Weekend Cooking: Happy New Year & A Recipe

Happy New Year, my friends! I want to take a moment to thank you all for your continued support of Weekend Cooking. Every week I am impressed with your amazing posts, whether you're writing about cookbooks, recipes, or gadgets, whether you are pairing novels with a particular dish, whether you are sharing photos, meal plans, or travel adventures . . . I love every single post.

Tonight we will be hosting our annual New Year's Eve dinner and party. It's a small affair. We generally drink and eat and gab, watch a movie, watch the ball drop, and then gab until we're too tired to stay awake. Good friends, good tradition.

This year I'm making Ina Garten's orange pound cake for dessert. Her recipe says to bake the batter in two 8-inch loaf pans, but I baked it in a single Bundt pan at 325F for about an hour. I put the orange syrup on after taking the cake out of the pan, but I'll wait to glaze it with the confectioners' sugar until sometime this afternoon.

Orange Pound Cake
From Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa: Family Style

• 1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
• 2-1/2 cups granulated sugar, divided
• 4 extra large eggs at room temperature
• 1/3 cup grated orange zests (6 oranges)
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3/4 cup freshly squeeze orange juice, divided
• 3/4 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Glaze for 1 loaf (optional)

• 1 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
• 1-1/2 tablespoons freshly squeeze orange juice

Heat the oven to 350F. Grease and flour two 8-1/2 by 4-1/2 by 2-1/2-inch loaf pans. Line the bottoms with parchment paper.

Cream the butter and 2 cups of the granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment for about 5 minutes, or until light and fluffly. With the mixer on medium speed, beat in the eggs, one at a time, and the orange zest.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In another bowl, combine 1/4 cup of the orange juice, the buttermilk, and vanilla. Add the flour and buttermilk mixtures alternately to the batter, beginning and ending with the flour. Divide the batter evenly between the pans, smooth the tops, and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until a cake tester comes out clean.

While the cakes bake, cook the remaining 1/2 cup of granulated sugar with the remaining 1/2 cup orange juice in a small saucepan over low heat until the sugar dissolves. When the cakes are done, let them cool for 10 minutes. Take them out of the pans and place them on a baking rack set over a tray. Spoon the orange syrup over the cakes and allow the cakes to cool completely.

To glaze, combine the confectioners' sugar and orange juice in a bowl, mixing with a wire whisk until smooth. Add a few more drops of juice, if necessary, to make it pour easily. Pour over the top of one cake and allow the glaze to dry. Wrap well, and store in the refrigerator.

Published by Clarkson Potter, 2002
ISBN-13: 9780609610664
Source: bought (see review policy)
Copyright © cbl for Beth Fish Reads, all rights reserved (see review policy)

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Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book reviews (novel, nonfiction), cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs, restaurant reviews, travel information, or fun food facts. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page.

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Wordless Wednesday 426

Lone Tree, 2016

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Stacked-Up Book Thoughts: Year-End Musings & 4 Short Reviews

Hope you had a lovely weekend with friends and family. If you were celebrating a gift-giving holiday, hope you received or gave some bookish gifts, or at least has some time to read.

Books in 2017

Now that we're entering the final week of the year, I've been thinking about my book goals for 2017 -- that is, those besides the general idea of reading all the books.

I don't actually have any specific resolutions, but I know I'd like to read more short stories and perhaps more books in translation. I also want to get back to reviewing books here on the blog. I purposely took some time off writing long reviews because I wanted to find a fresh perspective and to regain my enthusiasm. I think my review mojo is back.

Every year I start off determined to keep better statistics on my reading, especially in the area of diversity. My thought is this: I want to read as usual for the first half the year to see where my normal reading habits take me. Then, based on what I discover about my reading life, make some goals for the rest of the year. Maybe by summer I'll have a clearer idea of what diversity means to me.

What I've Read/Listened To

• Secrets of the Flesh: A Life of Colette by Judith Thurman & read by Cassandra Campbell (Random House Audio; 25 hr, 10 min): I love Colette's writing and this well-written and detailed biography was an eye-opener. Although I learned some disturbing things about her, I also learned there was still much to admire about Colette. Although Campbell's narration was engaging and her accents seemed authentic to me, I ended up switching to print to finish the book. Thurman provides so much information, some of it tangential to Colette's life, that I was happy to have the option to do a bit of skimming. Still, the biography is worth the read.
• Falling over Sideways by Jordan Sonnenblick & read by Miriam Volle (Scholastic Audio; 5 hr, 46 min): This is the story of 13-year-old Claire who must learn how to reconnect with her father after he suffers a stroke, although he is still a young man. At the same time, Claire is finding a way to survive eighth grade -- frenemies and all. Volle brought out the emotional core of this novel, though sometimes her voice sounded a little young for a middle school student. Highly recommended.
• Bellevue by David Oshinsky & read by Fred Sanders (Random House Audio; 14 hr 41 min): This is so much more than the history of one of the oldest hospitals in the United States; it's really the story of the country, of New York City, of the medical profession, of specific diseases, and more. If you watched the HBO series The Knick, you'll recognize some of the personalities and events. Sanders kept my interest throughout, reading with expression and enthusiasm. This book is absolutely fascinating and hard to stop listening to.
• Warren the 13th and the All-Seeing Eye by Tania del Rio (Quirk Books): This beautifully designed book with lots of fun graphics was joy to read. You don't have to be a middle grade reader to fall for Warren and his desire to save his beloved family hotel (and home) from the clutches of his evil step-aunt. Fun and creepy creatures and people, great art, and a good adventure and mystery. I can't wait to read the second book.

