Crêpes by Suzette by Monica Wellington

Suzette operates a street cart selling crêpes all over Paris. She begins by making the batter, shops for fruit, and then begins her travels from the Left Bank to the Eiffel Tower and places in between. 

Devil Water by Anya Seton

This is an old-fashioned family saga of a historical novel by an author whose gift for creating memorable characters was matched by her painstaking research on the 1715 and 1745 Jacobite Rebellions and the families who clung to the dream of the Stuarts regaining the throne. The story begins in 1709, when Charles Radcliffe, barely 16, is getting into trouble with a girl below his station, while he waits for his brother, James, the young Earl of Derwentwater, to return from France.

Christmas with the Queen by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb

This unusual historical novel from writing duo Gaynor and Webb uses the early years of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign as the backdrop for the friendship and developing romance between Jack Devereaux, a young chef from New Orleans, and Olive Carter, an ambitious young journalist for the BBC. 

The Kitchen Front by Jennifer Ryan – a WWII historical novel from my 20 Books of Summer

Unexpected friendships and a cooking contest bring together four women in an English village during WWII in this enjoyable historical novel. The story begins with in 1942 with Audrey Landon, a widowed mother of three boys whose husband was shot down by the Germans.

Desperate not to lose their home, Audrey has eking out her pension with baking for the neighborhood, as well as humbling herself by asking for a loan from her affluent but unsympathetic sister and brother-in-law.

Chocolate Chip Scones

This is a family favorite that comes from the Williams-Sonoma Chocolate cookbook.  Usually my niece Alexa or my sister Clare makes them but I had a craving the other day and made them for myself.

Mastering the Art of French Murder by Colleen Cambridge

It is quite trendy to write mysteries around famous, real-life characters and I tend to stay far away from these undertakings, as I usually find them unconvincing, anachronistic, or both. However, my friends at Publishers Weekly raved about this new series which features Midwesterner Tabitha Knight, who is making a protracted visit to her grandfather in Paris after WWII and meets aspiring chef Julia Child at the local market. 

Mrs. Quinn’s Rise to Fame by Olivia Ford

Title: Mrs. Quinn’s Rise to Fame
Author: Olivia Ford
Publication: Viking, hardcover, 2024
Genre: Fiction
Setting: Britain

Description: When Bernard Quinn tells his doctor he and his wife Jenny won’t be undertaking any great adventures in their late 70s, she is taken aback and realizes she at least is not ready to take it easy and let life pass her by. Without telling her beloved Bernard, she completes an extensive online application for Britain Bakes, the country’s well-known culinary contest.

A Spoonful of Time by Flora Ahn - a culinary time travel

Title: A Spoonful of Time
Author: Flora Ahn
Illustrator: Jenny Park
Publication: Quirk Books, hardcover, 2023
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Setting: Present-day California

Description: Maya lives with her widowed mother, who works at a law firm, and her grandmother, Halmunee, who moved in with them recently and may be suffering from dementia. Although Halmunee’s memory is erratic, she remembers the traditional cooking she learned as a girl in Korea and is determined to share this with Maya.

WWW Wednesday – January 10

WWW Wednesday is hosted by Taking on a World of Words.

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently Reading

The Holiday Swap by Maggie Knox (Review for Virtual Advent Tour)

Title: The Holiday Swap
Author: Maggie Knox
Publication: Putnam, hardcover, 2021
Genre: Contemporary romance

Sprite Writes invited me to share a tradition as part of her 2022 Virtual Advent Tour and one I always enjoy is reading some holiday-themed books as Christmas approaches. Last year I read The Matzah Ball by Jean Meltzer, about a romance writer of Christmas stories who is actually Jewish and is asked to come up with a Hanukah novel. This year, I thought I would review a light-hearted impersonation story.

Five Things

• The New England Betsy-Tacy Group gathered on Sunday to make bookmarks for a December exhibit at the Arlington Public Library.  Some colored the illustrations, some cut rectangles of colored cards, some glued the pictures onto card stock, and some attached ribbons.  Our hostess will gently recolor any bookmark in which someone accidentally mis-colored a character's hair as we wouldn't want to mislead a future reader!  Everyone nibbled caramel cashew squares, cream cheese brownies, popovers, and potato chips with dip as we worked.  

