Weekend Cooking: Wine All the Time by Marissa A. Ross

I know what you're thinking: Ms. BFR, do you really need another wine book? Well, yes, I do, and I'll tell you why. I'm interested in wine, I like wine, and I want to know more about wine. But the truth is this: I have only so many hours a day to devote to my nonwork interests. Reading about and studying wine--despite my curiosity--tends to slip to the back burner. Hell, I'm not sure it's even on the stovetop.

Thus my search for approachable wine books. If I read enough and take just a tip or two from each source, I hope someday to be able to sound like I know what I'm doing. Marissa A. Ross's book Wine. All the Time. (Plume, June 27) speaks to me. (Thanks to Plume for the review copy.)

Ross, a contributing editor for Bon Appetit magazine, blogger at Wine, All the Time, and all-round fun person, is a wine lover just like me. Well, not just like me, because she gets paid to write about wine. On the other hand, just like me, she isn't a certified expert; she's someone who has worked her way up from 2-Buck Chuck to the good stuff (wines that cost more than $20).

When I started reading Wine. All the Time, two things immediately jumped out at me: First, I love Ross's style--funny, personal, and very earthy (if you have "language issues," you might want to look elsewhere). Second, I love her general approach to learning about wine. I would call it drinking mindfully, as in take a moment to think about the aromas, the flavors, and the colors of the wine in your glass. Then make the effort to read about the grape and the growing region and take some notes. When I've made the effort to actually do these things, I've been surprised at what I've discover about my own tastes.

The book has all the sections you would expect: a glossary, a chapter on how wine is made, lists of wines by grape and region (including tasting notes), and all kinds of advice (how to read a label, what wines to serve at a party, what wines to drink with your dad, and so on).

Although you might think there is nothing new here, I would disagree. I love how approachable Ross is and especially enjoyed reading the story of how she went from chugging the low-end bottles to knowing enough to write about respectable wines. Throughout Wine. All the Time, you'll find tips and charts for all kinds of useful information: not just food pairings but also the differences between commercial wines and low-intervention wines, how to buy wine, how to order wine, and how to serve wine.

For me, the more avenues I have to approach the mysteries of the wine world, the better; and Marissa A. Ross is someone I want to have at my side while I make my own journey from the under $15 bottles to the next level. Take a chance on Ross--if nothing else, you'll have many good laughs while you drink your $5 Pinot Noir and may even get the courage to try wines in a higher price bracket.

My only issue with the book has nothing at all to do with Ross. It has to do with the state of Pennsylvania (where I live) and how difficult it is for me to buy some of the suggested wines. If you live in any other state in the union, you will have a much better chance than I do to try the wines, find a good wine store, and follow the advice in Wine. All the Time.

To learn more about Ross, check out her article "5 Questions to Ask When You're Buying Wine (and Know Nothing about Wine)" at Bon Appetit and this great interview at VinePair. Oh, and don't forget to explore her blog, Wine, all the time. Finally, here is the book trailer:

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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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Reading On Topic: Literary Roots

How do you organize your books? My answer: I don't.

However, I often mentally group my collection into broad topics or categories. Today I want to talk about eight books I think of as having literary roots. Some of the novels provide a different perspective on a classic, others explore real-life people who were connected with a famous book or author, and one resets a favorite story in contemporary times. Welcome to this edition of Reading On Topic.

Getting Her Say

The literary connections of this pair of novels are easy to spot. In Ruth's Journey, Donald McCaig imagines the life of Mammy from Gone with the Wind. Not only do we learn the servant's name, we discover just how she came to Tara from her native Saint-Domingue (Haiti). McCaig focuses on Ruth's relationship with Ellen O'Hara (Scarlett's mother) and imagines Scarlett's childhood up to the famous barbecue at Twelve Oaks. (Simon & Schuster / Atria; October; ISBN: 9781451643534) Juliet's Nurse, by Lois Leveen takes us inside the home of the Cappellettis, where Angelica, mourning the loss of her own daughter, is hired as Juliet's wet nurse. Through the nurse's eyes, we discover the events leading up to the moment when, fourteen years later, Juliet meets Romeo and then her tragic death. (Simon & Schuster / Atria; September; ISBN: 9781476757445)

Who Was She?

