• 2017 book list

    When I write down a title, I jot down a couple notes to remind myself what I thought of the book. This, it turns out, is fortunate because many times — even though I read the book less than a year ago — I can not, for the life of me, remember anything, not the characters, not the setting, not the plot. Sometimes I don’t even remember the book itself. Am I losing my mind?

    *The History of Love, by Nicole Krauss. Lovely and rich, but it left me confused. I felt like there were lots of pieces that should fit together but didn’t.

    *Tiny, Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life by Dear Sugar, by Cheryl Strayed. At first I loved the book, but towards the end I tired of the grinding details and reverted to skimming.

    *Kitchens of the Great Midwest, by J. Ryan Stradal. A light, fun read.

    *In the Sanctuary of Outcasts, by Neil White. I quit about halfway through: lack of plot.

    *The Clean House, by Sarah Ruhl. A play: entertaining and fun.

    *The Nest, by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney. Fast-paced, but shallow and slightly dull.

    *A Square Meal: A Culinary History of the Great Depression, by Jane Ziegelman and Andrew Coe. Some parts were fascinating, but much of it I skimmed.

    *The Woman Said Yes: Encounters with Life and Death, by Jessamyn West. Interesting stories — I learned an awful lot about tuberculosis! — but the book seemed poorly edited and organized.

    *Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis, by J. D. Vance. After all the the hype, I expected more…

    *Are You Anybody?, by Jeffrey Tambor. A pleasant read about an interesting (but difficult, I imagine) person. Bonus: I gleaned some helpful acting tips and perspectives.

    *Anything Is Possible, by Elizabeth Strout. Quiet and meandering, exquisitely written.

    *A Man Called Ove, by Fredrik Backman. Absolutely splendid! My husband loved it, too. And then we watched the movie and thoroughly enjoyed it. (And my husband, who hates slow movies, got a huge kick out of it, probably because Ove reminds him of himself.) (ALSO, the engagement scene is ours completely: car, parking lot, averted gaze, etc. The only thing missing in the movie version is the turkey plant/factory in the background.)

    *The Wonder, by Emma Donoghue. Quite good, and the ending was superb.

    *Modern Lovers, by Emma Straub. Lightweight, but entertaining.

    *Option B, by Sheryl Sandberg: Facing Adversity, Building Resiliance, and Finding Joy. My world wasn’t rocked, but I appreciated some of her perspectives.

    *You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me, by Sherman Alexie. A wonderful book — enchanting writing style and enlightening (and hard) subject matter. Even so, I felt like the book was about a hundred pages too long.

    *Books for Living: Some Thoughts on Reading, Reflecting, and Embracing Life, by Will Schwalbe. What a fun read! I loved the format: a memoir stemming from the books he’s read. Bonus: the book provided a good bit of read-aloud material to share with the family at the supper table. 

    *The King is Always Above the People, by Daniel Alarcon. A collection of engaging, and slightly strange, short stories.

    *Turtles All The Way Down, by John Green. It’s a best seller for a reason! I inhaled this book in one day, on our trip home from Tennessee. One of my favorites for the year.

    *Manhattan Beach, by Jennifer Eegan. Well-written, but the story didn’t suck me in.

    *Sing, Unburied, Sing, by Jesmyn Ward. Fascinating subject matter, but a bit odd.

    *Future Home of the Living God, by Louise Erdrich. Supremely excellent … until the final section when the author’s tone changed from realistic and believable to dreamy-weird. The change was so jarring (and so crushingly disappointing because the story was so good — if nothing else, read it for the seven-page birth scene) that it made me wonder if Erdrich simply got sick of writing the story and decided to quit. Um, Editor? Hello???

    *The Rules Do Not Apply, by Ariel Levy. A fast read, engaging and well-written.

    What memorable, life-changing, page-turning books did you read this year? What are you reading right now? (Currently, I’m reading two books — The Ninth Hour by Alice McDermott and Where the Past Begins by Amy Tan — and I have a couple other books in my queue for when those are done, but after that I’ll be casting about for suggestions, so … help?!)

    P.S. Book Lists of 2016, 2015, and 2014.

    This same time, years previous: 2016 garden stats and notes, remembering Guatemala, our apocalypse, tamales, eggnog, throwing it down.

  • balsamic-glazed roasted butternut squash and brussel sprouts

    Last week, my mom came over to finish the second season of Stranger Things with my older daughter and I. We ate Eggos to celebrate. Also, coffee and ginger cookies. And, in keeping with our snacky supper theme, the roasted brussel sprouts and butternut squash with a balsamic reduction glaze and pomegranate seeds that I had made as an experiment…and to counterbalance all the sugar. We — mostly my mother and I — ate all of it, every single little caramelized chunk of sweet butternut, blackened lacy piece of sprout, and juicy pomegranate jewel.

    I made it again Saturday afternoon, this time when there was still daylight so I could take photos. Some friends had popped in for a visit, so while we caught up on life, I chopped veggies and snapped photos.

    Once the veggies were roasted, I transferred them to a platter and dressed them prettily before snapping the last couple pictures and then scooping some into a bowl and plopping back down on my rocker.

    “Feel free to help yourself,” I said, gesturing at the platter with my fork, my mouth full.

    And they did.

    Balsamic-Glazed Roasted Butternut Squash and Brussel Sprouts
    Adapted from Ree Drummond of The Pioneer Woman.

    Leftovers are great, but I still think this is best served fresh from the oven, either warm or at room temperature.

    For the glaze, I used a fancy blackberry balsamic vinegar that my aunt gave me. Unfortunately, the fruity flavor dissipated with the cooking, so maybe just use regular balsamic and then add the fancier stuff at the end for a flavor boost?

