7 Novels You Don't Want to Miss

Here we are on the last day of May, and I haven’t yet finished all the books I wanted to read this month. Sob. The good thing about books, though, is that they don’t have an expiration date. What’s more, just because *I* haven’t yet found the time to read the novels I’m featuring today doesn’t mean that *you* can’t add them to your own reading list.

The following seven novels deal with a variety of issues and themes, and I’m sure there’s at least one that will call to you. I'm not quite sure which I want to read first.

Contemporary Issues

Randy Susan Meyers’s Waisted (Atria, May 21) is about two women who meet at a Vermont estate when they both enter an intense weight-loss program. For both Alice and Daphne, perceived excess body weight is causing problems with their families (though for different reasons). There’s catch to the Waisted program, however; the seven women enrolled in the program have agreed to be on camera, practically 24/7—the result will be a documentary charting their progress. How far will the filmmakers go to add drama to the experience and how much can the women be pushed before they rebel? Themes of overweight, friendship, and being in control of one’s own body. Audiobook: Simon & Schuster Audio; 9 hr, 53 min; read by Robin Eller and Amanda Ronconi

In The East End (Park Row, May 7), Jason Allen introduces us to two families, one uber rich and the other struggling working class. One night Corey, a local Hamptons high school senior, successfully breaks into the mansion where he and his mother work; all is going according to plan until the owner shows up unexpectedly, a secret male lover in tow. The boy witnesses a horrible accident that Leo must cover up before his wife, family, and guests arrive for their annual Memorial Day getaway weekend. Who else knows what happened that night, and what won’t the rich do to protect their status? Themes include family, secrets, the socioeconomic divide, trust, and ethics. Audiobook: Harlequin Audio; 8 hr, 20 min; read by Angelo Di Loreto.

Mary Miller’s Biloxi (Liveright, May 21) looks at what it means to be middle-aged, lonely, male, and facing new beginnings. After an early retirement, Louis—divorced from his wife and estranged from his daughter—impulsively adopts a mixed-breed border collie, who changes his life for the better. No one is more surprised at the joys of owning a dog than is Louis himself, who begins to learn the lessons of loyalty and friendship and is motivated to get off the couch and turn off the TV to explore his Gulf Coast home. This novel about contemporary society promises the possibility of new beginnings and self-discovery, something we can all hope for. Audiobook: no information.

They say one should write what they know, and in the #ownvoices novel Birthday (Flatiron, May 21), Meredith Russo does just that. Two boys, born on the same day, become friends for life . . . at least that’s what Eric thinks. Morgan, however, is less sure. Dealing with the death of his mother, a distant father, and new school is only part of Morgan’s worries. He’s completely unsure how to reveal his knowledge that he was born into the wrong body. He knows, deep in his soul, that he is really a she. But if he reveals his true gender, who will be with him? Can she have the relationship with Eric she dreams of? Will her father reject her? This is an emotionally deep story of gender identity, friendship, love, and family. Audiobook: Macmillan Audio; 7 hr, 59 min; read by Dana Aliya Levinson (includes a bonus interview with the author)

Friendship & Love

Jessica Francis Kane’s Rules for Visiting (Penguin, May 14) is about a reclusive gardener who, at the start of middle age, decides to visit some her old friends in real life. When May is granted a sabbatical from her job, she uses the time to undergo a journey, reconnecting with each of her four best friends in turn. Her love of trees and cats helps her relish each day, and her knowledge of Emily Post and ancient Greece culture inspires her to be perfect guest. May’s decision to venture out into the world beyond her gardens reminds us that even in the digital age, nothing can beat face-to-face encounters with the people who matter to us and know us best. Audiobook: Penguin Audio; 6 hr, 34 min; read by Emily Rankin.

Wendy Wax’s My Ex-Best Friend’s Wedding (Berkley, May 14) involves estranged friends, a beautiful wedding dress, and the struggle to forgive. When Lauren and her fiancee return to her home town on the Outer Banks to plan their wedding, she is dreaming about the beautiful heirloom wedding dress that’s been carefully stored and waiting for this happy day. Lauren also knows she’ll have to face Bree, once as close as a sister but now a source of betrayal and hurt. Will Lauren’s mother be able to heal the wounds, giving the Lauren and Bree a chance for a brighter future? Through Lauren and Bree, we learn that it’s never too late to seek and grant forgiveness. Audiobook: Penguin Audio; 11 hr, 28 min; read by Lauren Fortgang, Ellen Archer and Brittany Pressley.

How Not to Die Alone (Putnam, May 28) by Richard Roper is about how a lonely health service employee finds a way to embrace life and love. Andrew’s job is to track down the families of Londoners who die alone. Trying to distance himself from his deceased clients, he pretends to his co-workers that he has a family and an active social life, though in reality he lives alone, guarding his heart. But when Peggy joins the office, Andrew gets a hint at what he’s been missing and must find a way to reveal his truths without alienating the only people he sees on a daily basis. Andrew’s story reminds us that the risks of being emotionally vulnerable are outweighed by the benefits. Audiobook: Penguin Audio; 8 hr, 52 min; read by Simon Vance.

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Today's Read: The Poison Thread by Laura Purcell

Can you determine someone's character just through touch? Can you kill someone just through the act of sewing an item of clothing? Dorothea Truelove and Ruth Butterham each believe the answer to at least one of these questions is yes.

Here's how the novel begins:

My sainted mother taught me the seven acts of corporeal mercy: to feed the hungry; refresh the thirsty; clothe the naked; shelter the traveller; comfort the sick; visit those imprisoned; and bury the dead. Most of these we undertook together, while she lived. Then Papa and I buried her, so that was another one checked off the list.

A single merciful act eluded me: visiting those imprisoned. A lady in my position has ample opportunity to feed and clothe, but who can she call upon in gaol? Which of her general acquaintances is ever incarcerated?

