Sunday, 18 September 2011

The Kitchen Daughter by Jael McHenry



The Kitchen Daughter is the debut novel of Jael McHenry, a columnist and home cook who lives in  New York. Her novel is a clever and subtle story that leads you by the nose like the tendrils of fragrant cooking smells, to explore the story's characters and their connections to loved ones, memories and their place in the world.

The story unfolds with the untimely death of two loving and protective parents and how the changed circumstances impact on their two adult daughters - Ginny and Amanda. 

The story is told through the eyes of Ginny, an attractive 20-something daughter who has Asperger's Syndrome - which is part of the spectrum of autism.

The author rises to the challenge to capture the "voice" of Ginny and the social awkwardness, the difficulty to read social cues, the inability to feel empathy, as well how she responds in the literal sense only - which is typical of those with Asperger's.

I suspect this is why the prose is fashioned to be short and abrupt. Perhaps the aim is to capture the expression and mindset, or the type of mindset and thought processes we are told are  typical of Asperger's. As we engage with Ginny we also gain insight in to ourselves and how we react in turn to what we consider to be normal.

Ginny describes herself as having a "personality" which is a warm way for the author to explain her main character to us.

The next challenge the author faced was creating situations and settings to show Ginny interacting with other characters within the story to exemplify how things can be construed and misconstrued by not only those with Asperger's, but also by those who interact with them.

Ginny is called the Kitchen Daughter, as true to form, she has focused on a particular interest and skill set (in this case cooking) which is typical of Asperger's. The cutting and dicing highlights her repetitive behaviours. Ginny is also depicted withdrawing from stressful situations in unusual ways.

But this is not a story about Asperger's. 

It is the story about a young woman, who through her interest in cooking, discovers her power to conjure up ghosts with the aroma of food. The ghosts she speaks to are no ordinary ghosts. They are the owners of handwritten recipes. The  first to appear to Ginny is Nonna, her grandmother, enticed by her redolent Ribollita recipe. 

It is her warning: "Don't let Amanda..." that drives the story and prods Ginny to discover family secrets, piecing together scraps of information devulged by ghosts awakened by Bread Soup, Georgia Peach, Midnight City Brownies, Biscuits and Gravy, home made play-doh, Aji de Gallina, boiled eggs and spicy hot chocolate.

Don't let Amanda..." What ? 

1. Not sell the family home ?
2. Not put a name on Ginny and thereby label her?  
3. Fail to provide early intervention for her daughter Shannon, whom Ginny fears is just like her?

Several threads connect and interconnect, their fragrances intermingle and tantalize and keep the reader guessing.

The role of food in this novel is multi-layered.


It is shown as a gift:


"This time we drop off the dishes without going inside. Our food pays the visit on our behalf." p185


As an observance:


"We are here because it is the day of the funeral. The family, they do not cook this day. We serve them instead. It is called seudat havra'h. Meal of consolation." p149


As an identity:


"The word normal is inclusive. Maybe I can live in the world, and be who I want to be after all." p196


As a comfort:


"I feel better if I cook. Something that will completely absorb me, push everything else out of my mind". p244 






Midnight City Brownies

125g butter
1/2 cup cocoa
1 Tblspn expresso coffee
3 eggs
1 cup raw sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp coarse salt


Method


Preheat oven 350 degrees. Melt butter and stir in cocoa and expreso powder. Let cool. In a larger bowl, beat eggs until pale yellow. Add butter mixture. Stir in vanilla and flour until combined. Pour in to a brownie pan lined with lightly oiled foil. Sprinkle salt on top. Bake 30-35 minutes or until skewer comes out clean.




And with chocolate ganache (because I wanted to).


FYI: No reported ghostly sightings accompanied this recipe.


©2011 My Novel Idea Ann Etcell-Ly/All Rights Reserved

Monday, 12 September 2011

Losing It in France by Sally Asher



Losing It in France by Sally Asher is this week's unplanned choice. 

On Sunday morning, in the glittery, spring sunshine I did one of my favourite things. I went to a Book Fair. Before me lay Aladdin's Cave - boxes of books under, over and around trestle tables that stretched off in to the distance within the vast warehouse. 

Unfortunately, the books were not arranged by genre or grouped by category or author which forced book hunters to peer in to every box. Which of course is not a problem for the avid reader. But why is it that so many readers are married to non readers who stand by, like hour glasses, counting down to what they believe is adequate book hunting time for their partners? 

