Nights in Rodanthe: Nutella-Stuffed French Toast with Sides of Bacon and Grits

Since Nights in Rodanthe takes place in a bed-and-breakfast, we can't leave this book without at least one yummy breakfast! One morning in Rodanthe, Adrienne fixed a wonderful breakfast for her guest, of grits, scrambled eggs, toast, and fruit. Later in the week after a blissful night together, Paul brought Adrienne breakfast in bed: Scrambled eggs, French toast, and bacon. (Read more about Paul and Adrienne and their bed-and-breakfast romance here.) All of these--except for the grits--are things I often fix for breakfast on leisurely weekends. I decided that since we would be having houseguests for Larry's confirmation, it would be nice to cook a fun breakfast for everyone, combining some of the things Paul and Adrienne enjoyed together.

I was pondering ways I could prepare French Toast that would be different than my usual method of dipping white bread into beaten eggs with milk, cinnamon, and vanilla, and frying them up in a skillet. The week before confirmation, this article appeared in the Food section of our local paper, describing all kinds of ways to prepare French toast. I had planned on putting together a casserole-type dish with bread and eggs and various other things, letting it soak overnight in the fridge and pop it in the oven the next morning. After the confirmation party on Saturday, I was so exhausted that I decided to scrap that idea and prepare everything on Sunday.

I went ahead and whipped up my usual egg-cinnamon-vanilla concoction, using half-and-half instead of milk. While I cooked some of the bread in the usual way, I tried what the newspaper article had suggested with some of it: after dipping the bread into the egg mixture and placing it on the skillet to cook, I put a blob of Nutella on each piece, dipped another slice into the egg, and placed that on top, cooking it grilled-cheese sandwich style.

Later I discovered it was better to dip only one side of the bread in the egg, so that there was only Nutella and no egg in the middle.

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I had some grits in our pantry that I had brought home from our visit to Mabry Mill on the Blue Ridge Parkway last summer. (Click here to see my blog post about that adventure.) Larry and I both like grits, but Moe, Curly, and Joe don't, so I don't prepare it very often. Turns out that my brother-in-law LOVES them, and of course my Dad is a big fan of them, too. We didn't have any left over.

(If I were a real bed-and-breakfast proprietor, I wouldn't make my guests eat off of paper plates. )

Not everyone was keen on eating the French Toast, but that was perfectly all right. I did put out bread for toasting (mostly because Moe is allergic to eggs) but there were no takers; our three-year-old nephew decided he wanted Lucky Charms. I think that's what Moe ate as well. I decided to skip the scrambled eggs. I didn't want to overdo it; and besides, we might not have had enough for the French toast. I did manage to whip some up the next morning, though.

Next: A unique Sloppy Joe easy enough for a weeknight, and yummy enough for a weekend!

Nights in Rodanthe: Roast Chicken with Green Beans, Potatoes, and a Pretty Rockin' Salad

Background: Paul Flanner is a plastic surgeon who travels to the coastal village of Rodanthe, North Carolina in the dead of winter. It isn't a pleasure trip; a woman in his care had died on the operating table during a simple procedure, and her bereaved husband has requested a meeting with him. He checks into a bed-and-breakfast, where he is the only guest. The owner is out of town, and has asked her friend Adrienne Willis to look after it for the week. When Paul arrives and sees Adrienne for the first time, she is looking wistfully at the ocean, crying. A divorced mother of two teenagers, Adrienne is often struck with bouts of loneliness and regret, and when Paul enters her life as a guest at the bed-and-breakfast that isn't hers, she's ready to fall in love again. Paul is also a divorcee', and he has just quit his job as a cosmetic surgeon; once his stay in Rodanthe is over, he's boarding a plane to join his estranged son, who is a family physician in a small medical clinic in Ecuador. Paul and Adrienne spend the week getting to know each other, sharing their dreams and hopes and disappointments and regrets; all the while preparing for a fierce storm that is bearing down on Rodanthe.

On the first evening Paul and Adrienne spend together in the house, Adrienne prepares a dinner of roast chicken with green beans and potatoes. I figured this would be easy enough; I roast chicken all the time. Normally I use a method I learned from my all-time favorite cookbook, The Ultimate Southern Living Cookbook: Season the chicken with lemon-pepper seasoning, cut a couple of lemons in half, squeeze the juice all over the chicken, and put the lemon halves inside the bird. Take a few sprigs of thyme and put them in the cavity with the lemons, and rub chopped fresh thyme on the outside. Brush the whole thing with olive oil, cook at 350 F until it's done, basting the chicken with the drippings every 30 minutes or so. Since this blog is meant to be a bit of an adventure, I decided to try something different. I found this recipe online from a back issue of Martha Stewart Living:

Perfect Roast Chicken

1 six-pound roasting chicken
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 medium onions, peeled and sliced crosswise 1/2 inch thick
1 lemon
3 large cloves garlic, peeled
4 sprigs fresh thyme
1 cup Homemade Chicken Stock, or canned low-sodium chicken broth, skimmed of fat

Directions

1. Let chicken and 1 tablespoon butter stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Remove and discard the plastic pop-up timer from chicken if there is one. Remove the giblets and excess fat from the chicken cavity. Rinse chicken inside and out under cold running water. Dry chicken thoroughly with paper towels. Tuck the wing tips under the body. Sprinkle the cavity of the chicken liberally with salt and pepper, and set aside.

2. In the center of a heavy-duty roasting pan, place onion slices in two rows, touching. Place the palm of your hand on top of lemon and, pressing down, roll lemon back and forth several times. This softens the lemon and allows the juice to flow more freely. Pierce entire surface of lemon with a fork. Using the side of a large knife, gently press on garlic cloves to open slightly. Insert garlic cloves, thyme sprigs, and lemon into cavity. Place chicken in pan, on onion slices. Cut about 18 inches of kitchen twine, bring chicken legs forward, cross them, and tie together.

