Crumbs in our Pages: What’s for Dinner?

April 24th, 2013 Posted in Author Visits, Book Reviews, Cooking
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Curtis Stone’s What’s for Dinner?

Since we haven’t been successful in having Curtis Stone come to our homes in person, we’ll have to settle for the next best thing: Curtis Stone What’s For Dinner? Delicious Recipes for a Busy Life Cookbook! And just so you know, there’s no settling going on here – this is one fabulous cookbook…

What's For Dinner Cookbook

Neatly divided, each night of the week has a different theme:

Motivating Mondays (start the week off right with healthy fare)

Time-Saving Tuesday (because so often Tuesday is “to-do” day)

One-Pot Wednesday (is there anything better for midweek pick-me-up)

Thrifty Thursday (so there’s a bit more for splurging on the weekend?)

Five-Ingredient Friday (being exhausted ≠ drive through window)

Dinner Party Saturday (food + family + friends = joy3)

Family Supper Sundays (#1 best way to grow happy, healthy kids)

And one final chapter, because no dinner is complete without Something Sweet (Peaches with Melted Bûcheron…be still my heart!)

The layout is just like we want it: enticing photograph (every dish!!) and complete recipe on one page (thank you for listening, cookbook editors).

Last week we went for Motivating Monday’s Grilled Chicken with Arugula and Zucchini Salad with Lemon-Caper Vinaigrette (henceforth dubbed A to Z salad).  A simple supper that was packed with bright, light flavors.  The star of the show was the Lemon-Caper Vinaigrette – a snappy sauce that made both the salad and chicken come alive – just a splash was enough to bring a little mojo to what could otherwise be Mundane Monday.

grilled chicken with A-Z salad

arugula - freshly picked

zucchini - micro thin

Last Sunday, Julia, Valerie and I headed to the Tanger Outlets in Texas City where Curtis Stone will be signing copies of What’s For Dinner. Who knows, maybe we’ll even convince his to come to our house for Sunday Supper –Martha

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St. George’s Day: Nancy’s Pick

April 19th, 2013 Posted in Book Reviews, St. George's Day
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Sailing Around the Room

I chose Sailing Alone Around the Room by Billy Collins as my book to be an evangelist for during the April St. George’s Day contest. Collins’ poems are about situations and feelings and places that are common, yet in the exacting words of this fine poet, they can become spectacular and singular. Collins’ poetry is sometimes funny, sometimes thought provoking, always accessible. My copy was given to me years ago by a friend who knows well my taste in words. I pull it down several times a year and am always rewarded with the satisfaction of a fine poem and the warmth of a great friendship.

But I also want to be an evangelist for poetry in general. Not sure what someone likes to read? Poetry has it all; it is part fiction, part non-fiction, part memoir. Only like “good” writing? Poetry is narrative condensed, every word matters. Like to skip around? You can read the last poem first and not spoil the ending, pick a poem in the middle and not reveal a plot twist. Poetry for a book club? Absolutely! Not only could you discuss specific poems, but members could take turns reading their favorites out loud. Listening to poetry can definitely cast a poem in a different light. I sometimes read poetry out loud just to hear how it sounds in a quiet place, or I read poetry silently to help drown out the noise around me.

Some people are intimidated by poetry, so let me take this opportunity to teach you how to read a book of poetry:

Step 1: Come to Blue Willow Bookshop.
Step 2: Pick up Billy Collins’ Sailing Alone Around the Room.
Step 3: Open to any page.
Step 4: Read and enjoy.

Finally, I have to share the first stanza of one of my favorite poems from the book, Forgetfulness.

The name of the author is the first to go
followed obediently by the title, the plot,
the heartbreaking conclusion, the entire novel
which suddenly becomes one you have never read, never even heard of,

So true, so true.

- Nancy

 

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St. George’s Day Picks

April 15th, 2013 Posted in Book Reviews, St. George's Day
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Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil

A long time ago (or back when dinosaurs roamed the earth, as our kids like to say), my husband and I both read MIDNIGHT IN THE GARDEN OF GOOD AND EVIL by John Berendt.  Berendt spent 8 years in Savannah, Georgia, immersing himself in the city and its society.  He weaves the tale of Jim Williams, a wealthy antique dealer accused of murdering a young handyman, with the stories of debutantes, voodoo priestesses, drag queens and trial lawyers.  We were enthralled with his vivid descriptions of parties and customs so foreign from our own.  He shows us that truth really can be stranger than fiction. Pick this up if you want to step into another world without leaving your living room.  And happy St. George’s Day!