—The Poison Thread by Laura Purcell (Penguin Books, June 18, p. 1)

Quick Facts

• Setting: Victorian England
• Circumstances: Dorothea is a good Christian young woman who does acts of charity and has an interest in science. Her particular passion is for phrenology, a method of determining a person's true character and deepest secrets by measuring and touching his or her skull. Despite her upbringing, Dorothea wants to marry a man beneath her station; her father, however, has other plans for her. Ruth, a teenage seamstress, is no stranger to hard living, unkindness, and abuse by those who think they are her betters. She is currently in Oakgate Prison for murder, which she claims to have committed by sewing hate-filled thoughts and death into the victims' clothing. When Dorothea gets the chance to practice phrenology on Ruth, the two very different women meet. Each tells her story in alternating chapters, but can either be believed? Which one has a better hold on reality? Which one needs to be saved?
• Genre & themes: Gothic thriller with themes of class differences and women's suppression
• Why I want to read it: I'm not sure I've read a novel with two unreliable narrators, and that alone intrigues me. I wonder if these women will end up helping or harming each other. Reviews say that Purcell gets the period details just right. I find it hard to resist a good Gothic story.
• Extra things to know: The idea of a killing through sewing comes from two true crimes: a 1758 murder in a milliner's shop and a 1861 poisoning of a craftswoman. Phrenology was once considered a scientific field of study. The novel was originally published in the UK under the title The Corset.
• Acknowledgments: Thanks to Penguin Books for a finished copy of The Poison Thread by Laura Purcell.

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Weekend Cooking: Giveaway of Genuine Pizza by Michael Schwartz

I have a weakness for pizza. We probably eat it more than we should. Wait! Is that even a thing? Probably not, especially when you're making your own pizza at home from scratch.

Our favorite way to cook pizza is to grill it, and our basic method for grilling pizza hasn't really changed much since I first wrote about it almost 10 years ago.

So, you may ask, Why would I need another pizza cookbook? I didn't know I did until I received Michael Schwartz's Genuine Pizza via the Abrams Dinner Party. Then I realized there is always something new to learn about the art of pizza making, and I'm eager to explore.

Besides tons of new ideas for toppings and great instructions for making and baking pizza from dough to table, Genuine Pizza provides recipes for all kinds go-alongs, which makes this book more versatile than other single-food cookbooks. As one of the other Abrams Dinner Party members said: This is brilliant.

Let's start with the foundations of every pizza: dough and sauce. The variations in this cookbook range from a beer-honey dough to a rye flour dough and a gluten-free dough. Schwartz doesn't just provide dough recipes, he also gives us tips for shaping and baking the crust and for how to assemble the pizza.

Schwartz, of course, includes recipes for making different kinds of tomato-based sauces as well as pesto, cream-based, herb-infused, and spicy sauces. He then goes on to tell us which sauces go best with which kinds of toppings.

Next, Genuine Pizza outlines techniques for preparing various toppings, such as grilled and caramelized onions. The recipes for the pizzas themselves call for all kinds of ingredients, including the usual suspects: short ribs, mushrooms, bacon, sauteed peppers, shrimp, roasted pumpkin, meats, vegetables, and even fruits and eggs. Handy charts offer advice for how to "map out your perfect pizza," so you can confidently use whatever ingredients you might have on hand.

Finally, are the side dishes and more substantial supplements to your pizza dinner. Schwartz doesn't skimp here, and these chapters help make Genuine Pizza a useful resource for your non-pizza dinners. Yes, there is a recipe for marinated olives, but you'll also find polenta bites, meatballs, soups, salads, chicken, and meats. All of these can be served along side your pizza or all on their own.

Good news for vegetarians, many, many recipes will be appropriate for your diet. Need to go gluten free? Just use Schwartz's GF dough recipe and you're good to go.

Genuine Pizza ends with dessert recipes (the Chocolate Chunk Cookies were a big hit with the Abrams Dinner Party members) and several recipes for adult beverages (the watermelon spritz with prosecco is definitely on my list).

I've made one of the soups (beans and escarole with chorizo) and have one of the meatball recipes slated for this coming week. I'm saving the pizzas for later in the summer when the evenings are warm enough to linger on the deck after dinner. I suspect I'll be cooking out of this book all summer long, and I'll be sure to share my pizza combinations with you.

GIVEAWAY: In the meantime, thanks to the good people at Abrams Books, I can offer one of my readers (with a USA mailing address) a copy of Michael Schwartz's Genuine Pizza. All you have to do to be entered for a chance to win is to fill out the following form. I'll pick a winner via a random number generator next Friday (May 31). Once the winner has been confirmed and his or her address has been passed along to the publisher, I'll erase all personal information from my computer. Good luck!

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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.

NOTE: Mr. Linky sometimes is mean and will give you an error message. He's usually wrong and your link went through just fine the first time. Grrrr.
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10 Thrillers to Look Forward to (or Find at BookExpo 2019)

Last week I talked about the general fiction I'd look for if I were attending BookExpo this year (starting in just a few days!). Today is all about some of the crime fiction I added to my wish list when I was reading BookExpo buzz and looking through publishers' catalogs.

As you know, I'm a series addict, and I found one or twenty new mysteries to look forward to in the coming months. Today, however, I decided to feature thrillers that can be read as standalones. Like last week, I'll tell you why I want to read each book and then quote from the publisher's summary.

Great Location

To the Lions by Holly Watt (Dutton, Sept.). Why: Features a journalist, includes a conspiracy theory, and takes us to Saint-Tropez and Africa

Casey Benedict, star reporter at the Post, has infiltrated the lives and exposed the lies of countless politicians and power players. Using her network of contacts, and her ability to slip into whatever identity suits the situation, Casey is always on the search for the next big story, no matter how much danger this might place her in, or what the cost might be, emotionally.

Tipped off by an overheard conversation at an exclusive London nightclub, she begins to investigate the apparent suicide of a wealthy young British man whose death has left his fiancée and family devastated. The young man’s death, however, is only the tipping point of a much more sinister and dangerous scandal involving the world’s most powerful leaders and magnates—men who are gathering in Northern African for an extreme and secret hunt. With fellow reporter Miranda and former soldier Ed by her side, Casey’s determined hunt for the truth will take her from the glitz of St Tropez to the deserts of Libya and on to the very darkest corners of the human mind.

The Accomplice by Joseph Kanon (Atria, Nov.). Why: I'm curious about a World War II-based story that's set in South America

Seventeen years after the fall of the Third Reich, Max Weill has never forgotten the atrocities he saw as a prisoner at Auschwitz—nor the face of Dr. Otto Schramm, a camp doctor who worked with Mengele on appalling experiments and who sent Max’s family to the gas chambers. As the war came to a close, Schramm was one of the many Nazi officers who escaped  Germany for new lives in South America, where leaders like Argentina’s Juan Perón gave them safe harbor and new identities. With his life nearing its end, Max asks his nephew Aaron Wiley—an American CIA desk analyst—to complete the task Max never could: to track down Otto in Argentina, capture him, and bring him back to Germany to stand trial.