Five Things

Why is it that when I am reading a book while using the weight machines at the gym I get dirty looks yet other people often stare at their phones much longer without moving?

Chocolate Caramels for Anne Shirley

For the L.M. Montgomery Cooking Challenge, I decided to make Chocolate Caramels: 

But Anne could not eat. In vain she nibbled at the bread and butter and pecked at the crab-apple preserve out of the little scalloped glass dish by her plate. She did not really make any headway at all.

“You’re not eating anything,” said Marilla sharply, eying her as if it were a serious shortcoming. Anne sighed. 

“I can’t. I’m in the depths of despair. Can you eat when you are in the depths of despair?” 

Easy Shortbread Thumbprints

Have you noticed that working remotely requires a lot more cookies than working in the office? 

Ingredients

½ cup softened butter

1/3 cup granulated sugar

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup all-purpose flour

¼ cup apricot or raspberry jam

Directions

In a medium bowl, cream together butter and white sugar until smooth. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract. Mix in flour until dough comes together. Form dough into 1 1/2 inch balls, and place on ungreased cookie sheets. Make a small hole in the center of each ball, using your thumb or finger, and fill the hole with preserves.   The hole should not expose the cookie sheet!

Bake

Bake for 14 to 18 minutes at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C)  in preheated oven, or until lightly browned.  Let cool 1 minute on the cookie sheet.

Results

Delicious and very quick to make!   This was adapted from an AllRecipes version and some of those bakers recommended putting the cookies in the refrigerator or freezer for ten minutes before baking so they are rounder than flatter.   I suspect that is the result of using all butter, which is essential for shortbread.  Butter is an emulsifier and it makes cookies tender.  It also adds in the crispy-around-the-edges element, which you can see in my photo.  Adding too much butter can cause the cookies to be flat and greasy, however.  If I double the recipe in the future, I might try using ¾ butter and ¼ margarine.  

The original recipe called for almond extract instead of vanilla.  I have never owned any almond extract but some will recall that it features prominently in the Beany Malone books.  Over several books, it seems like she will never run out of almond extract: 

Johnny offered to run up to Downey’s drugstore for more, but Beany said firmly, “Not you, I’ll go.”  As though Johnny could buy a few candle holders.  He’d come back with five dozen.  Wasn’t Beany still using the pint bottle of almond extract he had bought over three years ago when a recipe had called for a few drops of almond extract?

Beany Malone  

Five Things

Bicycle stores are considered an essential service, so are open.  I brought my bicycle to get turned up in case I crave exercise (it seems unlikely, admittedly) and picked it up the other day “distantly” and rode it home.   While it is true that one never forgets how to ride a bicycle, I was definitely out of practice and somewhat resembled Curious George:

Instead of finishing Kokoro for my book group, I picked up Victory by Susan Cooper, a timeslip novel I recommend by this talented writer.  My Radcliffe Book Group met remotely when I was only about halfway through so I am dutifully completing Kokoro now.

I also just finished All the Best Lies, which was a good thriller about a cold case, set mostly in Las Vegas.  Two quibbles: somehow I put this on reserve without realizing it was the third book in a series.  You know how much I hate reading things out of order!   Also, at one point someone slashes the tires of the main characters’ rental car.   One of my pet peeves is the Too Stupid to Live protagonist who does incredibly stupid things when in danger.   Here, post-tire slashing, the heroine stormed off emotionally outside alone without a jacket, without money, without a phone, despite believing a killer knows where she is staying!  Later, she goes for a run!   There are legitimate ways to endanger your characters without exasperating your readers.  Can you think of books where you got so exasperated with the characters it spoiled your enjoyment of the book?

I am a little nervous of my new toaster so I have only used it once.  Could it be because of this pessimistic message?  

I am not usually home when the mailman comes but now I rush to the door to see what he has brought.  It is always disappointing!  Yesterday, a Macy’s circular, a postcard from a radio station to the previous owner, and my Excise tax.   I would like more information on how this $185.50 is going to be spent, please.