– Cathy

 

 

 

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Crumbs in Our Pages: Mr. Wilkinson’s Vegetables

April 10th, 2013 Posted in Book Reviews, Cooking
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Mr. Wilkinson’s Vegetables: A Cookbook to Celebrate the Garden


Occasionally a dazzling thought comes our way that once read, we know is going to be an essential lifelong truth.This happened the other day as I was drooling over, reading through Mr. Wilkinson’s Vegetables: A Cookbook to Celebrate the Garden by Matt Wilkinson. So what is this nugget of truth? This pearl of great price? Drumroll, please…

“SO WHY A BOOK ON VEGETABLES, I HEAR YOU ASK
It’s quite simple. Thinking about the vegetables first is how I cook. Today a lot of people think about what protein they feel like eating – will it be beef or chicken, fish or pork? Then what starch will be add to bulk out the meal and, as a final touch, throw in a few vegetables. This is where I’m a little different with my veg first approach.”
– Matt Wilkinson

 

Genius! Brilliant! Bouleversant! (one of my all-time favorite French words – loosely translated it means “turns your life upside down!) Once stated, deeply moving truths often elicit the response of “duh, why didn’t I think of that?” and it’s then you realize that deep down this is how you’ve wanted to live, you just needed someone to state the obvious. And so begins a love affair with vegetables, no longer turned to as a last resort, but brought out front and center to shine at each meal.

As a cookbook, Mr. Wilkinson’s Vegetables radiates earthiness and vitality. From the rich feel of the matte pages to the crisp, clean photographs, to the thick cardboard covers, like a garden brimming with plump, luscious homegrown vegetables each pages, begs, “pick me, pick me!”
Thoughtfully arranged from A for Asparagus to Z for Zucchini, Wilkinson has included recipes for 23 of his favorite vegetables as well as recipes for the one vegetable he detests, but included anyway. He leaves it up to the thorough reader to discover which one he just can’t abide.

Also included are two essential tips for a successful culinary experience. The first I already do: clean as you go. A dear friend once taught: upon entering the kitchen to fill the sink with hot soapy water and clean as you go (thank you, Bets!). The second tip is laborious yet in the end provides a more fulsome cooking experience. If I could train myself to do this one essential step (actually 5, but who’s counting), it would, to quote Mr. Wilkinson, “help me immensely”.

 too-many-carrots-2

Having a bounty of carrots and all the other ingredients on hand (always an added pleasure), Carrot Cake was the recipe of choice. More like carrot bread than cake, it was an immediate Blue Willow favorite – especially when served with a slice of brie, as suggested by Mr. Wilkinson.

bit of brie

Years ago in elementary school we had a creative writing unit. I still remember a story written by Juwene Palotta (isn’t that an awesome 60’s name?) entitled Unvegetablitis about a girl who gets sick because she won’t eat her vegetables. Mr. Wilkinson’s recipes for Raw, Pickled & Roasted Cauliflower or Spinach, Mustard Greens & Baked Ricotta Cheese or Roasted Butternut Squash & Heirloom Carrot, Macadamias, Caper & Raisin Dressing guarantee to cure even the most serious case of Unvegetablitis!

-Martha

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Children’s Book Week

April 9th, 2013 Posted in Community, Neighborhood News
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Celebrate Children’s Book Week

Blue Willow is fortunate to be an official host for Children’s Book Week. We love to work with the Children’s Book Council to highlight this week each year!  All of us know the value and joy that reading can bring to kids and their families and we celebrate that week with special events (Jessica Day George will visit May 8) and the coveted Children’s Book Week posters and tote bags.  This year’s poster was designed by Brian Selznick, of HUGO CABRET fame:

You can celebrate Children’s Book Week too, by voting in the Children’s Choice Book Awards.  Take a look at the ballots below and make your choices by May 9 (winners are announced at an awards gale in New York on May 13).  If you don’t know what book to choose, ask your favorite kid, librarian or bookseller. They’re sure to have an opinion!

-Cathy

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St. George’s Day Celebration 2013

April 8th, 2013 Posted in Book Reviews, St. George's Day
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St. George’s Day Celebration 2013

Back by popular demand AND the incentive of a contest we are again celebrating St. George’s Day and the International Day of the Book and World Book Night and Shakespeare’s birthday (too much?).  I am kicking it off with a favorite from years past.

If you know what I like then you know that I mostly read novels–I like a good story, characters that either surprise or enlighten me, and a first rate narrator.  The sign of a good novel to me is when I stop, close the book, and think “Yes!” or “Wow” or “What does that mean?”