This duo imagines the lives of five women who were well-known in the book world. In Mrs. Hemingway, Naomi Wood gives voice to all four of the famous author's wives, and from their perspectives we get to know the private Hemingway. Although a work of fiction, this story of the women, their marriages, and the man they loved is based on thorough research. (Penguin paperback; May; ISBN: 9780143124610) Can you even count the number of times you've read Goodnight Moon (to yourself or to a child)? Now ask yourself what you know about author Margaret Wise Brown. Curiosity drove Sarah Jio to explore Brown's life, and the result is the novel Goodnight June. Based on fact and fleshed out by imagination, this novel brings the author of the beloved book to life. (Penguin / Plume; May; ISBN: 9780142180211)

Classics Gone Mysterious

The roots of these mysteries are found in ancient Greece and medieval England. The Furies by Natalie Haynes features an ex-actor who is mourning the death of her finance while starting a new career. Alex, now a drama therapist, teaches the Greek tragedies to a class of very troubled teens in attempt to help them face their personal issues. But what happens when the kids relate a little too closely to the stories of murder and revenge? (Macmillan / St. Martins Press; August; ISBN: 9781250048004) In A Burnable Book, Bruce Holsinger takes us back to the 1300s to solve a mystery surrounding a subversive book. Geoffrey Chaucer teams up with John Grower to find the manuscript, thereby protecting young King Richard II and saving the monarchy. Sharp period details color the action. (HarperCollins / William Morrow paperback; September; ISBN: 9780062240330)

A Retelling and a Return

Rounding out this edition of Reading On Topic are a contemporary retelling of a classic and a novel that asks, What happened next? In Sway, Kat Spears takes Cyrano de Bergerac and sets the story in a modern high school. Every student knows that Jesse is the go-to guy for whatever you want, so when football star Ken asks for help to win a date with the beautiful Bridget, Jesse assumes it will be a snap. Until, that is, he gets to know the girl and starts to fall in love. (Macmillian / St. Martin's Griffin; September; ISBN: 9781250051431) Do you remember the ending of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz? Danielle Paige wants to know what happened after Dorothy killed the Wicked Witch of the West and finally found a way home. Dorothy Must Die revisits an Oz in which Dorothy has returned to rule and has let power go to her head. Can Amy--another Kansas-native, tornado-traveling girl--undo the damage and restore Oz to its former glory? (HarperCollins / Harper Torch; April; ISBN: 9780062280671)

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Today's Read: Madam by Cari Lynn and Kellie Martin

What would you do if your sole means of support was going to be deemed illegal? In 1897, Mary Deubler faced this problem, finding a way not only to survive but to thrive by complying with the morality regulations of New Orleans. She moved her business to Storyville.

I come from a long line of whores.

In my nine decades on this earth I have never uttered these words, let alone seen them written, in my own hand, indelibly staring back at me. But now, as a summer storm rages strong enough to send the Pontchartrain right through my front door, I sit with a curious sense of peace and clarity. My past is more than just my own history. Although this story shames me in so many ways, it is the legacy I leave. I must embrace the very truth I spent my life denying.

—Madam: A Novel of New Orleans by Cari Lynn and Kellie Martin (Penguin Random House / Plume, 2014, prologue, uncorrected proof)

Quick Facts

• Setting: Storyville, the red-light district of New Orleans, at the turn of the twentieth century
• Circumstances: Common prostitute Mary Deubler's transformation into the successful and powerful Madam Josie Arlington
• Characters: Mary/Josie; her brother & his wife; voodoo queens & underworld figures; morality crusaders; fellow whores; musicians, actresses, & politicians
• Genre & themes: historical fiction; period details (food, drink, music); politics; morality; race relations; women's choices
• Miscellaneous: based on a true story; book contains period photos, postcards, and broadsheets; well researched
• Authors: Cari Lynn is a journalist and nonfiction writer; Kellie Martin is an actress and television writer

ISBN-13: 9780142180624
Copyright © cbl for Beth Fish Reads, all rights reserved (see review policy).

