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Book review: “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes”

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I have mixed feelings about this novel, a prequel to the Hunger Games trilogy that lets us peek in on the formidable teen years of one Coriolanus Snow who later becomes tyrannical President of Panem. I loved the first two-thirds of this novel in which young collegiate Snow is a mentor to the District 12 tribute, an enigmatic and dazzling performer named Lucy Grey. He tries to bond with her, protect her, prepare her, and an indelible bond forms between the two. I don’t want to spoil the storyline but the last third of this novel felt rushed and flat, and the ending was so confusing that I had to read it twice; and when I reached out to a friend who also had just read it, they said they also read it twice to try to figure out what was going on, so it wasn’t just me! Fans of the Hunger Games will be excited for more story. But true bibliophiles will be a bit let down by the effort.



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Recipe: Tarragon cream potatoes

It’s summer at last (well, almost), which means constantly reexamining recipes to figure out ways to simplify dinner (and minimize dishwashing) by doing things outdoors on the grill. Today, I bring you tarragon cream potatoes!

Scalloped potatoes and potatoes au gratin are both creamy gooey baked potato dishes, though the latter is marked by its cheese component and crumbly top. Today we’re talking about the former, the crowd-pleasing scalloped potato, but with the added tastes of tarragon and prosciutto, bacon’s pretty cousin.

Hunkered down in quarantine, I’ve kept the sturdy and stable potato as a pantry staple, and rich cream in the fridge as a quick slosh to fancy up sauces and add velvet elegancy to bland meals. Tonight, with Italian-marinated chicken and prosciutto-wrapped asparagus on the menu, I pondered how to invite potatoes to the party — and here’s what we came up with. I think you’ll love it.

Ingredients:

  • A couple russet potatoes or a small handful of Yukon golds or something similar. Basically, you want the amount you’d normally prepare for two people.
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • Pam vegetable oil spray or something similar
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1/4 cup parmesan
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Optional: Prosciutto bits

Directions:

  1. Start by slicing your potatoes into thin discs, about 1/4 inch, arranging them on a baking sheet, brushing them with olive oil, and baking at 400 degrees for 20-30 minutes, until cooked through. Once you hit 20 minutes, check every few minutes so you don’t overdue them. They may puff up slightly and gain a bit of color. Any very thin bits may brown more noticeably.
  2. Let potatoes cool for 20 minutes.
  3. Tear off two generous squares of aluminum foil, and for each square, set aside half the potatoes and half the prosciutto. Spray the foil with your Pam.
  4. On each square, arrange a pretty and thin layer of potatoes, shingling them against each other, topped by prosciutto, then topped by a thin layer of the remaining potatoes.
  5. Slightly fold up the foil around your potatoes to create a rim.
  6. Splash 2-3 tablespoons of cream over the potatoes.
  7. Add 1-2 tablespoons of parmesan.
  8. Add 1-2 good shakes of tarragon; a sprinkle of salt; and a generous dash of pepper.
  9. Fold the foil by first seaming it loosely the long way, then rolling in the ends. It doesn’t need to be tight. You may want to be able to peak and check to see how things are going.
  10. On a gas or charcoal grill, put the packets over direct heat for 5-10 minutes to warm the contents.
  11. Move to indirect heat and cook for 15-20 minutes. Keep the lid on the grill as much as possible to keep the cream sauce mix hot and bubbling.

What you’ll get, when done, is an herbaceous, creamy, decadent dish that you won’t believe came off your grill. The tarragon is an earthy accent to the rich parmesan cream, and the prosciutto salty and crisp. I added some finely chopped fresh parsley to finish it. And best part, once you slide these bad boys out of their tin foil pockets, dishes are done!

The world may be falling apart, but at least we have carbs. Enjoy!

Recipe: Lost Eggs

Broder Cafe is a favorite Portland spot. Known for niche Nordic cuisine, creative breakfast cocktails, and long waits that find clientele hanging out on the sidewalk out front with steaming mugs of coffee, it’s a pretty quintessential Rose City brunch experience. My go-to dish there: Lost Eggs.