Unable to deny Max, Aaron travels to Buenos Aires and discovers a city where Nazis thrive in plain sight, mingling with Argentine high society. He ingratiates himself with Otto’s alluring but wounded daughter, whom he’s convinced is hiding her father. Enlisting the help of a German newspaper reporter, an Israeli agent, and the obliging CIA station chief in Buenos Aires, he hunts for Otto—a complicated monster, unexpectedly human but still capable of murder if cornered. Unable to distinguish allies from enemies, Aaron will ultimately have to discover not only Otto, but the boundaries of his own personal morality, how far he is prepared to go to render justice.

The Sacrament by Olaf Olafsson (Ecco, Dec.) Why: I like the setting; addresses child abuse in the Church, and super cover

A young nun is sent by the Vatican to investigate allegations of misconduct at a Catholic school in Iceland. During her time there, on a gray winter’s day, a young student at the school watches the school’s headmaster, Father August Franz, fall to his death from the church tower.

Two decades later, the child—now a grown man, haunted by the past—calls the nun back to the scene of the crime. Seeking peace and calm in her twilight years at a convent in France, she has no choice to make a trip to Iceland again, a trip that brings her former visit, as well as her years as a young woman in Paris, powerfully and sometimes painfully to life. In Paris, she met an Icelandic girl who she has not seen since, but whose acquaintance changed her life, a relationship she relives all while reckoning with the mystery of August Franz’s death and the abuses of power that may have brought it on.

Authors I Like

The Butterfly Girl by Rene Denfeld (Harper, Oct.). Why: I loved her first two novels; addresses important issue of homeless children

A year ago, Naomi, the investigator with an uncanny ability for finding missing children, made a promise that she would not take another case until she finds the younger sister who has been missing for years. Naomi has no picture, not even a name. All she has is a vague memory of a strawberry field at night, black dirt under her bare feet as she ran for her life.

The search takes her to Portland, Oregon, where scores of homeless children wander the streets like ghosts, searching for money, food, and companionship. The sharp-eyed investigator soon discovers that young girls have been going missing for months, many later found in the dirty waters of the river.

Though she does not want to get involved, Naomi is unable to resist the pull of children in need—and the fear she sees in the eyes of a twelve-year old girl named Celia. Running from an abusive stepfather and an addict mother, Celia has nothing but hope in the butterflies—her guides and guardians on the dangerous streets. She sees them all around her, tiny iridescent wisps of hope that soften the edges of this hard world and illuminate a cherished memory from her childhood—the Butterfly Museum, a place where everything is safe and nothing can hurt her.

The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell (Atria, Oct.). Why: I'm always attracted to books with family secrets; Jewell is great at suspense

Gifted musician Clemency Thompson is playing for tourists on the streets of southern France when she receives an urgent text message. Her childhood friend, Lucy, is demanding her immediate return to London.

It’s happening, says the message. The baby is back.

Libby Jones was only six months old when she became an orphan. Now twenty-five, she’s astounded to learn of an inheritance that will change her life. A gorgeous, dilapidated townhouse in one of London’s poshest neighborhoods has been held in a trust for her all these years. Now it’s hers.

As Libby investigates the story of her birth parents and the dark legacy of her new home, Clemency and Lucy are headed her way to uncover, and possibly protect, secrets of their own. What really happened in that rambling Chelsea mansion when they were children?

Long Bright River by Liz Moore (Riverhead, Jan. 2020). Why: I've enjoyed her other novels; address the opioid crisis

Two sisters travel the same streets, though their lives couldn’t be more different. Then one of them goes missing.

In a Philadelphia neighborhood rocked by the opioid crisis, two once-inseparable sisters find themselves at odds. One, Kacey, lives on the streets in the vise of addiction. The other, Mickey, walks those same blocks on her police beat. They don’t speak anymore, but Mickey never stops worrying about her sibling.

Then Kacey disappears, suddenly, at the same time that a mysterious string of murders begins in Mickey’s district, and Mickey becomes dangerously obsessed with finding the culprit—and her sister—before it’s too late.

Debuts

Saint X by Alexis Schaitkin (Celadon, Feb. 2020). Why: Uncovering past secrets, understanding the truth of family stories

Claire is only seven years old when her college-age sister, Alison, disappears on the last night of their family vacation at a resort on the Caribbean island of Saint X. Several days later, Alison’s body is found in a remote spot on a nearby cay, and two local men—employees at the resort—are arrested. But the evidence is slim, the timeline against it, and the men are soon released. It turns into national tabloid news, a lurid mystery that will go unsolved. For Claire and her parents, there is only the sad return home to broken lives.

Years later, Claire is living and working in New York City when a brief but fateful encounter brings her together with Clive Richardson, one of the men originally suspected of murdering her sister. It is a moment that sets Claire on an obsessive pursuit of the truth—not only to find out what happened the night of Alison’s death but also to answer the elusive question: Who exactly was her sister? . . . Claire doggedly shadows Clive, hoping to gain his trust, waiting for the slip that will uncover the truth.

All That's Bright and Gone by Eliza Nellums (Crooked Lane Books, Dec.). Why: child protagonist, the Detroit setting

I know my brother is dead. But sometimes Mama gets confused.

There’s plenty about the grownup world that six-year-old Aoife doesn’t understand. Like what happened to her big brother Theo and why her mama is in the hospital instead of home where she belongs. Uncle Donny says she just needs to be patient, but Aoife’s sure her mama won’t be able to come home until Aoife learns what really happened to her brother. The trouble is no one wants to talk about Theo because he was murdered. But by whom?

With her imaginary friend Teddy by her side and the detecting skills of her nosy next door neighbor, Aoife sets out to uncover the truth. But as her search takes her from the banks of Theo’s secret hideout by the river to the rooftops overlooking Detroit, Aoife will learn that some secrets can’t stay hidden forever and sometimes the pain we bury is the biggest secret of them all.

TV Connection

Just Watch Me by Jeff Lindsay (Dutton, Dec.). Why: Lindsay is the author of the Dexter novels, unique setting

A masterful thief plots an impossible crime—stealing the Iranian Crown Jewels.

Riley Wolfe is an expert at disguise and violent when he needs to be. It’s no accident, though, that Riley targets only the .1% and is willing to kill when necessary: He despises the degenerate and immoral possessors of the objects that he steals.