What's Up This Week

Yikes! I don't know. I hope to take it easy this week. The plan is to work in the mornings and to read for pleasure in the afternoons, but we'll see if my workload will allow that. In any case, I'll have a photograph on Wednesday and a Weekend Cooking post on Saturday. Other than that, I'm not promising anything.

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Weekend Cooking: Good Taste by Jane Green

Let me say right off the bat that this was a difficult review to write. Although I've never met her, I like Jane Green and I respect her culinary background (some training at the International Culinary Center) and her fiction-writing skills.

Green's beautiful cookbook, Good Taste, was originally published as a Kickstarter project but was later picked up by NAL for sale and distribution to all of the author's fans. As the introduction says, not every recipe is Green's, and she has done her best to properly credit the recipes she discovered online or that were given to her.

Let's start with all the good. The photography (by Tom McGovern) is stunning. Not only do we see the finished dishes but we're offered a window into Green's kitchen, home, and property. From gorgeous place settings to mouth-watering food to beautiful landscapes, I enjoyed just looking through Good Taste.

The recipes are geared to family and friends and relaxed entertaining. I was attracted to the warming soups, an easy curry, and a variety of savory tarts and quiches. The desserts include a number of chocolate treats and few are even gluten free.

Many recipes are introduced with a personal story from Green: a family trip to the Bahamas, the origin of a grandmother's braised chicken recipe, a quick main dish that her kids love, and how a delicious soup was created out of what was left in the refrigerator. I felt like I got to know Green better through these short pieces.

But what about the recipes themselves? Ah, well, here is where I begin to have issues. I am a good cook and an experienced cook and can figure out how to make almost anything from the scantiest of directions. But, of course, the bulk of today's home chefs need a little more help. Unfortunately, they aren't going to find it in Good Taste.

For example, most recipes don't mention heat levels or pan sizes. "Heat olive oil in pan and add onions, softening." Am I sauteing, sweating, or stir-frying these onions? Should I make sure they don't take on any color? What kind (and size) pan? Skillet or saucepan? On high heat or medium heat?

In other cases, the ingredient list is vague, calling for a bag of frozen vegetables (what size?) or "8 sausages, preferably pork" (links or patties? how many pounds? plain or seasoned?). Some ingredients are oddly listed: Are "2 cups ground beef" equal to a pound? Most people buy meat by weight rather than dry measure.

Finally, doneness tests are often missing. Cooking "until done" isn't very helpful if you aren't experienced enough to simply know when a dish is done. "Bake 10 minutes" isn't helpful if your oven temperature is a bit off. Again, if you're not a veteran in the kitchen, you might not see success by blindly following the given time with no other hint (such as until brown or until bubbly).

Back to the good and a recommendation. If you are confident cook and don't depend heavily on recipes, you'll find a lot to love about Jane Green's Good Taste. I made and liked a chicken dish and have my eye on a tomato tart and a crustless quiche. I heard good things about the chocolate banana cake, but I haven't tried it yet (no pan size given, no doneness test; though I suspect from the photo it's an 8-inch cake pan and a toothpick test should tell me it's done).

If you're a Jane Green fan, Good Taste will be a must-have for the stories and photos alone. But if you're an unsure home chef looking for a reliable cookbook that will help you put together a successful meal for casual entertaining, I suggest you give this one pass or at least check it out from the library before buying. Note too that pretty much everyone on GoodReads loved Good Taste, though I'm not sure how many people actually cooked from it.

A note on the photos: The images in this post were scanned from Good Taste by Jane Green and were used in the context of a review. All rights remain with the original copyright holder.

Published by NAL, 2016
ISBN-13: 9780399583377
Source: review (see review policy)
Copyright © cbl for Beth Fish Reads, all rights reserved (see review policy)

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Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book reviews (novel, nonfiction), cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs, restaurant reviews, travel information, or fun food facts. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page.

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10 Books for Tweens and Teens

I know 2016 isn't over yet, but I'm already looking ahead and making reading plans for the coming year. All the books featured today will be published in January, and although you'll find them in the young adult or middle grade sections of your bookstore or library, each one has adult cross-over appeal. Whether you're making a wish list or a shopping list and whether you're thinking of yourself or the young readers in your life, here are some recommendations to give you a head start on fabulous bookish 2017.

