Weekend Cooking: Canal House Cooking Volume 8 by Christopher Hirsheimer and Melissa Hamilton

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Christopher Hirsheimer and Melissa Hamilton, the women who put together the Canal House Cooking collections, have an approachable attitude toward food that comes out in the style of their recipes. But don't be fooled. Their motto may be "home cooking by home cooks for home cooks," yet their roots are hardly ordinary. From food photography to food styling to writing, creating, and editing recipes, this pair has done it all, and for some of the biggest publications in the food business (Saveur, Martha Stewart Living, Cook's Illustrated).

Hirsheimer and Hamilton's newest book, Canal House Cooking Volume 8, focuses on Italy and has a wonderful red and green color scheme with a very Italian feel. Besides the gorgeous photographs of Italy, key ingredients, and many of the completed dishes, the book includes essays on Italian food and wine by experts in their fields.

The chapters are organized in a familiar fashion, starting with drinks and moving to appetizers, pasta, meats and fish, side dishes, pizza, and dessert. What I love about the Canal House recipes is the burst of flavor that is achieved from the simplest of dishes. How about a salad of green olives, fennel, and parsley seasoned with salt, pepper, olive oil,  and lemon? You can put this together in a few minutes to create a delicious and beautiful starter that will perk up your appetite.

The pasta and pizza chapters feature light sauces and fresh ingredients: zucchini and clams, cherry tomatoes and basil, and escarole and fontina. Easy-to-find ingredients, clear and detailed directions, plus a well-thought-out blend of flavors equals magic on your plate.

The meats, fish, and vegetable dishes are doable for weekday meals but happily serve double-duty for guests and holidays. Pork chops with roasted peppers, grilled swordfish with tarragon, and lamb meatballs warmed with saffron and cinnamon are within the reach of every home cook.

Finally, the dessert chapter is a refreshing surprise: All the recipes are fruit and/or nut based, which suits my tastes just fine. I'm not generally attracted to rich, chocolatey concoctions, but bring on the Canal House raspberry tart, fig gelato, or almond cookies, and I'll be a happy camper.

Hirsheimer and Hamilton may be big names in the food world, but they haven't forgotten that most of the world's cooking is done by regular folks who juggle jobs and family and likely lack fancy appliances. Canal House Cooking Volume 8 shows us how to serve delicious, healthful meals with a minimum of fuss. Pour yourself a Prosecco and get ready to bring a little Italy to your table.

Note on the images: the images come from (and are owned by) The Canal House Cooks Lunch, click through the link to learn more about Christopher Hirsheimer and Melissa Hamilton's take on food. Don't forget to visit their website and blog.

Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2013
ISBN-13: 9780982739488
Source: Review (see review policy)
Copyright © cbl for Beth Fish Reads, all rights reserved (see review policy).

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Bullet Review: Death of a Scriptwriter by M. C. Beaton

I'll let you in a not-so-secret secret: When I'm slammed with work, I turn to audiobooks and escape reading. One of my favorite authors for a quick read with a high entertainment value is M. C. Beaton (Marion Chesney). Although she is well known for her many, many romance novels, I'm drawn to the author's mystery series, primarily the Hamish Macbeth books.

I love this series because the characters have become old friends, because I'm a sucker for the Highlands setting, and particularly because the audiobooks are read by Davina Porter, who is one of my go-to narrators. I could listen to Porter's Scottish accent forever. And that's a good thing seeing as there are thirty Hamish Macbeth books, and Death of a Scriptwriter is only the fourteenth.

• Quick look at the series: Hamish Macbeth is a shrewd village copper who has the potential go far in the police business, yet he prefers to remain in his beloved town of Lochdubh. He avoids promotion because he doesn't like the bureaucracy of a large department and hates the idea of living in a city. Besides the murders, the books include returning village characters and Hamish's personal life.
• What happens in this installment (no spoilers): A long-out-of-print mystery writer who has run out of ideas has moved to the Highlands to find inspiration, which is slow in coming. When a TV producer decides to turn her books into a series, she's thrilled until she learns that the characters have been given a sixties look and are sexually promiscuous. Jealousies between writers, actors, and husbands means there are plenty of suspects when the body count starts rising.
• My reaction to Death of a Scriptwriter: Perhaps not the strongest book in the series, but I still enjoyed my few hours with Hamish as he interacted with his neighbors, had girl trouble, and puzzled out the murders.
• Notes on the audiobook: As I mentioned, Davina Porter reads the books and does a wonderful job with all the needed accents. She really draws me into the stories. I borrowed the audio from a friend and forgot to make note of the publisher and the length, but most Hamish books run between 4 and 6 hours, making them the perfect weekend listen.
• Recommendations: This is a series that is best appreciated from the beginning, but don't hesitate to jump in anywhere. The books make for light, quick reading for people who like quirky characters and village life. The mysteries are a mix of cozy and police procedural.

Hachette Book Group / Grand Central Publishing, 1999
ISBN-13: 9780446606981
Source: Borrowed (see review policy)
Copyright © cbl for Beth Fish Reads, all rights reserved (see review policy).

