Archive for the ‘Reading Recipes’ Category
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A Recipe for Vodka Cake
Wednesday, January 18th, 2012
If the title of this cake inspires visions of your mother looking very much like Miss Hannigan (from the musical “Annie”), walking around with her hair in curlers and a cigarette in hand, demanding, “Where’s my Vodka Cake?” it’s not my fault. I didn’t invent it. Nor did I give your mother permission to walk around like that.
Likewise, if you see the ingredients for this cake and have a hissy fit that’s it’s not *GASP* made from scratch (I totally store-bought everything), I offer no defense. I simply suggest that you hitch up your big girl panties and belly-flop into what will be the best dessert you’ve had in an uber long time. (Which, let’s face it, shouldn’t be hard seeing as it’s got gobs of chocolate and a cup of alcohol in it.)
It’s my new favorite for parties, meetings, and book clubs. That’s actually how I stumbled upon it—my book club went for the Southern theme this month (thanks to our reading of Kathryn Stockett’s “The Help”), and since it was at my house, I needed to come up with a better-than-fabulous dessert (those ladies are hard to keep up with—they’re serious about their books, but nearly rabid about their cakes).
So like any good book club hostess, I pulled out my recipe book for Southern funerals (which, incidentally, my mother gave me) titled “Being Dead is No Excuse, The Official Southern Ladies Guide to Hosting the Perfect Funeral,” and there within discovered this tasty gem. If you don’t own the book, I suggest you buy it. A good trove of recipes that work for both book clubs AND funerals is hard to find.
Did I mention this cake’s got vodka, Kahlua, and chocolate in it?
I’ve pasted the recipe link below, but before you rush off, leave us a comment on what new book (or foodie) treasure YOU’VE been into these days. ;0)
Here’s how you make it: A Recipe for Vodka Cake
Today’s mood noise? Miss Hannigan played by the fabulous Carol Burnett
Tags: Annie, Being Dead is No Excuse, book club, book club reading list, book club recipes, carol burnett, Kathryn Stockett, Miss Hannigan, Reading Recipes, recipes, southern ladies guide to hosting the perfect funeral, The Help, vodka cake
Posted in Reading Recipes | 17 Comments »
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A Recipe for Apple Cream Cheese Cinnamon Rolls (plus literary pumpkin heads)
Wednesday, October 26th, 2011
Close your eyes and inhale the scents of apple bits, steamy cinnamon rolls, and cream cheese frosting set out next to a foamy vanilla latte. A cozy morning breakfast, no? Especially today, when my family and I woke to the lovely autumn weather bringing its chill in from the mist-covered fields and dewy oak trees through the front windows. *le sigh* This recipe is a take-off from my standard one—just a few adjustments here and there. Try it out. Tell me how you like it. (Or maybe how you’d alter it—caramel drizzle, anyone?!) Also, scroll down and take a peek at the beautiful “literary pumpkin heads” below. They’re pretty incredible!
Apple Cream Cheese Cinnamon Rolls
- 3 ½ – 4 cups flour (I did 3 cups all-purpose and 1 cup whole wheat to add a nuttier flavor)
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 packages yeast
- 1 cup warm milk
- 1/3 cup butter
- 1 egg
- 3 small apples chopped fine + 1 Tab butter (sauté for 1 min, then put the lid on and cook on low for 10 min until tender, turn heat off)
- Tons of butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon ;o)
Frosting:
- 8oz. cream cheese
- ½ cup butter
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 (more or less) cups powdered sugar
In a mixer, blend 2 cups of flour, the granulated sugar, salt, and yeast with the warm milk, butter, and egg. Beat on low speed, gradually adding the rest of the flour. Knead by hand or mixer until smooth and elastic (about 5 min.). Cover and place in a warm spot to rise for an hour-and-a-half. Pull the dough out onto a floured cutting board and roll into a 15X10-inch rectangle. Top with thin slices of butter, a good amount of brown sugar, and cinnamon (I go kinda crazy on this part–the more the merrier), and then sprinkle with the chopped, cooked apple bits. Roll it up firm and cut into 12 rounds. Place them in a buttered 13X9-inch pan, cover, and let rise in a toasty spot for 30 min (should double in size). Bake in a 350 oven for ½ hour. Let them cool for 20 min. while mixing all the frosting ingredients together. Frost and eat!