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Best Adult Books from 2013

It's time for my best-of 2013 lists! I will post four this year. Yesterday was all about audiobooks, today is adult books, tomorrow is food and cookbooks, and Monday is middle grade and young adult. Enjoy!

A note on my selections: Although I liked and was moved by many books this year, these are the ones that have stuck with me, that I still talk about, that I pushed on highly recommended to my friends and family, and that I gave as presents. Books are presented alphabetically by title; links lead to my reviews or thoughts.

• Kent Haruf's Benediction (Random House / Knopf), fiction, western
• Larry Watson's Let Him Go (Milkweed Editions), fiction, western Top read of the year
• Jo Baker's Longbourn (Random House / Knopf), historical fiction, Pride & Prejudice
• Philip Caputo's The Longest Road (Macmillan / Henry Holt), nonfiction, travel, social commentary

• Beth Hoffman's Looking for Me (Viking / Pamela Dorman), fiction, southern
• Sharon Short's My One Square Inch of Alaska (Penguin / Plume), fiction
• Paul Lynch's Red Sky in Morning (Hachette Book Group / Little, Brown), historical fiction
• Jess Walter's We Live in Water (HarperCollins / Harper Perennial), short stories

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Review: Bitten by Kelley Armstrong

Elena Michael's idyllic life was shattered when her parents were killed in a car accident when she was a young child. Years of dysfunctional foster care in multiple homes left her distrustful and tough. Once she met Clayton, though, she saw a chance at real happiness and love. There was only one problem: Clayton bit her. And it was no ordinary love nip; it was the bite of a werewolf, and against all odds, Elena became the only female to have ever survived the change.

Although the pack offered her a family she had always craved, Elena had no desire to give up her humanity and doesn't always relish her status as the only woman  werewolf. Thus several years after her change, she gets permission from the alpha male to leave their upstate New York home to try to live among humans in Toronto.

When the pack's safety is threatened by enemy wolves, Elena is forced to return home, where she not only must help protect her friends but must assess her loyalties and obligations.

Kelley Armstrong's Bitten is the first entry in the Women of the Otherworld series, featuring Elena Michaels and the werewolf pack that took her in. Sometimes it seems as if were animals were becoming the new vampires, and there couldn't possibly be anything new in the genre. But Armstrong builds a unique were culture that is more in line with contemporary urban fantasies than with the old tales of full moons and silver bullets.

Elena is a strong woman learning to deal with a life that she would have never picked for herself. She is understandably distrustful. And although she still has feelings for Clayton, she can't really forgive him for turning her into a creature. At the same time, she has always been a bit outside of mainstream society and has had to rely on her own strengths and resourcefulness. Thus being a werewolf fits her personality in many ways.

Besides Elena's personal growth, Bitten involves a struggle for power between two were factions. Armstrong nicely sets up the tension and action, balancing the characters' dual natures of wolf and human. The wolves are not domesticated, and the fights can be bloody whether the characters are in human or wolf form.

One of the particularly interesting aspects of Bitten is how Kelley Armstrong plays out the two cultures (human and wolf) against each other. For example, the made werewolves have different attitudes toward human society than do the weres by birth. In addition, the made weres cannot fully shed their human personalities when they are in their wolf forms, which makes them better able to understand or read each other than can the genetic wolves, who were never fully human. These factors play into the plot, giving Elena's world a feeling of reality.

If you like action-packed plots, urban fantasy, strong female characters, and little hot sex, you'll like Kelley Armstrong's Bitten, which is a solid start to a promising series.

I listened to the unabridged audio edition (Brilliance Audio; 12 hr, 59 min) read by Aasne Vigesaa. Vigessa does an excellent job with the variety of accents (Canadian, Southern, New England) and with both the male and the female voices. Her pacing amped up the tension, and her ability to project the emotional state of the characters without becoming overly dramatic is impressive.