The undercurrent of nervous frenzy felt by harried partners on an unsaid schedule was palpable. Even so, amidst the group was a mother and daughter happily rummaging through the childrens' book boxes, serious gents looking for academic tomes (possibly disguised as westerns) and a father with a young son who whined "...but you told mum we were going to Bunnings."

I have to admit I was one of those harried partners who wondered how long her husband's patience would last. My husband is not a recreational reader because he argues he does "enough report reading in his job as it is".

We don't share many hobbies either, although he did a very good job of carrying the heavy box of books I was slowly collecting, and he also likes to eat what I cook. 

Which makes the choice of book for this week's blog even more amazing as it is one of his choosing. 

Actually I think the book chose him as he wasn't actively looking at anything in particular. The pale blue hardcover (without dust its jacket) with the modest title, so easily over looked by one and all  (but in hindsight looks so very French) wriggled itself in to his hand. 

On the drive home I wondered what it was about the title that took his fancy. 

Was it the destination "France"? Was it the words "Losing it" significant as he was getting tired of holding the box of books? Or maybe it was something else. 

Perhaps he was thinking about gay Pareee, city of love, and losing "IT" was actually about losing you know what? 

When I first saw the title I actually thought of losing one's baggage or wallet, or mind which says a lot about my romantic streak!

Anyway, the book turned out to be a winner. I read it from cover to cover that night and enjoyed the memoir about an overweight, young Australian woman who lived in France with her French lover and his family for three years.

During this time she learned not only to speak French but think French. She also learned the secrets of French food philosophy, etiquette and the need to never diet again. 

After Sally had lost weight, gained self esteem and parted company with her lover she returned to Australia.  She arrived home reborn, refreshed and enthusiastic about all things healthy and delicious. 

She married an Olympic athlete, set up house in Victoria and published her book in 2011.

"I remember Josianne gasping in horror as I heaped confiture a la fraise (strawberry jam) on to my baguette in the morning and piled white sugars in my coffee." p65.

At first I thought the author was too repetitive in her insistence that dieting was not necessary, planning was everything and we get fat not because of what we eat but how we think. 

Food is this book is seen as a celebration of the appetite NOT a plug to fill our emotional voids.  

"Remember, you must feed your body, your heart and soul, not starve them." p209 

Her repetitiveness throughout the book eventually won me over. She does make her point and the repetition soon became a mantra that would serve us all. 

"The French take shopping for food very seriously. It is probably as important and sacred as eating the food...food (you choose) must look alive." p98


Ask yourself does your fast food choice look alive? Do you think your junk food choice looks as though it has ever lived?

She also reminded me of many old favourites, that I now plan to re-visit, guilt free - French Onion soup, Salad nicoise and Chocolate mousse to name a few.





Cherry clafoutis

125g plain flour
2 eggs
75g caster sugar
icing sugar for dusting
250 ml milk 
1 x 425g black pitted cherries

Preheat oven 180C. Place flour and eggs in a bowl and beat together until smooth. Add caster sugar and milk. Mix well. Butter a baking dish and arrange cherries over the bottom of the dish. Cover evenly with batter and bake for 20 minutes until lightly golden. Dust with icing sugar. Serves 6. 

Note: I doubled the amount as I have four hungry sons. I also used frozen raspberries instead of cherries.

.

©2011 My Novel Idea Ann Etcell-Ly/All Rights Reserved

Saturday, 27 August 2011

Meet me at the Cupcake Cafe by Jenny Colgan

Meet me at the Cupcake Cafe - is Jenny Coglan's eleventh book and is dedicated to "anyone who has licked a spoon". This dedication alerts the reader to the author's gentle humour and sharp observation of human nature.

  


The Cupcake Cafe, decorated in fairy lights and candy stripes, is situated at 4 Pear Tree Court, Stoke Newington, in the cobblestone streets of old London which gives it a "Mary Poppins" feel.

"The evening was wonderfully warm and the soft lighting of The Cupcake Cafe blended with the fairy lights of the tree ...and some candles... put a magical glow on the whole of Pear Tree Court"

Three young women - Issy, Pearl and Caroline - each different in their own way, work together at the cafe, and sort through the problems many of us face in real life. The Cafe serves as the characters' sanctuary and the readers' fantasy.