Contemporary Cultural and Social Issues in Fiction

• The Radius of Us by Marie Marquardt (St. Martin's Griffin; January 17): Gretchen, a 17-year-old white girl, suffers from post-traumatic stress syndrome after having been mugged. Pheonix, a brown-skinned 18-year-old, is a recent immigrant who fled his native El Salvador to escape gang violence. After a chance meeting, they bond over their common need for healing, understanding and safety.
• Our Own Private Universe by Robin Talley (Harlequin Teen, January 31): Aki, a 15-year-old black girl, is unsure about everything--her faith, her sexual identity, her talents. On a Christian mission trip to Mexico, she meets white Christa and tentative flames begin to burn. A realistic look at LBGTQ teen relationships and a respectful view of religion.
• The Truth of Right Now by Kara Lee Corthron (Simon Pulse, January 3):  Lily, a white Jewish music student, and Dari, a black first-generation Trinidadian artist, start their junior year of high school already a step or two behind. When the two loners connect, they strengthen their relationship over discussions of race, family, and personal struggles, until social pressures and their past troubles threaten to tear them apart.

Fresh Takes on Old Tales

• The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden (Del Rey, January 10): Set in medieval Russia, this unique fairy tale is the story of a village girl, who can talk with animals and spirits, and her conflict with her stepmother, who declares all such actions and beings to be evil. Period details and careful blending of magic and realism help shape this intriguing new tale.
• Beheld by Alex Flinn (HarperTeen, January 10): Kendra, a time-traveling witch and perennial teen, recounts her perspective on the stories behind four familiar fairy tales, with an emphasis on romance. These light twists on traditional plots (including Rumpelstiltskin) offer the perfect winter escape.
• Siren Sisters by Diana Langer (Aladdin, January 3): Set in coastal Maine, this middle grade novel reimagines the myth of the sirens whose song lures ships into rocky waters. Lolly, our young singer, deals with more than her duties to the Sea Witch, she must also learn to navigate the rough seas of contemporary adolescence and keep her family safe.

Stories for Thought and Discussion

• Flying Lessons edited by Ellen Oh (Crown Books for Young Readers, January 3): This collection of short stories was published in partnership with We Need Diverse Books. The pieces, written by both men and women, tackle a wide range of contemporary issues, such as racism, sports, grief, gender identity, and living with disabilities. Geared to a middle grade audience, this important and well-written collection should be on everyone's reading list.
• Here We Are edited by Kelly Jensen (Algonquin Young Readers, January 24): This anthology of essays, art, photos, and poems is geared to young adult readers and addresses what it means to be a feminist in the 21st century. The 44 contributors hail from a broad spectrum of fields--pop culture personalities, artists, bloggers, and authors--and focus on the complexities of women's issues, not simply the typical views on career opportunities and speaking up.

Coming of Age with a Few Twists

• The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett by Chelsea Sedoti (Sourcebooks Fire, January 3): When Lizzie goes missing after a camping trip with her boyfriend, a 17-year-old girl becomes obsessed with finding out what happened. Set in a small town in eastern Pennsylvania, this novel is part mystery, part coming-of-age story.
• The You I've Never Known by Ellen Hopkins (Margaret McElderry Books, January 24): This novel in verse and prose focus on 17-year-old Ariel who has lived an almost nomadic life with her alcoholic father since her mother deserted them years ago. As Ariel explores her awakening bisexuality, she discovers few people are really who they seem to be, and her world begins to tip.

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Wordless Wednesday 425

Happy Holidays, 2016

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Today's Read: Leopard at the Door by Jennifer McVeigh

What would it be like to return to your childhood home in Africa after having been away for years to be educated in England? Rachel Fullsworth is full of hope and excitement as she heads back to Kenya in the early 1950s to be reunited with her widowed father.

The steward has said we will dock at 9:00, but I am too excited to sleep, and I walk onto the deck in the dark, long before the sun comes up, watching for the first sight of land. I pull a packet of cigarettes from my coat pocket, light one, and inhale, smoke curling up into the warm night sky. My heart beats out a rhythm born of long anticipation. After six years, I'm finally coming home.

—Leopard at the Door by Jennifer McVeigh (Putnam, 2016, p. 1 [a typo silently corrected])

Quick Facts

• Setting: 1950s; Kenya (with some flashbacks)
• Circumstances: Rachel was sent to school in England at twelve years old, shortly after her mother died. She is looking forward to seeing her father and family home in Kenya, but soon after her arrival she realizes the sociopolitical atmosphere has changed: English colonialism is on its last legs, and the country of her heart is no longer safe. What's more, Rachel discovers her father has been living with a woman who is has little love for the Kikuyu. As civil unrest threatens to turn violent, Rachel must figure out where her loyalties lie: with family, with friends, or with a new dangerous love.
  
• Genre: historical fiction; adult audience
• Themes: family, racism, Africa, forbidden love, secrets
• Main characters: Rachel, facing the stark realities of her new life in Kenya; her widowed father, whose attentions have shifted to his live-in companion; the new woman of the house who rules with an iron fist; various friends and neighbors, both European and African; a love interest.
• Why I want to read this: First, I really enjoyed McVeigh's first novel, The Fever Tree, and I have every reason to believe the Leopard at the Door will have relatable, realistic characters and compelling story. Second, the novel's setting and time period call to me. The world was changing, and we often forget how larger political and cultural events affected the individuals who lived through them. Finally, I think I'm going to like Rachel's insider/outsider view point.
• Historical background: The book is set in the years of the Mau Mau Rebellion (1952-1960), in which hundreds of British soldiers and police and tens of thousands of African civilians were killed or executed. Leopard at the Door was inspired by McVeigh's life-long love of Kenya, including the romantic view presented by colonialist novels and memoirs. But after inheriting a small suitcase full of period papers, photos, and an unpublished manuscript that revealed the horrors of the Kikuyu uprising, McVeigh was awakened to the truth and knew she had to write this book.