In this series launch, Riley targets an extraordinary set of crown jewels, a heist that will hopefully land him with a sensational collection of heirlooms and leave their owners bereft and embarrassed—or worse. Yes, these jewels are worth millions, but the true attraction for grabbing the jewels comes down to one simple fact: These jewels are absolutely unstealable. There is just no way anyone could get past the airtight security and dream of getting away with even a single diamond from the Imperial Collection. Riley Wolfe has always liked a challenge.

The Chestnut May by Soren Sveistrup; trans. Caroline Waight (Harper, Sept.). Why: Sveistrup is the author of the show The Killing; set in Denmark

If you find one, he’s already found you.

A psychopath is terrorizing Copenhagen. His calling card is a “chestnut man”—a handmade doll made of matchsticks and two chestnuts—which he leaves at each bloody crime scene.

Examining the dolls, forensics makes a shocking discovery—a fingerprint belonging to a young girl, a government minister’s daughter who had been kidnapped and murdered a year ago. A tragic coincidence—or something more twisted?

To save innocent lives, a pair of detectives must put aside their differences to piece together the Chestnut Man’s gruesome clues. Because it’s clear that the madman is on a mission that is far from over. And no one is safe.

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Wordless Wednesday 532

Fleabane, 2019

Click image for full effect. For more Wordless Wednesday, click here.

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Stacked-Up Book Thoughts: Sound Recommendations

Happy Monday! I hope your part of the world had the same turn in the weather as mine did. My heat is finally completely turned off, I planted some seeds, I cleaned up part of the yard, and I started to set up the deck. Yeah, I'm pretty much wiped out!

Oh and we're now officially eating outside again! Lunch and dinner on the deck or porch from now until it gets too cold in the fall. Well, maybe not tonight (Sunday), because it's raining and blowing like crazy, and even the porch is wet. Sigh.

As for television, at this moment we're all about The Game of Thrones finale, which will have already aired by the time you read this.

What I'm Reading Now

Because I traveled last Monday and then did all those chores getting ready for summer, I didn't have a lot of print reading time. I am, however, currently in the middle of two really good books.

• The first is The Book of Jeremiah by Julie Zuckerman (Press 53, May 3). I'm enjoying this novel, told in stories, which explores the life of a Jewish man over the course of 80 years, starting in the early 1930s. Thus the book, in turn, focuses on what it meant to be Jewish in the twentieth century. Each story is a snapshot in Jeremiah's life, but there are connecting threads. I'll have more on this book next Monday, if all goes well and I have time to finish it. (copy provided by the publicist)
• The second is W. Michael Gear's Pariah (Daw, May 14). This is the third entry in the science-fiction Donovan series, which is about a group of people from Earth who are trying to establish an outpost on a distant planet. The story has themes of colonization, new beginnings, changing cultural and social rules, and interplanetary contact. In this installment, new characters have been introduced and familiar characters have grown and changed. I'm still enjoying the action and the premise. Again, hope to have a review next Monday. (copy provided by the publisher)

What I Listened to Last Week

Last week was so full of chores and catch-up that, as I said, I didn't really have much time to sit down and read. Once again, I'm so grateful for audiobooks. I finished three audiobooks last week, one of which kept us company on our long car trip to see my mom for Mother's Day Weekend. More on first two auidobooks will be available through AudioFile magazine.

• Before She Knew Him by Peter Swanson (Harper Audio; May 5, 10 hr, 15 min) is narrated almost entirely by Sophie Amoss, but Graham Halstead performs three chapters. I enjoyed this thriller, which involves a bipolar artist who thinks she's solved a cold case murder, but because of her illness, she is not taken very seriously. Is she mentally stable or is undergoing a manic episode? This was a twisty thriller, which fooled me almost to the very end. Amoss's characterizations and pacing held my interest, and Halstead provided an added creepy dimension. (audio copy for a freelance assignment; print copy from the publisher)
• Inheritance Tracks by Catherine Aird (Blackstone Audio; April 16; 6 hr, 48 min) is narrated by Derek Perkins. This is the 25th installment in the Sloan and Crosby series, and though I'm sure I would have picked up on more inside jokes if I had listened to this series from the beginning, I truly didn't feel lost or that I was missing out. A surprise inheritance for a group of strangers, a missing person, several murders, and too many fingers in the pie made for a fun mystery that is mostly cozy, though stars a British police detective and his not-too-bright sidekick. Perkins nailed the characters' personalities, kept the dialogue flowing, and made the humor shine. (copy for a freelance assignment)

The Thicket by Joe R. Landsdale (Hachette Audio; 10 hr, 20 min; Sept. 2013) is narrated by Will Collyer. If you can believe it, I've been staring at an ARC of this book since 2013 (provided by Mulholland). I knew from the cover (yes, I'm shallow) and from the premise that this would be my kind of book. When I heard the novel was being made into a movie starring Peter Dinklage, I decided I'd better read it quick. As it turned out, Mr. BFR had the same thought and snagged my print copy. But, thanks to Hachette Audio, I was able to download the audiobook, and our marriage was saved (ha, ha).

Set in turn-of-the-twentieth-century rural east Texas, this engrossing coming-of-age story shines a light on the dying days of the Old West: men can still be shot down at high noon, but the sheriff now has a telephone on his desk, the whore house has electricity, and the bad guys can steal a car as easily as they can steal a horse. When their preacher grandfather decides to take 17-year-old Jack and his younger sister, Lula, to Kansas to live with their aunt, the trip goes wrong almost from the beginning. Jack, a farmer at heart, finds himself on a desperate mission to rescue Lula, who's been kidnapped by bank robbers. With no one else to turn to, he relies on a black gravedigger, a well-read bounty-hunter dwarf, and an ex-prostitute. As the group tracks the outlaws, Jack sees the way of the world and the dark hearts of humankind, but he also discovers his own character.

This was my first experience with Will Collyer (I think), and I was completely drawn in by his performance. His solid characterizations, his respect for the author's style and word choice, and his good sense of timing added to my connection to this novel. Highly recommended in print or audio.

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Weekend Cooking: The Bacon Bible by Peter Sherman and Stephanie Banyas

If you eat meat, then you likely agree with me: Pretty much everything tastes better with bacon in it. I can't tell you how excited I was to receive a copy of Peter Sherman and Stephanie Banyas's The Bacon Bible (Abrams, April) as part of the Abrams Dinner Party.