3. Spread the softened butter over entire surface of chicken, and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Place in the oven, and roast until skin is deep golden brown and crisp and the juices run clear when pierced, about 1 1/2 hours. When chicken seems done, insert an instant-read thermometer into the breast, then the thigh. The breast temperature should read 180 degrees.and the thigh 190 degrees.

4. Remove chicken from oven, and transfer to a cutting board with a well. Let chicken stand 10 to 15 minutes so the juices settle. Meanwhile, pour the pan drippings into a shallow bowl or fat separator, and leave onions in the pan. Leave any brown baked-on bits in the bottom of the roasting pan, and remove and discard any blackened bits. Using a large spoon or fat separator, skim off and discard as much fat as possible. Pour the remaining drippings and the juices that have collected under the resting chicken back into the roasting pan. Place on the stove over medium-high heat to cook, about 1 minute. Add chicken stock, raise heat to high, and, using a wooden spoon, stir up and combine the brown bits with the stock until the liquid is reduced by half, about 4 minutes. Strain the gravy into a small bowl, pressing on onions to extract any liquid. Discard onions, and stir in the remaining tablespoon of cold butter until melted and incorporated. Untie the legs, and remove and discard garlic, thyme, and lemon. Carve, and serve gravy on the side. (I skipped the gravy. Larry was very unhappy with me. I promised I'd make it next time.)

From Martha Stewart Living, September 1997 . (source)

The skin was nice and crispy, and a little saltier than my usual version. Maybe that's why Joe liked it so much.

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I decided to cook the green beans and potatoes together, and as I was browsing recipes online, this one jumped out at me (I think it was the bacon that did it):

Ingredients:

4 cups water
2 cups fresh green beans, cut into 1 inch pieces
4 small new potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 8 pieces
1 1/2 teaspoon of salt
5 slices bacon cut into 1" pieces

1/4 cup chopped onion 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper

Directions: Place the water, beans, potatoes and 1 teaspoon of the salt in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 10 to 12 minutes or until the beans and potatoes are tender. Drain off the water, cover, and set aside. In a 12 inch skillet over medium high heat, fry the bacon and onion until the bacon is crisp and the onion is tender. Drain off all but 1 tablespoon of the bacon drippings. Add beans and potatoes and toss until well coated with bacon and onion. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper and serve. (source)

Looks like something Martha Stewart would make, if I may say so myself!

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I made a little salad with baby greens, gorgonzola cheese, cranberries, and caramelized pecans:

Missy's Candied Walnut Gorgonzola Salad

Ingredients
1/2 cup walnut halves (I used pecans)
1/4 cup sugar
3 cups mixed greens
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
1 tablespoon raspberry vinaigrette
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions
1. Place walnuts and sugar in a skillet over medium heat, stirring constantly until the sugar dissolves into a light brown liquid and coats the walnuts. Remove walnuts from skillet, and spread them out on a sheet of aluminum foil to cool.
2. Place in a large salad bowl the mixed greens, cranberries, cheese, vinaigrette, vinegar, and olive oil. Toss gently; add candied walnuts, and toss again. (source)

The pecans turned out perfectly this time! (check out my funny-looking ones here.)

Posting this now, I realize I forgot that Paul and Adrienne put cucumbers and tomatoes on their salad. Ah, well, this one was delicious, and I need to quit being so particular about the details, right?

In the book, they open up a bottle of Pinot Grigio, enjoy a delicious meal, and their lives are never the same.

(See that astro-turf tablecloth? I had gotten it out the previous weekend when we had a get-together for the Super Bowl. I couldn't resist leaving it on the table for another week. Fortunately it's one of those waterproof kinds that can be wiped clean over and over. Joe was very happy to see it finally put away.)

By the end of the week, the storm has passed and Paul and Adrienne are in love. Paul is off to Ecuador for a year; their parting is difficult and tearful but full of anticipation of their life together in the years ahead. What could be in store for Paul and Adrienne? Read the book to find out. (Or you could watch the movie, I suppose, but that would be cheating, now, wouldn't it?)

Next Up: A Bed-and-Breakfast Worthy Breakfast, and one that made my sister-in-law nickname me "Supermom." Boy is SHE delusional.

The Rescue: Bacon-Wrapped Venison with Warm Potato Salad and Hearty Baked Beans

This one nearly gave me my first ever Cooking Nick's Books panic attack. I'd had a little 2 lb. venison roast in my freezer for a few weeks; it was the last one our local butcher had in stock. I'd never cooked venison before, and I was a little scared to even buy it, much less cook it. I didn't want to skip this one, though; when Taylor cooks venison for Denise in The Rescue, he's just returned from a hunting trip that he took with his buddies without telling her because their relationship is starting to get serious and he's scared and doesn't want to deal with it and he knows she's gonna be mad as a hornet when he gets back--he didn't have a cell phone, don't ya know; when this book was published most people didn't own one--so to try and make amends he shows up at her house with some fresh deer meat and cooks it up for her along with some baked beans and potato salad he's either made or bought, in hopes that she'll forgive him. (Read more about Taylor and Denise's story here.)

For the last month or so I've been looking at that frozen piece of meat and pondering ways I might try and prepare it. Joe says he's cooked venison before, back in the days when he used to go hunting with his dad and his brother. He took some venison steaks and marinated them and grilled them--but not too much, because you have to be careful not to overcook them. That was the same advice I got when I had a conversation with someone on Twitter who knows how to cook deer meat. (What would you call a Twitter conversation, anyway? A chirp session? Twitter chat? Cheeps with peeps?) Since I didn't have steaks, I thought of slicing the roast (or maybe it was a tenderloin. I have no idea) into cutlets and grilling them like steaks, but in the end I decided to risk cooking it whole. Since I love bacon, this recipe looked like just the thing:

Sweet Bacon-Wrapped Venison Tenderloin
2 lbs venison tenderloins (a single deer loin or Moose or Elk or Pork or Beef)
1/2 lb bacon (Plain, thin-sliced Bacon is best)
3 cups dark brown sugar
2 cups soy sauce (Regular NOT low-sodium. You'll want the saltiness)
1/4 cup white sugar (Optional for added Sweetness)

1 Mix brown Sugar and Soy sauce together in a bowl. They should combine nicely into a soupy soy liquid.

2 Put Deer Loin in a cooking tray and pour Brown Sugar/Soy Sauce mixture over loin. Roll tenderloin over in mixture, completely covering it.

