(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); if you haven’t heard about this book, you should! It’s a novel written from the voice of the black servants and some of the people they work for, all residents of Jackson, Mississippi. In the 1950’s. The maids generally are disrespected, still have to ride in the back of the bus, and some are prevented from using the bathroom in the houses where they work. The story is about a young woman (daughter of one of the society ladies) who decides to write a book about the stories of the maids. Anonymously. But not quite, of course. So it’s not only the stories themselves, but about the society-ladies’ relationships, and about the stealth required to interview the maids and write the book. And the repercussions when it’s published. A fantastic read.
by Jetta Carleton (Kindle edition); 
by Susan Richards (Kindle edition); 
by Sally Gunning (Kindle edition)
; 
; 
(Mario Batali & Gweneth Paltrow); 
; 
.
Cheese Ball. Brings back memories for me of nearly every celebratory party of the 1960’s. Nearly every cook made a cheese ball. They went out of fashion, for sure. But they’re actually quite good, and it took going to a cooking class with Cathy Thomas (the food editor of our local newspaper, the Orange County Register), to try an updated version.
I was all over this cheese ball with a hint of curry powder in it. The sharp cheddar plays a minor role here, although you do know there’s a sharper cheese in it. But it’s the toppings that set this apart. The mango chutney, the toasted coconut (unsweetened), toasted pecans, green onions and dried cranberries. No 1960 cheese ball ever had that kind of stuff on it. Cathy served this cheese ball with water crackers, but the star accompaniment is slices of apple. That’s a marriage made in heaven.
And, did I tell you this recipe is EASY? Really. The cheese ball itself is made in the food processor (cream cheese, sharp cheddar and curry powder). And you form it into a disk shape (mine was more round there in the picture, I’d advise making a flatter type, so more of the toppings will stay on the top). It’s chilled for awhile. Then you make the toppings – I toasted the pecans and the unsweetened coconut together, although the coconut will toast faster, so it might be better to do them separately.
You chop up some green onions (including the green tops) and dried cranberries (I chopped them because sometimes they’re really big and maybe people don’t want so much of them in one bite). Once you take the cheese ball out of the refrigerator (about 30 minutes before you want to serve it), spoon on the mango chutney. All the toppings kind of adhere to the sticky chutney, so be generous with it. The pecans and coconut go on first, then the green onions and cranberries last. Sit back and wait to hear raves from people about it. I thought I’d have plenty of leftovers when I served it last week to some friends. Well, they ate 3/4 of it, so when I served the remainder I packed on some more toppings. It was barely enough. I’ll be making this again and again. Our friends are going to get tired of it, I’ll be serving it so often. Does that tell you you need to MAKE THIS? Hope so.
Bombay Cheese Ball
Recipe: From a cooking class with Cathy Thomas,
Food Editor, Orange County Register
Servings: 8 (maybe)
8 ounces cream cheese — room temp, cut into pieces
4 ounces sharp cheddar cheese — room temp, grated
1/4 teaspoon curry powder — or more to taste
GARNISHES:
1/2 cup mango chutney — or more if preferred (chopped, if pieces are large)
2 tablespoons coconut — unsweeted, flaked, toasted
1/4 cup toasted pecans — chopped
1 tablespoon green onions — finely minced, including green tops
1 1/2 tablespoons dried cranberries — chopped
1. Combine cream cheese, grated cheddar and curry powder in food processor fitted with metal blade. Puree until smooth. Shape cheese into a ball (it’s be soft) or flatter disk shape. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least 3-4 hours. Can be made a few days in advance.
2. Unwrap cheese ball and place in the center of a serving platter. Sprinkle all the garnishes on top, starting with the chutney (so the other things will stick to it), and ending with the dried cranberries. Serve with apple wedges and water crackers.
Per Serving: 200 Calories; 15g Fat (67.0% calories from fat); 6g Protein; 11g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 46mg Cholesterol; 176mg Sodium.
printer-friendly PDF recipe
Two years ago: Southern Peach Cobbler
0 Comments