Issy (Izabel), the owner of The Cupcake Cafe is recovering from a broken romance with her narcissistic boss who made her redundant from her office job. Jobless and jilted she uses her sizeable payout to fund the cafe and capitalize on her cooking skills taught to her by her much loved grandpa.

Pearl, who works as Issy's assistant at the Cafe, is trying to make ends meet as a single mother. Pearl and her son have been abandoned by a partner who cannot commit. Caroline is the new recruit recently divorced from her cheating husband.

Food in this book is used as a reminder, a manipulator, comfort food and a tribute. Chapter One starts with the recipe for Drop Scones and depicts a strong childhood memory of a loving grandfather (and baker) from whom Issy learned her cooking skills. 

In Chapter Four, jobless Issy comforts herself  with "Not Going To Work" Nutella Cookies. Ingredients include one pair of pyjamas!

In Chapter Six, Lemon "getting what you want" Cake is used by Issy to sweeten her landlord and secure the lease to the cafe.

By Chapter 19 Issy bakes her grandfather's favourite cake - the aromatic Simnel Cake - as a tribute to his life.

This is a pleasing story, light and buttery, that reads smoothly with no loose ends. However, the smattering of swear words are distracting to me as they clash with the sugar plum image of the story. Swearing is part of real life you say? Agreed. But the novel is escapist isn't it? 

Having said that, each character resolves their problems to a satisfactory conclusion. Moreover, the author boldly declares she has tested every recipe and guarantees their success. 
   
Author's Disclaimer

"Your cake will look like an ugly disaster. When people see your lemon cake they will feel sorry for you...and take a piece...then they will taste it...their eyes will pop open with delight. And then they will do anything you want." p88





Lemon "getting what you want" Cake    
 
4oz S.R flour (1 cup) 
1 tspn baking powder
4oz butter (I use 1 tablespoon only and it works)
4oz caster sugar (1 cup + 2 tablespoons)
2 large eggs
grated zest of 1 lemon
juice of 1 lemon

 Icing
2oz icing sugar (1/2 cup)
2 tspns water
1 tspn lemon juice

Method

Preheat oven 375F. Grease loaf tin. Sift flour and baking powder. Add remaining ingredients. Beat well. Pour in to tin and bake for 20 minutes. Cake should look yellow and under done (not brown) and be just cooked through. Pour icing over warm cake to infuse. And then decide on what you want!





Warning!!!


I have made this cake three times over the weekend  for my family and they still want more. This cake would be great at a picnic with a flask of tea. I had planned on drenching the cake in Lemoncello and creme fraiche or yogurt or whipped cream and berries for dessert but as you can see... they only left the crumbs...AGAIN.





©2011 My Novel Idea Ann Etcell-Ly/All Rights Reserved

Tuesday, 23 August 2011

The Provence Cure for the Brokenhearted by Bridget Asher

How does one go about picking a foodie novel?

It is not an exact genre like horror, fantasy or romance nor does it have its own shelf in a bookstore. If you ask a salesperson for a suggestion, you will get a blank look in return and a hand pointing you to the recipe section. Trawling through online bookstores gives pretty much the same result. I don't want recipe books! I want novels that feature food as an expression of a deeper story line. 

The first thing to catch the eye is the book's cover which usually features an artistic picture of produce, table settings or cooking utensils; or it will have a food word in the title, or mention a foodie destination such as France or Italy or perhaps a location such as a cafe or bakery. You can also read the blurb on the dust jacket and the first paragraph to test out the author's style - but, be warned - there is no real measure of whether the story will rise or flop.





"The Provence Cure for the Brokenhearted" by Bridget Asher met this criteria - an enticing  location,  a romantic stone house and a blurb that told of "a journey from grief to happiness with the the help of magic and delicious pistou soup." Unfortunately, this book promised a lot and delivered very little.

The entire book waffled on in every mundane detail. It was like talking to someone who never gets to the point. But that is just me. There are many people who enjoy the gossipy details of a Woman's Weekly read. If you are one of these people, then the book is for you. For me, it was like wading through sticky dough as every minute detail of the main character's every day life, and all she came in contact with, was sliced and diced.

Are we there yet?

I kept asking myself when will this story start?  At page 128 she finally gets to Paris "without being prepared and without time to brace." 

It took her all of Part One and she still wasn't prepared??