Buy Bitten at an Indie or at bookstore near you. This link leads to an affiliate program.
Penguin USA / Plume, 2010 (reprint edition)
ISBN-13: 9780452296640
Rating: B+
Source: Review - audio (see review policy)
Copyright © cbl for Beth Fish Reads, all rights reserved (see review policy).

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Imprint Friday: My One Square Inch of Alaska by Sharon Short

Welcome to Imprint Friday and today's featured imprint: Plume. Stop by each week to be introduced to a must-read title from one of my favorite imprints. I know you'll be adding many of these books to your wish list.

This week is a special edition of Imprint Friday. Here's what happened. I reached for the book I had scheduled for today--a novel published by one of the imprints I feature regularly each week--but Sharon Short's debut novel My One Square Inch of Alaska caught my eye, and once I started reading I was lost, the other book temporarily forgotten.

As always, let me start with the publisher's summary:

A pair of siblings escapes—along with a Siberian Husky—the strictures of their 1950s industrial Ohio town on the adventure of a lifetime.

Talented high-school senior Donna Lane yearns to leave her Midwestern home in pursuit of a career in design, but she feels obligated to stay and care for her helpless father and her younger brother, Will. In fragile health and obsessed with the television show Sergeant Striker and the Alaskan Wild, Will’s dearest companion is a mute Siberian Husky named Trusty. The arrival of two outsiders inspires Donna to consider her dreams anew. Then Will falls sick, and Donna packs up their yellow convertible—with Will, Trusty, and a road atlas—and sets off for the Alaskan Territory. A portrait of a singular American moment, My One Square Inch of Alaska is a moving tale of exploration and love—human and canine—that dares to believe the impossible.

I am so taken with this beautiful novel, I hardly know how to talk about it. As a consequence, I'm afraid this post is a bit disjointed. I want to talk about the setting, the characters, and Short's writing style.

The story takes place in 1953, when students still had duck-and-cover drills in school and people talked about building bomb shelters in their backyards. Organized labor fought with management for safety in factories, advertising companies were just venturing into the new medium of television, and McCarthyism was beginning to shake Washington. Although My One Square Inch of Alaska doesn't dwell on these issues, Short manages to work in signaling details in such a way that we are fully immersed in the time period. There is no doubt that we have been carried back a half a century through time.

But most impressive are Short's characters, from Donna and Will to the most minor of people we meet for only one page. Each individual stands out clearly, enriching the story and making it difficult to remember that we're reading fiction. Of course, Donna, burdened too young with too many responsibilities, wins our support and our empathy (she'd never want our pity) as she tries to do what's best for her family while still holding on to a little piece of her self. Young Will wins our hearts with his unwavering enthusiasm for all things Alaska and his determination to hold on to his dream, even as he accepts what his future will bring.

Short's characters are complex and conflicted. Their troubles are everyday problems that any one of us could face. Sometimes we agree with their decisions, and sometimes we don't understand why they don't see the situation the way we do--just as it is with our friends and family. Short doesn't give Donna quirky neighbors, only realistic ones, making it easy for us to form strong connections with them.

Finally, I'd like to talk about Short's writing style. Some authors draw me in because of the poetry of their words, but with Short, it is the honesty of her writing. The truth and authenticity of Donna's memories of the pivotal year of her life simply bowled me over. That's not to say there isn't poetry in My One Square Inch of Alaska but that the novel is more down to earth, more personal than that. Donna tells her story in the way any of us would when finally opening up to a person we trust. Be prepared because once you start listening to what Donna has to say, you'll be glued to your seat until she's finished her tale.

Many books have made my eyes well up, but only a few have ever left me sobbing. My One Square Inch of Alaska is a strongly emotional experience. Thank you Sharon Short for telling me about Donna and Will, I will be thinking about them for a long time.

Plume is a don't-miss imprint of Penguin USA. Since 1970, the paperback imprint has published many best-selling authors, including Toni Morrison, Kelley Armstrong, and Dorothy Allison. The imprint is also known for its outstanding original fiction, such as work by Sarah Jio and Jennifer Niven.