All of these emotions were going through my head and heart when I read THE SOLACE OF LEAVING EARLY.  Could I relate to Langston with her inability to move forward until propelled by events beyond her control?  I don’t know.  What I remember is thinking that this is what life is really like.  This is what parental relationships look like once we strip away the veneer and trappings of our outward life.

This is the jacket copy:

Using small-town life as a springboard to explore the loftiest of ideas, Haven Kimmel’s irresistibly smart and generous first novel is at once a romance and a haunting meditation on grief and faith. Langston Braverman returns to Haddington, Indiana (pop. 3,062) after walking out on an academic career that has equipped her for little but lording it over other people. Amos Townsend is trying to minister to a congregation that would prefer simple affirmations to his esoteric brand of theology.

What draws these difficult–if not impossible–people together are two wounded little girls who call themselves Immaculata and Epiphany. They are the daughters of Langston’s childhood friend and the witnesses to her murder. And their need for love is so urgent that neither Langston nor Amos can resist it, though they do their best to resist each other. Deftly walking the tightrope between tragedy and comedy, The Solace of Leaving Early is a joyous story about finding one’s better self through accepting the shortcomings of others.

Please indulge me by going back ten years and read this superb novel.

-Valerie
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What I Did on My Spring Vacation

April 1st, 2013 Posted in Book Reviews, Neighborhood News
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What I did on my spring vacation

cabin

 

Six days of reading bliss.  My idea of real vacation is planning nothing more than what I’m reading, eating, and drinking for the day.  I just returned from a ski trip to Park City, Utah where my older son Will is wrapping up his second season as a ski instructor at  Deer Valley.

For eating and drinking, I highly recommend The Tin Angel  in Salt Lake City when you arrive at the airport. It’s very convenient, locally supported, and friendly.  They have great sandwiches and pastas.  Also we love the atmosphere and the whiskey flights at High West Distillery.

 

high west

 

We enjoyed the good but we are spoiled with Houston’s fabulous restaurants.  What I don’t have in Houston is the relaxation and reading that comes when forced to leave the shop. I read eight books–some picked up from stacks that have been calling to me and some from ones sent to me the day I left.  It’s always so hard to decide.  Here are just a few reviews:

Mapmaker’s War

by Ronlyn Domingue 
Ronlyn’s coming to visit so I really needed to read this.  Her last book THE MERCY OF THIN AIR was an ethereal ghost story set in New Orleans.  It took me a few pages to realize that she’s written an allegory set in a fantasy.  Personally I’m not a big fantasy fan, partially because I struggle to form the newly formed world in my old brain.  This story enchanted me.  A young girl is singled out for her mapmaking skills which causes her world to become much bigger than ever imagined. As a young woman she is sent on a trip to discover what lies beyond the river.  It’s more than what anyone expected. It’s more than I expected. Highly recommended.

A Constellation Of Vital Phenomena

by Anthony Marra

I picked this up last September at the regional trade show.  Everyone has been raving about it.  Why did I wait so long??  Especially after I found a note from my mother tucked in it that she loved it and was going to recommend it to her book club.  The novel is set during the civil unrest periods (is there any other time?) in Chechnya.  Achmed wakes to see his neighbor being dragged away by the Feds as they torch his home.  Knowing that the young daughter may still be inside, he goes to rescue her.  Achmed takes her to a hospital where he believes she could be safe. There a Russian doctor reluctantly takes on the care of the young girl as well as the mentorship of Achmed.  There are many different strands that you must follow as all the characters are related in some way.  The heartbreak and humanity shine in this debut. You must read it.

The Suitors

by Cecile David-Weill

If my friend Susan Brickell wrote a book set in the south of France, this would be it.  A bitingly funny farce supposedly about two very wealthy French women who are trying to find a spouse in order to preserve the beloved family summer home.  This summer home is a French Downton Abbey set in present day.  Marie narrates the story of the kooky cast of characters who are invited to either lunch (that would include Martha Stewart), a weekend (that would be the wealthy potential suitors-sadly most poorly attired), and the regulars who’ve been coming for years.  Complete with menus, seating arrangements, and laugh out moments, anyone who wants something funny will surely enjoy.

Until the next trip,
-Valerie
And here’s why we went!
Will and Jennifer
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Our Favorite Authors

March 13th, 2013 Posted in Book Reviews
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Our Favorite Authors

The Girlboss, a customer, and I were chatting about books last Friday during Bibliotherapy and we started talking about favorite authors. We talked about the different ways to define “favorite.” Is it the author of your favorite book? Maybe, but sometimes one title may stand out while others fall short by comparison. Is it the author who you’ve read every single book they’ve published? We were all three proud to say we read and loved the entire oeuvre of Harper Lee.

