briciole

red Napa cabbage and winter squash with applesauce / cavolo napa rosso e zucca con salsa di mele

jump to Recipe a personal take on the cabbage and apple pairing The current Cook the Books Club selection is Cinnamon and Gunpowder by Eli Brown: The year is 1819, and the renowned chef Owen Wedgwood has been kidnapped by the ruthless pirate Mad Hannah Mabbot. He will be spared, she tells him, as long as he puts exquisite food in front of her every Sunday without fail.1 There's the pirate ship's colorful cast of characters — Mr. Apples, the knitting thug; mysterious twins Feng and Bai; and Joshua, who can neither hear nor speak and becomes a sort of adopted... Read more →

pear tart / crostata di pere

jump to Recipe the simple elegance of a crostata always wins at the table (placemat by La FABBRICA del LINO) The current Cook the Books Club selection is Midnight at the Blackbird Café by Heather Webber.1 On her website, the author explains: The inspiration for this novel came years ago in a song. After hearing the Beatles' "Blackbird" for the first time, it haunted me... I was captivated with the concept of broken wings and how emotional wounds can keep many from being able to metaphorically fly... Blackbird research led me quickly to the Song of Sixpence with its “four and... Read more →

roasted vegetables with za'atar / verdure arrosto con za'atar

jump to Recipe [versione in italiano] the oven and za'atar turn summer vegetables into a flavorful side dish (placemat by La FABBRICA del LINO) Also called wild thyme, za’atar is an herb typical of the Middle East. Chef Yotam Ottolenghi has this to say about it: [Za’atar] has a distinctive, pungent, savoury aroma. Its scientific name, Origanum syriacum, hints at a connection to oregano, marjoram and the like, but, for me, its flavour evokes cumin, lemon, sage and mint.1 Za’atar is also used to indicate a mix composed of the dried herb, sumac (obtained by grinding the berries of the shrub... Read more →

roasted eggplant and tomatoes with cheese / melanzane e pomodori arrosto con formaggio

jump to Recipe I wish I could also share the smell (placemat by La FABBRICA del LINO) The current Cook the Books Club selection is 97 Orchard: An Edible History of Five Immigrant Families in One New York Tenement by Jane Ziegelman. While a couple of articles about the book had made me curious, the reading turned out to be totally engrossing. Using five immigrant families as points of departure, Ziegelman paints a rich historical and social picture of New York City: They are German, Italian, Irish, and Jewish (both Orthodox and Reform) from Russia and Germany—they are new Americans, and... Read more →

kohlrabi slaw with fresh fruit / insalata di cavolo rapa, carota e frutta fresca

jump to Recipe [versione in italiano] fresh fruit turns kohlrabi slaw sweet Pale green or purple, kohlrabi is a stunning vegetable, with its bulbous enlarged stem and its crown of leaves. The name kohlrabi comes, via German, from the Italian cavolo rapa and literally means 'turnip cabbage'. However, kohlrabi is not a turnip, but a cultivar of Brassica oleracea, a species that includes broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, kale. Kohlrabi is a versatile vegetable: you can eat it raw, add it to soups and stews, shred it to make fritters or slice and grill it, or cube and roast it. Regardless of the... Read more →

Novel Food #42: the finale (readings and recipes)

The 42nd edition of Novel Food is ending with the customary roundup. I have been hosting the event for over 14 years and it's been a constant pleasure. This time we'll have a small party still rich in reading suggestions. Each post describes a work of written words and the dish that the reading inspired. Join me on a literary/culinary tour. For each contribution, I offer a small bite to whet your appetite: follow the link to read the details of the literary work and the dish. We hope you'll be inspired in your reading and in your kitchen. a light,... Read more →

brown butter chocolate chunk cookies / biscotti al burro nocciola con pezzetti di cioccolato

jump to Recipe the simple charm of chocolate chunks (napkin by La FABBRICA del LINO) Recently, during one of my customary browsing of the sale shelf of a local bookstore, I picked the mystery novel The Whispering City by Sara Moliner1 (pseudonym for the writing duo Rosa Ribas and Sabine Hofmann). The title and subtitle (Barcelona 1952) piqued my curiosity and the back-cover blurb made me decide to purchase the novel. The story is set during the regime of dictator Francisco Franco, who was still alive when I was born. I remember his death in 1975 (after which Juan Carlos became... Read more →

vegan zucchini side dish / contorno di zucchine vegano

jump to Recipe [versione in italiano] a light, flavorful side dish (linen napkin by La FABBRICA del LINO) Our current Cook the Books Club selection is the novel Honeysuckle Season by Mary Ellen Taylor1 an author I featured in a post last year with her novel Winter Cottage2. Both novels are centered around a mansion, whose walls know secrets that the reader learns as chapter follows chapter and the story moves back and forth between present and past. In Honeysuckle Season, the protagonist, Libby, finds out who her biological parents were and also finds love and the realization of her wishes.... Read more →

Announcing Novel Food #42

I have eaten the first apricots, peaches, tomatoes and zucchini of the season: summer is approaching in the Northern hemisphere and with it, the time to launch a new edition of the culinary/literary event Novel Food, the 42nd to be precise. Novel Food is a voyage of literary discovery and a party featuring literary-inspired dishes contributed by the event's participants. I invite you to join the event. I am looking forward to learning about a published literary work (a novel, novella, short story, memoir, bio, poem, etc.) that provided you with culinary inspiration. Here are the simple rules for participating in... Read more →

spinach with cheese and chocolate / spinaci con formaggio e cioccolato

jump to Recipe [versione in italiano] fresh spinach with cheese and a touch of chocolate (linen placemat from La FABBRICA del LINO) The inspiration for this dish came from three sources: 1) fresh spinach leaves from the farmers' market1 (see photo below), 2) a recipe for spinach and goat cheese quiche2 and 3) my husband's use of grated chocolate on leafy greens. After reading the quiche recipe quickly I thought it called for the goat cheese (caprino) to be layered under the spinach: a closer reading revealed a misunderstanding on my part, but I stuck to the idea. My husband uses... Read more →