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Weekend Cooking: Year-End Thoughts & a Look to the Future

This time of year is all full of crazy when it comes to cooking and eating. First, the house is full of Christmas cookies. Second, between work and shopping and social events, there seems little time to make healthful dinners. Finally, did I mention those social events? And all the food?

I'm not much for making New Year's resolutions, but after a month of eating lots of very yummy but not so good for me food, I'm always ready to get back to normal. And that, in turn, leads me to think about what I want to do differently in the year to come.

Look Back on 2016. For the the first time ever, I became curious about the nature of my Weekend Cooking posts, so I did a little breakdown for the year:

• Reviews: 18 cookbooks, 5 food writing/memoirs, 6 movies
• Other: 9 recipe posts, 11 miscellaneous

The miscellaneous category contains culinary mystery round-ups, thoughts on meal planning, food and wine apps, podcasts, and other random posts. Although I read fewer food writing titles than normal, I added more variety to my posts, so all in all I'm pretty pleased.

Things I Wish I did in 2016. I had intended to keep good a record of all our dinners in 2016 so I could create pretty graphs and/or share interesting (to me, anyway) statistics on my cooking habits. That was a total fail. I gave up sometime in, oh, March!

I also wanted to write a great post comparing my electric pressure cooker (which I got last Christmas) to my stovetop pressure cooker (which I've had for 20+ years). Did I write that post? No! Both items are on my list for 2017; maybe next year will be different.

Looking Ahead. I don't see many changes for Weekend Cooking. I still want to read through some of my backlog of books and cookbooks, share winning recipes, and muse about food and cooking.

One thing I really want to get a handle on is our food budget -- or rather I'd like to make a budget. I am forever surprised at how much we spend on food each week, despite the fact that we don't eat meat every day, we buy no snack food or soda, and concentrate primarily on vegetables, fruit, beans, and grains. Part of the issue is our commitment to quality and our desire to to eat a fairly clean diet in terms of additives and pesticides. Unfortunately those choices often mean more dollars.

I also hope to do some organizing of recipes, both on paper and online. I don't always remember to pin recipes or record which cookbook something came from. And let's not even get into where I've stashed those recipes I cut out of old magazines. Argh. Every couple of years I spend a few winter evenings culling clippings and pinning recipes -- guess what I'll be doing in January?

Do you have any big food-related plans for 2017?

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Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book reviews (novel, nonfiction), cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs, restaurant reviews, travel information, or fun food facts. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page.

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Wordless Wednesday 424

Christmas Shopping, 2016

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AudioFile's Best Audiobooks in Biography & History: Part 2

Yesterday I announced my partnership with AudioFile magazine to present their editors' choices for best 2016 audiobooks in the category Biography and History. In that post, I featured the first five audiobooks, and today I'm finishing out the category with five more fabulous titles.

I case you missed it, you can see the winners in all the categories by visiting AudioFile's website, where you can  also enter their 2016 Best Sweepstakes for a chance to win six months of free audiobooks from Audiobooks.com.

I'm using the same format as I did yesterday: Here are the final five editor's picks for the best 2016 audiobooks in biography and history, with extracts from the publishers' summaries. Click the book's title to read AudioFile's review and follow hashtag #BESTaudiobooks2016 on all your social media to find your next great listen in a broad range of genres.

The Rise of the Rocket Girls by Natalia Holt and read by Erin Bennett (Hachette Audio): Apparently this is the year of learning about the role women played in the U.S. space program. No rockets without the (women) math wizards to guide the research.

In the 1940s and 50s, when the newly minted Jet Propulsion Laboratory needed quick-thinking mathematicians to calculate velocities and plot trajectories, they didn't turn to male graduates. Rather, they recruited an elite group of young women who, with only pencil, paper, and mathematical prowess, transformed rocket design, helped bring about the first American satellites, and made the exploration of the solar system possible. . . . Rise of the Rocket Girls tells the stories of these women--known as "human computers"--who broke the boundaries of both gender and science.

SPQR by Mary Beard and read by Phyllida Nash (Recorded Books): So much of what we know of Ancient Rome is buried in myths and legends, such as the murder of Julian Caesar and the fiddling of Nero. Here is the true story.

Ancient Rome was an imposing city even by modern standards, a sprawling imperial metropolis of more than a million inhabitants, a "mixture of luxury and filth, liberty and exploitation, civic pride and murderous civil war" that served as the seat of power for an empire that spanned from Spain to Syria. Yet how did all this emerge from what was once an insignificant village in central Italy? In S.P.Q.R., world-renowned classicist Mary Beard narrates the unprecedented rise of a civilization that even two thousand years later still shapes many of our most fundamental assumptions about power, citizenship, responsibility, political violence, empire, luxury, and beauty.