There are a couple of things that make this bacon cookbook stand out above the others. First and foremost is the beginning of the book, which is all about how to make your own bacon. Note that Sherman and Banyas don't stop with just one kind of bacon. Nooooooo.

They provide methods for dry cure bacon, lamb bacon, tuna bacon (yes you read that right), jerk bacon, and many more. Plus Sherman and Banya go beyond bacon proper to tell us how to make all kinds of bacon-flavored sausages as well.

Okay, so you think you're too lazy to make your own bacon. No worries. The Bacon Bible includes tons of recipes that you can make with commercial bacon, and the authors even recommend some brand names. Just a little heads-up: this cookbook contains way more bacon ideas than just crumbling it over your spinach salad or mixing it into an omelet (not that there's anything wrong with that).

The Bacon Bible will tell you how to make sauces, condiments, and rubs. You'll find bacon-infused cocktails (the BarBacon Old-Fashioned has my name on it), bacon-flavored snacks and sides (try the bacon bao buns), plus fresh ideas for salads, sandwiches, and mains. For those of you who need a bacon break (really??), there's a no-bacon recipe chapter. Enjoy! The rest of us will be moving along to the bacon breakfasts or--even better--the bacon desserts.

What's a bacon dessert? How about bacon peanut brittle, bacon caramel popcorn, bacon milkshakes, or bacon chocolate chip cookies, for a start?

Here are some the recipes I've made or have marked to try:

• Port wine-bacon marinara (this sounds so good)
• Bacon meatballs (yum!!)
• Bacon hummus (with summer drinks on the deck)
• Bacon chili (double yum)
• Grilled pork tenderloin Cuban sliders (also good for summer)
• Grilled cheese with bacon (a no-brainer)
• Bacon and bourbon cornbread (really delicious: see photo)
• Bacon-hazelnut hot chocolate (saving for winter)

I'm also attracted to many of the basics and sub-recipes, which can be used not only with recipes in The Bacon Bible but also to amp up my own recipes. Things like taco sauces, BBQ glazes, pork stock, bacon-infused bourbon, vinaigrettes, and salsas.

The recipes from The Bacon Bible that I tried were easy to follow and tasted delicious. I haven't studied the homemade bacon chapters very closely, but the step-by-step directions and explanations of the curing ingredients were easy to understand. I think it'd be fun to try to make my own.

Recommendation: Peter Sherman and Stephanie Banyas's The Bacon Bible is for all the bacon lovers out there. It's also a great guide for experimental home cooks who want learn how to cure homemade bacon. What's more, the cookbook will also serve you well for bacon-free meals. Many of the basics I described earlier will find their way into my everyday cooking--including vegetarian meals.

The following bacon relish recipe was suggested as a topping for soup, but the Abrams Dinner Party members have been using it on everything, especially hamburgers and other grilled meats. It's also great just with tortilla chips. The only problem is that it's so good, many of us have found our families eating it by the spoonful instead of waiting for the rest of dinner to be served. You've been warned.

Apple-Bacon Relish
about 1 1/2 cups

• 2 teaspoons canola oil
• 4 ounces (115g) thin-sliced bacon, diced
• 1/2 small red onion, finely diced
• 1 large Gala or Granny Smith apple, diced
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/4 cup (60ml) apple cider vinegar
• pinch of freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley leaves

In a large saute pan, heat the oil over medium heat until it begins to shimmer. Add the bacon and cook until golden brown and crisp, about 8 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the bacon to a plate lined with paper towels.

Add the onion and apple to the pan and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the sugar and vinegar and cook until thickened, about 4 minutes. Return the bacon to the pan and cook for 1 minute. Remove from the heat, transfer to a medium bowl, and stir in the pepper and parsley. Let cool to room temperature before serving. The relish will keep, tightly covered in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Bring to room temperature before serving.

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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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13 Novels for Your Wish List; Or What to Look for at Book Expo (2019)

For the second year in a row I will not be able to attend Book Expo in New York. I'm not all that upset because the real-life trade-offs I made are well worth it. On the downside, I hate missing the chance to visit with friends, see the city, and eat some good food. I'm also sorry to miss out on learning about all the new books coming out in the second half of the year.

I can't do anything about compensating for missed face-to-face conversations with friends, but I can do something about the books. I've been paying attention to the Book Expo buzz and looking through publishers' catalogues to discover the upcoming titles that I would have looked for when at Book Expo.

I found many good books to look forward to, and I want to share some of my discoveries with you. I'm going to save the thrillers, mysteries, and other crime fiction titles for next week, and I think I'll wait until closer to publishing dates to talk about speculative fiction and nonfiction.

Today, I'm featuring 13 novels that caught my eye. These are nowhere near the only books that interest me, but I'm making a start on my fall reading wish list. In the descriptions that follow, I tell you why I want to read each book and then provide the publisher's summary.

Authors I Like

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern (Doubleday, Nov. 5) Why: mysterious book, puzzle to be solved, non-reality

Zachary Ezra Rawlins is a graduate student in Vermont when he discovers a mysterious book hidden in the stacks. As he turns the pages, entranced by tales of lovelorn prisoners, key collectors, and nameless acolytes, he reads something strange: a story from his own childhood. Bewildered by this inexplicable book and desperate to make sense of how his own life came to be recorded, Zachary uncovers a series of clues—a bee, a key, and a sword—that lead him to a masquerade party in New York, to a secret club, and through a doorway to an ancient library hidden far below the surface of the earth.

What Zachary finds in this curious place is more than just a buried home for books and their guardians—it is a place of lost cities and seas, lovers who pass notes under doors and across time, and of stories whispered by the dead. Zachary learns of those who have sacrificed much to protect this realm, relinquishing their sight and their tongues to preserve this archive, and also of those who are intent on its destruction. Together with Mirabel, a fierce, pink-haired protector of the place, and Dorian, a handsome, barefoot man with shifting alliances, Zachary travels the twisting tunnels, darkened stairwells, crowded ballrooms, and sweetly soaked shores of this magical world, discovering his purpose—in both the mysterious book and in his own life.

The Innocents by Michael Crummey (Doubleday, Nov. 12): Why: setting (Newfoundland), the premise

A brother and sister are orphaned in an isolated cove on Newfoundland’s northern coastline. Their home is a stretch of rocky shore governed by the feral ocean, by a relentless pendulum of abundance and murderous scarcity. Still children with only the barest notion of the outside world, they have nothing but the family’s boat and the little knowledge passed on haphazardly by their mother and father to keep them.