3 Let meat marinate in mixture at least 3 hours or overnight in fridge. It's best to marinate for 8 hours if you have the time. Also GREAT to use a Food Saver or other Vacuum device to Vacuum pack/seal the meat with Marinade. With this method, you can achieve Overnight-level marinade in just a couple hours!

4 Remove loin from tray, and place on a slotted bake sheet with a drip pan or aluminum foil below to catch dripping. Don't throw away marinade.

5 Wrap a piece of bacon around the very end of the tenderloin, securing the bacon strip with a toothpick.

6 Repeat this process until the entire loin is wrapped in ten or so bacon "loops." The tenderloin should look like an arm with a bunch of wrist watches on it, the watches being the bacon strips.

7 Drizzle remaining marinade over deer loin. You can continue to baste the loin with the marinade throughout the cooking process with either a brush or a turkey baster.

8 Place on center rack in oven and bake at 350°F for 30-40* minutes. *This should cook the meat to about Medium. For those of you who prefer rare meat (like me), cut the time to 25-30 minutes and then follow with the "OPTION 2" step below regarding searing.

9 OPTION 1 - with about 10 minutes of cooking time left, you can lightly dust the top of the loin with white sugar. This creates a sweet crust on top of the bacon. Might be too sweet for some. Try doing it on just HALF of the loin to see if you like it!

10 OPTION 2 - For a crispier crust and crispier bacon, remove Loin from oven and place the Loin(s) directly on a Grill over medium-high heat to sear the bacon and outer loin. (Thanks to all of you reviewers who taught me this. It's a great step for those of us who like a cooked crust and a pink center).

11 Remove from oven and place on cutting board. Using a knife, cut the loin between each strip of bacon so that you have many pieces of meat, each with their own toothpick.

12 You can eat these pieces directly from the toothpick (I don't think this would have worked with the cut of meat we had; it was too big around) or remove the toothpick and eat like steak. You can thank me later.

13 The next day, try the leftovers on a wheat bun with spicy BBQ Saucefor an awesome leftover sandwich.

(Source: Food.com)

I put the venison in the marinade early that morning, and then the adventures began...

Potential Panic Attack Trigger No. 1: Curly had basketball practice that night (a Sunday) and I had it all planned out that I would start preparing this meal at a certain time and be ready to eat at 5 so he could be at practice by 6. When we put the kids in the car to go to Mass that morning, we discovered a nail in one of the tires and that I'd have to take it to the tire place to be replaced. I figured, OK, I'll start cooking by whatever- o'clock and Curly should still be able to make it on time. The tire replacement took twice as long as we expected, of course, so by the time I got home I was really on a time crunch.

Potential Panic Attack Trigger No. 2: I realized after getting started that I didn't have any toothpicks. This didn't seem to be a problem, though; the bacon stayed wrapped around the loin pretty well without them.

Potential Panic Attack Trigger No. 3: Worrying that I would overcook the meat and it would be a complete disaster, or that by trying NOT to overcook it I wouldn't cook it long enough and therefore give everybody some fatal sickness like deer trichinosis or some such horrid disease.

Fresh from the oven. I chose Option 1 from the recipe above.

The Good News: Joe said I cooked it perfectly. He and Larry loved it. He said if it had been freshly killed instead of farm-raised and frozen it would have been even better, but that it was neither undercooked nor overcooked and it was delicious.

The Bad News: Curly, Moe, and I, who had never eaten venison, realized something about ourselves: We can't stand the stuff. I mean, I could barely swallow my first bite and didn't try to eat any more of it.

This has nothing to do with the recipe, or how I cooked it, or anything; in fact, Joe can vouch that if you like venison, he would DEFINITELY recommend this recipe. I don't think I would have liked it no matter how I tried to cook it. So no, it was NOT an epic fail, quite the contrary; it turned out quite well. If you like venison. And really, I think the recipe I chose WAS just the thing: I had fun preparing it and it got a thumbs-up from my husband. I couldn't ask for more than that.

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I recently took a trip to my aunt's house in North Carolina to attend my cousin Greg's funeral. Aunt A. had been in the process of purging her house of dozens upon dozens of cookbooks she had accumulated over the years. Her dining room table was covered with them, and she insisted to everyone who came through the door that we look through them and take whatever we wanted. (By the way, do you know what else Aunt A. has in her house? A framed picture of herself, her daughter and her granddaughter, and they're grinning from ear to ear because the fourth person in the photo is Nicholas Sparks! They had gone together to one of his book signings in Charlotte a couple of years ago. I'm positively green with envy.)

One of the books I chose was this one:

A McCall's cookbook published in 1963. Since I made potato salad for our fall picnic I decided to try a different recipe, and turned to this book for one.

Potential Panic Attack Trigger No. 4: As I was sitting in the tire repair shop I realized that in order to make the potato salad, I would have needed to cook the potatoes enough ahead of time so as to allow them to cool first, and there was no way I would be able to do that now. I ended up choosing a different recipe from the same book, one that could be served warm. Once again, a disaster was averted.

SAVORY HOT POTATO SALAD 3 lb medium potatoes 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 1/8 teaspoon pepper 2/3 cup chopped onion 1/2 cup sliced radishes 1/2 teaspoon celery seed 2 tablespoons chopped parsley 9 bacon slices, finely cut up 1 tablespoon flour 1/2 cup white vinegar 2 tablespoons sugar

Cook unpeeled potatoes, covered, in boiling water just until tender--about 30 minutes. Drain potatoes; cool; peel, cut into cubes. (To save time, I did not peel the potatoes) Toss lightly with salt, pepper, onion, radishes, celery seed, and parsley. Saute bacon in skillet, over low heat, until crisp; remove from heat. With slotted spon, remove bacon; add to potatoes. Drain from skillet all except 1 tablespoon bacon fat. Stir in flour until smooth. Gradually add vinegar and 1/2 cup water. Stir in sugar; bring to boiling point, stirring. In serving bowl, toss lightly with potato mixture until combined. Serve warm. (from the1963 McCall's Cook Book, p. 496)

This version was good, but to be honest, I personally prefer my potato salad cold with mayo and all the traditional potato salad trimmings. (Click here and check out the much yummier one I made for our fall picnic.)