Not knowing when I’ll be able to a) travel again b) travel to Portland c) go to Broder, and not finding a decent copy cat recipe of this dish online, I decided to find these Lost Eggs in my own kitchen. Here’s what I did:

Ingredients:

  • 1 egg
  • Some cream
  • A couple handfuls of spinach
  • Ham lunch meat (or something nicer, but hey, this is quarantine cooking so we work with what we have!)
  • Dried parsley
  • Paprika
  • Olive oil
  • Bread crumbs or panko
  • Grated parmesan
  • Green onion

Directions:

Keep in mind I was completely winging it, and I would make some adjustments next time, which I’ll note here.

  1. Put a splash of olive oil in a nonstick pan and let it heat up over medium heat.
  2. Dice up a couple pieces of thin ham lunch meat, add to pan, let it cook a few minutes until it starts to pucker up and change color and get a little crisp.
  3. Add two handfuls of fresh spinach and toss and turn until the spinach wilts.
  4. Add a generous splash of cream. The spinach should be coated. In hindsight I think I used a tad bit too much, so I would say add a tablespoon at a time so you don’t overdo it.
  5. Add a couple dashes of paprika, a pinch of salt, pepper, and a dash of parsley flakes.
  6. Cook so that the cream is slightly bubbling, and let it cook down.
  7. Transfer spinach mix to an individual meal-size, oven-safe baking dish. I used a Le Creuset dish and I sprayed it with canola oil first.
  8. Crack an egg into a ramekin or small bowl. You might be tempted to crack it straight on to the spinach mix and sure, if you’re a risk taker, you can roll like that. But I always use an interim transfer dish to be safe because egg shells are lame.
  9. Use a spoon to make an indent in the center of the spinach mixture. Pour the egg from the ramekin into said indent.
  10. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes or until the egg white has set. Note: I took it out after 15 and it didn’t seem the white had set so I gave it 5 more, and I cooked it too long for my liking. I also didn’t think through the broiling step (see steps 11-12). So next time I would pull it at 15.
  11. Add one more sliced up piece of ham to the top, sprinkle with break crumbs, add parmesan.
  12. Broil for 3 minutes or until top is crunchy and toasted.

If you succeed, here is what you’ll get: a rich, creamy sauce with that earthy spinach, sweet and savory bits of chewy ham, that gooey velvet egg with a slightly runny yolk, and that perfect salty crunch from the toasted bread and cheese bits on top. So many great flavors, textures and colors here!

When you eat this at Broder, they serve it in a small cast iron pan with two eggs (instead of my one) and thick-cut toast for dipping. The toast would be a nice touch. A mimosa would have been divine too.

This is definitely not an every day or even every week or every month dish — the cream puts it in the “treat” category for sure. But dang it made for a delicious morning.

Happy cooking!

Book review: “The Silent Patient”

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


If you loved “Gone Girl” and “The Girl on the Train,” if you love twisty narratives, bump this book to the top of your list RIGHT AWAY and read it as quickly as possible to avoid being spoiled. I read it in a few days and there will be a moment in this book that causes an audible gasp or bulging eyes or whatever your “tell” is for OMFG.

I’ll tell you this about the plot: Alicia is a former up-and-coming painter, imprisoned in a psyche ward for murdering her photographer husband Gabriel. Theo is a psychotherapist newly hired by said psyche facility, aware of Alicia’s notorious crime and the fact that since it occurred, she hasn’t uttered a single word. He is convinced he can help her — meaning, get her to talk, and find out what happened that caused her to murder her husband when by all accounts, their lives were idyllic, their love solid, their careers soaring. I’ll leave it at that. Enjoy!



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Recipe: homemade tortillas!

I have so many friends getting culinarily creative right now, thanks to being homebound in the time of COVID-19. I call it quarantine cooking. One gal pal just posted pics of delicious-looking Asian pork steamed buns; another banged out 8 cups of Paleo granola. Well yesterday I did a thing, or as they say in Spanish, yo haco una cosa (I think that’s how you say it anyway) and voila, I give you HOMEMADE TORTILLAS.

I remember visiting the city food market in Puerto Escondido in Oaxaca several years ago, and eating hot fresh tortillas sprinkled with salt. I haven’t had as tasty a tortilla since — until yesterday, when I made them in my very own kitchen. And you can too! This recipe comes from The Pioneer Woman; in fact, she made them on a home quarantine-filmed episode recently!