And even then she told us about her 'to do' lists, passports and hotel bookings, reservations, internal clocks, airports and taxis, and then the sightseeing, the posing in front of statues, how they got robbed, how it started to rain. Even the car breaks down in this endless list of ingredients that delivers a half baked idea. 

Can we get to the food please?
Are we at the centuries old stone house yet?
Where is the magic?
And the dusty box of old recipes you promised?

I never got  up the appetite to reach the end of the book, although it does come highly recommended as an "enchanting tale", a "sumptuous exploration" that "brims with wisdom and laughter". 

Do we really need to be told when the character got her first period or how she thought her father's swimming trunks were too short? Do we really need to read about all the generations that came before her husband's untimely death in a car accident? 

Food has no real role in this book or storyline, other than as sparse decoration - a sprinkling here or there. The main character tells us she is a baker but she didn't bake a thing.


Pistou Soup

In provencal language "pistou" means pounded and refers to the herbs used in this dish. Think pesto!

50g butter
3 leeks thinly sliced
2 carrots diced
2 stalks celery chopped
10 cups chicken stock
Black and white peppercorns
Fresh thyme and parsley for garnish
12 green beans
3 potatoes
2 medium zucchinis diced
2 tomatoes chopped
4 tablespoons pesto
1 can cannelloni beans
1 cup small macaroni


Method

Fry leeks in butter until soft. Add leeks to chicken stock together with the vegetables. Half way through cooking add 2 tablespoons  pesto. Add macaroni and when soft heat through the canneloni beans. Add the remaining pesto. Season. Add fresh herbs. Serve with croutons or in my case, bruschetta topped with grilled cheese.





 "I could see the pale golden chicken resting in its deep sauce of tomatoes, garlic and peppers. I could smell the wine, the garlic and the fennel." p241


Provencal Crockpot Chicken

12 pieces of skinned chicken (I used 2 chickens cut in to pieces)
2 large capsicum seeded and cut in to wide strips
2 large onions thinly sliced
1 cup black olives
1 large can of diced tomatoes
1 cup white wine
1 large fennel sliced
Fresh  peel of 1 orange (optional)
2 teaspoons herbs "provencal"


Note: Provencal herbs include thyme, majoram, oregano, basil, savory, lavender. In supermarkets you will find all sorts of spices - Italian, Moroccan etc but no French. The Italian mix comes the closest or, make your own or, settle for Bouquet Garni or a bayleaf.



Method:
It is a Crockpot! so put all the ingredients in at once, close the lid, pour yourself a glass of wine and sit in the sun. Takes 4-6 hours




©2011 My Novel Idea by Ann Etcell-Ly/All Rights Reserved

Saturday, 13 August 2011

Tamil Tigress by Niromi de Soyza




The big picture...as I understand it

Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon) is a small island in the Indian Ocean off the cost of India which has been inhabitated by the Sinhalese and Tamils since 2BCE.  It became a British Colony 1802-1948 and  became well known for its exports of tea, coffee, cinnamon and  rubber. The major religions include Hindu, Muslim, Buddhism and Christianity.

In 1948 Sri Lanka gained its independence and the Sinhalese quickly took control to redress the imbalance caused by the British who had favoured the Tamil's work ethic and educational ambitions. Sinhalese were given employment and university placement which angered the Tamils who said it should be based on merit. Ethnic clashes became common in the 50's, 60's, 70's and 80's and culminated in the bloody genocide and human rights abuses, watched by the world in 2009, when at the hands of the Sri Lankan Armed Forces, the Sinhalese and Indian Governments the Tigers were annihilated.

The quest for justice and freedom is not new to the human condition. In Sri Lanka it was the children and young adults who took up guns and put their bodies on the line for Tamil Eelam - the quest for an independent Tamil State. For children to think they could challenge the unitary government of Sri Lanka and India (which is the seventh largest country and tenth largest economy in the world) was both heroic and foolish and  in retrospect very under-informed??

Niromi was one such child, who at 17, joined the first female unit of Tamil Tigers. She took up a gun to achieve altruistic goals only to find herself questioning the methods, lawlessness and the human sacrifice expected of the Tigers' leadership and their individual agendas - the tit for tat reprisals, the in-fighting, torture and murder. 

From 1983-2009 civil war and unrest against the government was waged in a sophisticated, well funded, well resourced and brutal war by the LTTE Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam taking on the Sri Lankan Armed forces of 230,000 active soldiers.