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The baked beans were my favorite part of the meal, and they were the easiest to prepare:

BARBECUE BAKED BEANS (from the 1963 McCall's Cook Book, p. 572) 2 meduim onions, coarsely chopped 1 clove garlic, finely chopped 2 tablespoons salad oil (I used extra-virgin olive oil) 4 cans (1-lb size) baked beans, undrained 1/4 cup light molasses 1/2 cup catsup 1 cup grated sharp Cheddar cheese 1/2 cup packaged dry bread crumbs (I made my own with stale bread in my food processor) 2 tablespoons melted butter or margarine

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In 2-quart top-stove casserole (I don't even know what that is. I used my favorite pot, the one that I often substitute for a Dutch Oven, since I don't have one of those either) saute onion and garlic in hot salad oil until golden and tender--about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in beans, molasses, and catsup. In small bowl, toss together cheese, bread crumbs, and butter. Spoon over bean mixture. Bake, uncovered, 30 minutes, or until mixture is bubbly and top is browned.

My Favorite Pot

Since Moe is allergic to dairy, I mixed the bread crumbs and butter together, covered the top of the beans with it, and sprinkled cheese over half.

Curly ended up grabbing a snack before practice, and ate his dinner afterward, so this was the first Cooking Nick's Books meal that we didn't sit down to eat together. We would have, were it not for that danged nail...

It sure did look delicious, even if not everyone found it so. The beans were the yummiest! There is one more meal from The Rescue that I want to make for this blog, but I'm saving it for the late spring or early summer. That one will involve digging our electric ice cream maker out of the attic and making sure it works. In the meantime it's on to Nights in Rodanthe, and a roast chicken dinner that Martha Stewart would be proud of. See you soon!

A Bend in the Road: Stuffed Halibut, Fruited Rice Pilaf and Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing

A Bend in the Road is the story of Miles, a grieving widower with a young son; and Sarah, a divorcee who is new in town and is Miles' son's teacher. Miles' deceased wife, Missy, is very much a part of this saga as well. Four years earlier Missy was struck by a hit-and-run driver while out jogging. Miles spends much of his free time trying to find out who was driving the car, and his obsession with finding Missy's killer (and just wait until you find out who it was--if you love drama, this is right up your alley) sometimes causes some, um, tension in Miles' romance with Sarah. It affects his relationship with his son, Jonah, too, for that matter. Anyway, one night after a particularly unpleasant argument with Sarah, Miles and Jonah are sitting together watching home movies. Jonah barely remembers his mom, and as the two are chatting and reliving some of their last days with her, Miles remembers the last romantic dinner he and Missy shared together: a home-cooked Valentine's Day meal of sole stuffed with shrimp and crab, spinach salad, and wild rice.

As I've been re-reading these books, I'm noticing certain trends in what people enjoy eating. Hush puppies and sweet tea are a common fare (often ordered when they visit a favorite diner or seafood joint), and whenever anyone cooks seafood, they stuff it with crab meat. (At least in the ones I've reread so far, except for The Notebook--in that one Noah just goes for the crabs. Must be one of Nick's favorites, which is good because it's one of ours, too.) I didn't even know what sole was--except that it's a fish, at least I knew that much--and when I started looking around I discovered it isn't easy to find. A quick Google search told me that it's a bottom-dwelling saltwater flatfish, similar to flounder. That's good, I thought, because you can get flounder almost anywhere. When I took a trip to my favorite grocery store that has everything, guess what? No sole OR flounder. Not even frozen. When I asked the guy at the fish counter (at the gi-normous store that has everything, mind you, and I mean everything.), he said that they did have some frozen halibut in one of the cases, and that was a lot like flounder and sole, only better. I took his word for it and brought some home. Here's the recipe I used:

STUFFED FILLET OF SOLE (OR HALIBUT, OR FLOUNDER...)

sole fillets (5-6 large, 10-12 small)
4 tbs. butter, melted salt and pepper

Stuffing:

4 tbs. butter
1 med. onion, finely chopped
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
1/2 lb. mushrooms, chopped
1 med. red or green bell pepper, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tbs. flour
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup cream or milk
12 oz. crabmeat or shrimp (or 6 oz. crab and 6 oz. shrimp)
1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs
2 tbs. fresh parsley, chopped
1 egg (slightly beaten)
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
paprika

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray 13x9 baking dish with non-stick pan spray. Brush fillets with melted butter.

Stuffing:

Saute onion,celery, pepper, garlic and mushrooms in melted butter until tender. Blend in flour. Add wine and cream and stir until thick. Remove from heat. Add remaining ingredients (except Paprika) and mix well. Stuff fillets with about 3 tablespoons of stuffing (for large fillets, place on one side and fold over; for small fillets, place on one fillet and top with another fillet), press edges together to seal. Sprinkle with paprika and bake covered 25 minutes. Serves 5-6.
(source) (Note to self: Next time you cook fish, transfer it to a platter BEFORE taking the photo. It will look much more appetizing.)

I only had a few halibut filets, so I sliced them most of the way through and put the stuffing in between the top and bottom part. Since Moe is allergic to dairy, I left out the Parmesan cheese and then right before popping them into the oven I sprinkled the cheese over all but one of the pieces of fish. Joe and I loved it. The kids weren't all that impressed, but then again they prefer their fish breaded and deep-fried.