The Arabs by Eugene Rogan and read by Derek Perkins (Tantor Audio): In the current political climate (no matter what side of the aisle you reside), it's imperative to have a better understanding of our friends, our neighbors, and yes sometimes our foes. Here's one place to start.

In this definitive history of the modern Arab world, award-winning historian Eugene Rogan draws extensively on Arab sources and texts to place the Arab experience in its crucial historical context for the first time. Tracing five centuries of Arab history, Rogan reveals that there was an age when the Arabs set the rules for the rest of the world. Today, however, the Arab world's sense of subjection to external powers carries vast consequences for both the region and Westerners who attempt to control it.

The Year of Lear: Shakespeare in 1606 by James Shapiro and read by Robert Fass (Tanotor Audio): Almost everyone has read a Shakespeare play or seen a movie adaptation, but many fewer of us know about the personal and cultural influences on the Bard's work.

In the years leading up to 1606, since the death of Queen Elizabeth and the arrival in England of her successor, King James of Scotland, Shakespeare's great productivity had ebbed, and it may have seemed to some that his prolific genius was a thing of the past. But that year, at age forty-two, he found his footing again, finishing a play he had begun the previous autumn, King Lear, then writing two other great tragedies, Macbeth and Antony and Cleopatra. The Year of Lear sheds light on these three great tragedies by placing them in the context of their times, while also allowing us greater insight into how Shakespeare was personally touched by such events as a terrible outbreak of plague and growing religious divisions. For anyone interested in Shakespeare, this is an indispensable book.

Valiant Ambition by Nathaniel Philbrick and read by Scott Brick (Penguin Audio): George Washington and Benedict Arnold are household names in the United States, but for very different reasons. What led each man to his fate and choices?

In September 1776, the vulnerable Continental Army under an unsure George Washington (who had never commanded a large force in battle) evacuates New York after a devastating defeat by the British Army. Three weeks later, near the Canadian border, one of his favorite generals, Benedict Arnold, miraculously succeeds in postponing the British naval advance down Lake Champlain that might have ended the war. Four years later, as the book ends, Washington has vanquished his demons and Arnold has fled to the enemy after a foiled attempt to surrender the American fortress at West Point to the British. After four years of war, America is forced to realize that the real threat to its liberties might not come from without but from within. Valiant Ambition is a complex, controversial, and dramatic portrait of a people in crisis and the war that gave birth to a nation.

About AudioFile magazine
AudioFile magazine reviews and recommends audiobooks reaching broad audiences with print and digital editions; E-newsletters; a blog and social media channels (Facebook, Twitter, GoodReads, YouTube). The respected, independent voice for audiobooks since 1992, with than 40,000 reviews of audiobooks available at AudioFileMagazine.com. Fifty new titles reviewed each week.

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AudioFile's Best Audiobooks in Biography & History: Part 1

I'm thrilled to be partnering with AudioFile magazine in celebrating the editors' picks for the year's best audiobooks in biography and history.

The editors tapped ten audiobooks as deserving special recognition. I'm introducing you to half of them today and will highlight the rest tomorrow.

To see the winners in all the categories, visit AudioFile's website, where you can enter their 2016 Best Sweepstakes for a chance to win six months of free audiobooks from Audiobooks.com.

Here are the first five editor's picks for the best 2016 audiobooks in biography and history, with extracts from the publishers' summaries. Click the book's title to read AudioFile's review. Check back tomorrow for five more excellent audiobooks in this category. Follow hashtag #BESTaudiobooks2016 on all your social media for the rest of the year's top audiobooks.

American Heiress by Jeffrey Toobin, Read by Paul Michael (Random House Audio): If you remember the 1970s, then you remember when the top news story was the kidnapping of Patty Hearst, her role in a bank robbery, and the trial that determined her fate.

The saga of Patty Hearst highlighted a decade in which America seemed to be suffering a collective nervous breakdown. Based on more than a hundred interviews and thousands of previously secret documents, American Heiress thrillingly recounts the craziness of the times (there were an average of 1,500 terrorist bombings a year in the early 1970s). Toobin portrays the lunacy of the half-baked radicals of the SLA and the toxic mix of sex, politics, and violence that swept up Patty Hearst and re-creates her melodramatic trial. American Heiress examines the life of a young woman who suffered an unimaginable trauma and then made the stunning decision to join her captors crusade. Or did she?

Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly and read by Robin Miles (Harper Audio): News coverage of the early days of the American space program concentrated on the astronauts and the male scientists and engineers, but much of the real work was done by unsung heroes.

Before John Glenn orbited the earth, or Neil Armstrong walked on the moon, a group of dedicated female mathematicians known as human computers used pencils, slide rules and adding machines to calculate the numbers that would launch rockets, and astronauts, into space. Among these problem-solvers were a group of exceptionally talented African American women, some of the brightest minds of their generation. Originally relegated to teaching math in the South's segregated public schools, they were called into service during the labor shortages of World War II, when America's aeronautics industry was in dire need of anyone who had the right stuff. Suddenly, these overlooked math whizzes had a shot at jobs worthy of their skills, and they answered Uncle Sam's call.

