Have Your Cake and Read it Too {7}

Have Your Cake and Read it Too is a bi-weekly (well, you know, it's supposed to be. I'm working on it.) feature that will take a book and pair it with a food whether it be savory or sweet.

Book

Since the beginning of mankind, civilizations have fallen: the Romans, the Greeks, the Aztecs...and now us. Huge earthquakes rock the world. Cities are destroyed. But something even more awful is happening: An ancient evil has been unleashed, and it's turning everyday people into hunters, killers, and crazies. This is the world Mason, Aries, Clementine, and Michael are living in--or rather, trying to survive. Each is fleeing unspeakable horror, from murderous chaos to brutal natural disasters, and each is traveling the same road in a world gone mad. Amid the throes of the apocalypse and clinging to love and meaning wherever it can be found, these four teens are on a journey into the heart of darkness--and to find each other and a place of safety.

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Okay, I know you're probably looking at this right now going "baked beans and....whaaaa?" but it totally makes sense! So, it would actually work in most apocalyptic/post-apocalyptic scenario. Generally The Big Scary Thing happens and then the world starts going to crap: no electricity, nobody doing there job meaning no more goods being manufactured, having to go on the run or hole up in a shelter -- the usual. What happens then? Canned foods become the only reliable food source for a while and beans are a pretty common. See, I told you it would all come together.

Recipe

Baked Beans

Original recipe from The Woodside Kitchen and modified by me.

Ingredients

2 cups dried navy beans

1 small onion, minced (maybe I haven't told you guys this before, but there will never, ever be onions in any of my recipes. I cannot and will not eat them.)

3 tablespoons molasses

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar (You'll probably want to do a little more since mine weren't tangy enough.)

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 teaspoons dry mustard

1/2 cup ketchup (I'm not a fan of using ketchup as an ingredient, so I used 2 tbs. tomato paste, but it in a measuring cup, then filled it with water to the 1/2 cup mark.)

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1/4 cup dark brown sugar (I used a little more since I didn't use ketchup, but it still needed more since mine weren't sweet enough. Maybe a 1/2 cup?)

Directions

I'm really not a food photographer,
but I wanted you all to see my results and
 I'd rather use my own pics.

Soak the beans overnight in a large pot covered with cold water. In the morning, drain and rinse the beans. In a large pot combine the soaked beans,  minced onion, and enough water to cover the beans by a couple of inches. (You're probably going to want a little more water since mine all boiled away.) Bring the beans to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for 1 1/2 hours until tender, the skin of a bean will break when you blow on it. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Pour the whole pot of beans including liquid into a bean pot or large dutch oven. (Since I don't have either of these I just tossed them in my crock pot.) Stir in the remaining ingredients. Cover the pot with a lid or tin foil and bake (I cooked them on high for about 2 hours then moved the setting to low for aother 4.) for 6-8 hours, stirring occasionally. Take a peak to make sure there is always enough liquid to cover the beans, adding water if necessary. During the last hour remove the lid and continue baking, this allows any extra water to evaporate. (Hah, my sauce was plenty thick, especially since all the moisture was trapped inside. I'd rather it was thinner anyway.) Leaving you with a thick sauce and amazing baked beans.

Have Your Cake and Read it Too {6}

Have Your Cake and Read it Too is a bi-weekly feature that will take a book and pair it with a food whether it be savory or sweet.

Book

Kit and Fancy Cordelle are sisters of the best kind: best friends, best confidantes, and best accomplices. The daughters of the infamous Bonesaw Killer, Kit and Fancy are used to feeling like outsiders, and that’s just the way they like it. But in Portero, where the weird and wild run rampant, the Cordelle sisters are hardly the oddest or most dangerous creatures around.

It’s no surprise when Kit and Fancy start to give in to their deepest desire—the desire to kill. What starts as a fascination with slicing open and stitching up quickly spirals into a gratifying murder spree. Of course, the sisters aren’t killing just anyone, only the people who truly deserve it. But the girls have learned from the mistakes of their father, and know that a shred of evidence could get them caught. So when Fancy stumbles upon a mysterious and invisible doorway to another world, she opens a door to endless possibilities….
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I promise one of these days I'll actually start making the food I choose for these posts...just not this week :P

I goes with it in so many ways that I couldn't NOT use cherry cheesecake. I know it's kind of the most obvious choice ever, but guys. The title, the dribble of blood on the cover, the blood in the book...see, how could I not? You probably don't want to eat it while reading if you have a weak stomach, though.
Also, I just want to point out that I'm not a fan of the book, but I think it makes for a good/interesting food pairing.