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I've never prepared wild rice before, unless you count Rice-A-Roni. I figured my trusty grocery store that has everything would have some, but all the wild rice I could find was combined with other types of rice. After much browsing and pondering, I selected a jar of Rice Select Royal Blend, a mixture of white, brown, red, and wild rice, and cooked it using this recipe:

Fruited Wild Rice Pilaf

Ingredients
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 2 tablespoons butter or margarine
• 1 1/4 cups hot water
• 3/4 cup uncooked wild rice
• 1 1/2 teaspoons chicken bouillon granules
• 1 red apple, chopped
• 2 tablespoons toasted, chopped pecans(Since Moe is allergic to nuts, I left these out. I had forgotten to pick up pecans, and I had some mixed nuts on hand; I stirred some up in my own serving.)
• 1/4 teaspoon grated lemon peel

In a large saucepan, saute onion and celery in butter until tender. Stir in the water, rice and bouillon; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 50-55 minutes or until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender. Remove from the heat; fold in apple, pecans and lemon peel if desired. (source)

I had to modify the cooking time, since the instructions on the rice called for only 15 minutes of cooking. I think it's a parboiled variety, kind of like Minute Rice. Whatever--it was delicious.

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Ever since I've started this blog, my kids have done two things:

1. Rolled their eyes and reminded my how insane I am every time I announce that we're having something from a Nicholas Sparks book. And when I start taking pictures, it's "Geez, mom, must you really take PICTURES of the FOOD? Quit messing with your plate and let's eat already!" Or something along those lines.

2. Asked me could I PLEASE use a recipe by Alton Brown? According to them, he's the king of TV chefs. So may I present Alton's Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing:

Ingredients

• 8 ounces young spinach
• 2 large eggs
• 8 pieces thick-sliced bacon, chopped
• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 4 large white mushrooms, sliced
• 3 ounces red onion (1 small), very thinly sliced

Directions

Remove the stems from the spinach and wash, drain and pat dry thoroughly. Place into a large mixing bowl and set aside.

Place the eggs into an electric kettle and cover with cold water by at least 1-inch. Turn the kettle on. Once the water comes to a boil, the kettle will turn itself off. Leave the eggs in the water for 15 minutes. Remove and peel off the shell. Slice each egg into 8 pieces and set aside. (Side note: Couldn't he just have said "Boil the eggs in water for 5 minutes"? How many people have an electric kettle anyway, or even HEARD of one?)

While the eggs are cooking, fry the bacon and remove to a paper towel to drain, reserving 3 tablespoons of the rendered fat. Crumble the bacon and set aside.

Transfer the fat to a small saucepan set over low heat and whisk in the red wine vinegar, sugar and Dijon mustard. Season with a small pinch each of kosher salt and black pepper. Add the mushrooms and the sliced onion to the spinach and toss. Add the dressing and bacon and toss to combine. Divide the spinach between 4 plates or bowls and evenly divide the egg among them. Season with pepper, as desired. Serve immediately. (source)

I was a little skeptical about putting warm dressing on crisp spinach leaves (especially since it was made with BACON GREASE, for goodness' sake), but all my doubts disappeared when I took a bite. Amazing. And so easy you wouldn't believe it.

We had some leftover stuffing, and I'll tell you what I did with THAT in a future post. Stay tuned! Next up I'll revisit The Rescue and tell you about the venison dinner I finally conjured up the courage to attempt. That one was definitely interesting!

A Bend in the Road: Spicy Barbecue with Creamy Coleslaw and Hushpuppies

I'm breaking a couple of rules with this post:

1. I mostly blog about what people cook in Nicholas Sparks' novels, not what they eat in restaurants. For A Walk to Remember, I didn't have a choice (click here and here to learn what I cooked, even though they didn't). Since barbecue is what A Bend in the Road's leading man Miles orders when he visits his favorite diner--and there's plenty of cooking in A Bend in the Road; the other night I made stuffed halibut and rice pilaf, stay tuned for that--I really didn't need to make this. But it was Larry's birthday, and he wanted barbecue. A perfect excuse, don't you think?

2. Miles probably ate North Carolina-style barbecue, cooked with tangy vinegar and a few seasonings, but it was Larry's birthday and he wanted barbecue sauce. Our favorite kind, KC Masterpiece. We'll pretend that the diner in New Bern, North Carolina fixed their barbecue Texas style. (See this post for more about the story of Miles and Sarah.)

I used this recipe from About.com, one I found the last time I wanted to cook barbecue. I love it because it's delicious, it doesn't require a lot of preparation, and the Crock Pot does most of the work:

•1 cup thick barbecue sauce
•1 medium onion, thinly sliced
•2 cans (4.5 oz each) diced green chilies
•3 tablespoons chili powder
•1 teaspoon ground cumin
•1 teaspoon dried oregano
•1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
•1 boneless pork shoulder roast, 2 1/2 to 3 pounds, trimmed
•1/2 cup chopped cilantro

Preparation:

Combine sauce ingredients in a bowl. Place pork in crockpot; pour sauce mixture over the pork, lifting pork slightly so sauce will flow under the roast. Cover and cook on LOW for 8 to 10 hours, or until pork is very tender. Remove pork to a cutting board and chop or shred with forks. If sauce is very liquid, cook down on the stovetop until desired thickness and flavor is reached. Pour sauce into a serving bowl or leave in slow cooker; stir in the cilantro and the shredded pork. Serve with flour tortillas or split sandwich buns. Serves 8.

Pour this over the meat.

I like to season the meat with a little salt and pepper before covering it with the sauce.