Ingredients:

  • 2 1/2 cups flour
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons lard or Crisco
  • 1 cup hot water
  • Extra flour to flour surfaces when working with dough

Materials:

  • A large bowl
  • Measuring cups and spoons
  • A pastry cutter
  • A spoon
  • A kitchen towel
  • A rolling pin
  • A large pan

Directions:

Making the dough

  1. Put flour, baking powder and salt into large bowl and mix.
  2. Add spoonfuls of your lard or Crisco at a time and cut it in with a pastry cutter until the mix is crumbly and no large chunks remain.
  3. Slowing stir in 1 cup hot (but not boiling) water. Mix with spoon until combined into a ball.
  4. Lightly flour a flat surface and knead the dough until it forms a non-sticky ball. I did this about 50 times.
  5. Put the ball back in the dough for an hour or more with a light towel over it.

Preparing the dough

  1. After the dough has rested an hour or more, break off hunks and roll dough into balls about the size of … well, the recipe I followed said ping pong ball, which was too small I thought; and a tennis ball would be too big. So let’s say, slightly larger than a ping pong ball?
  2. Return dough balls to bowl, cover with towel, let rest 30 minutes or more.

Time to cook!

  1. Heat up a pan over medium to medium high heat. I used a big nonstick pan. You can also use a flat grill or cast iron.
  2. Lightly flour a flat area for rolling out the dough balls; repeat this as needed throughout the rolling process.
  3. Roll the dough flat, pressing out in various directions to achieve some proportional balance, but don’t worry if your dough isn’t a perfect circle — because it won’t be! It’s okay; the misshapen tortillas have a charming authenticity! Or so I told myself.
  4. The dough should be rolled so thin that it’s see-throughish. Gently lay it flat in the pan. Cook for about 30 seconds on each side. It should look slightly blistered and get some color. You do not want it crisp; it should be soft, but cooked.
  5. Repeat process until you’re done! The recipe probably made around 20 tortillas.
  6. Stack your tortillas on a plate and keep covered either until you eat them or they are cool enough to store.

These tortillas can keep for up to two weeks when you refrigerate them in a well-sealed bag. I can’t wait to make them again — I felt so accomplished!

We used our tortillas for soft tacos for dinner, then followed up this morning by filling them with soft scrambled eggs, grated cheddar, and a drizzle of hot sauce. Yum! To reheat, simply microwave them or warm them in the oven. Enjoy!

Book review: “The Black Key”

The Black Key by Amy Ewing

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The final book in The Lone City trilogy, this didn’t disappoint! A satisfying end to a very imaginative series about the trod-upon taking down the oligarchy, complete with royalty, romance, and magic.

As with any trilogy, this final book delivered some surprising losses, some climatic stand-offs, and much-beloved characters rising up to realize their full potential. Very much recommend this series to fans of YA, especially series with fantasy or dystopian bends. Agree with the original summary I read that framed this series as “The Selection” meets “The Handmaid’s Tale.” Riveting to the last page!



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Book review: “The White Rose”

The White Rose by Amy Ewing

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Riveting sequel to “The Jewel,” this is your typical bridge novel in a trilogy that has the core characters barreling through revelations and obstacles to gain the skills and knowledge they’ll need to survive the final act. Without revealing too much, this second book in The Lone City trilogy has Violet and her small band of allies escaping the Duchess and The Jewel, bound for a mysterious haven in The Farm where they are promised safety — and where Violet’s destiny awaits her. Her role in the plan to overthrow the dangerous Royalty becomes clearer as she learns new truths about her own abilities and ancestors. A great second book! Excited for the final chapter.



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Book review: “The Jewel”

The Jewel by Amy Ewing

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Described as “The Selection” meets “Handmaid’s Tale,” this dystopian fantasy was a total page-turner and I am so excited it’s part of a trilogy that’s entirely published because now I know what I’m doing for the next several days!

Our setting for this novel is a central city known as The Jewel. It is a circle, and is surrounded by four additional circles, all separated by walls, less exclusive as they move away from the Jewel. The outer ring, the poorest and shabbiest, is known as The Marsh — but it has one claim to fame; it’s young women at age 12 are tested and some are discovered to have special powers, or augeries, that can manipulate the color, shape, and growth of things. These women are taken from their families to institutions where they are carefully instructed and controlled until their later teenage years, when they are auctioned off to the royal families of The Jewel to serve as surrogates.