While you’re delving in, you’ve gotta check out Flavorwire’s amazing literature-inspired Jack-O’-Lanterns. Here are a few of my favorites:
Nice, right? Right. ;0)
Tags: Autumn recipes, cinnamon rolls, Halloween, literary classic, pumpkins, rainy day recipe, Reading Recipes, recipes
Posted in Reading Recipes | 12 Comments »
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A Recipe for Peanut Butter Honeycomb Pie (plus Pottermore pics)
Wednesday, August 24th, 2011
Ahem. So, this might’ve made me do a tippy tappy happy dance: FIRST GLIMPSES INSIDE POTTERMORE Have you seen it??? They’ve definitely got some cool stuff going on there. I’m intrigued to try it out.
Annnnnd this might’ve made me do an even AWESOMER tippy tappy happy dance:
I know, right? I grabbed the recipe from Bon Appétit (clickety-click on over for it), and it’s now the husband’s “officially most favorite food ever.” While the original recipe doesn’t call for meringue topping, I thought it would be an excellent balance for the the peanut butter pie’s salty richness; plus, it was a great way to use up the leftover egg whites. I’m glad we added it because, well, it totally rocked. In the future, the only other thing I’d change is to eliminate the addition of salt in both the crust and filling. The pie tasted fine with the extra salt, but since I use regular butter (vs unsalted like they call for) I could’ve left it out. Needless to say, Bon Appétit, I love thee. *sigh*
Did I mention it’s AMAZING? Um, yeah. It is.
So. How’s YOUR week going?
What fabulous thing are you eating (or reading)?
Tags: bon appetit, dessert recipes, Harry Potter, pie recipes, Pottermore, reading recipe
Posted in Reading Recipes | 14 Comments »
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A Book Barge (plus a recipe for molten chocolate cakes)
Wednesday, July 27th, 2011
Um…am I the only booknerd who did NOT know this Book Barge exists?
Are you kidding me?! A bookstore floating up the Thames River???
MUST VISIT.
According to their website, they’re a “Floating independent bookshop selling new and secondhand classic, contemporary and children’s fiction.” Part of their mission statement is “to promote a less hurried and harried lifestyle of idle pleasures, cups of tea, conversation, culture and, of course, curling up with an incomparably good Book Barge purchase…” (Book Barge photos are from Flavorwire.)
Oh man. I’m in love. Thank you, Laura Strachan, for tweeting about this bookish beauty. And lest anyone need more convincing as to the gloriousness of this piece of perfection, check out more of their photos on their website.
Okay, enough drooling over that for the moment. Onto the promised recipe for the month. Except, this time, it’s not my recipe. It’s Bon Appétit’s Molten Chocolate Cakes with Mint Fudge Sauce (or raspberry fudge sauce if you’re like me and can’t leave well enough alone). Go at it. The link is below in green. I made them this past weekend for my daughter’s birthday at her very specific request. Mm…
Bon Appétit’s Molten Chocolate Cakes with Mint Fudge Sauce
Tags: bon appetit, book barge, floating bookstore, molten chocolate cakes, molten lava cakes, Reading Recipes, Thames River
Posted in Book Nooks, Reading Recipes | 17 Comments »
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A Recipe for Chewlicious Oatmeal Cookies (plus Potter news)
Monday, June 27th, 2011
First things first. Ahem. My review of The Future of Us will be up next week. (Yay! ;o))
Secondly (and fan girl squeals are acceptable for this), did you get your tickets for HARRY POTTER?! And please tell me you’re dressing up for it. I’m planning my outfit as we speak (as well as planning to make another batch of butterbeer!). Also, if you haven’t seen J.K. Rowling’s soon-coming Pottermore website, you have to go check it out, along with Emma Watson’s lovely look on this month’s Vogue cover.
Thirdly, if you’re the writerly type and live in California, here’s a shameless plug for the Central Coast Writers’ Conference: You should attend. Feel free to read last year’s post on Nine (only slightly creepy) Reasons to Attend a Writers’ Conference if you need more convincing. They’ve got some awesome speakers this year!
Lastly, for all of us food-loving peeps, I made these cookies today, and I’m feeling inclined to share the recipe. They’re my favorite oatmeal cookies, especially for summer. Chewy, crispy, buttery goodness. Mm… You should try crumbling them into cinnamon ice cream.
Before reading the recipe, though, today’s question is: What are you most looking forward to in this final Harry Potter movie?