Larry also wanted to eat his barbecue sandwich on a homemade bun. No problem; that's what a bread machine is for. I pulled out my book of bread machine recipes and followed the one I always use:

HAMBURGER BUNS AND HOT DOG ROLLS

1 egg (or 1 1/2 tsp Egg Replacer and 2 tbsp water)
7/8 cup milk (I use soy and/or rice milk)
4 1/2 tbsp butter (I use a combination of butter and margarine)
3 tbsp sugar
3/4 tsp salt
3 cups bread flour (unbleached all-purpose flour works just fine)
1 tbsp yeast
3 tbsp milk
sesame seeds, optional

Put all ingredients except 3 tbsp milk and sesame seeds in bread pan in order suggested by your bread machine instructions. Set for white bread, dough stage. Press start. When dough is ready, remove from bread machine and punch down. cut smaller recipe into 9 equal pieces. Let dough rest 5 minutes while you butter two baking sheets. For hamburger buns, roll each piece into a ball and flatten it to form a patty about 3 inches wide and 1/2 inch thick. For hot dog buns, roll each piece into a 6-inch rope and flatten it to 1/2 inch thickness. Place rolls on baking sheets. Cover loosely and set in a warm place to rise for 20 minutes. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly brush tops of rolls with milk and sprinkle with sesame seeds, if desired (I usually skip that part). Bake 12 to 15 minutes, until a skewer inserted in a roll comes out clean. (From p. 127 of The Bread Machine Cookbook by Margie Lambert.)

When we had our fall picnic, I used my mother-in-law's coleslaw recipe. I wanted to try something different--something nice and creamy that would go well with spicy barbecue, and Bobby Flay came to my rescue:

1 head green cabbage, finely shredded
2 large carrots, finely shredded
3/4 cup best-quality mayonnaise
2 tablespoons sour cream
2 tablespoons grated Spanish onion
2 tablespoons sugar, or to taste
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1 tablespoon dry mustard
2 teaspoons celery salt S
alt and freshly ground pepper

Directions

Combine the shredded cabbage and carrots in a large bowl. Whisk together the mayonnaise, sour cream, onion, sugar, vinegar, mustard, celery salt, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl, and then add to the cabbage mixture. Mix well to combine and taste for seasoning; add more salt, pepper, or sugar if desired.

(source)

See my Christmas present? I've taken to looking up and viewing my recipes with it.

The dressing

MMMMMmmmmmm!

For most of my life I haven't been a huge fan of coleslaw, but after making this I am quickly becoming one. I'm making this one again in the near future.

I had just made hush puppies for New Year's, and I wanted something slightly different--more like the hush puppies we had at the Cook Out Restaurant where we stopped for lunch somewhere in North Carolina on our way to Atlanta for Christmas. I figured Paula Deen would know how to fix hush puppies right, y'all!

6 cups peanut oil (I used canola oil because Moe is allergic to peanuts)
1 1/2 cups self-rising cornmeal
1/2 cup self-rising flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 small onion, chopped
1 cup buttermilk (since Moe is allergic to milk, I used a combination of soy and rice milk)
1 egg, lightly beaten (or 1 1/2 heaping teaspoons Egg Replacer beaten with 2 tablespoons water)

Directions

Using a deep pot, preheat oil for frying to 350 degrees F. Using a mixing bowl, stir together the cornmeal, flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir in the onion. In a small bowl, stir together the buttermilk and egg. Pour the buttermilk mixture into the dry ingredients and mix until blended. Drop the batter, 1 teaspoon at a time, into the oil. Dip the spoon in a glass of water after each hushpuppy is dropped in the oil. Fry until golden brown, turning the hushpuppies during the cooking process. (source)

Now THIS is what a hushpuppy should look like. And the taste? Just how a hushpuppy should taste--crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, with just a hint of onion flavor. YUMMMM!!!

A perfect birthday dinner! (We're a little slow getting our Christmas decorations put away. And where did that remote control robotic spider from Moe's Christmas stocking wind up on the table??)

Larry also wanted a banana cake for his birthday, and I was happy to oblige. Even though banana cake doesn't appear anywhere in A Bend in the Road, I was so proud of myself after making this one I just had to show it to you!

It was amazing; even better than the dairy-free egg-free one I've made for Moe's birthdays, and that one is pretty yummy, too. Click here for this fabulous banana cake recipe! I was so proud of myself because it looked just like the one in the picture. And like I said, it was to die for.

I don't know if or when we'll see any more barbecue in Nick's books. (Yes, I've read all of them, but my memory isn't that good.) No matter; next time we have a hankering for barbecue, we'll try cooking it North Carolina style, and I'll share that adventure with you here.

Next up: Stuffed halibut, rice pilaf, and spinach salad.

7 Quick Takes: A Party To Remember

On New Year's Eve, our friends invited us to spend the evening at their house. My parents were with us and my mother helped prepare the food and drinks we brought. In my last post, I showed you the sea bass and avocado-orange salad we made ('cuz that's what Landon and Jamie had for dinner on New Year's Eve in A Walk to Remember); today I'll show you the extras we prepared, all inspired by events in Nicholas Sparks' third novel.

--1--

Landon isn't all that into Jamie at first, and frankly I don't think she's all that into him, either. Jamie always wears the same brown sweater to school, carries her Bible everywhere she goes, and is generally uncool. When it's time for the Homecoming dance, Landon is in desperate need for a date, and decides that going to the dance with Jamie wouldn't be nearly as humiliating as showing up alone or not at all. He convinces himself--reluctantly--to ask her out, and runs to her house after school one day in hopes of reaching her before the geekiest boy in school does, and thus ruin Landon's chance to be seen at the dance at all.

"Would you like some lemonade while we sit?" she asked. "I just made some."
"I'd love some," I said...
...A moment later Jamie returned with the lemonade, and we took a seat in two chairs near the corner of the porch. I knew she and her father sat there in the evenings because I passed by their house now and then. As soon as we were seated, I saw Mrs. Hastings, her neighbor across the street, wave to us. Jamie waved back while I sort of scooted my chair so that Mrs. Hastings couldn't see my face. Even though I was going to ask Jamie to the dance, I didn't want anyone--even Mrs. Hastings--to see me there... (p. 40-41)

During the summer one of our favorite treats is pink lemonade, and when we use fresh local strawberries to give it its pink color and delicious flavor, it's amazing. Even though strawberries are out of season right now, I decided to make this anyway because we love it. I use a recipe from my favorite magazine, Fine Cooking:

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup coarsely chopped fresh strawberries (about 6 ounces)
Zest of 2 lemons, peeled off in strips with a vegetable peeler (avoid the white pith)
2 cups fresh lemon juice (I cheat with this one. I use the juice from the lemons I've peeled--which isn't much--and the rest comes from a bottle.)

