I recently finished a wonderful and beautifully written novel. Someone Knows My Name by Lawrence Hill came highly recommended by A Life in Books and I suggested it to my sister Sue as she loves historical fiction. She loved it and handed it over to me once she had finished. This was probably the most beautifully written novel I have read in a long time. Such detail and care put into the language and descriptions of a such an ugly time in our history. I am trying to get my husband to read it and I will try to post an actual ‘review’ soon.

For now, I am trying to put a toe in the water and see if I can swim fully. As I stated last year, my goal is to read more, write more, and cook more. This is my place to document my progress. I am also in the process of starting a new business so that is taking up quite a bit of my time as well. I look forward to sharing my experiences.

Sticky Toffee Pudding

Ingredients

• 8 oz Medjool Dates – cut in half lengthwise, take out the pit
• 1 cup boiling water
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter at room temp
• 1 cup (packed) light brown sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1 3/4 cups self-rising flour
• 2 tablespoons instant coffee granules
• 1 teaspoon baking soda

Caramel Sauce (see below) & Vanilla Ice Cream

Directions

Preheat over to 350

1. Butter 8 individual souffle ramekins (line bottom with parchment paper and butter the paper as well)
2. Place dates in a bowl and cover with the boiling water. Let the water and date mixture cool. Place in a food processor fitted with the steel blade and blend until smooth but still a little lumpy.
3. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and brown sugar until blended
4. Add 2 eggs, 1 at a time until incorporated. Add half of the flour, blend. Add the final two eggs, 1 at a time, then add the remaining flour. Beat until blended.
5. Mix the coffee granules and baking soda together in a small bowl. Add to the dates and mix together.
6. Add the date mixture to the batter and beat to blend.
7. Divide the batter evenly among the 8 ramekins and bake for 25 – 28 minutes until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool and unmold while still a little warm. Poke holes in the puddings with a bamboo skewer. Top with caramel sauce and server with vanilla ice cream.

NOTE: Puddings can be made a day ahead. Cool completely and then rewarm for approximately 10-15 minutes in a 250 degree oven.

Caramel Sauce

Ingredients

• 2 cups whipping cream
• 1 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon molasses
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions

Bring cream, sugar, butter, molasses, and vanilla to a boil in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Reduce to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Reduce until thickened slightly. (about 15 minutes) Serve warm with Sticky Toffee Puddings.

I was really taken with this story when in the course of two pages, I went from laughing to tears. The imagery of the horses and their struggles were as moving as the main characters.  I’ve never been a horse person, but this book gave me a better understanding and appreciation of these animals.

My 5-year-old daughter was very adventurous as well. She tried a whole slew of new foods. Some she liked (creme brulee) and others she didn’t (snails). It was a great culinary trip!

I decided that taking another class will cause me to focus and actually get something done. So, I signed up for another spring illustration class. In this class, we will be working on developing a dummy that can be submitted to publishers. Plus this will provide 3 hours every week to focus on this goal! Classes start April 10th.

I enjoyed this book. It is the first in the Deborah Knott series of mystery/crime novels. Deborah is the main character who lives in a small North Carolina town. In the past, her father ran the biggest bootlegging business in the area. As a lawyer for the county, Deborah takes on the task of investigating an 18-year-old murder and surrounding mystery.

What I enjoyed about this novel is the deep character development beyond the central mystery. Many times mystery novels focus solely on the crime and nothing else. The result is that when the story ends, there isn’t anything to draw you back to the next one. Not so with Bootlegger. I want to know what happens next for Ms. Knott and I think I may find out on my flight later this month…this will be a good, light read.

My sister came to visit last weekend. We had a wonderful time and splurged a little on dinner. We love to cook together so it was great fun to spend some quality time in the kitchen. Our menu:

Filet steaks with King Crab and Bernaise Sauce
Porcini mushroom and Gorgonzola risotto
Green beans

This was a phenomenal meal! One thing to note is that Giada’s recipe doesn’t call for enough chicken stock. My sister has made this risotto twice and had to double the amount of liquid both times.

We had some bubbles as well and I found these great new wine charms. They are little aliens that suction to the side of your glass!

A Fatal Grace fulfills one of the Book Awards Challenge novels. It won the Agatha Award 2008. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book! I tend to like crime novels, so I assumed I would get through it fairly easily. But this was a smart crime novel, with incredibly interesting characters. And not just the central detective sent to solve the crime that sets the story in motion. The town of Three Pines where the crime takes place is full of quirky, endearing people who are the heart of the novel. I found myself wanting to walk the town square and stop in for a drink at the local bistro.

My book club was nice enough to choose A Fatal Grace as our pick for this month. I will be interested to learn if I am the only one who was so taken by this story. And I eagerly look forward to reading more about Three Pines and from Louise Penny.

Baked Salmon w/ Crab and Spinach

1.5 lb salmon filet cut into 4-6 oz pieces
1 Dungeness crab – remove the meat from the shell, keep large pieces as intact as possible
1 lbs baby spinach (I used a full salad mix bag)
1 half a small shallot sliced thin
olive oil
Bread crumbs
Grated parmesan cheese
1 cup mayonnaise
Old bay seasoning
1 tsp worchestershire sauce
1 tsp dry mustard
Juice of one lemon
salt & pepper (S&P)

Preheat oven to 375
First mix the last 5 ingredients in a bowl and season to taste with S&P. Set aside.

Next put a 2 count drizzle of olive oil in a large sauté pan. On medium low heat, add the shallot. Saute the shallot until soft. Add all the spinach and toss to wilt for 1 minute. Add 2 tablespoons of water and cover. Cook spinach for another minute until wilted, but still bright green. Set aside.

To assemble the individual dishes, use 4 medium size oven safe ramekins or soup crocks. Place 1/4 of the spinach mixture in the bottom of each dish. Place a salmon piece on top. Brush lightly with olive oil and sprinkle with S&P. Gently fold the crab meat with the sauce and place 1/4 on top of salmon filet. Continue with remaining 3 ramekins. Top each ramekin with 1 Tbsp bread crumbs and parmesan cheese.

Place all ramekins on a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes until salmon is medium rare or to desired doneness.

I served these with orzo with zuchinni, mushrooms, and pinenuts.