Los Angeles, California
Just finished a good book that I didn't enjoy. It was entitled Contents May Have Shifted, written by Pam Houston. It was an interesting read, a bit like a collection of journal entries which, when taken in their entirety, told an outline of a tale about the protagonist, a writing professor with a penchant for exotic, even extreme, travel (much like the author herself). I didn't completely realize that I wasn't enjoying it until I finished and began a new book with a more linear story. Interestingly enough, at the same time that I was reading this book, Billy was reading A Moveable Feast, by Ernest Hemingway. And, hang onto your hats, he didn't enjoy that book -- even going so far as to say that he "didn't think the writing was very good." OK, as an English major, I'm not even going to dignify that comment with a comment.
The larger point, I think, being that we both stuck with the books we weren't enjoying, and finished them. As I wrote in my last post, I buy books. Real. Books. So, it takes a lot for me to walk away from a bad book. Lord help me, I even finished The Bridges of Madison County, though, frankly, I did snicker and roll my eyes a lot while doing so. I could probably count on one hand the number of books that I have begun and not finished, and I'm even going to count The Deerslayer by James Fenimore Cooper. It was on a class reading list in college, and something had to go that semester as I was carrying fifteen units of upper division English classes, and my head was swimming. So here it is, my confession to the world: YES! I READ THE CLIFF NOTES INSTEAD OF THE BOOK!!! I feel a whole lot better now that I have gotten that off my chest, though I still feel just very slightly guilty that I got an A in the class. I can handle it, though.
But here's a recent book I didn't finish: The Girl with the Stupid Dragon Tattoo. It was like The Bridges of Madison County all over again. EVERYONE insisted that I should read this book -- people whose opinions I respect (including my friend, Jayne, who turned me on to Lisa Lutz' Spellman Books), and my very learned friend, Susan. Bookstore clerks were asking me if I had already bought the book. And so I did. I actually did make it about one hundred and fifty pages into it, and I never threw it against the wall or anything. But one night I set it down, and I never picked it up again. I didn't miss them. I was glad to be rid of them.
Then came the movie which, again, I understood that I must see. Right. My friend, Christopher, took the bullet for us when we were all in Carmel, and went to see it. He came back reporting that there were two good things about it: the credits, and Daniel Craig. And yet. And yet, I still hear people raving about both. I guess that's what makes life and people interesting. That there is always something for everyone -- although, in my opinion, any tale involving Natty Bumppo is a long shot in that equation.
Here's another confession: We saw Julie and Julia when it first came out. I so enjoyed the Meryl Streep/Julia Child portion of the film (as well as the memoir it came from). When the film made it to cable a few months back, I watched some of it several times. And what I mean by some of it is that I DVR'd it, and then only watched the Julia parts, thus saving myself from the incessant whining in the Julie segments. I thought about other films I could watch like this, and how much time it would save me in life. Like in the original Hayley Mills, Parent Trap, one could skip the whole Boston portion of that movie and just watch the beginning part when they are at camp, and the part that takes place in Monterey (the father's home is a house to die for, I think). This would be sortakinda (I've decided that this should be a word) like that short subject film that runs through all of Shakespeare's plays in under five minutes, mas o menos.
Our friends, Jim and Sue, were in town recently and when we met for dinner, I discovered that Sue is also a voracious reader. Somehow, in the past twenty-five or so years of knowing them, this got past me. Billy and I were throwing out book titles to her, trying to remember, off the top of our combined heads, books that we had recently read and enjoyed. These were the ones which raised to the top, and that we both agreed upon: The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson; The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon; Carter Beats the Devil by Glen David Gold; Away by Amy Bloom. Sue recommended a few books to us as well, including . . . wait for it . . . The Girl with the Stupid Dragon Tattoo. Next time I see her, I'm going to recommend that she read The Deerslayer. Fair is fair. Natty Bumppo and I thank you for reading my blog.
Los Angeles, California
Someone, who shall remain nameless, has requested a recipe. And, if anyone else out there has wondered why the recipes have disapparated, I will explain. They took a break, or rather, I did. I haven't taken a break from cooking. Au contraire. But laying out recipes on my posts is a time-consuming task, as I explained once before in a previous post -- one of the 60-odd or so, which are all available here for free (an old and oft-repeated joke which I adapted after cribbing it from the wonderful footnotes in Lisa Lutz' Spellman family series, which you all must read. See more here). If I were better at my layout and design, I would probably have a template for the recipes, but I'm not and I don't and so there you have it. And if you're expecting an apology for that last recipe for popcorn, you can just forget about that.
Popcorn recipe notwithstanding, food is an important part of my life and blog. And so. And so, I reluctantly drag myself back to meeting the challenge of placing recipes in my posts. Don't get me wrong. I love to share recipes. That's not the problem, but rather it is one of indentations and wrapping. But why should I burden you? Instead, let's extol the virtues of . . . cauliflower.
My friend, Christopher, who prepared the most amazing fontina risotto for ten (or twelve or so, since I got the leftovers) on New Year's Eve when we were all in Carmel, forwarded a recipe for broccoli and shrimp, which originally came from the New York Times. He had adapted it for cauliflower and confessed he sometimes nixed the shrimp. I further adapted it, due to a shortage of coriander seeds the first time I made it. And so, here is the recipe as I prepared it, with notes regarding the original recipe. And I'm off, into the world of formatting . . .
Roasted Cauliflower (Broccoli) With Shrimp (or not)
2 pounds cauliflower, cut into bite-sized florets (or broccoli!)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon olive oil*
1 teaspoon whole fennel seed (or whole coriander seed)
1 teaspoon whole cumin seed
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon whole pink peppercorns (or 1/8 teaspoon red chile flakes)
1 pound large shrimp, shelled and deveined
1 teaspoon (mas o menos) lemon zest (from 1 large lemon)
Lemon wedges, for serving
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a large bowl, toss cauliflower with extra virgin olive oil, fennel, cumin, salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. In a separate bowl, combine shrimp, lemon olive oil, remaining 1/2 teaspoon pepper, pink peppercorns, and lemon zest.
Spread cauliflower in a single layer on a baking sheet. Roast for ten minutes. Add shrimp to baking sheet and toss with cauliflower. Roast, tossing once halfway through, until shrimp are just opaque and cauliflower is tender, about ten minutes more. Serve with lemon wedges, or squeeze lemon juice all over shrimp and cauliflower just before serving.
4 servings.
*I kinda have this thing for lemon olive oil. I've tried a few brands. I used to buy O brand, but last year did a taste test with Lucini and decided I liked the later better. It had a clearer lemon oil flavor and was less bitter. I still rely on O brand's sherry vinegar and champagne vinegar.
Christopher reported being obsessed with this recipe, and I can fully understand that. I have made variations of it with fennel - a bulb or two, sliced up, and a quite nice rendition with brussels sprouts. I think it may very well become a reliable standard in our kitchen. More often than not I make it without the shrimp. But a bag of frozen uncooked shrimp from Trader Joe's is a fast way to add protein to the dish when you need that. I did restock the coriander seeds and use them about half of the time. I have celery seed on order from Morton & Bassett and expect to try that in the near future.
So, there you have it. Roasted vegetables for a winter's day, enabling us all to feel quite smug and healthy. And there's nothing wrong with that -- at least nothing that a martini and a hot fudge sundae can't fix. Le sigh . . . (and thank you for reading, and maybe even cooking with, my blog.)