Buy My One Square Inch of Alaska at an indie or at a bookstore near you. (Link leads to an affiliate program.)
Published by Penguin USA / Plume, 2013 (anniversary edition)
ISBN-13: 9780452298767
Copyright © cbl for Beth Fish Reads, all rights reserved (see review policy).

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Review: Blackberry Winter by Sarah Jio

I'm picky about contemporary women's fiction because I have a difficult time connecting to the stereotypical twenty-something woman whose main goal in life is to find her Prince Charming.

Thus when I want a good story built around a mystery and trimmed with (yes) love, I turn to Sarah Jio. Her newest novel, Blackberry Winter, showcases her talent at weaving past and present to create an engaging tale featuring multidimensional characters.

Blackberry Winter, set in Seattle, takes place during the first week of May as the city copes with a freak late snowfall. In 1933 Vera Ray, an unwed mother of a much-loved toddler, does what's necessary to hold on to her job, pay her rent, and put food on the table, as the Depression settles in for the long haul. In the twenty-first century, Claire Aldridge is still grieving after an accident the previous spring changed her life forever. Once a crack feature writer, she now has to force herself to show up at the newspaper and barely speaks to her husband.

When her editor asks for a six-thousand-word article tying the two late-spring weather events together, Claire can't find the hook. But then she reads an archived news story about a how a three-year-old boy went missing during the first hours of the 1933 storm.The assignment reignites Claire's curiosity and the missing child touches her heart; she's determined to learn the fate of the boy and his mother.

Besides the underlying mystery of the missing child, Blackberry Winter explores several other issues.One of the most prominent is social class divisions. The 2010s and the 1930s share more than a coincidental late snowfall. Jio clearly articulates the insurmountable gap between rich and poor as it existed for Vera Ray in the early years of the Depression. As the rich drank Champagne and boated on the lake, hardworking citizens were losing their homes; readers cannot help but recognize the similarities to modern-day America.

As with Jio's earlier novels, Blackberry Winter is sure to be hit with book clubs. Besides Vera's and Claire's choices and the mystery of the boy, readers will want to talk about motherhood, social justice, family secrets, trust, and friendship as well as the future of the major characters.

Although the connection between past and present in the novel is not all that difficult to figure out, Sarah Jio is a good storyteller, and Blackberry Winter is great way to spend an afternoon.

Blackberry Winter is the She Reads book club selection for October. To see what other club members thought of the book, to enter a great giveaway, and to join the conversation, visit the She Reads website.

Buy Blackberry Winter at an Indie, Powell's, Book Depository, or a bookstore near you. These links lead to affiliate programs.
Published by Penguin USA / Plume 2012
ISBN-13: 9780452298385
Rating: B
Source: review (see review policy)
Copyright © cbl for Beth Fish Reads, all rights reserved (see review policy)

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Starting from Page 1: Six for Early Winter

The solstice is fast approaching and with it comes the official start of winter. For me, winter is the perfect season for reading through my bookshelves. As I've mentioned, one way I choose my next book is by reading the opening lines to see what calls to me. Here's what I read yesterday.

Luis Alberto Urrea
Queen of America
Hachette Book Group / Little, Brown and Company, 2011
ISBN-13: 9780316154864
Fiction

At first she found it dry. Soon, and forever after, she would find it vast, dreadfully open, more sky than prairie, more prairie than mountain, more mountain than city. The whole would outstrip her ability to see, and she knew her days would end before she had seen one half of the continent and its rivers, its forests, its shores. Dry at first, then running, raining, flooding, wet. Then dry again. But now, in these days, for the first time in her life, she knew she was about to face the endless sea. The Saint of Cabora had discovered America.

Alexandra Fuller
Cocktail Hour under the Tree of Forgetfulness
Penguin Group USA / The Penguin Press, 2011
ISBN-13: 9781594202995
Biography

Our Mum--or Nicola Fuller of Central Africa, as she has on occasion preferred to introduce herself--has wanted a writer in the family as long as either of us can remember, not only because she loves books and has therefore always wanted to appear in them (the way she likes large, expensive hats, and likes to appear in them) but also because she has always wanted to live a fabulously romantic life for which she needed a reasonably pliable witness as scribe.

