fantasy

The Midnight Library + Broccoli and Ricotta Toast

March 23, 2021 by Megan 2 Comments

Like so many hyped books before it, The Midnight Library excited me and gave me pause. I was immediately drawn to it from the description — a story about multiple lives lived and making right on past regrets — but the over-enthusiasm I saw everywhere pushed me away. I was, of course, afraid it wouldn’t live up to the hype. Ultimately, though, I knew I would regret not picking it up, and so I did. It was amazing.

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig — Available on Bookshop.org and Amazon

Matt Haig created a novel about a library in which every book contains another life Nora Seed could’ve lived. She is free to explore as many lives as she chooses, until she finds one that suits her, where she’s fulfilled, and then she will stay. In one life, Nora is famous; in another, a scientist; and in another, she just eats toast. In some lives, she is married or single, a mother or not. Family and friends who have died are now alive, and sometimes those who were living have passed on. When picking a regret to correct, Nora never quite knows what will happen in the new story of her life — she must open the book and live it.

I loved the concept. I loved the execution. Of course, I also loved that inside every book was a different life to live. And that Nora had a wonderful librarian to guide her in her journey. I was absolutely riveted and finished the entire novel within 24 hours. It made me think and feel… lots and lots of emotions.

“Librarians have knowledge. They guide you to the right books. The right worlds. They find the best places. Like soul-enhanced search engines.”
The Midnight Library, Matt Haig

The life where Nora eats toast is literally one line in the novel — "In one life she only ate toast." — but it stood out to me in a story where food wasn’t paid much attention.

The other exception being a life in which Nora has a husband who "tended to put a whole bulb of garlic in every meal he created." (Sounds like an excellent husband to me!) In that same life, she enjoys "a great garlicky pasta-and-broccoli meal." Together, these things brought me to my recipe: Broccoli and Garlic-Ricotta Toasts.

If you love roasted garlic and roasted broccoli and snackables, you will love this recipe. I couldn’t get enough and was really sad when they were gone. Thankfully, making them was easy; I fully plan to make them again.

First, I toasted the baguette slices and roasted the broccoli and garlic. I sliced the baguette into thin (half inch) cuts on the bias and made sure the broccoli was cut into smallish florets so they would fit on the toasts later.

Once the bread was golden, I took it out of the oven and let the broccoli continue roasting.

When the broccoli and garlic were done — a little brown on the edges — I pulled the pan out and let it cool enough to handle the garlic. While it cooled, I quickly mixed together the drizzle, which was just honey, white wine vinegar and red pepper flakes. Then, when it was cool enough, I squished the garlic out of the peel and into a bowl.

I mixed the garlic with ricotta cheese to make the spread for the toast.

Then, I assembled the toasts. I spread each piece generously with the garlic-ricotta mixture, placed 2-3 pieces of broccoli on each, and then arranged them on a tray, drizzling them with the hot honey sauce before serving.

I know if I ever lived a life where all I ate was toast, this would be the one I want. I could eat this forever and ever.

Broccoli toasts inspired by The Midnight Library

Print Recipe

Broccoli and Ricotta Toasts

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time30 mins

Total Time40 mins

Course: Appetizer

Servings: 6

Ingredients

1 baguette sliced ½" thick on a diagonal (about 12 slices)
6 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil divided
1 head of broccoli florets chopped into ½" pieces
1 head of garlic cloves separated
Kosher salt
1 Tbsp. honey
1 Tbsp. white wine vinegar
½ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1½ cups fresh ricotta
Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

Place racks in upper and lower thirds of oven; preheat to 400°. Arrange bread slices in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet and drizzle with 2 Tbsp. oil. Toss on baking sheet to coat, then arrange again in a single layer. Place broccoli and garlic on another rimmed baking sheet and drizzle with remaining 4 Tbsp. oil. Season generously with salt and toss to combine.
Place broccoli on top rack and bread on bottom rack and roast until bread is golden brown and crisp, 10–12 minutes. Remove bread from oven and continue to roast broccoli and garlic, tossing once, until broccoli is browned all over and garlic is tender, another 15–20 minutes. Let cool slightly.
Meanwhile, whisk honey, vinegar, and red pepper flakes in a small bowl.
As soon as garlic is cool enough to handle, squeeze cloves out of their skins and mash in another small bowl to form a paste. Add ricotta and mix well; season with salt and black pepper.
Spread ricotta over toasts and top with roasted broccoli. Arrange on a platter and drizzle with honey mixture.