A Recipe for Chewlicious Oatmeal Cookies
- 1 cup butter
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 eggs
- 2 ½ cups flour
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 2 cups quick oats
Cream the butter with both sugars and the salt, then beat in vanilla and eggs. Combine the flour and baking soda, and mix into the butter mixture. Add the oats until thoroughly blended. Spoon desired amounts onto an ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 10 min or until barely golden (with these, underbaked is a yummy thing). Remove the cookies once cooled. They’ll be crispy around the edges, and chewy in the centers. Perfect with a cold glass of milk or in ice cream!
Tags: California Central Coast, Central Coast Writers' Conference, cookie recipes, Harry Potter, Reading Recipes, the future of us
Posted in Reading Recipes | 8 Comments »
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A Recipe for Summer Potato Salad
Monday, May 30th, 2011
Okay, so remember my recent interview with Chuck Sambuchino—the “How to Survive a Garden Gnome Attack” guy? And then, shortly after, I posted a review of Lauren DeStefano’s dystopian novel “Wither”? Well, the week following, I came across this little piece of awesomeness on Chuck’s blog—in which DeStefano does a reverse interview with her agent, Barbara Poelle.
Yeah…it’s hilarious.
And since you’re already snickering at that, you can go ahead and snicker your way on through the rest of this post, seeing as it’s about the very exuberant business of food. I’ve got my favorite-ever summer potato salad recipe for you today. Of course, as always, before you read it, you have to leave a comment telling us something. And today’s somethings are:
*ahem*
a) What is the number one absolute grossest thing you’ve ever eaten?
OR
b) What is the worst hairstyle you’ve ever had (come on, we’ve all had one…or five)?
A Recipe for Summer Potato Salad
All right, don’t hate me, but you know how I always give you recipes with actual, oh, I don’t know…MEASUREMENTS and such? Well, this isn’t that kind of recipe. This is more of an “add-a-little-extra-until-it-tastes-right” type of dish passed around the family from my grandmother. If you feel like extra pickles—add ‘em. Want more olives? Add ‘em. More creamy? Pass the mayo. I make it slightly different each time, and yet it always tastes the same (meaning—AMAZING). It’s impossible to mess up.
- Potatoes (about 6 cooked and cubed, but not peeled… lazy cooking tip: I don’t usually boil my potatoes, I cook them in the microwave)
- Red onion (chopped small)
- Bacon (6-8 slices crisped and crumbled into dime-sized pieces)
- Dill pickle (1 large OR 2 small)
- Sliced olives (about 1/3 cup)
- Mustard (about ½ Tab)
- Mayo (start with ½ cup)
- Salt & Pepper
Mix all together, tasting repeatedly for best results and blissful cooking enjoyment. My favorite way to eat this is still warm, but cold is pretty awesome as well. Enjoy!
What’s the mood noise of the moment? some local boys: Still Time
Tags: barbara poelle, books and interviews, chuck sambuchino, lauren destefano, potato salad, Reading Recipes, wither
Posted in Author Tidbits, Reading Recipes | 12 Comments »
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What’s Your Steampunk Name? (and a yumtastic cinnamon roll recipe)
Monday, May 2nd, 2011
Okay, so remember my ultimate awesome plans to be a steampunked old lady in my later-life years? You know, with my gigantic bustle, and rocket-launching wristwatch, and tiny old lady corset pushing out all my old lady plumpness? (If you’ve no idea what I’m referring to or you just want to laugh at me, check the When I am Old I Shall Wear Steampunk–hot styles for pruney old ladies post.
)Well, I’m pleased to say that I’ve officially found my steampunk old lady NAME!
Ready for it?
Lady Selina Hempel Hanneffy
This is the name I shall go by when I’m caught jaywalking or beating up young punks with my parasol. Awesome, I know. And now YOU have to try it! Click on the Steampunk Name Generator and find your name. Then come back and tell us what it is!
Oh, and while you’re at it, you might as well drool with me over these yumtastic cinnamon rolls that are my favorite ever. In the whole world. EVEEEEEEERRRRRR. For reals.