Tasting Italy: A Culinary Journey (Book Review)

Title: Tasting Italy: A Culinary Journey

Author: America’s Test Kitchen

Publication: National Geographic, hardcover, November 2018

Genre: Cookbook/Travel

Description: Explore Italy, region by region, and recipe by recipe with stunning photography and mouth-watering recipes.  The experts at America’s Test Kitchen in Boston and National Geographic bring Italy’s magnificent cuisine, culture, and landscapes–and 100 authentic regional recipes–right to your kitchen – or your armchair.

Chocolate Thinsies (Recipe)

Chocolate Thinsies were always our 'go to' cookie recipe when I was growing up if we had unexpected afternoon guests and were out of eggs.  They are fairly quick to make, and we were usually well supplied with the other ingredients. Try them warm from the oven with a cold glass of milk!

Ingredients
1 cup less 2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons Hershey's cocoa
1/4 teaspoon salt
dash cinnamon
1/4 cup margarine
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions
Cream shortening and sugar.  Add milk gradually. Mixture will look slightly curdled (this was always my favorite line from the recipe).  Mix dry ingredients together prior to folding them into the shortening mixture.  Stir until well blended.  Add vanilla.

Preheat the oven to 350°.   Spread the mixture about 1/4 to 1/8 inch thick onto a greased cookie sheet.  Bake for 10 minutes.   Cut into squares while warm, using a spatula if necessary to remove them from the cookie sheet.

Enjoy!  I don't remember where my mother found this recipe but it used to be taped inside her kitchen cabinet for convenience.   I will add a picture later.

The City Baker's Guide to Country Living (Book Review)

Title: The City Baker’s Guide to Country Living
Author: Louise Miller
Publication: Viking, Hardcover, 2016
Genre: Fiction

Plot: When Olivia Rawlings, pastry chef at an exclusive Boston club, accidentally sets the historic building on fire with a flaming dessert, she more or less loses her job. Humiliated, Livvy flees for comfort to her best friend in Vermont and ends up employed at the nearby Sugar Maple Inn. The curmudgeonly owner is on a quest to regain dominance of a local apple pie contest, and Livvy is up for the challenge, even though they don’t always see eye to eye. Despite her flamboyantly dyed hair and distaste for the country, Livvy makes friends quickly, including a quiet farmer, Martin, and his family who may be the first to make her feel she really belongs somewhere. Can she find lasting happiness in rural Vermont?

Audience: Understood Betsy for grown-ups! Guthrie, Vermont also reminded me of Stars Hollow, although I believe that is supposed to be Washington, Connecticut. Readers who enjoy Susan Elizabeth Phillips and Elinor Lipman should appreciate this debut novel as well.

My Impressions: First of all, I loved the descriptions of food, although it is always a mistake to read a book about food when you haven’t had time to go to the grocery store for days - I was almost ready to gnaw on the book. Second, I loved the quirky, minor characters, including Alfred the chef (I enjoyed how at first they shared the kitchen and communicated without meeting; they communicated beautifully when collaborating as well); Dotty, who welcomes Livvy to family gatherings; Tom who delivers milk and devours Livvy’s cooking; and Margaret, whose gruff demeanor hides the hurt caused by an unrelenting Mean Girl. Finally, as a city girl myself I am always fascinated, if disbelieving, of young women who find fulfillment in rural communities. It is possible that Livvy’s transformation happened too quickly – also, in Boston Livvy wasn’t making enough money to pay her rent so how is that she could be solvent as a pastry chef in Vermont? Admittedly, she was living rent-free in a cottage on the Inn’s premises.

The obstacles between Livvy and Martin seemed contrived, making the last 30% of the book less interesting and satisfying. Either Martin’s motivation was unconvincing or his character was not very likable, I couldn’t decide which.  However, his parents were so sweet they compensated for his unreliability.  I was disappointed with Livvy for not valuing her friend Hannah more. Hannah is loyal in a way few friends are when the BFF and the husband don’t get along.

For another take on Understood Betsy, try the most recent installment of The Mother-Daughter Book Club by Heather Vogel Frederick: Mother-Daughter Book Camp.