Our heroine is Violet, otherwise known as Surrogate 197 of 200 — the highest numbers are the most talented, and Violet has a particular talent for making things grow. The story begins on the eve of the auction and follows her plunge into the spectacular, twisted, complex world of The Jewel, with it’s terrible traditions, secrets, and the relentless competition between The Jewel’s most important families for the greatest treasures of all: offspring.

Cue the chills and I’m sorry now if you, like me, are unable to put this down. So good!!



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Book review: “The Betrothed”

The Betrothed by Kiera Cass

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I wanted to love this book because I’m a huge fan of Kiera Cass’ previous work, particularly her awesome “Selection” series and her stand-alone “The Siren.” If I could separate this book in two, I would give the first 80 percent 2 stars, and the last 20 percent a solid 4, because it really isn’t until the end that some semblance of narrative tension is introduced to what up until that point is a pretty flat plot.

The premise: King Jameson (I wanted to do a shot every time I read his name!) is in search of a bride, and after flirting his way through the kingdom’s loveliest ladies, has landed on Lady Hollis Brite, our heroine. I had to continually remind myself she was the heroine because she wasn’t terribly endearing or catchy. We find out she is very beautiful but by her own description, not especially smart (this may or may not be true) or cunning. What she is, though, is observant, and also funny; we are told she makes the king laugh, and this is what’s won her a crown.

As the novel meanders along, we watch King Jameson’s (shot!) affections increase, Hollis’ intense parents hover, her brittle and grating BFF Delia make particularly sharp and biting comments, and things only get mildly interesting when a new family rolls in: the Eastoffes are castoff refuges from a neighboring kingdom, and there are all kinds of references to the horrible things they’ve suffered without any real description of said horrible things. Of course the Eastoffes have a hot son who catches Hollis’ eye just as her attention toward Jameson (shot!) begins to wane and she thinks maybe she’s not down for this whole ornamental queen thing after all.

This rather flaccid love triangle between the clueless-but-jovial Jameson, waffling Hollis, and the hot newcomer is the center of the novel until the aforementioned 80 percent of the way through. FINALLY at that point some stuff starts to happen that extends beyond the flip-flopping heart of a teenager. It does set up the next book to be more successful because finally we’ve got some serious political intrigue, betrayals and heartbreak to queue up an interesting storyline. Because of that, I will likely read the sequel. I would say to Cass fans, if you’re committed to her work, then read this book with patience knowing that it does, barely, get better by the end.



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Recipe: Sweet potato fries!

Easy side dish: sweet potato fries! For an unfathomable reason, this is a sub side that restaurants often charge extra for. Why? They are just as accessible, affordable, and delicious as traditional starches.

This recipe calls for baking, not frying, the so-called fries. It’s a caloric save that doesn’t sacrifice taste.

Peel and slice your sweet potato into “McDonald’s size” fries. I’ve done this with white and red sweet potatoes and have found soaking the fry slices in water for at least a few hours ahead of time lends to more crispiness.

After soaking, drain your taters. Toss in large bowl with 2 tablespoons olive oil, a teaspoon each of salt, paprika and garlic powder, and a half teaspoon of pepper. You could play with these spices depending on your flavor preferences, for sure.

Spread your fries evenly on a baking sheet. Spray some oil on there first if they aren’t non-stick. Cook at 425 for 15 min and flip. Cook other 15 minutes.

After cooking, they will get crisper as they rest. Yum! This quantity pictured came from one large white sweet potato. Pretty fry for a white guy!! Sorry, couldn’t help myself.

Sweet potatoes are temperamental – cook too fast and they are floppy and mushy, and cook too long and they are crunchy and bland. I’ve played with the timing on this recipe and this is presently my best assumption at achieving that crisp outside but fluffy inside. You may have to play with it too depending on your oven and how thin or thick you slice your fry. Good luck!

Bonus: for an easy dipping sauce, mix one part mayo and one part sour cream and add sriracha to taste. You could also just add sriracha to mayo or ketchup.