Mark Kurlansky
The Eastern Stars
Penguin Group USA / Riverhead Books, 2010
ISBN-13: 9781594487507
Nonfiction, sports

This is a book about what is known in America as "making it." And like all such tales, it is also a story about not making it. In this Dominican town, San Pedro de Macoris, the difference between making it and not making it is usually baseball.

Maria Duenas
The Time in Between
Simon & Schuster / Atria, 2011
ISBN-13: 9781451616880
Historical fiction

A typewriter shattered my destiny. The culprit was a Hispano-Olivetti, and for weeks, a store window kept it from me. Looking back now, from the vantage point of the years gone by, it's hard to believe a simple mechanical object could have the power to divert the course of an entire life in just four short days, to pulverize the intricate plans on which it was built. And yet that is how it was, and there was nothing I could have done to stop it.

Alica Bessette
A Pinch of Love
Penguin Group USA / Plume, 2011
ISBN-13: 9780452297111
Women's fiction

I knot Nick's camouflage apron under my boobs, unable to remember the last time I wore a bra, or preheated the oven. That's my widow style.

Sara Levine
Treasure Island!!!
Europa Editions, 2011
ISBN-13: 9781609450618
Fiction

In the aftermath of my adventure, I decided to write down the whole thing, starting with my discovery of Treasure Island and keeping nothing back, not even the names of the friends and family members whose problems plagued me; and so even though I'd love to go into the other room and stab someone with a kitchen knife, I take up my pen--a nifty micro-ball which had been incorrectly capped and would have dried out had I not, at the crucial moment, found it and restored its seal.

Have any of these opening lines grabbed your attention? I have all of them on my winter reading list.

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Beth Fish Picks Four Books for Gift Giving

Even if you're planning to shun the Black Friday crowds to join us in the third annual Thankfully Reading Weekend (information at Jenn's Bookshelves), you know you're going to have to go gift shopping . . . and it's going to have to be soon. I know how difficult it can be to find the perfect gift for everyone on your list.

If you're like me, you think books make the very best presents, but sometimes you are overwhelmed by all the great choices you see at the bookstore. My advice is to take a deep breath and let go of your worries. Now take a look at my four great recommendations to make your holiday shopping just a little bit easier.

Do you know about the Pocket Posh books published by Andrews McMeel? These cute pocket-size books are perfect stocking stuffers and make great quick gifts. Shown here is Pocket Posh Cocktails by John Townsley, which not only contains the recipes for many yummy drinks but also provides information on how to properly mix a cocktail, how to rim a glass, and how to measure correctly. Whether you're interested in a classic Stinger, a sweet Mojito, or a holiday Hot Toddy, you'll find the how-to's in this little book. Other food-related titles are Dining Out and Wine. Not into food and drink? No problem, look for Pocket Posh Suduko, First Aid, Sherlock Holmes, Crosswords, London, and more; I'm sure there's a title for everyone on your list. (ISBN-13: 9781449406806)

OMG, I can't tell you how much I adore one of this season's offerings from Sterling Children's Books. The Giant Book of Giants by Saviour Pirotta and illustrated by Mark Robertson will appeal to kids from about age five and older. In this beautifully designed picture book you'll find six stories about giants, starting with "Jack and the Beanstalk" and ending with a Sinbad story. In a new-to-me tale called "The Curious Giantess," Ida dreams about life among humans. When her curiosity gets the best of her, she visits the human village and learns some important lessons. Packaged with the picture book is a huge (four-foot-high) poster of a giant that kids can hang on their wall or door. The giant has pockets to open and locks to unlock and "plenty of playful extras, including flaps to lift and removable items such as a clock tower pocket watch, pipe organ harmonica, and even the giant's ear wax!" Great fun for boys, girls, and their parents. (ISBN-13: 9781402785962)