    1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cubed
    2 pounds brussel sprouts, trimmed and quartered
    1-2 red onions, cut into chunks
    Olive oil
    ½ -1 teaspoon chili powder
    Salt and black pepper
    Balsamic vinegar reduction glaze (see below)
    ½ cup pomegranate seeds

    On a large, sided baking sheet, toss the onions, butternut, and brussel sprouts with plenty of olive oil. Sprinkle with chili powder and lots of salt and pepper. Bake at 450 degrees for 25-35 minutes, or until the butternut is fork-tender.

    While the veggies are roasting, make the reduction glaze…

    Balsamic vinegar reduction glaze:
    1 cup balsamic vinegar
    ¼ cup brown sugar

    Bring the vinegar and sugar to a boil over medium high heat and then simmer for 15 – 20 minutes. It’s easy for this glaze to take on a slight burned flavor, so take care not to cook for too long. Also, if you like (and I did), stir in a tablespoon of fresh balsamic at the end to sharpen the flavors.

    Transfer the roasted veggies to a serving platter and drizzle the glaze over top (you probably won’t use all of it). Scatter the pomegranate seeds over top and sprinkle with more freshly ground black pepper.

    This same time, years previous: 2016 book list, sex for all creation, old-fashioned sour cream cake donuts, 2014 book list, cheese ball, hot buttered rolls, bacon-jalapeno cheese ball, for my walls, spaghetti carbonara.

  • ludicrous mashed potatoes

    My method for making mashed potatoes is so basic that I’ve never bothered with a recipe. I make them like my mom taught me: boiled, peeled potatoes whipped into creamy nirvana with a hand-held mixer (though ever since my mixer died I’ve been using either a ricer or a hand-held masher thingy) and then doused with hot milk, a generous blob of melted butter, and plenty of salt.

    But then I read in Bon Appetit (yes, while at my children’s allergy appointment — where do YOU do your Bon Appetit reading?) about the formula for perfect mashed potatoes: four pounds potatoes, two cups milk/cream, and two sticks butter. Which made me shake my head in disbelief: Two sticks of butter? That was insane!

    But then Ree posted a video of her favorite mashed potatoes — four pounds of potatoes, two sticks of butter (plus more for garnish), ½ cup each of heavy cream and half-and-half, and a half pound of cream cheese — and I threw up my hands in surrender. Alright already! I’LL TRY IT.

    I made the ludicrous mashed potatoes — for that is what I’ve taken to calling them — for our Thanksgiving Leftover Remix, bravely plopping the two sticks of butter and the block of cream cheese into the mashed potatoes and then baptizing the whole sinful mess with cream (though I used less than Ree did, self-righteous sniff). Despite all the chilly add-ins, the potatoes were surprisingly warm, but I transferred them into a baking pan and put them in a hot oven for about 15 minutes anyway, just to make sure they were good and hot.

    And the potatoes were utterly delicious. The cream cheese added a rich tang that everyone noticed but couldn’t identify — in other words, while the potatoes were satisfying on their own, they weren’t detractors from the rest of the meal — and everyone raved.

    And you know, in retrospect the whole butter/fat thing doesn’t seem that horrible. We ate less than half of the potatoes for dinner, and then the leftovers lasted another couple meals. When I consider how much butter we go through — at least a stick — when I serve baked potatoes, or all the fat I use to fry up hash browns, the fat-to-potato ratio seems downright reasonable.

    But when I explained my rational for pimping out my mashed potatoes to my mom, she didn’t buy it. “Everything can’t be rich, Jennifer,” she scolded. “You need some plain foods to counterbalance all the other food.”

    Well, sure, Mom. I’m all for ordinary, day-in-and-day-out beans and rice, granola, and green smoothies, but since when did we decide it was acceptable to serve baked potatoes with butter (and cheese and sour cream) but that mashed potatoes — their beaten and abused counterparts — must remain straightlaced and austere? It seems a bit arbitrary to me. Or maybe discriminatory.

    But I don’t know: Maybe Mom is right and we’d all be happier, healthier eaters if we mashed our potatoes with watery, two-percent milk and a moderate blob of butter? Maybe piling on all the dairy products is entirely uncalled for?

    But holding mashed potatoes back from realizing their full-potential hardly seems fair. And they taste so good! Besides, you’ll probably end up eating less in the long-run: with all the butter and cream cheese, they’re more satisfying and filling (each bite is deeply, purely, wholly mashed potato, not the shadow of a mashed potato longed for), so there’s less temptation to pig out.

    So tell me, who do you agree with: the puritanical mother or her mashed potato floozie of a daughter?

    Ludicrous Mashed Potatoes
    Adapted from the November 2017 issue of Bon Appetit and The Pioneer Woman.

    4 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks
    2 sticks butter, plus extra for garnish, if desired
    8 ounces cream cheese
    ¼ cup each heavy whipping cream and half-and-half
    4 teaspoons salt, plus more to taste
    Black pepper

    Cover the potatoes with water and boil. Reduce the heat slightly and cook until fork tender. Drain well. Return to the cooking kettle and immediately mash with a handheld masher to release the steam.

    Add two sticks of butter, the cream cheese, the heavy cream, the half-and-half, and the salt. Continue mashing until all the ingredients are combined and the potatoes are creamy. Season to taste.

    Pour the potatoes into a greased 9 x 13 pan. If desired, dot with chunks of butter. (At this point the potatoes can be covered and refrigerated until later.) Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes until the potatoes are heated through and bubbling around the edges.

    This same time, years previous: the quotidian (12.19.16), brightening the dark, mini dramas, supper reading, the quotidian (12.16.13), how to have a dunging out date, toasty oatmeal muffins, the quotidian (12.19.11), chocolate-dipped candied orange rinds.