A Recipe for Yumtastic Cinnamon Rolls
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3 ½ – 4 cups flour
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1/3 cup granulated sugar
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1tsp salt
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2 packages yeast
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1 cup warm milk
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1/3 cup butter
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1 egg
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Tons of butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon ;o)
Frosting:
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8oz. cream cheese
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½ cup butter
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1 tsp vanilla
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2 (more or less) cups powdered sugar
In a mixer, blend 2 cups of flour, the granulated sugar, salt, and yeast with the warm milk, butter, and egg. Beat on low speed, gradually adding the rest of the flour. Knead by hand or mixer until smooth and elastic (about 5 min.). Cover and place in a warm spot to rise for an hour-and-a-half. Pull the dough out onto a floured cutting board and roll into a 15X10-inch rectangle. Top with thin slices of butter, a good amount of brown sugar, and cinnamon sprinkles (I go kinda crazy on this part–the more the merrier). Roll it up firm and cut into 12 rounds. Place them in a buttered 13X9-inch pan, cover, and let rise in a toasty spot for 30 min (should double in size). Bake in a 350 oven for ½ hour. Let them cool for 20 min. while mixing all the frosting ingredients together. Frost and eat!
Tags: cinnamon rolls, Reading Recipes, recipes, steampunk
Posted in Genre Savvy, Reading Recipes | 16 Comments » -
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How Many Books? (Plus a Cozy Dinner Recipe)
Monday, March 21st, 2011
Every couple of months someone sends me the BBC list meme (which I love and have fun with) asking how many books I’ve read out of the 100 on it. My answer currently sits at thirty-two, but that tends to fluctuate as, from what I can tell, the books change every so often (a few are added, a few removed), and in fact not everyone stands convinced the list is even legit. However, for me it’s a good reading challenge and an introduction to some tomes that, to be honest, I may not have looked at otherwise.
Well…I’ve got another list for you! And this one will seriously kick your nicely-shaped mental faculties. Like, I think I’ve only read six out of the entire 100. Ouch. *cringes and looks bashfully down at my toes*
It’s called 100 Essential Reads for the Lifelong Learner.
Check it out, and then come back and tell us how many you’ve read. Or perhaps which ones interest you the most. Or perhaps which ones you plan to read….
Good luck, me reading hearties! Oh, and here’s a rainy day recipe to go along with all this wintry weather. Enjoy.
A Recipe for Potato Corn Chowder
1pckg chopped bacon
1 tsp crushed garlic
1 lg onion chopped
3 cans creamed corn
2 cups milk
4 or 5 lg potatoes diced
Cook the bacon in a heavy pot until crisp; then remove and set aside, leaving 1 Tab. of grease. Add the garlic and onion and sauté. Add the creamed corn, milk, bacon, and potatoes, and cook on low for 45 min – 1hour, stirring regularly until potatoes are tender. Season with salt, pepper, and smoked paprika, and serve with bread (San Luis Sourdough!). Quick note: you can hasten the cook time by using already-baked potatoes.
Tags: 100 books to read, bbc book list, book list, potato corn chowder, rainy day dinner, reading recipe
Posted in Best & Worst Books, Genre Savvy, Reading Recipes | 26 Comments »
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Ten Book Characters Who Did NOT Get Enough Valentines as Children (plus a recipe)
Monday, February 14th, 2011
Remember in 1st grade when we’d all show up to school on Valentine’s Day with our backpacks full of cheap paper hearts (that our mothers made us take for the ENTIRE class because we wouldn’t want to leave anyone out) and how we’d get all sweaty and nervous wondering if anyone’s mothers besides our two bosom buddies’ would make sure we got paper hearts in return?
And then remember how afraid we were that the one person in class whom we actually had a crush on wouldn’t even remember our name well enough to correctly spell it on our card, or worse yet, it would simply say “Dear Friend” (even though everyone in class could remember the golden-haired “Donna” and every sigh she’d ever uttered through her perfectly straight teeth)?
And then there was that one person who traumatized us more than any other by chasing us on the playground with a bag full of cooties and a finger full of boogers forcing us to spend the entire afternoon mortified that they might actually think our Valentine paper heart we’d given them was an indication of marriage intentions rather than the fact that our mother just made us do it.
And then there was that one kid whom everyone seemed to forget existed (and thus our moms forgot to make Valentines for them) and we’d feel so awkwardly sorry for them (and embarrassed for ourselves) that we’d cut out a construction paper heart real quick during recess and hope they didn’t notice it wasn’t quite the same color as the rest…
Yeah. Those were good times.