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Review: The Telling Room by Michael Paterniti

When Michael Paterniti graduated from the University of Michigan, he stuck around Ann Arbor to work part-time on the newsletter put out by the now-famous Zingerman's Deli. One of the more esoteric items sold in the store was the world's most expensive cheese: Paramo de Guzman, made by a family in Castile. Although he was too poor to taste it then, Paterniti never forgot the cheese. A decade later, looking for a good freelance story, he decided to go to Spain, hoping to track down Ambrosio Molinos de las Heras, the man behind the cheese.

Traveling with a Spanish-speaking friend, Paterniti figured he'd get an interview, taste the cheese, and take some photos. What he didn't expect was to fall in love with the village of Guzman and to get caught up in the stranger-than-fiction tale told by Ambrosio. In The Telling Room Paterniti introduces us to a corner of Castile that seems isolated from the twenty-first century. It's a place where men still spend the evenings in their family caves (known as telling rooms), sharing food, wine, and gossip.

Although the cheese, which proved to be elusive, is at the center of the story, The Telling Room is really about Ambrosio, miracles, family bonds, fortunes won and lost, friendships, chirizo and wine, and the beauty of Castile. In fact, the history of this artisan cheese and its maker is the stuff of classic novels, complete with (as the subtitle of the book proclaims) love, betrayal, and revenge.

Paterniti was profoundly affected by the years he spent traveling to Spain and by his friendship with Ambrosio. He shares his naivete and slow awakening to the truths of Ambrosio, his obsession with the cheese, and his struggles to turn his experiences into a book.

As other reviewers have noted, The Telling Room is a mix of memoir, travelogue, food writing, biography, adventure, and even mystery. It has won wide-ranging praise from a number of food writers and from major newspapers and review sites; it was also an Indie Next pick for August 2013.

I too enjoyed hearing about Paterniti's adventures, but The Telling Room was not an A+ read for me. I had three principal problems with the memoir. My biggest issue was the repetition; some parts of the story were told several times, not to add details but, perhaps, to remind the reader of important or key events. Second, Ambrosio's personal drama (mostly involving the cheese) eventually became tedious; I understood his personality early on and didn't need it be drummed into me. Finally, although I sympathize with Paterniti's problems with finding a way to shape this story into a coherent package, I felt the ending was a bit of a letdown; however, I suppose it was for him as well.

I listened to the unabridged audiobook edition (Audible, Inc.; 13 hr, 29 min) read by L. J. Ganser. I had mixed feelings about his performance, which was entertaining but toed the line of over the top. My complete audiobook review is available from AudioFile Magazine.

Random House / The Dial Press, 2013
ISBN-13: 9780385337007
Source: Review (audio) (see review policy)
Copyright © cbl for Beth Fish Reads, all rights reserved (see review policy).

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Wordless Wednesday 257

At the Lake, Fall 2013

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

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Bullet Review: Lord of the Silent by Eizabeth Peters

When I heard the news that Elizabeth Peters (the pen name of Barbara Mertz) lost her battle with cancer, I was, as were millions of fans around the world, both sadden to lose her great talent but also grateful that she was so prolific a writer. I, along with SuziQoregon (of the blog Whimpulsive), decided that a good tribute would be to finish up Peters's Amelia Peabody series, which we plan to read more or less at the same time.

This is also the first in a new review format I'll be using for books that are late in a series or that I read for fun and not deep analysis. I'm calling these Bullet Reviews, and a quick search tells me that the term is not being used. Let me know if I've stepped on anyone's toes.

• Quick look at the series: Lord of the Silent is the fifteenth book in the Amelia Peabody Emerson series (counting chronologically rather than by publication date), which focuses on Radcliffe Emerson, Amelia Peabody, and their family. The stories are usually set in Egypt. While the family engages in archaeological studies, they almost always have to dodge their enemies and solve mysteries.
• Major plot points (spoilers from earlier books): Now that Ramses and Nefret are married, the story line has returned to the business of archaeology. Peabody is still hoping to excavate a pyramid, but Emerson is looking for untouched tombs, primarily in the Valley of the Kings. Ramses and Nefret are attempting to have a sort of honeymoon, but trouble and murder are trailing them every step of the way. The effects of World War I are clearly felt, even along the Nile.
• Fun side plots with the staff and family: the family's British and Egyptian butlers are in competition; the Emersons' young ward, Sennia, is proving to be up for all kinds of Emerson adventures and dangers; two people from the family's past return in changing roles; Ramses and Nefret are coming into their own
• Things that make me laugh: Emerson driving; Peabody and her parasol; Horus the cat; Sennia's adoration of Ramses; Amelia's view of herself
• Note on the author: Peters's own scholarly background in Egyptology and her research into the people who were prominent in the early archaeology of the area bring authenticity to this series; most of her characters are based on someone who actually worked in Egypt about hundred years ago.
• Thoughts on the audiobook: As always with this series, I listened to the unabridged audiobook (Recorded Books; ca. 16 hr) read by Barbara Rosenblat. As I've said before, Rosenblat's work on this series is amazing. Her voice is Peabody's, and her characterizations are consistent not only within a single book but across the series. Rosenblat's timing is absolutely perfect for Peters's sense of humor. An audiobook match made in heaven.
• Recommendations: For readers with a sense of humor and who have an interest in archaeology, love a good mystery, and appreciate great characters.

HarperCollins / William Morrow, 2001
ISBN-13: 9780380978847
Source: Borrowed (see review policy)
Copyright © cbl for Beth Fish Reads, all rights reserved (see review policy).

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