Muddling though the severe round of the seasons, through years of meager catches and storms and ravaging illness, it is their fierce loyalty to each other that motivates and sustains them. But as seasons pass and they wade deeper into the mystery of their own natures, even that loyalty will be tested.

Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson (Riverhead, Sept. 17): Why: I'll read anything Woodson writes.

As the book opens in 2001, it is the evening of sixteen-year-old Melody’s coming of age ceremony in her grandparents’ Brooklyn brownstone. Watched lovingly by her relatives and friends, making her entrance to the soundtrack of Prince, she wears a special custom-made dress. But the event is not without poignancy. Sixteen years earlier, that very dress was measured and sewn for a different wearer: Melody’s mother, for her own ceremony—a celebration that ultimately never took place.

Unfurling the history of Melody’s parents and grandparents to show how they all arrived at this moment, Woodson considers not just their ambitions and successes but also the costs, the tolls they’ve paid for striving to overcome expectations and escape the pull of history. As it explores sexual desire and identity, ambition, gentrification, education, class and status, and the life-altering facts of parenthood, Red at the Bone most strikingly looks at the ways in which young people must so often make long-lasting decisions about their lives—even before they have begun to figure out who they are and what they want to be.

Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson (Ecco, Nov. 5): Why: humor, themes (families, twins)

Lillian and Madison were the unlikeliest of roommates at their elite boarding school: Madison, the daughter of a prominent Atlanta family, being groomed for greatness; Lillian, a scholarship student, plucked out of nowhere based solely on her intellect and athletic prowess. The two were as tight as could be, reveling in their unique weirdnesses, until Lillian had to leave the school unexpectedly.

Years later, the two have lost touch, but Madison writes and begs Lillian for help. Her husband’s twin stepkids are moving in with them and she wants Lillian to be their caretaker. However, there’s a catch: the twins can spontaneously combust when they get agitated, flames igniting from their skin in a disturbing but beautiful way.

Disbelieving at first but ultimately too intrigued by these strange children, Lillian agrees. And as they hunker down in the pool house, Lillian and the twins learn to trust each other—and stay cool—just as Madison’s family is bracing for a major announcement. It all seems impossible to manage, but Lillian soon accepts that she and the children need each other, urgently and fiercely.With a white-hot wit and a big, tender heart, Kevin Wilson has written a most unusual story of deep parental love that proves to be his best book yet.

Diversifying My Reading List

On Swift Horses by Shannon Pufahl (Riverhead, Nov. 5): Why: setting (American West, 1950s), themes (including LGBTQ+).

Muriel is newly married and restless, transplanted from her rural Kansas hometown to life in a dusty bungalow in San Diego. The air is rich with the tang of salt and citrus, but the limits of her new life seem to be closing in: She misses her freethinking mother, dead before Muriel’s nineteenth birthday, and her sly, itinerant brother-in-law, Julius, who made the world feel bigger than she had imagined. And so she begins slipping off to the Del Mar racetrack to bet and eavesdrop, learning the language of horses and risk. Meanwhile, Julius is testing his fate in Las Vegas, working at a local casino where tourists watch atomic tests from the roof, and falling in love with Henry, a young card cheat. When Henry is eventually discovered and run out of town, Julius takes off to search for him in the plazas and dives of Tijuana, trading one city of dangerous illusions and indiscretions for another.

Dominicana by Angie Cruz (Flatiron, Sept. 3): Why: themes (immigration, feminism. POC), setting (1960s New York)

Fifteen-year-old Ana Cancion never dreamed of moving to America, the way the girls she grew up with in the Dominican countryside did. But when Juan Ruiz proposes and promises to take her to New York City, she has to say yes. It doesn’t matter that he is twice her age, that there is no love between them. Their marriage is an opportunity for her entire close-knit family to eventually immigrate. So on New Year’s Day, 1965, Ana leaves behind everything she knows and becomes Ana Ruiz, a wife confined to a cold six-floor walk-up in Washington Heights. Lonely and miserable, Ana hatches a reckless plan to escape. But at the bus terminal, she is stopped by Cesar, Juan’s free-spirited younger brother, who convinces her to stay.

As the Dominican Republic slides into political turmoil, Juan returns to protect his family’s assets, leaving Cesar to take care of Ana. Suddenly, Ana is free to take English lessons at a local church, lie on the beach at Coney Island, see a movie at Radio City Music Hall, go dancing with Cesar, and imagine the possibility of a different kind of life in America. When Juan returns, Ana must decide once again between her heart and her duty to her family.

Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid (Putnam, Jan. 7, 2020): Why: themes (race, class, social media), setting (Philadelphia)

Alix Chamberlain is a woman who gets what she wants and has made a living showing other women how to do the same. A mother to two small girls, she started out as a blogger and has quickly built herself into a confidence-driven brand. So she is shocked when her babysitter, Emira Tucker, is confronted while watching the Chamberlains’ toddler one night. Seeing a young black woman out late with a white child, a security guard at their local high-end supermarket accuses Emira of kidnapping two-year-old Briar. A small crowd gathers, a bystander films everything, and Emira is furious and humiliated. Alix resolves to make it right.

But Emira herself is aimless, broke, and wary of Alix’s desire to help. At twenty-five, she is about to lose her health insurance and has no idea what to do with her life. When the video of Emira unearths someone from Alix’s past, both women find themselves on a crash course that will upend everything they think they know about themselves, and each other.

Your House Will Pay by Steph Cha (Ecco, Oct. 15): Why: themes (race, police violence), setting (LA)

In the wake of the police shooting of a black teenager, Los Angeles is as tense as it’s been since the unrest of the early 1990s. Protests and vigils are being staged all over the city. It’s in this dangerous tinderbox that two families must finally confront their pasts.

Grace Park lives a sheltered existence: living at home with her Korean-immigrant parents, working at the family pharmacy, and trying her best to understand why her sister Miriam hasn’t spoken to their mother in years. The chasm in her family is growing wider by the day and Grace is desperate for reconciliation, and frustrated by the feeling that her sister and parents are shielding her from the true cause of the falling out.

Shawn Matthews is dealing with a fractured family of his own. His sister, Ava, was murdered as a teenager back in 1991, and this new shooting is bringing up painful memories. Plus, his cousin Ray is just released from prison and needs to reconnect with their family after so many years away. While Shawn is trying his best to keep his demons at bay, he’s not sure Ray can do the same.

