Her First Typewriter
"There was something about linking words together that had a hold on me and I would sit in my bedroom with piles of scrap paper and write poems and stories in longhand for hours. So when other girls were asking for Barbie dolls, I was wishing for a typewriter, one that would actually tap out a world of my own creation. Imagine how thrilled I was on my fifteenth birthday when I received that second-hand Smith & Corona as a gift. I can still hear the clickety-clack as I struck those keys for the first time."--Carol Hoenig, author of Without Grace, recalling her first typewriter in a piece on Huffington Post, inspired by the story about Cormac McCarthy's typewriter (Shelf Awareness, December 1, 2009).
BINC.1118.T2.2024YEARENDCAMPAIGN.jpg)
Nearly 70 scribes are helping to kick off the holiday shopping season at Lyon Books in Chico, Calif. The store is hosting a series of five Local Author Open Houses, which began on November 19 and culminate tomorrow afternoon. Each event has a minimum of 10 authors signing copies of their books, along with live music, homemade cookies and door prizes. "This is a fun time for us," said owner Heather Lyon. The Open House tradition began last year; 44 authors signed up to be guests of honor.
It started for me years ago--the divine pairing of french fries and piña coladas, then the relatively more sophisticated champagne and potato chips. Finally the New York Times caught up with the salt-sweet thing and named salted caramel 2008's hot flavor. (That needs adjustment--it really should be chocolate salted caramel.) Now here's a fine cookbook with 75 recipes catering to this great taste. Sweet Cornbread with Honey Butter tarted up with sea salt; Lemon Sugar Cookies with Zesty Lime Salt; Drunken Sauce (butter, brown sugar, rum, vanilla and--of course--sea salt). Yum.
Continuing with the sea salt theme, Mary Cech's recipe for Thyme, Lemon and Sea-Salt Shortbread looks heavenly. She takes "savory" seriously--Italian-scented Madeleines have Parmesan cheese, and her profiteroles are filled with Caprese salad. Winter Squash, Brown Butter and Sage Souffle, Scones Stuffed with Caramelized Red Onions and Brie, Yukon Gold Brown Betty--this book is perfect for the fall and winter seasons. It also has 75 recipes--is that a magic recipe number for a cookbook?
The author compiled more than 75 recipes from grandmothers, mothers, aunties and friends and also searched through old church and community cookbooks. The result is not just a wide-ranging recipe collection but a conduit to the past and a hope that Asian-American home cooking will not become a lost art. The recipes, like Nepalese Nine-Bean Soup, Stuffed Potato Flatbread and Japanese-Style Beef Stew, include explanations from the author, variations on the dish and often "Grandma Says"--bits of kitchen wisdom (don't chop cilantro leaves because steel changes the flavor).
Luscious photographs: the first page I opened to featured Pain Perdu with Crème Fraiche and Raspberries, and while Henry promises effortless cooking, I don't care how complicated the recipe might be--next raspberry season, I'm in. And then Roasted Squash with Garlic and Thyme; not a revolutionary recipe, but the photo compels you to make the dish. Or try Vine-growers' Sausages--pork sausages with celery, onion, grapes and red wine. The recipes without illustrations are compelling, too--Roasted Vegetables with Indian Spices, Melting Roast Onions, Sicilian Sweet-and-Sour Tuna. And in spite of some complicated names, the recipes do look almost effortless.
This is a cookbook I want to work my way through, and it will have a spot right next to Mark Bittman on the shelf. It's attractive, with a simple layout, luscious pictures and sensible explanations. Each recipe has a helpful introduction, and each looks scrumptious. The Roasted Eggplant with Golden Raisin-Pine Nut Vinaigrette and Feta has a bit of anchovy added, which imparts a slightly salty "undertone"; Orecchiette with Cauliflower, Anchovies, and Pistachios, with the anchovy perking up the cauliflower--Lynch knows her way around this salty little gem. Poulet au Pain is a chicken wrapped in bread dough, then baked, resulting in pure comfort food--tender chicken and cracker-like bread. And the desserts! Winter Citrus with Cumin Meringue and Whipped Crème Fraiche; Peaches and Cream made with white wine and mascarpone; Creamy Vanilla Pudding with caramel sauce and Chantilly cream. Too good!
This is a winner in the really big cookbook category--picture-book-sized, over five pounds and chock full of photographs, writing about Louisiana and its food and, of course, lots of recipes. Some of them aren't for the average cook--buster crabs or soft-shell crabs aren't available in many areas, nor are bobwhite quail--and some aren't for the faint of heart, like Père Roux Cake with more than four sticks of butter. But most of the dishes are doable and oh so tempting: Crab Bisque; Rare Seared Tuna with Crushed Figs; Salad of Heirloom Tomatoes, Cheese, and Country Ham; and the excellent Grandmother Walter's Biscuits. Chef and restaurateur John Besh has created a fine cookbook for the seasoned cook.
This Southern cookbook sometimes uses ingredients not widely found (it seems one needs to go on a father-son dove shoot for Dove Breasts Wrapped in Benton's Bacon); nonetheless, most of the recipes use common ingredients, and the authors provide examples of substitutions. Chefs Chris and Idie Hastings say, "For us, food is magic," and they are committed to using fresh, locally sourced ingredients (their restaurant is in Birmingham); their passion for this should inspire cooks to do the same. In that spirit, the recipes are arranged seasonally, with each two-month period introduced with stories of family and local food purveyors. Try the Hot and Hot Tomato Salad, made with heirloom tomatoes, of course, and field peas, corn, bacon, chive dressing and deep-fried okra; infuse bourbon with figs to make a special toddy; make a New York strip fabulous with poached farm eggs, Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and truffle oil. --
Carlene Bauer is the author of the memoir Not That Kind of Girl, published by Harper in July 2009. Her writing has appeared in Salon, the New York Times Magazine and Elle. She lives in Brooklyn, N.Y., and is at work on a novel.
Four graduating university students are leaving campus arm-in-arm on a Thursday evening in Cairo as the story begins in Nobel Prize-winning Naguib Mahfouz's newly translated novel. The story of crisscrossing, intersecting lives unfolds at that exciting, unpredictable time in history when women first began attending universities. Of the four young men who form the emotional center of the novel, three are idealistic and righteous, the hope of Egypt--and one is a complete scoundrel, from whose viewpoint the story is told.