Combine the sugar and strawberries with 2 cups water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the berries begin to release their color and soften slightly, about 3 minutes. Stir in the lemon zest. Set aside and let cool completely. The berries will continue to soften and release their color while the syrup cools.

Pour the cooled syrup and berries into a fine sieve set over a pitcher or bowl. With the back of a spoon or a rubber spatula, press lightly on the berries to extract most of the syrup. Discard the solids.

Add the lemon juice and 2 1/2 cups cold water to the syrup mixture and stir until well blended. The lemonade can be served immediately over ice or refrigerated for up to two days. Yields about 7 cups and serves six to eight. (From the September 2006 issue of Fine Cooking, page 58-59)

It was yummy, but I will admit that the summer version is much better; even the pink is brighter and prettier. Come June I'll be making some for sure.

--2--

For the grownups we made lemon drop martinis. I even went to Target and bought a martini shaker figuring that one of these days I'll learn how to make mojitos and appletinis and such with it; and besides, since I'm probably going to have to quit drinking beer soon (click here for my post on Musings of a Catholic Mom about that), a nice lemon drop martini would be an excellent replacement for a cold Sam Adams. Anyway, I experimented with a few recipes, and the one I liked was this:

•1½ ounce vodka
•½ ounce triple sec
•1 tsp superfine sugar
•¾ ounce fresh lemon juice
•4-5 ice cubes
•Superfine sugar, for the martini glass rim
•Lemon twist

Firstly chill the martini glasses in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes before serving. Now take a cocktail shaker and pour vodka, lemon juice, triple sec, sugar and at least 4-5 ice cubes and shake vigorously for about 30 seconds. Rim the edged of the martini glass with lemon twist, after it is completely chilled. For a coated rim, dunk in a small amount of sugar. Now pour the strained drink into the chilled glass, garnish with a lemon slice and serve.

(source)

If you want to fill your martini glass to the brim, you might want to try doubling the recipe; although truthfully half a martini is probably enough for me on most days.

This one I made from limoncello and vodka. Quite yummy, but too strong. I couldn't finish it. But doesn't it look good? (click here for these recipes and more)

--3--

I was out with Eric on Saturday night following Beaufort's third consecutive state championship in football, about a week after rehearsals had started. We were hanging out at the waterfront outside of Cecil's Diner, eating hushpuppies and watching people cruising in their cars, when I saw Jamie walking down the street...I turned my back to her and pulled the collar up on my jacket, but even Margaret--who had banana pudding where her brain should have been--was smart enough to know who she was looking for.
"Landon, your girlfriend is here."
"She's not my girlfriend," I said.
(p. 83-84)

I used the recipe for Beer Battered Hush Puppies I found on p. 71 of my favorite cookbook, The Ultimate Southern Living Cookbook:

1 1/2 cups self-rising yellow cornmeal
1/4 cup self-rising flour
2 small onions, finely chopped
1 medium sized green pepper, finely chopped
1 tomato, finely chopped
1 large egg, lightly beaten (since Moe can't eat eggs, I used Egg Replacer instead--1 1/2 heaping teaspoons mix with 2 tablespoons water)
1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/8 teaspoon hot sauce
1/2 cup beer
Vegetable oil

Combine cornmeal and flour in a large bowl; stir well. Add onion, pepper, and tomato. Stir n egg, Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce. Add beer, stirring well.
Pour oil to a depth of 2 inches into a small Dutch oven; heat to 375 degrees. Carefully drop batter by rounded tablespoonfuls into hot oil; fry hush puppies a few at a time, 1 to 2 minutes or until golden, turning once. Drain on paper towels. Yield: 3 1/2 dozen.

I'd never made hush puppies before, and had never heard of putting green peppers or tomatoes in them, but actually it made them quite good. I think next time I make these particular ones, I'll chop the tomatoes, peppers and onions in the food processor to make the pieces smaller.


--4--

We even made Christmas cookies because on Christmas Eve when Landon and Jamie visit an orphanage where Jamie volunteers, they're having a party and cookies and punch are served. Once again, I used a favorite recipe from The Ultimate Southern Living Cookbook (p. 144):

Rolled Sugar Cookies

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 cup sugar
1 large egg (again, I substituted Egg Replacer)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
Decorator sugar crystals

Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy; gradually ad 1 cup sugar, beating well. Add egg and vanilla, beat well.
Combine flour, baking powder, and salt; gradually add to butter mixture, beating just until blended. Shape dough into a ball, cover and chill 1 hour.
Divide dough into thirds. Work with 1 portion of dough at a time, storing remaining dough in refrigerator. Roll each portion to 1/8-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. Cut with a 3-inch cookie cutter and place on lightly greased cookie sheets. Sprinkle with sugar crystals. Bake at 375 degrees for 8 minutes or until edges of cookies are lightly browned. Cool slightly on cookie sheets, remove to wire racks to cool completely. Yield: 20 cookies.





I didn't make punch. (I could have--there was punch at Landon and Jamie's homecoming dance, too, and someone spiked it unbeknownst to the teachers.) When we arrived at my friend's house, we found she had provided sangria for the grownups, and Hawaiian Punch for the kids. Problem solved.


--5--

Okay, here's the thing. I know I could have gotten away with just the sea bass and salad from my earlier post. This blog would be quite tedious if I cooked every type of food that Nick mentions in his books. Since it was New Year's, and we were going to a party, I decided to cook a few extra things this time around, like the lemonade and the hushpuppies and the Christmas cookies. In fact, I think someone eats hushpuppies in practically every book, and I even made them again the very next weekend with yet another Sparks restaurant meal--thus breaking my no-restaurant rule once again. I used a different recipe the second time--and I liked it even better than the one in Take #4. I'm looking forward to sharing that one with you in my next post.