When another shocking crime hits LA, the Parks and the Matthewses collide in ways they never could have expected. After decades of loss, violence, and injustice, tensions come to a head and force a reckoning that could clear the air or lead to more violence.

My Kind of Book

Call Upon the Water by Stella Tillyard (Atria, Sept. 17): Why: time period (1600s), themes (engineering, New World, love/hate, women)

In 1649, Jan Brunt arrives in Great Britain from the Netherlands to work on draining and developing an expanse of marshy wetlands known as the Great Level. It is here in this wild country that he meets Eliza, a local woman whose love overturns his ordered vision. Determined to help her strive beyond her situation, Jan is heedless of her devotion to her home and way of life. When she uses the education Jan has given her to sabotage his work, Eliza is brutally punished, and Jan flees to the New World.

In the American colonies, profiteers on Manatus Eyland are hungry for viable land to develop, and Jan’s skills as an engineer are highly prized. His prosperous new life is rattled, however, on a spring morning when a boy delivers a note that prompts him to remember the Great Level, and confront all that was lost there. Eliza has made it to the New World and is once again using the education Jan gave her to bend the landscape—this time to find her own place of freedom.

The Grammarians by Cathleen Schine (Sarah Crichton, Sept. 3): Why: themes (language, twins), other (copyeditor, dictionaries, language)

An enchanting, comic love letter to sibling rivalry and the English language

The Grammarians are Laurel and Daphne Wolfe, identical, inseparable redheaded twins who share an obsession with words. They speak a secret “twin” tongue of their own as toddlers; as adults making their way in 1980s Manhattan, their verbal infatuation continues, but this love, which has always bound them together, begins instead to push them apart. Daphne, copy editor and grammar columnist, devotes herself to preserving the dignity and elegance of Standard English. Laurel, who gives up teaching kindergarten to write poetry, is drawn, instead, to the polymorphous, chameleon nature of the written and spoken word. Their fraying twinship finally shreds completely when the sisters go to war, absurdly but passionately, over custody of their most prized family heirloom: Merriam Webster’s New International Dictionary, Second Edition.

The Truants by Kate Weinberg (Putnam, Jan 28, 2020): Why: descriptions (obsession, coming of age, deceit, first love)

People disappear when they most want to be seen.

Jess Walker has come to a concrete campus under the flat grey skies of East Anglia for one reason: To be taught by the mesmerizing and rebellious Dr Lorna Clay, whose seminars soon transform Jess’s thinking on life, love, and Agatha Christie. Swept up in Lorna’s thrall, Jess falls in with a tightly-knit group of rule-breakers—Alec, a courageous South African journalist with a nihilistic streak; Georgie, a seductive, pill-popping aristocrat; and Nick, a handsome geologist with layers of his own.

But when tragedy strikes the group, Jess turns to Lorna. Together, the two seek refuge on a remote Italian island, where Jess tastes the life she’s long dreamed of—and uncovers a shocking secret that will challenge everything she’s learned.

Still Loving Dystopian

The Bear by Andrew Krivak (Bellevue Literary Press, Feb. 11, 2020): themes (nature takes over, father/daughter, survival)

A gorgeous fable of Earth’s last two human inhabitants, and a girl’s journey home

In an Edenic future, a girl and her father live close to the land in the shadow of a lone mountain. They possess a few remnants of civilization: some books, a pane of glass, a set of flint and steel, a comb. The father teaches the girl how to fish and hunt, the secrets of the seasons and the stars. He is preparing her for an adulthood in harmony with nature, for they are the last of humankind. But when the girl finds herself alone in an unknown landscape, it is a bear that will lead her back home through a vast wilderness that offers the greatest lessons of all, if she can only learn to listen.

A cautionary tale of human fragility, of love and loss, The Bear is a stunning tribute to the beauty of nature’s dominion.

The Divers' Game by Jesse Ball (Ecco, Sept. 10): Why: themes (class divide, future, power)

The old-fashioned struggle for fairness has finally been abandoned. It was a misguided endeavor. The world is divided into two groups, pats and quads. The pats may kill the quads as they like, and do. The quads have no recourse but to continue with their lives.

The Divers’ Game is a thinly veiled description of our society, an extreme case that demonstrates a truth: we must change or our world will collapse.

What is the effect of constant fear on a life, or on a culture? The Divers’ Game explores the consequences of violence through two festivals, and through the dramatic and excruciating examination of a woman’s final moments.

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Wordless Wednesday 541

From My Mom's Mother's Day Bouquet, 2019

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

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Stacked-Up Book Thoughts: 3 Books for a Rainy Afternoon

Hope everyone had a lovely weekend. I was blessed to be able to spend four days in Ohio with my mom for Mother's Day. Mr. BFR got her yard and patio ready for summer, and I helped with the indoor jobs. We also managed to find time to eat and cook, and laugh and drink.

As a consequence, though, I didn’t have much time to read for pleasure. First, because I needed to work ahead so I could take Friday off work. Second because, of course, I’d rather spend time with my mom than be by myself reading.

This coming week will be tight too because I’ll be scrambling to make up for today, which I’m also taking off. Argh! The never-ending pressures of the self-employed. Oh well. I’m currently listening to a good thriller and am reading both a contemporary novel and a science fiction story. My goal is to finish all three by this time next week. Wish me luck.

Death of a Maid by M. C. Beaton (Mysterious Press, 2007): In this 22nd installment of the Hamish Macbeth series, our favorite village constable is on the verge of change. No, Hamish is not facing a promotion away from his beloved town of Lochdubh, but he's beginning to see he must take definitive action in terms of his love life (or rather his lack of one). Meanwhile, he has a few local murders on his hands: what, if anything, do a village maid, a documentary filmmaker, and a hapless husband have in common? And why is someone trying to kill him? Death of a Maid has all the elements I love about this cozy mystery series, which is set in the Scottish Highlands: tricky to solve murders, quirky characters, humor, and familiar tropes. As I said, I feel that Beaton is setting her readers up for some kind of change, but exactly what that change might be won’t be revealed until the next book. My only complaint about Death of a Maid is the ending, which seemed to drag on, carrying us almost a year beyond the resolution of the murders. Still, I love Hamish and am always happy to spend a Saturday afternoon with the constable and his pets. The audiobook (Blackstone; 5 hr 34 min) was read by Graeme Malcolm, who remains a pleasure to listen to, thanks to his nice Highland accent, good delivery of the humor, and consistent characterizations. (personal collection)

