(Dolen Perkins-Valdez, hardback). From the title you might think this is a book about the s-x word. It’s not. By a long shot. But the story, set in about 1852, is about a black slave woman, and her somewhat misguided “love” for her master. About the children she bore him, under the eagle eye of the master’s wife. But it’s all tied together with a yearly journey made to a place called Tawawa House, a rural inn of sorts in southern Ohio (a free State), that for some years allowed white slave owners to stay at the resort in rustic cottages with their black slaves, as couples. This place existed, according to the author’s afterword, and finally closed because some of the regulars (white couples who stayed in the main house) didn’t fancy this concubine business going on out in the woods. It’s about Lizzie’s relationships with the other slave women, about their desire to run to safety through the local underground, about them secretly meeting some free blacks, finding out more about abolition, and about the hardships all these black mistresses endured, and how little their lives were valued. A real stunning book. (I was sent this book as a perk from Harper Collins – because I had mentioned The Help. No strings attached – I could choose to mention this book, or not, here on my blog. I’m glad to because it’s a very good read.)
(Jamie Ford, on my Kindle). A poignant story about a Chinese-American, growing up in Seattle at the beginning of World War II. Henry falls in love with a young Japanese girl before her family is interned in a relocation camp. It a very secretive relationship because his parents would highly disapprove. The story goes back to the 40’s and forward to the 1980’s when Henry is in his 50’s and his wife (not the Japanese woman) has just died of cancer. The story pulls you in from the first page, especially when some artifacts are found in the basement of an old hotel which contain personal belongings from several Japanese families who were suddenly taken away back in 1942. You can see where it’s going, can’t you? I heard criticism of this book that it was just a little bit contrived. Halfway through I’m enjoying it very much.
(Kathryn Stockett on my Kindle, an excellent read); 
by Jetta Carleton (Kindle edition, eh); 
by Susan Richards (Kindle edition, good book); 
by Sally Gunning (Kindle edition, very good read)
; 
; 
(Mario Batali & Gweneth Paltrow); 
; 
.
Improvise. That’s the word of the day. I had a head of cauliflower and hadn’t decided what I’d do with it. Remembering how wonderful the twice-baked cauliflower is that I posted a few months ago, I looked at the list of ingredients and didn’t have everything. When I made it months ago I’d adapted it from the recipe over at Kalyn’s Kitchen. This time I had about 1/3 cup of sour cream, but no Parmesan. I had about 2 ounces of cream cheese, but no green onions. So, I improvized. The mother of invention, so they say.
This is the dish that is kind of like mashed potatoes, but it’s made with cauliflower. You mash it up, kind of like you would with mashed potatoes, but it’s not as smooth. Then you add in the fixins, like bacon, sour cream, etc. What I did have was: bacon, a tad of cream cheese, a bit of butter, and buttermilk (I often add buttermilk to my mashed potatoes, so my thinking went along that this would be a good addition to cauliflower too). So, here’s an adjunct recipe for twice-baked cauliflower. You can use whatever cheese you have – I happened to have a nutty, but mild white cheese with truffles in it. I hadn’t planned on cooking with this cheese, but it was beginning to grow some mold on the outside, so figured I’d best use it pronto. It was delicious. We had seconds it was so good.
Twice-Baked Cauliflower Take 2
1 whole cauliflower, cut into large florets
3 slices bacon, thick-cut, minced
4 ounces cheese, your choice, shredded, divided use
1/3 cup sour cream
2 ounces cream cheese
3 tablespoons buttermilk
1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the cauliflower. Cook until the cauliflower is just tender when you poke the stem with a knife. Drain and set aside.
2. Meanwhile, fry the bacon until brown. Drain on paper towels and set aside.
3. Mash the cauliflower until it’s relatively smooth, but will still have small pieces visible. Save some cheese to put on the top. Add all the other ingredients and stir until combined. Pour into a small casserole dish and top with remaining cheese. (This can be eaten at this point, but it’s best if you bake it for just a few minutes, or pop it in the microwave to heat it up completely.)
Per Serving (yikes): 515 Calories; 46g Fat (78.5% calories from fat); 16g Protein; 12g Carbohydrate; 3g Dietary Fiber; 114mg Cholesterol; 590mg Sodium.
To view a PDF recipe, click HERE.
Kalyn
said on October 21st, 2007:
It is such a good recipe isn’t it! I need to make this again myself. Glad you are enjoying all the variations.