Romeo Alaeff is an artist and observer of the human condition. He also has a fun sense of humor. In I'll Be Dead by the Time You Read This (Plume Books), he wonders if animals worry about the same things people do. And assuming they do, what issues occupy their minds? Alaeff started with his beautiful black-and-white drawings of a variety of animals and insects and fish and then imagined what each creature might be obsessing over. For example, a unicorn thinks, "I wish someone would find me." I'll Be Dead is a fun stocking stuffer for Christmas morning. (ISBN-13: 9780452297456)

I'm huge fan of Artisan books, and I am in love with Shax Riegler's Dish: 813 Colorful, Wonderful Dinner Plates. I have spent several evenings pouring over Robert Bean's stunning photographs of a world of dishes, including gold-rimmed Limoges, colorful glass from Anchor Hocking, pink florals from Royal Winton, and kitschy pottery from a favorite diner. But Dish is much more than just a coffee table book. Riegler's text covers the history and evolution of patterns, such as the Indian origins of chintz plates, as well as the proper care of the dishes we own (washing and repairing, for example). Take a look at the video to get an idea of the depth and breath of Dish. Highly recommended for those who love antiques, china, pottery, beautiful table settings, and down-home kitchens. (ISBN-13: 978-1-579654122)

All four of these books are on my own shopping list. I hope one or more appeal to you or have inspired you to get to the bookstore this holiday season.

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Weekend Cooking: Eat Your Feelings by Heather Whaley

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

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Happy New Year to everyone -- may your 2011 be full of good friends, good health, and good food.

Eat Your Feelings: Recipes for Self-Loathing by Heather Whaley showed up in my mailbox this week. It's a fun and funny cookbook that is just perfect for the day after indulging on New Year's Eve. The paperback edition is out this month.

As the introduction says, this

is not simply a cookbook. In these pages you're not going to find some tired old recipes and tedious instructions. . . . On the contrary, dear reader, what you are holding is a book about eating. And not just regular eating but eating when you are on a mission, likely a solo mission.

The recipe titles guide you to the right food for your mood. Here are a few examples: Worst Date Ever Nutty Cheese Ball, Foreclosure Fiesta, MIL from Hell Taco Bell, Bad Botox Bolognese, Stir-Fry for Stretch Marks, and Midlife Crisis Rib Eye. Feeling disappointed? Just turn to the index and you'll find twelve recipes to choose from.

At the back of the book you'll find lists of books and songs and places and activities to enhance or soothe your feelings of self-loathing.

Each recipe begins with a black and white photograph to fit the situation and a ingredient list that usually contains a surprise (see the recipe that follows).

You Saw a Group of Girls You Went to High School with at a Restaurant and You Were Their Waitress Chipotle Beans and Rice

You will need:

• 1 X-Acto knife
• 1 match
• 1/2 cup pinto beans
• 3 cups chicken stock
• 1/2 cup rice
• 1 teaspoon canned chipotle chili in adobo sauce

Taking an old yearbook, carefully use X-Acto knife to slash photos of Lisa, Sophie, and Beth.* Leave Jeanne's face alone, as she was at least nice enough to leave a big tip, but the others deserve to be removed from the yearbook altogether, especially Lisa for the way she kept talking about how you were her "server" and then complained about not only the food but also your attitude. After removal from yearbook, use match to burn Lisa's photo.

Gently boil the beans in stock until almost soft. Add rice and chili and cook for 20-30 minutes until rice is tender. While cooking, consider working at a theme restaurant, like Planet Hollywood, because if someone you know shows up, it is an open question who should be more embarrassed. Enjoy beans with some hot sauce, if desired.

* Names have not been changed to protect now middle-age man girls in humdrum lives.

Two other recipes I liked were Cereal Snack for Aging Potheads (complete with a trip to the local food co-op) and Failed the GED Creamed Spinach for Idiots (which requires adult supervision and offers some career advice).

Eat Your Feelings at an Indie

Eat Your Feelings at Powell's

Eat Your Feelings at Book Depository
These links lead to affiliate programs

Published by Penguin / Plume, 2011
ISBN-13: 9780452296589
YTD: 1Challenges: FoodieRating: B-
Source: Review (see review policy)
Copyright © cbl for Beth Fish Reads, all rights reserved (see review policy)

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