Recipe
Cherry Cheesecake
Recipe from Food Network

Ingredients
1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
2 tablespoons sugar
3/4 stick soft unsalted butter
10 ounces cream cheese
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1 cup heavy cream
1 (10-ounce) jar black cherry spread (recommended: St Dalfour Rhapsodie de Fruit)

Source: Food Network

Directions
Blitz the biscuits in a food processor until beginning to turn to crumbs, then add the sugar and butter and whiz again to make the mixture clump. If using graham cracker crumbs, you can use a bowl and wooden spoon to mix the butter in, with the sugar added.

Press this mixture into a 8-inch springform tin; press a little up the sides to form a slight ridge.

Beat together the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and lemon juice in a bowl until smooth.

Lightly whip the cream, and then fold it into the cream cheese mixture.

Spoon the cheesecake filling on top of the biscuit base and smooth with a spatula, put it in the refrigerator for 3 hours or overnight.
When you are ready to serve the cheesecake, un-mold and spread the black cherry spread over the top.

Have Your Cake and Read it Too {5}

Have Your Cake and Read it Too is a bi-weekly feature that will take a book and pair it with a food whether it be savory or sweet.

Book

Pearl is a sixteen-year-old vampire... fond of blood, allergic to sunlight, and mostly evil... until the night a sparkly unicorn stabs her through the heart with his horn. Oops. 

Her family thinks she was attacked by a vampire hunter (because, obviously, unicorns don't exist), and they're shocked she survived. They're even more shocked when Pearl discovers she can now withstand the sun. But they quickly find a way to make use of her new talent. The Vampire King of New England has chosen Pearl's family to host his feast. If Pearl enrolls in high school, she can make lots of human friends and lure them to the King's feast -- as the entrees. 

The only problem? Pearl's starting to feel the twinges of a conscience. How can she serve up her new friends—especially the cute guy who makes her fangs ache—to be slaughtered? Then again, she's definitely dead if she lets down her family. What's a sunlight-loving vamp to do?

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We're branching out here this time, and going in the savory direction. I warned you this might happen, so don't go lose your head on me or anything. Now prepare yourselves for the craziness. Are you ready?

Bloody Mary. 

I know, I know, it's the obvious choice. But come one, how could I resist? Plus, the spiciness of the drink kind of goes with Pearl's feisty personality.

First off, you can obviously use any recipe you want. I like this one because it's vegan. Not that I've actually tried it yet, but I plan to do so in the near future.

Second, you can obviously make it without vodka and you just have some spicy tomato drink (this is my preference and should be of anyone who isn't legal age ;])

And last, if you really aren't a savory drink lover then I'd say a berry smoothie would go with the story as well (and if you add some cranberry juice it'll add that extra personality worthy of Pearl ;])

Recipe

Vegan Bloody Mary (the title in the blog post isn't technically correct since what makes the drink a Caesar is the substitution of Clamato juice. Don't ask, I wrote a report once.)

Recipe from Oh She Glows

Ingredients

Source: same blog

4 cups (32 oz) vegetable juice
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1-1.5 tbsp vegan Worcestershire sauce
2-2.5 tsp hot sauce, or to taste
4 tbsp fresh lemon juice
3 tbsp fresh lime juice
3/4 tsp celery seed
Sprinkle of Herbamare or kosher salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Vodka, to taste (optional)
Kelp granules, to taste (optional)

1. In a large bowl or pitcher, add the vegetable juice. Now whisk in the rest of the ingredients all to taste.

2. Grab two 500-ml glasses and rim the edge with a lime wedge. Now dip glass rim into a shallow bowl of celery salt. Pour drink into glasses and garnish with a lime wedge, celery stalk, and ice. Serve immediately.

Have Your Cake and Read it Too (4)

Have Your Cake and Read it Too is a weekly feature that will take a book and pair it with a food whether it be savory or sweet.

