili powder, and 1/4 teaspoon cayenne. Cook 1 minute. Add diced tomatoes with chiles and broth; stir to blend well. Add more cayenne, if desired. Mix in rice.
  • Bring jambalaya to boil. Cover pot. Place in oven and bake until rice is tender and liquids are absorbed, 45 to 48 minutes. Uncover pot. Mix chopped green onions into jambalaya; sprinkle jambalaya with chopped parsley and serve.

My family really liked it, but it made tons of food and there are only four of us.   The flavors all melded well together and the consistency was near to perfect.  I gave it an extra 10 minutes to get the rice the right consistency, but that may have only been my oven.  It can be  a little tempermental.  I don’t think it will freeze well with the rice in it, so I guess it is lunch for tomorrow as well.

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Library Read-a-Thon

Have lots of library books around so I thought that this might be a good challenge.  Starting a little late, but better late than never.  I already read today:

The other library books I am planning on reading this week::

Well, that is all for now.  Some more might come in during the week.  Happy library reading everyone!

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Dangers of Raving about a Book…before you’re finished

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Welcome to my Sundays In Bed With… Meme! The meme that dares to ask, what book has been in your bed this morning? Come share what book you’ve spent time curled up reading in bed, or which book you wish you had time to read today!  Hosted by Midnightbookgirl.com

 

So, anyway, I am reading, stop, make that I am supposed to be reading this:

I started it yesterday and it was excellent.  My daughter came home and I had to stop reading to make dinner, which I did reluctantly and I told her how great the book was and how I couldn’t wait to finish it.  Big mistake.  She has inherited the bibliophile gene from me and so while I was distracted with dinner, she absconded with my book.   I managed to swipe it back for a few minutes but when I went to put my teacup back in the kitchen, she struck again.   Now she won’t give it back until she’s finished…this is an argument  against having children, if I ever heard one.

Giving in and moving on with my life, I picked up this, also a library book, instead:

How I found this series is interesting.  David, over at Goodreads English Kindle Mystery Club, posted about book 5  being free on Amazon.  So, I downloaded it and another that was also free but realized I didn’t want to start half way through the series.  Luckily, my library had the earlier books and this is book 1.

Very good writing.  Complex and engaging characters.  A thrilling plot with lots of twists and turns.  Red herrings and misdirection lead the reader on a very satisfying mystery chase,  some characters are convinced that TIm is still alive, while others are equally convinced that he is dead.  The story begins with a doctor getting called in on an emergency early in the morning.  He never arrives at the hospital and that is the beginning of what begins as a missing person case and ends in multiple homicides.  Not for the squeamish, some  graphic violence and descriptions of bodies/parts, but that is not just done for effect.  It is definitely core to the story.

The characters reactions are very realistic and run the gamut just as normal human reactions would.  The climax is thrilling and although I suspected there was something “wrong” with the character who ends up being involved in the crimes, I didn’t know exactly what was wrong.

A great start to a new-to-me series.  Highly recommended to readers of very dark mysteries.

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It’s Monday! What Are You Reading?

 

This is a meme hosted by bookjourney.  Visit her blog here.

This week I am reading:

 

Still reading this…tough going.  The last Stephen King I read was in 1989.  I just feel like I’m trudging through right now.

Also – rereading this for a the English Kindle Mystery Club on Goodreads

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I love this series, so I think it will be fun revisiting the beginning 🙂

I also need to return these to the library, so I will try to get to them this week:

  and 

 

 

So – What are you reading this week?

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Teaser Tuesdays

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

 

My Teaser:

They rose from their seats and the chief walked them to the door.  Sully went toward the lobby while the Chief led Lindsey to the section of the station which had a small block of jail cells.

This is from Book, Line, And Sinker by Jenn McKinlay.

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Sick Again

I can’t believe I am sick again. Several of my students are sick though so I guess it was inevitable.   Stopped and saw Doctor after work.  Came home drank a pot of tea, now off to bed with books, tissues and water bottle.  At least it is a rainy weekend, so I am not missing much outside.