Dear Scarlet by Teresa Wong (Arsenal Pulp Press, May 7). I wrote about this graphic memoir last Friday, and I don’t have a lot more to say here. I applaud Wong and other women like her (see my review of Lucy Knisley’s Kid Gloves) who are taking postpartum depression off the taboo list. Wong’s memoir is written as a letter to her first child, and through spare but expressive black-and-white drawings, she talks about feeling inadequate, bored, and distant after a medically traumatic and long delivery followed by her inability to breastfeed. Nothing seemed to diminish the dark cloud hanging over Wong: not her mother’s Chinese remedies, talking to a therapist, drugs, or even her young upbeat nanny. Wong’s experience is hardly unusual, though each woman has unique symptoms and feelings. Despite what you might think from the main theme of Dear Scarlet, the graphic memoir is encouraging, showing other new mothers they’re not alone and that a bright future can be found. (review copy provided by the publisher)

Anthony Bourdain Remembered by CNN (Ecco, May 28). I wrote about this tribute to Bourdain, a chef and travel writer, last Friday. This book is not a biography; instead it’s a collection of photographs, memories, and thoughts about Bourdain, who died last spring. Most of the photographs are from his CNN series Parts Unknown, which was part food show, part anthropology, and part travel. Some of the photos in the book looks like stills from the television series, but others give us a behind-the-scenes look at Bourdain. A few photos are from his youth. Each page is filled with tributes: some are from the foodie famous (like Jamie Oliver), some are from the famous famous (like Barack Obama), but most are from fans who wrote about how Bourdain affected their lives. This is a heartbreaking book; death by suicide always brings up such conflicting emotions. Yet the outpouring of love and support from the public for Bourdain is incredibly moving. If you’re a die-hard Bourdain fan, you’ll want a copy for your collection. For many of us, though, this a great book to check out of the library. (review copy provided by the publisher)

Movie bonus: Can't wait until Where'd You Go, Bernadette the movie comes out in August. I loved the book (my review here) and hope the movie is just as good. A new trailer was released last week:

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Weekend Cooking: Icing on the Cake by Tessa Huff

Sometimes there's a baking cookbook that just calls to you. Tessa Huff's Icing on the Cake (Abrams, April 2) is just such a book. Thanks to my participation in the Abrams Dinner Party, I received a copy of this inspiring book for review.

This is a book I plan to bake my way through. Huff has two goals for Icing on the Cake. First is, of course, providing a variety of incredibly delicious recipes that are easy to bake at home. Second, is to learn a few dozen decorating techniques so that everyday desserts can be taken to the next level.

I love to bake, but I'm less experienced at the prettifying, and I'm so happy to have a chance to learn. Each recipe in the Icing on the Cake provides an opportunity to try out a specific decorating technique.

Some of the methods are in the are in the baking, like making a checkerboard cake. Others are in the piping or frosting: I really want to make a watercolor cake, as is shown on the cover. Icing on the Cake also gives us step-by-step directions for making lattice and braided pie crusts as well as the perfect macarons and beautiful frosting flowers.

Break for a Funny Story

I've already learned one lesson the hard way. I decided to bake Huff's Mini Mocha Cakes but instead of cutting out individual cakes, I thought I'd make a single two-layer cake. So far, so good. Then it came time to decorate. I started topping the cake with pretty rosettes. Some even looked like the photo in the book. But then I squeezed the piping bag too firmly and the tip popped out and landed on the cake, squashing my work. SOB! Nothing for it but to smooth the top. Oh well, now I know to check the tip before piping. The good news? The mocha cake was absolutely fabulous and the brown butter buttercream was soooooo delicious--maybe one of the best homemade frostings I've ever had.

That's me on the right and the pretty rosettes from the book on the left.

Now back to our regularly scheduled review.

I haven't even bothered to mark recipes because I'm serious about working through this book. As soon as I buy a more professional-style piping bag and tips, I'm going try some of the cupcakes, maybe opera cakes, and for sure a re-do on the mocha cake.

The very next dessert I'm baking, though, is going to be the Rosy Rhubarb Strawberry Slab Pie. I've always wanted to make a slab pie, and the first local rhubarb is finally available. The decorating technique I'll learn here is how to make a classic lattis and crimped edges. Doesn't that pie look delicious? It just screams spring!

How about Lemonade Cupcakes with two-tone frosting? I really want to try my hand at paint-spatter decorations, striped frosting, gold painting, and poured glazings.

Recommendation: Tessa Huff's Icing on the Cake lives up to its subtitle: Baking and Decorating Simple, Stunning Desserts at Home. The recipes (the ones I've made and the ones the other Abrams Dinner Party members have made) work perfectly, and the results are amazingly delicious. If you want to learn to up your baking game, this book is for you. If you want some terrific recipes and you're too lazy to pipe rosettes, you can still bake from this book.

As for me? I'm going to have to start walking 5 miles a day to compensate for all the incredible baking I see in my future. I'll keep you in the loop.

The following recipe is for the brown butter buttercream. While you're waiting for your copy of Icing on the Cake to arrive from the library or bookstore, you can use this your own coffee-cocoa cupcakes or layer cake.

Brown Butter Buttercream
for 9 double-layer mini-cakes (see photo above)

• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks/170 g) unsalted butter
• 2 1/2 cups (315 g) confectioner's sugar, sifted if needed
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt
• 1 to 2 tablespoons whole milk, if needed

In a light-colored medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Increase the heat to medium-high and cook, stirring to keep the milk solids from sticking and burning at the bottom of the pan, for about 8 minutes, until the butter is very fragrant and nutty and light-medium amber in color; there will be dark brown bits at the bottom of the pan.

Strain the browned butter through a fine-mesh sieve into a heatproof container and discard any burnt milk solids. Chill the browned butter in the refrigerator until it has the consistency of room-temperature butter, about 1 hour.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or a large bowl using a handheld mixer), mix the browned butter on low until smooth. Slowly add the confectioner's sugar, vanilla, and salt. Once incorporated, turn the mixer up to medium speed and mix for a couple of minutes or until smooth and creamy. If the filling is too thick, add the milk, 1 tablespoon at a time until the desired consistency is reached.

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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.

NOTE: Mr. Linky sometimes is mean and will give you an error message. He's usually wrong and your link went through just fine the first time. Grrrr.
_______

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