Notes

From: Bon Appetit

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The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue + Sweet and Savory Madeleines

March 2, 2021 by Megan Leave a Comment

I can’t remember when I first heard of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab, but no sooner than I did, it was suddenly everywhere. People couldn’t stop talking about it, and with the description, I could see why. Still, I was a little hesitant to pick it up because we all know how I feel about high expectations — they can ruin many a reading experience.

Addie LaRue is about a young woman in 18th century France who makes a bargain with the devil to live forever — and in that bargain she is doomed to never be remembered by anyone she meets. Until someone does remember her.

[Read more...]

The House in the Cerulean Sea + Blackberry Ice Cream

August 25, 2020 by Megan 5 Comments

I recently read and adored The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune. I haven’t been this excited to talk about a book in a very long time.

TJ Klune’s novel is a fantasy about a group of magical beings on a secluded island. For those of you who may be skeptical about fantasy, I want to clarify that on the whole, it’s quite realistic — apart from the magical beings. Our main character, Linus, works for a government agency providing recommendations as to whether or not orphanages should remain open or be shut down. The orphanages happen to be home to children with special abilities.

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Life of Pi + Dhal Soup

April 3, 2018 by Megan Leave a Comment

I rarely re-read books, primarily because there are so many new ones I want to read. My TBR list never stops growing - and it’s only gotten worse since I started blogging. Lately, though, I’ve been thinking that I’d like to make it a point to re-read more of my favorites. Or, more specifically, books that I enjoyed so much I bought a copy (with the intention of reading them again or lending them out for others to read). Anyway, when the Book Challenge by Erin included a category of “books that take place on a mode of transportation,” the first book that came to mind was Yann Martel’s Life of Pi. The challenge only allows for one re-read, and this was one I owned - and remember liking, so I decided to give it another go.

For the majority of the story, 227 days worth of it to be exact, Pi survives on a lifeboat with fellow passenger Richard Parker, who happens to be a Bengal tiger. Pi and his family were traveling from India to Canada with a cargo ship full of zoo animals when it shipwrecked, stranding Pi with an unusual boatmate. Though the premise promises adventure, it took a little bit to get into - the narrator describes how he stumbled upon Pi and learned his story. Pi also goes through a bit of a spiritual exploration prior to their scheduled journey, which slows things down even while providing some humor.

American Gods + Beef Pasties

May 4, 2017 by Megan 4 Comments

I read American Gods hoping to create some personal excitement for the new series on Starz (which premiered on April 30), but I finished it feeling less than enthused. I’ve had a bit of a mixed reaction to Neil Gaiman - ultimately thinking that my first selection The Ocean at the End of the Lane was just okay, but enjoying both Coraline and Neverwhere.

Gaiman’s novel is interesting enough at the outset. It follows Shadow as he is released from prison after serving three years. On his way home, he meets a mysterious man called Wednesday, an old god, actually. Wednesday enlists Shadow to help him recruit other old gods, traveling back and forth across the United States attempting to convince them to join the fight against the new gods.

Shadow’s story, when we were following it, kept my attention. It was the detours Gaiman took at the end of each chapter that I found distracting, as the story peeked in at the goings-on of various other gods we usually hadn’t met yet (and sometimes never saw again). The plot took a lot of twists and turns, and had I been fully invested, I would’ve been at the edge of my seat so I can see why people really enjoy it.

When he wasn’t with Wednesday, Shadow took refuge in a small town called Lakeside, Wisconsin. It was there that I found my recipe for American Gods - Mabel’s famous pasties. Pasties are baked pastries filled with meat and vegetables, said to have originated in Cornwall, England. They are also quite popular in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and while I have had them in England, I’ve never had them close to home - until now.

