A Book Lover’s Dinner Menu

A Book Lover’s Dinner Menu

Hosted by
LLEW AND ROCHELLE ALMEIDA

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Placing the Saltimboca on the table in our Southport Dining Room

Theme

Since we’re all book-lovers, Llew and I thought it would be fun to plan a party and design a menu around the theme of “Food in Books”.

All our recipes are taken from
The Book Lover’s Cookbook:  Recipes Inspired by Celebrated Works of Literature and the Passages that Feature Them
By
Shaunda Kennedy Wenger and Janet Kay Jensen

As it has turned out, we have an appetizer from Ireland, entrée from Italy, one side dish from Canada, a salad from the Southern part of the United States and a dessert from England. So, this menu is truly eclectic and international, just like the books on this list. They reflect the tastes and culture of several different parts of the world.

Also, since it is late summer, we’ve planned a summery menu that includes Potato Salad, Fresh Garden Vegetables like Zucchini and Tomatoes and Fresh Peaches.

On the following pages, we have provided the recipes for the dishes and the passages from Literature that inspired them. As you can see, we’ve run the gamut from high-brow literature to bestsellers to children’s books.

We hope you will have as much fun cooking these dishes as we have had planning this evening and will, undoubtedly have as we enjoy the food.

We look forward to seeing you at our place soon!

A BOOK LOVER ‘S DINNER PARTY

MENU

Appetisers
Almond-Bacon Wraps
Inspired by Maeve Binchy’s Tara Road
(Art and Bonnie)

Entrée:
Law-Abiding Saltimboca
Inspired by Richard North Patterson’s Dark Lady
(Llew and Rochelle)

Sides:
Zuchini Lasagne
Inspired by Margaret Atwood’s Cat’s Eye
(Brett and Mary-Lauren)
and
Ruby’s Potato Salad
Inspired by Charles Frazier’s Cold Mountain
(Llew and Rochelle)

Dessert:
James’ Ginger Peaches
Inspired by Roald Dahl’s James and the Giant Peach
With
Aunt Petunia’s Baked Custard Pudding
Inspired by Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling
(Dan and Amy de Lannoy)
BACON AND PRUNES

Because she was not such a near neighbor, Danny and Ria saw a lot more of Rosemary. She often called in around seven in the evening for an hour or so and they would all have a glass of wine mixed with soda in the front room.  Ria made hot cheese savories, or bacon slices wrapped around almonds and prunes.  It didn’t matter that Rosemary waved them away;  Danny would have a few, she and the children would eat the rest, and anyway it gave her a chance to bring out the Victorian china that she had bought at auctions.
From Maeve Binchy’s Tara Road

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ALMOND-BACON WRAPS

1 package fully cooked cottage or Canadian style Bacon (about 20 whole slices)
40 whole prunes (about 12 ounces)
40 small basil leaves
40 whole almonds

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Spray a jelly roll pan, 15 ½ X10X1 inch with cooking spray.

Cut each bacon slice in half. Cut a slit in each prune; stuff it with an almond. Place a basil leaf on a bacon strip; wrap it around the stuffed prune. Place the wrapped prune seam side down on a pan.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until bacon is browned.  Serve warm with toothpicks inserted through the seam for easy handling.

Makes 8 servings of 5 pieces each.

(Recipe contributed by Maeve Binchy, as derived from Ria’s culinary genius in Tara Road).
Please Note: I realize that the quantity “1 package” of Canadian bacon is rather vague. You will have to make a judgment on this one. You need enough bacon to cover 40 prunes. Each piece of Canadian bacon is sliced in half, so you will need at least 20 slices of bacon. I have calculated 40 prunes based on each one of us eating about five of them.
SALTIMBOCA

Pausing, Michael took a deep swallow of wine. “So,” he continued, “he buys into lawful enterprises, including whatever cash businesses he can get his hands on—caterers, limo services, vending machine operations, parking lots, bars and restaurants.  The illegal money gets siphoned into all these different fronts, which scrupulously report every dime, then fiddle the books to make proceeds of heroin look like their came from, say, a zillion plates of saltimboca.”
His eyes, Stella realized, sparkled with quiet laughter. Stiffly, she put down her wine. “This place.”
Michael nodded. “Morro’s. The food’s good, by the way.”
(From Richard North Patterson’s Dark Lady).

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LAW-ABIDING SALTIMBOCA

2 pounds thin veal cutlets for scaloppini (yields about 16 cutlets), rinsed and patted dry
8 ounces sliced prosciutto
1 cup flour with 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon lemon pepper
16 thin slices (deli-style) provolone (about ½ pound)
8 tablespoons butter or margarine
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup dry white wine
2 cups chicken broth
2 lemons, sliced into wedges for serving.