--6--

My friend made chicken Brunswick stew, a delicious seafood pasta salad, a yummy fruit salad, a to-die-for chocolate cake, her famous "Dump Cake" (which is a sweet dessert with a fruit filling, kind of like a really sweet cobbler. Which reminds me, I keep forgetting to get the recipe from her.) It was truly a feast to remember!


--7--

Now I'm about to do something else I haven't done on this blog yet: tell you what I did with some of the leftovers. I thought it was at least worthy of a Quick Take. So, I present to you...drumroll...Beef sausage and sea bass gumbo with strawberry-apple salad!

I wanted to use every bit of leftover sea bass (since it was SO good; and besides, it's not cheap), and after browsing for some stews, bisques, and soups, I settled on a gumbo of sorts. I didn't use any particular recipe; in fact, the way I prepared it was similar to the beef stew I blogged about.
There wasn't much sea bass left, and since I had some local grass fed beef kielbasa in my freezer, I decided to use it as well. I cut the sausage into chunks and browned it in a pot along with some chopped onion and celery and minced garlic. I added a can of diced tomatoes with the juice (Does this sound like the beef stew yet?), carrots, some chicken broth, cajun seasoning, and a half cup of uncooked rice. I brought this to a boil, and after it had simmered for about 10 minutes I added a peeled and chopped potato. About 40 minutes later--my very first gumbo!




The leftover hushpuppies were great with it, especially crumbled on top.

I'm told (actually, I read on the internet) that REAL gumbo has okra as a main ingredient. Since we're not okra eaters (although I cooked it for our crab feast because I wanted to be true to The Notebook) we naturally don't have it in stock. I also don't know if it's a faux pas to make gumbo with potatoes AND rice (I found recipes with one or the other but not both) but I don't care. Both went in.

I also had some carmelized nuts left over from the avocado salad, as well as more strawberries; these went into an apple salad along with some clementine sections, a little mayo, and a squirt of honey.


----------------------------------------------------------

Soon I'll share with you what I cooked for Larry's fourteenth birthday dinner--and yes, hushpuppies are involved! Stay tuned to Cooking Nick's Books for that, and check out Conversion Diary for more Quick Takes!

A Walk To Remember: Baked Sea Bass and Avocado-Orange Salad

If you've been reading this blog regularly, you know that it's all about cooking the meals that Nick's characters prepare together (or for each other). Since no one cooks in A Walk to Remember, and I don't want to skip any books (except maybe Three Weeks With My Brother, we'll see), I changed my focus a little bit and found things that Landon, Jamie, and their friends enjoy in other places--a restaurant, a diner, a party, on Jamie's front porch. Until now I've managed to skip these types things, but I'm willing to bend my own rules just a little bit from time to time.

Jamie and Landon are teenagers in 1950s North Carolina. (For a brief summary, read Quick Take #6 here.) On New Years' Eve, Landon takes Jamie to Morehead City for dinner at a swanky eatery there. (That must be a happening place, Morehead City; lots of Nick's characters go there when they're looking for a night on the town. My parents took me there on our first trip to the beach when I was five; the only thing I remember about it is swimming in the motel kiddie pool.) Landon and Jamie both order the same thing: sea bass and salad.

I've never cooked sea bass before, and I don't really know if I've ever even eaten it. I wanted to find a recipe that would be both delicious and simple to make:

Ingredients

Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Cajun/Creole seasoning
Chilean sea bass fillets (4)

Preparation
Begin by heating the oven to 425° F. Then use some olive oil to oil a baking pan and place the Sea Bass in the pan. Sprinkle the fish with some seasonings on both sides.

Bake it at 425° F for around 20 minutes. You can adjust the time needed for the baking process as per the thickness of the fish. While serving, use some Salsa or an interesting sauce of your choice. (source)

After the fish was cooked, we cut the filets into smaller pieces to make appetizer-sized portions.

I put my mother in charge of cooking the sauce:

Seafood sauce

1/2 c. unsalted butter
1 tsp. sage
1/4 tsp. cumin, rosemary, onion powder, thyme
1/2 tsp. white pepper
3/4 c. half and half milk or cream
3/4 c. white wine or Chardonnay
Dash of Cajun seasoning

Melt butter in skillet and add seasonings, stir constantly and blend over medium heat for 5 to 10 minutes. Add half and half continue stirring and heat slowly until bubbly as you slowly increase heat (5 to 10 minutes). Add a dash of Cajun seasoning and wine stir until well blended and smooth and thick texture (2 to 3 minutes). Do not overcook. (source) The sea bass was delicious, and the sauce went well with it, even though it's designed to serve over catfish.

For the salad, I asked my mother for suggestions. We chose a green salad that she makes from time to time. There's no recipe, really, but I'll write it down here for you:

A head of Green Leaf Lettuce
One bunch of green onions, washed and chopped
Mandarin oranges, drained
Pecan or walnut halves (carmelized or plain)
Italian viniagrette dressing (click here for the recipe I used for this)

About two or three hours before serving, wash and tear the lettuce and chop the green onion. Mix the onion with the lettuce and let it sit for a couple of hours. Right before serving, add the dressing, avocado slices, mandarin oranges and nuts. My mother suggested carmelizing the nuts because doing so made the salad oh-so-much better. I did this a couple of days ahead of time--I just mixed sugar and cinnamon and heated it in a skillet with melted butter and the nuts. Mine were funny-looking, kind of like nuts with a grainy sweet-tasting substance all over them. They were still delicious, and made a great topping for Mom's salad (click here for the easy-peasy recipe and a photo of what they're supposed to look like). I should call them "crystallized" pecans since the sugar never dissolved completely. When we arrived at my friend's house for the party, my mother put their teenage daughter to work helping her put the salad together. Mmmm....I had two helpings of this! (I don't see any mandarin oranges, do you? They're in there...) Their New Year's date isn't the only time Landon and Jamie eat and drink together, and I decided to fix a few more things as well. Guess what? I'm going to make you wait until next time to find out what they are. I don't want to make this post too long, after all.