And to truly honor those good times, I thought I’d make a list of book characters who were in that last group of kids. They obviously got left out of the paper heart sharing as grade school children and therefore grew up feeling lonely and unloved with their hair full of boogers and sad little hearts of flesh that eventually got cruel or weird and turned into stone. These poor souls are the ones who deserve our love. And to these, I bequeath my paper hearts today. Happy Valentine’s Day.
- Gollum
- Heathcliff
- The Queen of Hearts
- Katerina Ivanova (Crime & Punishment)
- Dracula
- Hannibal Lecter
- Bella
- Cugel the Clever (The Eyes of the Overworld)
- Annie Wilkes (Misery)
- Captain Hook
Who have I missed? Anyone? Anyone?
A Recipe for Valentine’s English Trifle
- 1 purchased pound cake or a boxed yellow cake (baked & cooled)
- 1 lg. box Strawberry Jello mix
- 1 lg. container of Cool-Whip
- 4-6 bananas (sliced)
- 1 package fresh strawberries
- 1 package fresh raspberries
- 1/2 cup frozen blueberries
Make the Jello according to package directions and allow to cool (but not harden). Cut the cake in slices and use ½ of them to cover the bottom of a large glass bowl. Place ½ of the sliced bananas and ½ of the berries over the cake. Pour ½ of the Jello over this and then spread ½ of the carton of Cool-Whip over. Repeat these layers again, beginning with the cake slices. After the final layer of Cool-Whip, sprinkle a few berries on top for prettiness. Chill at least 2 hours (to allow the Jello to thicken).
What’s the Mood Noise of the Moment? What the World Needs Now
Tags: best book villians, famous book characters, paper hearts, Valentine's Day
Posted in Games, Literary Classics, Reading Recipes, Undead Leeches | 19 Comments »
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A Recipe for Wintry Black Bean Chili (and a 2011 reading list)
Monday, January 17th, 2011
In a comment left on one of my recent blog posts, Alicia suggested I recommend a list of books for 2011. I agreed (super fun!), and then ended up adding books I WANT to read for 2011, and then asking friends and family for books they PLAN to read in 2011. By the end of my collection? The list was extensive and awesome and overwhelming. So, we narrowed it down to the below selection. Some we’ve read and recommend (marked by an asterisk). Some we plan to read.
Go at it.
Oh, and there’s a recipe somewhere around here for you.
- The Forever Queen by Helen Hollick
- The Name of the Wind* by Patrick Rothfuss
- Castle in the Air (sequel to Howl’s Moving Castle) by Diana Wynne Jones
- Unbroken (okay, not a novel, but still…I need to read it) by Laura Hillenbrand
- The Importance of Being Earnest* (also not a novel…but you should read it) by Oscar Wilde
- Ender’s Game* by Orson Scott Card
- The Saxon Chronicles* by Bernard Cornwell
- Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
- The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
- The Riddle Master trilogy by Patricia A. McKillip
- Forever by Maggie Stiefvater
- The Man Who Was Thursday by G. K. Chesterton
- Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury
- The Pillars of the Earth & World Without End by Ken Follett
- The Dark Elf trilogy* (and then some) by R. A. Salvatore
- Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
- The Bracken trilogy* (for my kids) by Jeri Massi
- Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry
- Dune* by Frank Herbert
- A Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy* by Douglas Adams
- The Hood trilogy* by Stephen R. Lawhead
- Whatever else strikes my fancy along the way…
So, what about you? Before you peruse the super tasty makes-me-happy recipe below, tell me what books YOU plan to read this year!!!
A Recipe for Wintry Black Bean Chili
- 2 Tab. chili powder
- 1 tsp. cumin
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- 2 Tab. dried minced onion
- 2 Tab. beef bouillon
- 4 or 5 cans of black beans
- 2 lbs. cubed stew beef (or ground beef)
- 2 (29oz) cans diced tomatoes with juice
There are two ways to make this—in a crock pot or on the stove. Either way, you’ll want to brown the beef; then drain the fat and place the meat in a crock pot or in a cauldron (pot for the stove–I just like that word because it sounds witchy). Add everything else (easy, right?). Stir (obviously). If using a crock pot: Heat on high for one hour and then on low for 6 hours. If in a cauldron: cook for 2 or 3 hours on the stove. Top with a dollop of sour cream and serve with a side of cornbread or crunchy French bread.
Tags: book club reading list, rainy day recipe, Reading Recipes, soup/chili
Posted in Best & Worst Books, Literary Classics, Reading Recipes | 21 Comments »