Cover each piece of meat with a slice of prosciutto, trimmed to fit. The meat should stick together well without need for toothpicks to secure.  Melt the butter or margarine with oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Dredge the veal-prosciutto patties in the flour mixture and sauté over medium heat, with the prosciutto side down first.  Cook each side about 1 minute.  Immediately transfer the meat to a heated dish and top each veal-prosciutto pattie with a slice of provolone.  After all the meat has been cooked, pour wine and broth into the skillet.  Stir over high heat, scraping up leftover drippings from the bottom of the pan.  Bring to a simmer, then remove pan from heat and pour the sauce over the veal.  Serve at once with lemon wedges. Serves 8.
ZUCCHINI

The past isn’t quaint while you’re in it. Only at a safe distance, later, when you can see it as décor, not as the shape your life’s been squeezed into.
They have Elvis Presley zucchini molds now:  you clamp them around your zucchini while it’s young, and as it grows it’s deformed into the shape of Elvis Presley’s head.  Is this why he sang?  To become a zucchini?  Vegetarianism and reincarnation are in the air, but that’s taking it too far.  I’d rather come back as a sow bug, myself;  or a stir-fried shrimp. Though I suppose the whole idea’s more lenient than Hell.
(From Margaret Atwood’s Cat’s Eye)

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ZUCCHINI LASAGNE

2 tablespoons olive oil
4 large zucchinis, thinly sliced lengthwise
4 large tomatoes, thinly sliced
2 Vidalia onions, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped
1 tablespoons fresh thyme, chopped
Garlic powder, salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 cup Mozzarella and Parmesan Cheese, grated and mixed together

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Spread olive oil in the bottom of a large casserole baking dish.  Arrange a layer of zucchini over bottom of dish.  Add a layer of tomatoes.  Add a layer of onions.  Sprinkle half of the dill and thyme over onions.  Sprinkle with garlic powder, salt and pepper.  Add half of the cheese.  Repeat layers with the remaining ingredients.
Bake for about 30 minutes until zucchini is tender and cheese is melted.
Makes 8 servings.
Note: Do buy the fresh mozzarella and parmesan cheeses from the cheese section of the supermarket. Do not go for the packaged variety or the one that comes in the Kraft green package!

POTATOES

That noon, Ruby said she waned to walk up and check on the apple orchard, so Ada suggested they have their lunch there.  They made a picnic of the leftover pieces of last night’s chicken, a small bowl of potato salad for which Ruby had whipped up the mayonnaise, and some vinegared cucumber slices.
(From Charles Frazier’s Cold Mountain)

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RUBY’S POTATO SALAD

8 potatoes
1 cup celery diced
2 cups onions, diced
3 eggs, hard-boiled

Dressing:
2 eggs, well-beaten
1 cup sugar
1 cup vinegar
1 teaspoon mustard
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
4 slices cooked bacon, diced

Boil the potatoes in their jackets over high heat until they are tender.  Rinse the potatoes in cold water, then peel and chop them into small cubes.  Place the chopped potatoes in a large bowl and add the celery, onion, and hard-boiled eggs. Toss to combine.

In a saucepan, combine the beaten eggs, sugar, spices, vinegar, and bacon.  Cook over medium heat until the mixture thickens, stirring often.  Pour the cooked dressing over the potato salad and toss lightly.  Let the salad cool.  Cover and refrigerate for several hours before serving to blend flavors.  Best if made one day before eating.
Makes 12 to 15 servings.
PEACHES

It was a large hole, the sort of thing an animal about the size of a fox might have made.
James knelt down in front of it and poked his head and shoulders inside.
He crawled in.
He kept on crawling.
This isn’t just a hole, he thought excitedly. It’s a tunnel.
The tunnel was damp and murky, and all around him there was the curious bittersweet smell of fresh peach.  The floor was soggy under his knees, the walls were wet and sticky, and peach juice was dripping from the ceiling.  James opened his mouth and caught some of it on his tongue. It tasted delicious.
He was crawling uphill now, as though the tunnel was leading straight toward the very center of the gigantic fruit.  Every few seconds he paused and took a bite out of the wall.  The peach flesh was sweet and juicy, and marvelously refreshing.
(From Roald Dahls’ James and the Giant Peach)

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JAMES’ GINGER PEACHES

1 cup sugar with ½ teaspoon powdered cinnamon
8 well-ripened peaces, sliced and skin removed
4 tablespoons butter or margarine
2 tablespoons crystallized ginger, chopped

Sprinkle the sugar mixture over the peaches in a saucepan and let sit for 2 hours. Add the butter and ginger.  Heat peaches over medium heat, melting the butter.  Stir continuously to coat peaches with sugary mixture. Heat until peaches are warmed through, about 3 to 5 minutes.  Serve topped with custard or whipped cream. Makes 8 servings.
CUSTARD PUDDING
Readers of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets will remember Aunt Petunia’s levitating cream-covered, violet-topped custard—the elegant creation that crashes and covers Harry with dessert, thanks to Dolby, the house elf, who has appeared to warn Harry not to return to the Hogwart’s School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

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AUNT PETUNIA’S BAKED CUSTARD PUDDING
 1 8-ounce package of cream cheese, cut into chunks
2 cups half-and-half
1 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
4 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine all the ingredients in a blender and process for about 2 minutes on high speed or until very smooth.  Strain the mixture and pour into a two-quart glass casserole coated with cooking spray.  Place the casserole in a larger cake pan and fill pan with boiling water, to within one inch of the top of the dish.

Steam in a 325 degree oven for about 90 minutes. Pudding is done when it is firm and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.  Chill thoroughly.  Serve with fruit or molded desserts, over cake or pie. Makes 8 servings.

Note:  You can also make these puddings in individual custard cups (6 ounces each) coated with cooking spray. Place the individual cups in 2 cake pans.  Fill pans with boiling water to within one inch of the cup tops.  Steam them in a 325 degree over for about 70 minutes.

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Gourmet Club Members enjoying the Book Lover’s Dinner

 

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