Katrina: After the Flood by Gary Rivlin and read by Johnny Heller (Blackstone Audio): Most of us remember the terrible sights and stories of the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina, but few of know about the people who were involved, for better or worse, in dealing with the aftermath of the storm.

Ten years after Hurricane Katrina made landfall in southeast Louisiana on August 29, 2005 journalist Gary Rivlin traces the storm's immediate damage, the city of New Orleans's efforts to rebuild itself, and the storm's lasting effects not just on the city's geography and infrastructure but on the psychic, racial, and social fabric of one of this nation's great cities. . . . This book traces the stories of New Orleanians of all stripes--politicians and business owners, teachers and bus drivers, poor and wealthy, black and white--as they confront the aftermath of one of the great tragedies of our age and reconstruct, change, and in some cases abandon a city that's the soul of this nation.

Kill 'Em and Leave James McBride, read by Dominic Hoffman (Random House Audio): The subtitle of this audiobook reveals its content: "Searching for James Brown and the American Soul."

National Book Award winner James McBride goes in search of the real James Brown after receiving a tip that promises to uncover the man behind the myth. His surprising journey illuminates not only our understanding of this immensely troubled, misunderstood, and complicated soul genius but the ways in which our cultural heritage has been shaped by Brown's legacy. . . . McBride's travels take him to forgotten corners of Brown's never-before-revealed history . . . and interviews Brown's most influential nonmusical creation, his adopted son, the Reverend Al Sharpton.

Paul McCartney: The Life by Philip Norman and read by Jonathan Keeble (Recorded Books): Here's a biography that should need no introduction.

Since the age of twenty-one, Paul McCartney has lived one of the ultimate rock-n-roll lives played out on the most public of stages. Now, Paul's story is told by rock music's foremost biographer, with McCartney's consent and access to family members and close friends who have never spoken on the record before. . . . This is the first definitive account of Paul's often troubled partnership with John Lennon, his personal trauma after the Beatles' breakup, and his subsequent struggle to get back to the top with Wings. . . . Packed with new information and critical insights, Paul McCartney will be the definitive biography of a musical legend.

About AudioFile magazine
AudioFile magazine reviews and recommends audiobooks reaching broad audiences with print and digital editions; E-newsletters; a blog and social media channels (Facebook, Twitter, GoodReads, YouTube). The respected, independent voice for audiobooks since 1992, with than 40,000 reviews of audiobooks available at AudioFileMagazine.com. Fifty new titles reviewed each week.

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Weekend Cooking: The Carolina Table edited by Randall Kenan

I'm a Yankee born and bred, and when I was a child, I had a narrow view of Southern food. I thought it consisted mostly of collard greens, grits, sweetened iced tea, cornbread, and fried chicken. Of course, as I matured and traveled, read and cooked, I learned just how wrong I was.

The short essays collected in Randall Kenan's The Carolina Table: North Carolina Writers on Food celebrate all kinds of Southern food and especially its connection to family and tradition.

The stories take us back to grandmother's kitchen or an aunt's vegetable garden. They remind us how a family recipe can resurrect precious memories. They return again and again to the role food plays at all of life's important moments, not just deaths and births but Sunday supper after church and lazy summer picnics.

The thirty pieces in The Carolina Table are varied and deeply personal. Here are a few highlights:

• I chuckled at Northerner Fran McCullough's discovery of the proper way to cook butter beans.
• Lee Smith pondered the differences between the food her mother cooked for the bridge club and the everyday dinners she made for the family.
• Bridgette Lacy made me miss summer with her essay on the splendor of garden-fresh tomatoes and the perfect mater sandwich.
• Daniel Wallace convinced me that the North Carolina Piedmont is the place for barbecue.
• I agreed with Marianne Gingher that "you can taste 'loving care' if foods are truly prepared with it."
• I smiled at Cathy Cleary's description of how homemade pork sausage changed her diet.
• Who could resist an essay that begins "Food is her only currency"? Diya Abdo, a Southern transplant from Jordan, tells that story.

Several of the essays in The Carolina Table are accompanied by a recipe, like Jill McCorkle's family pound cake, but the collection is at heart a love story to family and a confirmation of the way food binds us across space and through time.

If you like food writing, personal essays, Southern writing, and just plain good writing, you'll love the essays Randall Kenan gathered between the covers of The Carolina Table. Pour yourself a sweet tea, settle into the porch swing, and enjoy an afternoon of reading.

Published by Eno Publishing, 2016
ISBN-13: 9780997314403
Source: review (see review policy)
Copyright © cbl for Beth Fish Reads, all rights reserved (see review policy)

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Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book reviews (novel, nonfiction), cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs, restaurant reviews, travel information, or fun food facts. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page.

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Holiday Guide: 8 Books for Gift Giving

With the holidays on the near horizon, you may still be scrambling to buy the perfect gift for that special someone. There are many book-related ideas floating around the Internet, from T-shirts to teacups. Here are eight books that you might not have seen before. Hope you find just what you were looking for.