Scott’s mom had actually made them before and shared her recipe with me. (Thank you!) I made my own dough, which she said would be easy with a food processor - and it was.

My food processor didn’t seem to be able to handle such a large amount of ingredients, however, so I ended up splitting the dough into two batches. I also needed slightly more liquid to get it to come together, so use your best judgment, but make sure not to overdo the liquid because you don’t want the dough to become sticky.

I formed the dough into two smaller disks and stored them in the refrigerator in plastic wrap to chill. I allowed mine to chill overnight but a couple of hours should be sufficient.

While the dough chilled (or in my case, before I took it out to roll it), I prepared the vegetables for the filling. First, I diced the carrots, doing my best to keep them relatively small so they would soften well while baking.

Having never even eaten rutabaga (to my knowledge), I certainly had never made it, so I was a little unsure how to tackle it at first. Ultimately, I just hacked off a chunk of it, peeled off the skin and then cut the piece into smaller pieces that would fit in my food processor spout. I used my grating attachment to grate it quickly.

Then, I peeled and diced my potatoes, trying to keep their size in line with the size of my carrots. About 2 medium potatoes yielded the 1½ cups I needed. After so much prepped I decided to just use minced dried onion out of my cupboard. Fresh onion might impart a bit more moisture into the meat, but it turned out well with the dried version, so use whatever works best for you.

I combined all of my filling ingredients - about a pound of ground beef, the carrots, potatoes, rutabaga and minced onion. I also added salt and some freshly ground black pepper. Lastly, I melted the butter and poured that over the filling, making sure to mix it in well.

As I took my dough out to roll and shape, I turned on my oven to 350 degrees F to preheat. I rolled out the dough and used 8” saucers as a guide for my circles, yielding 4 large pastry circles. I filled half of each circle with as much filling as I could, making sure it could still be closed and sealed.

Note: I had a bit of filling leftover as well as a bit of pastry, so I probably could’ve made each one a bit bigger.

Finally, I cut 3 slits into each pasty and brushed them with an egg wash before putting them in the oven on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. After about an hour, they came out a lovely golden brown.

Thinking it seemed similar to meatloaf (and after some online research), I decided to eat mine with some ketchup - which seems to be a popular choice - as well as a little spicy brown mustard. Scott enjoyed his with sour cream (another online hit). Serve with whatever condiments you enjoy, but make sure you allow them to cool before digging in!

Beef Pasties

Servings: 4
Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes (not including inactive time for the dough to chill)
Print

Ingredients

1 cup Crisco or lard
3½ cups flour
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 egg (beaten)
½ TBS vinegar
½ cup ice water

For the Filling:

1 pound ground beef
1 cup grated (or finely diced) rutabaga
1 ½ cup diced potatoes
1 or 2 carrots, diced
1 small onion, diced or 1 TBS dried minced onion
salt and pepper
1/4 stick butter or margarine, melted
egg wash: 1 egg and 1 TBS water

Directions

To make the dough, put the dry ingredients - shortening/lard, flour, salt and baking powder - into the food processor. With it on low, drizzle in the liquid ingredients - 1 beaten egg, 1 tablespoon of white vinegar and ½ cup of ice water.
Once dough is well combined, form into a disk (or two smaller disks) in plastic wrap and allow to chill for a few hours, or overnight. When ready to create the pasties, roll out the dough and cut into circles with a small saucer (8” or 10” diameter).
Combine the filling ingredients, adding the melted butter last.
Add filling to one half of each pastry circle. Fold over and crimp the edges.
Brush with an egg wash and make 2-3 slits or use a fork on the top to allow the steam escape while baking.
Bake on parchment paper-lined baking sheets at 375 degrees F for 15 minutes before turning down to 325 degrees F for 45 minutes, OR just bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees F.

From: The Kitchen of Scott’s Mom, Karen

You could also make more smaller pasties, by cutting smaller circles of dough and using less filling. This may affect baking time. Mine were quite giant, but worked well as a main course (or full meal)!