Source: I learned about this book when I saw it listed on my library website as an “in demand” new release.  I was convinced when I saw it had been edited by my former colleague, Pam Dorman, and I promptly put it on reserve. Later, I learned that Miller is a local author which made the book even more enjoyable. I am enjoying her Instagram posts as well. Recommended!

The Coincidence of Coconut Cake (Book Review)

Title: The Coincidence of Coconut Cake
Author: Amy E. Reichert
Publication: Gallery Books, July 2015
Genre: Light romantic fiction

There’s a place named Milwaukee, Milwaukee!

Plot: Lou is the talented chef of a small and struggling French restaurant in Milwaukee that she opened with two close friends. One of Lou’s biggest challenges is juggling the needs of her business with the demands of her condescending fiancé Devlin, who does not take her foodie dreams seriously. As a surprise, she makes his favorite coconut cake for his birthday but her delivery reveals Devlin in a compromising position with another woman!

A Fine Dessert (Book Review)

Title: A Fine Dessert
Author: Emily Jenkins

Illustrator: Sophie Blackall

Publication: Schwartz & Wade Books, hardcover, 2015

Genre: Historical fiction/picture book

Plot: The subtitle of this book is “Four Centuries, Four Families, One Delicious Treat,” and that was enough to make me want to read a story about Blackberry Fool.  It follows four unconnected families enjoying a dessert that takes a little work to prepare, beginning with a girl and her mother in 18th century England who pick blackberries together, skim the cream and beat it with a bundle of twigs to make whipped cream, strain the berries through muslin to get rid of the seeds, chill the concoction in an ice pit, and enjoy it with gusto.  The second family is in 19th century South Carolina: the meal is prepared by their slaves, who only get to lick the bowl clean. The third family is in 1910 Boston! They buy their blackberries at an “open-air market” and the mother has a recipe book, a rotary beater for the cream, and a practically modern wooden ice box .

Finally, a modern day family in San Diego appears – a father and son – who find the recipe online and use an electric mixer to make the cream.  They serve it to a group of multiethnic guests of all ages.

The constant is the simple dessert with steps that endure over the years (basically unchanged despite advancing technology), performed companionably by an adult and child together, and a child who licks the bowl at the end. Families enjoying dessert for centuries - the universality of this topic seems to have delighted every person who came across this delightful book.

Audience: Precocious children and their relatives, cookbook and social history fans, families who enjoy cooking together.

What I liked: What a charming book!  The text is understated, yet fully tells the story of each family.  The illustrations are perfect: showing historical detail and revealing humor.  See my favorite above where you can tell how delicious the last bite was.  Your mouth will be watering as you read along.

Historical detail: The author acknowledges that the book raises issues of slavery the person reading the book might want to explore.  She did not want to ignore the issue of slavery in 1810 but contrasts it to the more inclusive community shown in the contemporary family. I didn’t realize until I Googled Emily Jenkins that she is also bestselling author E. Lockhart, of whose YA books I am a big fan.  I once tweeted her to say I couldn’t wait for a new book – it was, of course, a figure of speech, but she very kindly responded by offering to mail me an advance reading copy.  I declined but was very grateful.* This book gives me new appreciation of her skill.

Adult readers will particularly enjoy the illustrator’s notes where she describes, among other things, trying out a bundle of twigs and researching what clothes the characters would have worn.  Her affectionate and painstaking attention to detail is what makes this book extraordinary.  She also shares the process on her blog and when I visited, I realized I have already enjoyed several books she illustrated. 

Source: I read about this book online and received it from a library in the Minuteman System. I plan to buy a copy for my niece.

*I am still a little annoyed with Books of Wonder: I couldn't attend E. Lockhart's booksigning for We Were Liars last May so went in person to order/request a signed copy.  My salesperson was abysmal: she hadn't heard of any of the books I wanted to buy.  She refused to leave instructions for the author to personalize We Were Liars (they did mail an autographed copy in time for my sister's birthday).  Sad you can't even do a favor for your former sales rep!  Porter Square Books and my friend Daniel at Boswell Book Company are always happy to oblige in this way.

Photos copyright to Random House.