For the Hobbyist

The Big Book of Knit Stitches from the editors at Martingale (Martingale): It's been a while since I've seen a new knit-stitch guide, so this collection has me itching to get out my yarn and needles to try some of the stitches on my next project. The book contains detailed directions for knitting up 300 variations of cables, laces, ribs, bobbles, twists, and more. Lots of inspiration for knitters of all skill levels.

For the Colorer

Johanna's Christmas by Johanna Basford (Penguin Books): Adult coloring is here to stay and offers many people a calming creative outlet after a busy workday. Basford's newest collection contains many pages of festive images to carry the holiday spirit through the winter. Gift boxes and ornaments, trees and nutcrackers are awaiting some color. Add a pack of pretty pencils and you have the perfect gift for a friend of any age.

For a Friend in Need

Pick Me Up by Adam J. Kurtz (TarcherPerigee): This little book offers a unique way to lift your spirits and spark your creativity through guided journaling. Prompts, sketches, challenges, and lists can take you past almost any life obstacle and help you plan for the future and/or meet a goal. Kurtz adds enough fun to keep things light as you work through your issues. Buy two: one for you and one for a friend.

For a Little Humor

Choose Your Own Misery: The Holidays by Mike MacDonald and Jilly Gagnon (Diversion): Worried about holiday stress? Wondering how you'll get through your visit with family? Slip this book in your sibling's stocking and spend Christmas Day taking turns working your way through one disastrous holiday choice after another. Be warned: The story lines are from a stereotypical male perspective.

For the Foodie

The Graphic Vegetable by Michael B. Emery and Irwin Richman (Schiffer): Don't just eat your vegetables but admire them as works of art. This stunning collection of prints, paintings, posters, drawings, and more show that vegetables can be objects of beauty. From black and white botanical drawings of centuries past to bright-colored seed packs, you'll marvel at the images. Perfect for your favorite cook.

For a Young Reader

A Boy Called Christmas by Matt Haig (Knopf Books for Young Readers): This beautifully illustrated story imagines an eleven-year-old boy named Nikolas who befriends a reindeer and sets off for the North Pole to find his missing father. Along the way, he meets the northern elves, confronts a troll, and discovers a world of magic. This charming backstory to the man we know as Santa Claus is sure to become a seasonal family favorite. For the young and young at heart.

For an Escape Reader

A Shoe Addict's Christmas by Beth Harbison (St. Martin's Press): This contemporary take on the Christmas Carol imagines a woman trapped in a department store on Christmas Eve. While browsing in the shoe department, she is forced to confront her past, present, and future Christmases. Will they be shoe filled? Wrap this book up with a packet of hot chocolate--all the makings for a lazy winter afternoon.

For a Variety Reader

The Paper Brigade from the Jewish Book Council (Jewish Book Council): The inaugural issue of the Jewish Book Council's annual literary journal is beautifully designed, with thick creamy paper and gorgeous art and photos. The content includes interviews, essays, reviews, excerpts, poetry, and more. This is a volume to keep and provides hours of fantastic reading. Recommended for all the readers on your list.

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Wordless Wednesday 423

December Walk

Click image to enlarge. For more Wordless Wednesday, click here.

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Stacked-Up Book Thoughts: Reading in the Digital Age

More thoughts on eReading: If you're a long-time reader of Beth Fish Reads, then you know about my struggles at getting used to reading and reviewing eBooks (see my eMerging eReader series). My problems weren't based in the act of reading on screen, after all, I do that all day long almost every day in my full-time job as an editor. Instead, I had three issues:

• Eyestrain: At the end of the workday, my eyes are happier with print.
• New habits: I had to get used to using the electronic forms of flagging pages and marking text I needed for writing reviews.
• In my face: I simply forgot to look at my virtual bookshelf when picking my next read.

Nowadays, I'm well on my way (I hope) to conquering my eReading foes by tweaking my technological choices and putting together a consolidated book database.

I'm thinking about eBooks because this is #CelebrateEbooks week, sponsored by Open Road Media. Check out the hashtag on your social media and follow Open Road on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram to get in the celebration. Share what you love about eBooks, your initial problems and how you solved them, what books you have loaded onto your digital device, or whatever you want. I plan to follow along and am already resigned to seeing my reading list grow in leaps and bounds.

What I listened to last week

I may not be reading much print right now, but I'm still listening. I finished two books last week and bailed on another. Here are my quick thoughts.