Book

1 Concert
2000 Miles
3 Ex-Best Friends
Alice, Summer, and Tiernan are ex-best friends.
Back in middle school, the three girls were inseparable. They were also the number one fans of the rock band Level3.
But when the band broke up, so did their friendship. Summer ran with the popular crowd, Tiernan was a rebellious wild-child, and Alice spent high school with her nose buried in books.
Now, just as the girls are about to graduate, Level3 announces a one-time-only reunion show.
Even though the concert’s 2000 miles away, Alice buys three tickets on impulse. And as it turns out, Summer and Tiernan have their own reasons for wanting to get out of town. Good thing Alice’s graduation gift (a pea-green 1976 VW camper van known as the Pea Pod) is just the vehicle to get them there.
But on the long drive cross-country, the girls hit more than a few bumps in the road. Will their friendship get an encore or is the show really over?

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What's the one thing a road trip needs? Snacks, of course! Gas station junk food is good (believe me, I love it as much as the next person), but if you're looking for something a little more healthy then making your own snack mix is a great option.

Recipe:

Sweet & Salty Caramel Snack Mix

Recipe from Our Best Bites

Ingredients

Source

6 cups graham cracker cereal (like Honey Grahams)
1 cup honey roasted peanuts
1 cup salted cashews or macadamia nuts
1/2 cup butter
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup light Karo syrup
1 tsp. vanilla
3 cups Pretzel M&Ms (about 1 large bag)

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil or wax paper and lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.

Toss together the cereal and the nuts in a large bowl and set aside.

In a medium saucepan, combine the butter, brown sugar, and Karo syrup and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until it begins to boil. Allow to boil for 2 minutes (3 if you’re at a high elevation) and then remove from heat. Add the vanilla and stir until combined. Drizzle the caramel mixture over the cereal/nut mixture and stir quickly to combine. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet. When the caramel mixture has cooled but isn’t solid yet (just a few minutes), add the Pretzel M&Ms and toss gently to combine. Allow to cool completely before serving.

Have Your Cake and Read it Too {3}

Have Your Cake and Read it Too will take a book and pair it with a food whether it be savory or sweet. For now, it'll be sporadic, but depending on how much you guys like it, it may become a usual thing :]

Book

“I’ve left some clues for you.
If you want them, turn the page.
If you don’t, put the book back on the shelf, please.”So begins the latest whirlwind romance from the bestselling authors of Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist. Lily has left a red notebook full of challenges on a favorite bookstore shelf, waiting for just the right guy to come along and accept its dares. But is Dash that right guy? Or are Dash and Lily only destined to trade dares, dreams, and desires in the notebook they pass back and forth at locations across New York? Could their in-person selves possibly connect as well as their notebook versions? Or will they be a comic mismatch of disastrous proportions?

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I love that this book is all wintery. If you have some peppermint bark along with some hot cocoa then I'm pretty sure your enjoyment of Dash & Lily's would exponentially more.

Recipe:

Peppermint Bark

recipe from Food Network

Ingredients

• Crushed candy canes, to yield 1 cup
• 2 pounds white chocolate
• Peppermint flavorings, optional

Directions

Place candy canes in a plastic bag and hammer into 1/4-inch chunks or smaller. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler. Combine candy cane chunks with chocolate (add peppermint flavoring at this point if desired.) Pour mixture onto a cookie sheet layered with parchment or waxed paper and place in the refrigerator for 45 minutes or until firm. Remove from cookie sheet and break into pieces (like peanut brittle.)

Have Your Cake and Read it Too {2}

Have Your Cake and Read it Too will take a book and pair it with a food whether it be savory or sweet. For now, it'll be sporadic, but depending on how much you guys like it, it may become a usual thing :]

Book

Miles Halter is fascinated by famous last words and tired of his safe life at home. He leaves for boarding school to seek what the dying poet Francois Rabelais called the "Great Perhaps." Much awaits Miles at Culver Creek, including Alaska Young. Clever, funny, screwed-up, and dead sexy, Alaska will pull Miles into her labyrinth and catapult him into the Great Perhaps.

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I know it's an obvious choice, but how could I resist?