Land of Love and Drowning + Lobster Rolls

September 22, 2016 by Megan 3 Comments

The magical Land of Love and Drowning by Tiphanie Yanique is set in the newly transferred United States Virgin Islands. The sparsely populated island of Anegada, formed from coral, has more lobsters than people. It is surrounded for eight miles by a submerged reef; it is also surrounded by shipwrecks.

Though Antoinette Stemme is of Anegada, when she marries Owen Arthur, he whisks her away to St. Thomas. Their two daughters, Eeona and Anette, are born and raised there, never setting foot on their mother’s homeland. The young red-headed Anette is like her mother in many ways and a bit rough around the edges, like Anegada. Beautiful Eeona is very much her wealthy father’s daughter, always concerned with the proper way of doing things and sharing an unusual bond with him from a young age.

It is surprising then, that on a later-life trip to Anegada, Eeona is able to ultimately find herself and begin to accept who she truly is. When she first arrives, a local woman gifts her a lobster. Eeona is startled and almost drops it, having never touched or eaten one before. The woman tells her that on Anegada, they “eat lobster for breakfast and lunch and dinner.”

Unlike Eeona, I have eaten lobster before. I hadn’t cooked it before - until I made LoLo’s Caribbean Lobster Rolls for lunch this weekend. It felt a little extravagant to make lobster for lunch, but considering the circumstances, it seemed right.

I began by prepping the johnnycakes, since the dough had to rest for an hour. I mixed them by hand, as directed, resulting in some messy dough-covered fingers. I had to add a touch more water (about a tablespoon) to get all of the dry ingredients to really come together, but then I was easily able to form the dough into a large ball (and then four smaller ones).

Towards the end of the hour, I put on the water to boil for the lobster tail. I also combined the mayo, mustard, pickles (I used about 1 spear, once diced), lemon juice, zest and salt to make the remoulade.

In lieu of a tortilla press, I used my cast iron skillet and some parchment paper to form the johnnycake dough balls into thinner patties. I fried them in the same skillet, using vegetable oil.

I was both excited and nervous to cook a live lobster, but in the end, finding one locally proved to be a little difficult. At the seafood market, they had both Maine lobster tails and rock lobster tails. Because of the Caribbean connection, I bought an 8-ounce rock lobster tail. (They are also known as spiny lobsters and live in warmer waters than Maine lobster. They are commonly found the Caribbean.)

Here it is after cooking and its ice bath - notice the little spines along the side:

I rescued the lobster meat from it’s slightly-dangerous shell and chopped it into bite-size pieces. I tossed it with a generous amount of remoulade (probably closer to two tablespoons). I sliced the johnnycakes, slathered on a bit more sauce and added the lobster meat for a tasty Anegada-style lunch.

Caribbean Lobster Rolls

Servings: 4
Time: 1 hour, plus resting time
Print

From: Food Republic

Remoulade Ingredients

1 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon mustard
2 tablespoons pickles, finely chopped
juice of 1 lemon
zest of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon salt

Lobster Filling

1 1½-pound lobster

Johnnycake Ingredients

1 ½ cups flour
¼ cup cornmeal
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 ½ tablespoons sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon scallions, chopped
½ teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped
oil, for frying

Directions

Place all dry ingredients for the johnnycakes in a mixing bowl and mix together by hand.
Add 1/2 cup of water and knead the dough until it forms into a ball, then portion the dough into 4 balls of equal size.
Place the balls of dough on a pan and cover with plastic. Allow to rest for 1 hour at room temperature.
While the dough rests, place all remoulade ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix well. Set aside.
Poach the lobster in boiling water for 6 minutes. Remove the lobster from the boiling water and soak in an ice bath to halt the cooking process.
De-shell the lobster and cut it into bite-size pieces tossed in 1-2 tablespoons of the remoulade sauce. Set aside.
Flatten each ball of dough in a tortilla press. Heat the oil in large, heavy pot to 350°F and fry each for 3 to 4 minutes, flipping intermittently, until the cakes are golden brown.
Remove the cakes from the oil and let them rest and drain.
Once cooled, slice and fill each johnnycake with the lobster and remoulade filling mixture and serve.