 "April 1987 saw some of the worst violence in the country. Scores of Tamils were murdered by Sri Lankan armed forces...and in revenge the Tigers massacred Sinhalese civilians..." p64


Niromi's Story of Survival

She was an educated, privileged, middle class student who by 1987 had become both wiser and even more disallusioned having seen her comrades fall around her in the line of duty, clutching their wounds and calling their mothers' names as they died.

Child soldiers quickly lost their innocence and frequently turned on each other in true Lord of the Flies fashion.

While her younger sister pinned posters of pop stars to her bedroom wall, Niromi  found herself starving, shoeless, menstruating, covered in lice and dermatitis, running through the jungle with her unit dodging soldier's bullets. All the while clutching AK-47 and M16's, T56 and ATKMs, RPG's and G3's supplied by a global network (many of whom denounced the terrorist group) and paid for by overseas Tamils.

Niromi questioned why she survived and the haunting faces of her friends - now a lifetime away - did not. As I read  her  shocking memoirs I believe she survived for two reasons. The first reason is due to her ability to overcome her learned cultural submissiveness and her combatant loyalty to question the right and wrongs within her ranks. The second reason is that it was her destiny to tell their stories - and so she was allowed to resign in 1987. Others were not so lucky.

Today Niromi is a survivor, a lawyer and a mother living in Australia. Each night she can safely tuck her children in to bed knowing that in this democratic land, minorities are self determining, with equal rights and responsibilities, protected by parliamentary laws.

"We devoured our first real meal in four days, then stretched out on the dirt and went to sleep." p261 






Tamil Samosas. Makes 16

3 large potatoes boiled, drained and mashed
1 cup cooked green peas
1 diced red onion
1 tspn Garam Masala
I tspn ground coriander
1 tspn ground chilli powder or fresh chillies to taste
1 tspn each garlic and ginger
500gm minced meat (lamb, beef or chicken) Optional.
Seasoning

Method

Fry the onion until soft, add spices, garlic and ginger and continue to fry until fragrant. Add mince and brown. Combine peas and potato. The mix should be dry so that it doesn't make the pastry soggy. Season.

Traditional Pastry
1 3/4 cups plain flour
water
1/4 teaspoon oil

Method

Combine ingredients. Roll in to a dough and form in to rounds (like pasties) to be filled 
with mixture and deep fried.





Alternatively

Use Spring roll pastry sheets, fill and roll into triangles and deep fry until golden. 
Or do as I did and use 4 sheets of puff pastry cut in to quarters and baked 160 degrees
 for 20 minutes until golden. I know, I know  - not traditional 
but very convenient and just as tasty.





Tamils from Jafna in the north of Sri Lanka, who fought for Eelam (homeland) 
are not to be confused with Indian Tamils or Tamil Moors.
  
"Stop all this fighting, children! We can't cope any longer!" wept an old woman. A large group joined the chorus. "Please give up this futile war," they pleaded. Over the next few days, the Indian soldiers ravaged the village, setting fire to many properties, raping many women and killing many men. p202    



           
Red Lentil Curry


2 cups of red lentils washed and drained
4 cups thin coconut milk
1 large onion chopped
2 tablespoons ground/pounded dried fish (I used Ikan bilis)
1 tspn tumeric
2 tspn ground cummin
1 tspn cinnamon
Chillies to taste (I used 1 tspn cayenne pepper) and garnished with chillies.
2 tablesponns tomato paste
50g butter or ghee




Method

In one pot boil the THIN coconut milk with the lentils until soft.
In another pot/pan fry the onions, dried fish, chillies and spices in butter until fragrant and onions are soft. Combine the mix with the softened lentils. Add tomato paste and 1 cup of THICK coconut cream and simmer until it resembles the consistency of porridge. Serve with rice or naan.





©2011 My Novel Idea by Ann Etcell-Ly/All Rights Reserved



Tuesday, 9 August 2011

The One Hundred-Foot Journey by Richard C. Morais

The One Hundred-Foot Journey was written by first time novelist Richard C. Morais whose experience as a foreign correspondent and Forbes' European bureau chief has given him the edge to create a fictional story that reads like an autobiography.

I was first attracted to this book by its vibrant cover and the title "one hundred foot". For those of you who only know metric measurement, a one hundred foot journey won't take you very far. It is about as basic as say, crossing the road.





