– by Neil White (on my Kindle) – a really, really interesting book. It’s a memoir about the year the author spent in prison in Louisiana. About his sanctimonious attitude when he arrived there (he was convicted of kiting checks trying to keep his publishing business afloat) and what he learns during his year. But as much as it’s about his life as a prisoner, it’s more about the other residents of the prison – the last remaining lepers (Hansen’s Disease) who are provided for in the facility. Neil White is quite a character and I wondered more than once if he was ever going to “get it,” that he was greedy and egotistical. The book wasn’t published for about 10 years after his release, so at least he didn’t profit immediately by telling tales. The epilogue was so sad – listing the deaths of many of the leprosy patients and some of the inmates he came to call friends. One person at amazon commented that it was not worth reading because the author profited from his incarceration, and that he didn’t appear to have redeemed himself. I disagree – I think he did. If he didn’t, then he knows how to spin a good yarn. I choose to believe he learned a whole lot about himself and where his life took a (wrong) left turn, and that he’s trying to atone for his failings by publishing the book. You decide.
- by P.D. James (on my Kindle) – if I hadn’t read about this book in the Los Angeles Times a week or so ago I’d never have pursued this book. It’s nothing even close to her wealth of books of the mystery genre. But yes, it IS a mystery (not something I normally read) but it takes place about 5 years after Pride and Prejudice leaves off. That was the hook for me. An entertaining read and a way to keep in touch with all the lovable (and not-so) characters from Jane Austen’s classic. It’s not a page-turner in the true mystery-murder style, but it’s fun to read.
– by Judith Ryan Hendricks – I picked up this book at a lending library I use now and then. I have to laugh, though – the collection of books (probably numbering about 350 or so) is divided by paperback and hardback. And then by color. COLOR? I find that so ludicrous. But anyway, the title caught my eye. It’s definitely a novel, about a youngish woman who’s been a baker and a chef, but who is suddenly single. It’s about her struggle to find herself, to find a new rhythm of life. In the telling of the journey some recipes are included (baked goods, including bread-bread), which are available on the 
– by Ree Drummond (The Pioneer Woman) – most everyone who reads blogs knows about Ree – the Pioneer Woman, from Pawhuska, Oklahoma. She’s always entertaining, whimsical and enjoyable to read. A couple of years ago she wrote a memoir of her romance with Ladd, her now husband. I can’t count how many times, as I was reading this, that I was LOLing (Laughing Out Loud). She is such a witty writer and knows how to tell a story. Even though I know she married Ladd and has since had 4 children, I was caught up in her story from the first page. I wrote it up in more detail on
– (on my Kindle) Michael Tucker (from L.A. Law some years ago) and his wife, on a whim almost, buy a home in Umbria. An old, old, old house with two bedrooms, a kitchen, living room, I think, and a nice terrace (where a lot of living goes on in Italian homes and families). It’s the story of the purchase itself, the friends they meet, the neighbors, how Michael finds the best butcher(s), bakers and candlestick makers. It made me long for another trip to Italy, actually. They enlarge the home, although they’re not there for most of the construction. It’s a similar tale to Frances Mayes’ books and Peter Mayle’s books too, but it’s different. Tucker is a TV star; his wife’s a stage actress. They live on some higher plane than I do, for sure, with lots of friends with connections. But it’s a cute story and I enjoyed it clear to the end.
(Stacy Schiff); 
; and 
.
Just plain and simple fish soup – no cream – nothing all that unusual, just lots of flavorful spices, tomatoes and some delicious broth – altogether good.
I had a number of filet of sole, individually frozen, in the freezer. And a nice piece of halibut. Plus a package of Trader Joe’s mixed shellfish. A marriage was made in this soup. My photo shows the title as Freshwater Fish Soup – well, I didn’t have the catfish and trout suggested in the recipe, so duh – it’s not really a freshwater fish soup at all. Forgive my mistake.
What I did have on my pantry shelf is, however, a can of Muir Glen tomatoes. I don’t know about you, but I always keep numerous cans of different tomato products on my pantry shelves – whole tomatoes, diced organic tomatoes as you can see in the photo, the fire-roasted tomatoes that are dear to my culinary heart, tomato sauce, tomato paste and even some sun-dried tomatoes too. So this time, I grabbed the diced tomatoes and added them to this simple soup – no cutting and chopping required. And nearly all of them are Muir Glen. Most grocery stores carry one or two types of their tomatoes, rarely do you find one that carries them all, so each different store I visit, I’ll pass by that section just to see.
Recently Muir Glen offered to send me their 2011 reserve selection – a lovely 4-pack of tomatoes, including two of their premium cans of “reserve” tomatoes. Those are only available by mail order, to the best of my knowledge. I certainly don’t hide my preference for Muir Glen tomatoes, and have mentioned them numerous times in the past with recipes.