Dessert

Baked Alaska

recipe from Saveur

INGREDIENTS

For the filling and cake:
2 pints strawberry ice cream, slightly softened
Unsalted butter, for pan
½ cup cake flour, plus more for pan
¼ tsp. kosher salt
½ cup sugar
3 eggs
1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
½ tsp. grated lemon zest

For the meringue:
¼ tsp. cream of tartar
4 egg whites
½ cup sugar

INSTRUCTIONS

1. For the filling: Line a 7″-diameter bowl with a 15″ piece of plastic wrap, allowing excess to hang over rim of bowl. Pack ice cream into bowl, smoothing top, and freeze until solid, at least 4 hours.

2. For the cake: Heat oven to 325°. Grease and flour an 8″ round cake pan; set aside. Whisk together flour and salt in a bowl; set aside. Beat sugar and eggs in a bowl on medium-high speed of a hand mixer until tripled in volume, about 5 minutes. Stir in juice and zest; fold in flour mixture. Pour into prepared pan; bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Cool completely, invert onto a rack, and set aside.

3. For the meringue: Heat oven to 450°. Place cream of tartar and egg whites in a large bowl; beat on medium speed of a hand mixer until soft peaks form, about 1 minute. Add sugar, and beat until stiff but not dry peaks form, about 2 minutes.

4. To serve, place cake on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Invert ice cream onto cake and peel off plastic. Cover ice cream and cake with meringue. Bake until meringue begins to brown, about 5 minutes. Using 2 metal spatulas, transfer to a cake plate and serve immediately. 

Have Your Cake and Read it Too

I was trying to think up something new for my poor monotonous little blog the other day and while I was slicing celery and carrots it hit me: books + food! First of all, cooking is another passion of mine, so the combination should have been obvious all along. And second, who doesn't love food?

So, this is the end product of that little idea. Have Your Cake and Read it Too will take a book and pair it with a food whether it be savory or sweet. For now, it'll be sporadic, but depending on how much you guys like it, it may become a usual thing :]

Book

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . . 

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

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Since there's all the craziness with the Lunar People I thought moon pies would be the perfect accompaniment to Cinder.

Moon Pies

Recipe from Browneyed Baker (previously from Food and Wine)

Source

For the Cookies:
8 ounces (1 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
¾ cup light brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2¼ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt

For the Marshmallow Filling:
2 egg whites
Pinch cream of tartar
Pinch salt
2/3 cup light corn syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted

For the Chocolate Coating:
12 ounces semisweet chocolate
¼ cup vegetable oil

DIRECTIONS:

1. To Make the Cookies: With a mixer on medium speed, beat the butter until creamy, about 3 minutes. Add the brown sugar and beat at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce the speed to medium, add the egg and the vanilla extract, and beat to combine. Reduce the speed to low, add the flour and the salt, and mix just until a soft dough forms. Divide the dough in two, shape into disks, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line at least two baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat; set aside. Working with one disk at a time, roll out the dough to about 1/8-inch thickness. Using a 2½-inch diameter round cutter, cut out the rounds and place them on the prepared baking sheets, about ½ an inch apart. Refrigerate the cookies (on the baking sheets) for 10 minutes.

3. Bake the cookies for 10 to 12 minutes, or until lightly browned. Cool on the pans for a couple of minutes, and then move to a cooling rack to cool completely.

4. To Make the Marshmallow Filling: Using a mixer with the whisk attachment, beat the the egg whites with the cream of tartar and the salt until firm peaks form, gradually increasing from medium-low speed to medium-high speed as the egg whites gain volume. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, boil the corn syrup over high heat without stirring until it registers 230 to 235 degrees F on a candy thermometer (thread ball stage). Slowly drizzle the hot corn syrup into the egg whites and beat at high speed until glossy, about 2 minutes. Reduce the speed to medium-low, beat in the vanilla extract and the powdered sugar.

5. Using either a pastry bag or a spoon, mound about 1½ tablespoons of marshmallow filling into the center of a cookie. Top with another cookie and press lightly to spread the marshmallow to the edges. Add another mound on top of the second cookie, and top with another cookie, again pressing slightly to spread the filling to the edges. Repeat with the rest of the cookies.

6. To Make the Chocolate Coating: Using a double boiler or in the microwave on 50% power and in 30 second increments, melt the chocolate and vegetable oil together until completely smooth. Place the assembled cookies on a wire rack set over a sheet of wax paper. Spoon the melted chocolate over each cookie so that it runs down the sides and covers most of the cookie. Allow to set at room temperature for about 2 hours (or refrigerate to speed up the process). Store in an airtight container at room temperature.