This made me ask what the main character was running from or to? Was it a spiritual, emotional or physical journey? Was it one that went back in time or forward in to the future? And as it turns out, the story is all of these.

In the opening paragraph we are introduced to Hassan Haji, one of six children born in to a Muslim family who lived above their grandfather's restaurant in Mumbai, India.

" I suspect my destiny (as a chef) was written from the start, for my first sensation of life was the smell of machli ka salan, a spicy fish curry." p3

Morais has written a realistic story about a family who leaves Mumbai, immigrates to London and settles in Lumiere in France. But this is NOT that journey hinted at in the title. The seeds of the one hundred-foot journey were sown two generations ago before THE notable one hundred-foot journey which is more prosaic than the epic that encapsulates it.

"And so next day...I crossed the street. A lot of emotion went in to that one hundred-foot journey...It was a small journey in feet, but I felt I was striding from one universe to another." p179

On this day, Hassan left his father's Indian restaurant and crossed the road to the rival French restaurant - Le Saule Pleureur - where he began formal training with his mentor and twice-awarded Michelin Star chef, Madame Mallory.

This well-constructed story makes many references to exotic Indian dishes and fine French dining. In this book, food flies the cultural flag for two countries with long culinary histories.

For the Haji family, food represents a way out of the slums towards independence and the importance of gathering around the family table.  For Madame Mallory, food is an art form representing technical expertise and the expression of what it is to be French.

A sobering thought in this book is the sacrifice that has to be made for the perfect meal. From the description of an halal butchery in Mumbai, to a wild boar hunt in France. And from the ceremonial slaughter of a pig on Madame Mallory's property to the forced feeding of ducks for their livers.

While Hassan evolves, assimilates and conquers French cuisine to the adulation of his peer group in Paris, the real hero in my mind is his father Abbas Haji. Abbas overcomes personal grief and shepherds his family to a better life. He may be loud, uneducated and come across to some readers as an offensive "foreigner" but his instincts are good. He is the bow that shoots his son towards his future as a 3-star Michelin chef.


Chicken Tikka





"There was an urn of Goa fish stew, thick and gooey. Chicken Tikka marinated in pink spices and lemon...' p121


Chicken Tikka is a Hindi dish marinated in yogurt, spices and tomatoes, that can be baked, grilled or barbequed. Tikka means "pieces". The Haji family is Muslim and maybe influenced by Arab Afghanistan as they have a similar dish using yogurt and spices.



1kg chicken breast cut into bite sized pieces and marinated

Marinade

1 cup Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3cm ginger grated
2 teaspoons ground cummin
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons black pepper

If you intend to grill or BBQ thread chicken pieces on to skewers that have been pre soaked in water to prevent them burning.Prepare the sauce separately. If you intend to bake add the sauce to the marinated chicken pieces. Bake at 160 degrees for about 45 minutes or until cooked.

Sauce

50gm butter
3 teaspoons crushed garlic
Chilli to taste
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons paprika
2 cups of crushed tomatoes
300 ml of thickened cream
Coriander to garnish

Serve with rice or naan


Foi Gras


"Madam Degeneret was a feisty old woman who kept her farm ticking over with the money she earned from force feeding 100 Moulard ducks...a farm hand was busy plucking and bleeding the ducks before removing the prized foi gras." p165

Foi gras is a French delicacy. However, the practice of force feeding ducks is outlawed in many countries. Due to this inhumane and outdated practice I have chosen to do Chicken Liver Pate instead.





Chicken Liver Pate

750 gm chicken livers washed, trimmed of fat, sinew and bile sacs and pat dry.
1 large eschalot
100 gram butter
1/4 cup brandy
Seasoning
50 gram unsalted butter

Extras

If you wish, a rasher of bacon(chopped)can be fried with the onion and Grand Marnier can be used instead of brandy. The addition of herbs such as thyme adds another dimension to this flavoursome dish.

Method

Fry the onion in a small amount of butter until softened. Remove from pan. Heat remaining butter and lightly fry chicken livers until pink. Return onions to pan and add brandy. Simmer one minute. Season. Place in food processor and blend. Push liver through sieve to get rid of any remaining bits of sinew. Put into ramekins. Heat 50gm of unsalted butter and once melted pour over the top of the pate. Garnish with herbs and refrigerate for up to 5 days. Serve with mini toast.