Anyway, back to soup . . . using the website Eat Your Books, I found a recipe in an old cookbook I have – Crescent Dragonwagon’s book The Dairy Hollow House Soup & Bread: A Country Inn Cookbook
What I’ve always liked about the recipes is that they’re full of flavor. That’s my idea of a good cookbook. This recipe isn’t a difficult one – it’s really fairly straight forward. Don’t be intimidated by the long list of ingredients – it’s not all that difficult – or time consuming – to make this. I have in my frig a small container of fish soup base, that wonderful stuff made by Penzey’s. The recipe called for chicken stock, but why use that when you’ve got fish stock? The finished soup is very flavorful – it’s mostly fish, tomatoes, the soupy stock and a bit of rice. Not a lot of other vegetables, really. I added the baguette slices (they’re not in the recipe). Suit yourself – but we enjoyed that as a texture addition. The recipe has two components – the soup – and the fish. And really a third – the rice. The author fixes a pet peeve of mine – when you make fish soup, all the fish falls apart as you’re making it. Dragonwagon has you prepare the fish separately (and you use all the good broth from it in the soup so nothing’s wasted). And the rice – and not very much rice, which I liked. Only in the bowl do you co-mingle everything. A great idea, I thought. It’s a trick she developed when she ran her restaurant – people don’t like to eat fish soup with tiny flakes of fish – they want pieces. Her method works like a charm.
What I liked: this was clearly a fish soup – no waffling – there’s lots of fish in it. Good flavor; good broth. No cream. No thickening agent. Just the straight stuff. The different components are combined in the soup bowl – as long as the soup stock part is nearly boiling, you can pour it over the fish and rice and it all warms up to the right eating temperature.
What I didn’t like: nothing at all. Not very suitable for freezing, though. The fish would disintegrate, I think, in the process. So, make and eat.
MasterCook 5+ import file – right click to save file, run MC, then File|Import
Fish Soup Provençal
Recipe By: Dairy Hollow House Soup and Bread, by Crescent Dragonwagon
Serving Size: 6
Serving Ideas: Serve with toasted bread – either on the side, or put it on top of the fish soup when served.
NOTES: I used filet of sole, halibut and a package of frozen mixed shellfish (shrimp, scallops, calamari) for the bass, catfish or trout suggested.
4 cups fish stock — or chicken stock or bottled clam juice
1 1/2 cups dry white wine juice of 1 lemon
3 whole cloves
3 whole black peppercorns
3 whole allspice berries
1 whole bay leaf
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
skin of 1 large onion
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried dill
2 1/2 pounds fish — bass, catfish or trout, cleaned and cut into pieces
Tomato sauce:
1/4 cup olive oil
1 large onion — finely chopped
2 medium carrots — scrubbed and finely chopped
2 ribs celery — chopped
1 large shallot — peeled, chopped [my addition]
2 cups canned tomatoes — drained and coarsely chopped [I used the juice]
grated zest of 1/4 orange
3 cloves garlic — peeled
4 large fresh basil leaves — (4 to 5)
tiny pinch of cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon honey — or sugar
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 cup dry white wine
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
For serving:
2 1/2 cups cooked rice
finely chopped fresh Italian parsley and/or fresh basil leaves for garnish
1. In large skillet, combine all the ingredients in the first list except the fish and bring to a boil. Add the fish, turn the heat down to low, and barely simmer, covered. Poach the fish until it is firm and done, 6-8 minutes unless the fish pieces are thicker than 3/4 to 1 inch (in which case cooking will take a little longer).
2. Pour stock and fish into a colander set over a bowl; reserve both stock and fish. Discard the whole spices and the onion skin. When the fish is cool enough to handle, skin the pieces and pull out the bones; reserve the flesh.
3. Prepare the tomato sauce: In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and saute until lightly softened, about 3 minutes. Add the carrots and celery and saute another 3 minutes. Put the tomatoes, orange zest, garlic, basil, cayenne, honey, and tomato paste in a food processor and process until the leaves are fairly chopped and the tomatoes are a chunky puree. Add this mixture, plus the wine, to the sauteed vegetables. Cook, stirring often, over medium-high heat for 10 minutes.
4. 15 to 20 minutes before serving, combine the broth and tomato sauce and simmer gently for 5-10 minutes. Taste; correct the seasoning with salt and pepper. Meanwhile have your soup bowls or cups ready, heated, if possible. In each bowl place a serving of the rice, and a generous amount of the poached fish pieces. Ladle the piping hot soup over the rice and fish (if the soup is hot enough, you won’t have to worry about reheating the rice or fish). Garnish with the chopped parsley or basil and serve at once.
Per Serving: 378 Calories; 14g Fat (42.4% calories from fat); 5g Protein; 39g Carbohydrate; 5g Dietary Fiber; 11mg Cholesterol; 514mg Sodium.
Toffeeapple
said on January 28th, 2012:
Reminds me of eating Bouillabaisse in France. That is an entirely different method though and takes hours. The fish recipes of most of the ports in France have varying ingredients and methods. One of my favourites is in Boulogne. Must go back to France soon I think.