I don’t hesitate to claim that my favorite author is John Steinbeck and I have read most, but not all, of his work. He died in 1968, but I recently stumbled across a collection of newspaper columns he wrote from Southeast Asia while reporting on the Vietnam War. I had no idea that Steinbeck had written about Vietnam. These columns were his last published material and I loved reading every word.

Then the customer asked the perfect question: What author are you most looking forward to publishing their next book?
I’d have to say Anne Tyler. Her books have never disappointed me. They never feel formulaic, but they all feature quirky and flawed characters that I’m sure could be living in my neighborhood, or in my house.

Or maybe Mary Doria Russell. Her books are all so completely different, feel so well-researched, and are beautifully written. I never know what to expect other than enjoyment.

I know there’s great anticipation for Khaled Hosseini’s new book coming out this summer, and several staffers are fighting over the advance copy we have from Kent Haruf. Personally, I’m waiting to see what Stephen Merrill Block will come up with next.

So. What author ARE you most anticipating reading their next book?

~ Nancy

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Nigellissima

March 11th, 2013 Posted in Book Reviews, Cooking
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Nigellissima

cover

Friend of Blue Willow (you remember her last visit, don’t you?), Nigella Lawson whisks us off for a lovely visit to Italy in her newest cookbook, Nigellissima.  And what a delicious visit it is.

A feast for the eyes as well as the table, Nigellissima boasts more than 100 recipes from pasta to panna cotta – each one promising to be a decadent delight.

When the centerfold of grilled lamb chops scrumptiously arranged on a bed of arugula caught my eye, I knew there was no running from temptation; they would make a memorable meal for this month’s dinner group.  The pistachio pesto green beans, grilled potatoes, and fabulous salad filled our plates with a sumptuous bounty.  Incredibly simple to prepare, it made a wonderful meal to share with guests while not spending hours in the kitchen.

Earlier that morning the veggies were prepped while the lamb chops basked in the herb marinade.
prepped and ready

A quick spin in the food processor created a nutty pesto that sautéed nicely with the fresh green beans.

pistachio pesto

The bed of arugula was a lovely backdrop for the lamb chops and grilled potatoes.

grilled to perfection

Nigellissima offers a bounty of recipes that are not the typical Italian fare, in fact she makes no claims that the “recipes are authentically Italian”.   She makes no apologies but rather invites us to share her passion for all things Italian. I, for one, heartily accept! I’m looking forward to pasta with zucchini next summer when the mountains of zucchini arrive in our veggie co-op boxes and cranberry pistachio biscotti will be pure bliss in my Christmas coffee.  Nigella’s wonderful introduction also includes a brief description on key ingredients, which I find most helpful – as quantities and varieties often make a substantial difference in the outcome of any recipe.  An added bonus is the final chapter – a Christmas dinner that will keep family and friends around the table for all the festivities.

– Martha

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Herding Cats at Home or Blue Willow

March 5th, 2013 Posted in Back Flaps
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Herding (or hearding) Cats at Home or Blue Willow

When you visit our shop you know that we are a talkative bunch. This week’s conversation has included the announcement from Yahoo’s Marissa Mayer  regarding the call to all workers to return to the office.  No more p.j.s, washing clothes while working, and grazing from the refrigerator.
Marissa Mayer
First we need to take Ms. Mayer’s personal situation out of the equation.  She is fortunate enough to have her newborn child near her daily in a special nursery attached to her office. Most other working moms do not have this luxury. But this is not the point of the discussion.
Read Jan Bruce’s reaction on Forbes.com
As the leader of this herd of cats (Oh, I’m sorry–booksellers) here at the shop, I know well the importance of collaboration.  You really need to be here on a regular basis to be a part of the conversation.  Our wonderful social media maven Maria Soto knows this very well.  She manages our media from afar so she  has to work extra hard to get the feel of our shop on a hourly basis.  Yahoo is a creative company.  They need to bounce ideas off each other to create new ones.

The other side of the conversation is that according to studies, people who work from home are more productive.  I can understand that. You would too if you’ve ever been in our 200 sq ft backroom. Interruptions are (excuse me I’ll be back) often. In Quiet by Susan Cain, you will learn how powerful being alone can be.

There’s probably a happy medium but I’m sorry for some of those workers in Sunnyvale.  They can move to Houston and come work for me. I’ll let them do both!
Valerie
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