©2011 My Novel Idea by Ann Etcell-Ly/All Rights Reserved












Friday, 5 August 2011

Macarons

"We are joined in holy communion of this miracle: sugar and egg white and almond coming together." p69




The Colour of Tea by first time novelist and New Zealander Hannah Tunnicliffe is composed of twenty-seven chapters - each one named after a macaron. Chapter one starts with sweet and smokey caramel with salted buttery cream filling and the last chapter - orange pekoe dusted with gold and a mascapone filling with rose gel insert. For someone like me, who has never dared bake a macaron, the list was both daunting and enticing.

The story line goes like this: Girl (Grace) meets boy (Pete). Gets married. Fails to conceive. Opens cafe. In China. On or around the time of the Beijing Olympics. 

Inside the cafe we meet single mum Gigi with baby daughter Faith; Rilla, a Filipino, who is working hard to support her family back home and several spoilt and displaced expats working under contract.

The cafe is called Lillian's after Grace's mother, with whom she had a strained relationship. As is to be expected from this genre, the cafe and the food provides the vehicle for each woman to overcome her individual yearnings and re-invent herself, all the while nibbling on flavours of Wild strawberry with pink grapefruit butter cream, Plum and hibiscus with chocolate ganache and Bergamot and cardamom with white chocolate ganache.




 
Macarons have become a global cult replacing the cupcake craze. Basically, a macaron is two crisp, sweet shells sandwiched together with a creamy filling. Eating them is easy but baking them is harder than you think! Before I attempted the task I watched countless YouTube instructions and many tips and tricks with one failure after another. My kids even said "Give it up mum". But I thought if the Parisians and Italians could do it in the fifteenth century with basic implements so could I - and I did! 






Rosewater with white chocolate ganache
Makes 24

1 cup icing sugar
3/4 cup almond meal
2 large egg whites (aged)
pinch cream of tartar
1/4 cup icing sugar
4-5 drops pink food colouring
5 drops rosewater or rose water essence

Method

Sift icing sugar with almond meal. Sift. Then sift again.
Beat egg whites until foamy and add cream of tartar. Continue to beat until mix has thickened then add sugar s.l.o.w.l.y. until it is dissolved and the eggs are stiff and shiny. Add drops of food colouring and continue to mix. Then, show no mercy and beat the eggs in to the almond and icing sugar mix until well combined. 

TIP 1. Make sure the egg whites have been aged. I left mine on the bench top for 24 hrs. Although overnight is okay if the weather is warm.
TIP 2. Sift. Sift. Sift the dry ingredients.

Pipe mixture on to a baking tray, in small mounds the size of a 50 cent piece. Some recipes say 20 cents but I found this is too miserly.

TIP 3. Place piping bag inside a tall glass and fold the edges over the top of the glass. This will make it easy and mess free to fill.

TIP 4. Allow the piped macarons to dry out slowly to form a skin. Some recommend leaving them on the bench for several hours, but the best tip I came across was to leave them in a slightly warm oven (turned off) with the door open for half an hour. Once they are firm to the touch remove from the oven. 

Set the oven temperature to 150 degrees. Then bake for 20 minutes. I always get "feet" when I do it this way.

Cool. Store in an airtight container and fill with ganache before serving.







White Ganache

1 cup thickened cream scalded and poured over 7oz chopped white chocolate. Once melted place in refrigerator to firm up, then fill macarons. 

Tip 5. Serve with fresh fruit such as strawberries or raspberries to break the sweetness.






Butter Cream Filling

1 cup unsalted butter (soft)
1 and 1/2 cups icing sugar


Orange Flavouring 

2 tablespoons mandarin rind
2 tablespoon orange blossom water or a few drops of orange essence
 Few drops yellow food colouring




Raspberry and Rosewater Flavouring 

2 tablespoons chopped raspberries
2 teaspoons of rosewater or few drops of rosewater essence
few drops of green food colouring






Method 

Beat the butter until light and fluffy. Beat in the icing sugar until well creamed. Divide the mix in half and flavour as required or better still, make up your own! Sandwich the macarons with cream filling. Macarons are best eaten after a "curing" time of say 24 hours (if you can wait that long!) Several YouTubers say they can be frozen 3-6 months. As if...!


©2011 My Novel Idea by Ann Etcell-Ly/All Rights Reserved