• Fate of the Tearling by Erika Johansen (read by Polly Lee; Harper Audio): I ended up liking Lee's performance but had mixed feelings about how Johansen pulled together the different threads of the trilogy. In particular, I wasn't happy about the ending, which had a "poof! and now here we are" element. I would have liked a few more details on how it all happened or, better yet, a stronger finish that would have better fit Queen Kelsea. Oh well. Lee was especially good at bringing the action scenes alive and keeping me immersed in the Tearling universe.
• Feedback by Mira Grant (read by Georgia Dolenz; Hachette Audio): This was a big fail on two levels. First, I should remind you how much I enjoyed the original Newsflesh trio, which cleverly imagined the near future as the aftermath of a zombie apocalypse caused by an anti-cancer virus gone wild. Problem one is that this book seems to start at the same place as book 1 (Feed) and is telling the same story but focusing on different characters. Frankly, I wanted something new. Problem two was with the narrator. Dolenz was awesome as the Irish main character but all the other people sounded the same. In fact, I couldn't the men from the women. It was so confusing. But when she mispronounced place names in the Pacific Northwest (easy to look up or research), I knew it was time to bail.
• The Clothing of Books by Jhumpa Lahiri (read by the author; Random House Audio): In this essay, originally given as a keynote speech in Italy, Lahiri mused about the impact book covers have on readers. Sounds like it could be interesting, eh? Instead, it was a bit whiny and focused on how she pretty much hates the covers of her own books. I didn't really see the point. She's an easy-to-understand narrator but is emotionally distant. I can't recommend this hour-long audiobook.

What's up for this week

After work today (yes, I worked on a Sunday), I have the following books queued up:

• Secrets of the Flesh: A Life of Colette by Judith Thurman (read by Cassandra Campbell; Random House Audio): I'm excited to start this biography of Colette, who was an author, dancer, and early feminist. I've loved Colette's writing for decades and have always wanted to know more about her real life and how it compares to the one she created on the page.I listened to the first ten minutes of the audiobook and already love Campbell's performance. I plan to follow along in the eBook, which I checked out of the library (Ballantine Books).
• Leopard at the Door by Jennifer McVeigh (Putnam; January 2017): Because I really liked her debut, Fever Tree, I am looking forward to McVeigh's newest book, which takes place in Kenya in the 1950s, a time of great change in British Africa. I love the setting and have faith in McVeigh's skills at describing the environment and creating complex, believable characters. I'm reading an eGalley (see #CelebrateEbooks)!

What's on your reading list this week?

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The Kitchen Journal: Turkey Enchilada Casserole

I had a couple of requests for how I made my turkey enchilada caserole last weekend. It was really, really good with the leftover turkey, and I bet it'd be equally as good with cooked ground meat or any other shredded cooked meat.

The casserole completely fills a 9x13-inch baking pan, so if you have fewer people to feed or just can't stand to eat the same meal two days in a row (and then for lunch), you might want to cut the ingredients in half and layer them in an 8x8-inch pan.

I didn't take any photos, sorry! Not only am I not the best food photographer but I didn't realize I'd be sharing the (non)recipe. I do have a photo of the enchilada sauce I made, with a credit back to the site where I found the recipe. I didn't have any premade sauce in the house so I had to go searching. I really liked the way this one turned out.

Red Enchilada Sauce from Gimme Some Oven

Notes: I made 1.5 times the following recipe to yield about 3 cups of sauce. The text in color indicates ingredients I used and/or the amounts I used compared to the original recipe. Also note that the sauce thickens but doesn't get thick (if you know what I mean).

Credit: Gimme Some Oven

• 2 tablespoons safflower oil
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons medium chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 2 cups chicken stock

Heat oil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add flour and stir together over the heat for one minute. Stir in the remaining seasonings (chili powder through oregano). Then gradually add in the stock, whisking constantly to remove lumps. Reduce heat and simmer 10-15 minutes until thick. Use immediately or refrigerate in an air-tight container for up to 3 days.

Turkey Enchilada Casserole

Notes: Measures are approximate. I used whole wheat flour tortillas because that's what I had in the house. I think corn tortillas would have been awesome, but if you use 6-inch tortillas you'll need a few extra. I kind of made this up as I went, but am pleased with the results.

• 5 (8-inch) flour tortillas
• 3 cups of enchilada sauce
• 2 (14-ounce) cans black beans, drained, rinsed, and drained
• 1 small bag frozen corn, thawed (normal size, I don't have a measure)
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 (4-ounce) can diced green chilies
• 1 (4-ounce) can sliced black olives, drained
• 3/4 cup chopped cilantro
• 3 heaping cups of shredded turkey (white and dark meat)
• 3 generous cups of shredded Mexican blend cheese
• 1 chopped avocado, lime wedges, sour cream (for serving)

Preheat the oven to 350F. Oil or spray a 9x13-inch baking pan.

Heat a cast-iron or nonstick pan over medium high heat and cook the tortillas, one at a time, until they get a little color, about 2 minutes a side. Cut each one into quarters.

Pour about 1 cup of sauce on the bottom of the pan. Arrange about one-third of the tortilla pieces over the sauce and then top with one-third each of beans, corn, onion, bell pepper, green chilies, olives, and cilantro, evenly distributing the ingredients. Top with 1 cup of the turkey and then 1 cup of the cheese. Repeat two more times, ending with the cheese. (If you have extra cheese, put it all on top!)

Spray or oil a piece of foil and cover the pan. Bake 30 minutes or until bubbly. Remove the foil and let bake another 10-15 minutes until the cheese takes on color and the casserole is heated through.

Pass avocado, lime wedges, and sour cream at the table.

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Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book reviews (novel, nonfiction), cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs, restaurant reviews, travel information, or fun food facts. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page.

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