Tea & A Good Book Brewing, Installment 24- Bread and Wine (with a recipe!)
What do you get when you combine a collection of stories about life around the table with a variety of recipes that will leave you licking your lips- if not digging deep into your own culinary skills?
Why, Bread and Wine, by Shauna Niequist, of course!
Now, I am just going to tell you upfront that I am "cheating" a bit this month by picking and choosing from the handy-dandy list of questions in the book-club section at the back of the book!!!
I didn't know when I chose this book that the review would come on the very day that I was giving achievement tests to nine third graders in the morning, or that I would be faced with nine workbooks to check, or that I would be finishing the book on the day that the book review was due, or that I would not have tried a single recipe...but here we are! Sticking to schedule, but giving myself a few breaks in the brain department while I am at it!!!
Why try to come up with my own unique questions when I can have the fun of answering ones already thought up for me?
The book club section in the back has discussions for four weeks, with 4 questions for each week, but I just hand-picked one question from each week to suit my purposes. If anyone else decides to read and review the book, you may pick & choose from the same section, answer the same questions I did, or just give us a little review on the book! You know I always love to hear from other readers, however you choose to do it!
So. while the butter & sugar part of Dark Chocolate Sea Salted Toffee crackles and hardens, and a pan of leftover enchiladas from last week reheat in the oven, I will commence...
1. In "My Mom's Blueberry Crisp," Shauna tells us about her food memories and the foods served around her family's table when she was growing up. What are some of your memories from your family's table during your childhood?
My mom is a great cook- and I think anyone who knows her could vouch for that- but I must say that her cherry pies, served warm and flaky-crusted with vanilla ice cream, are unmatchable! Other memories that spring to mind would be Sunday lunches of canned roast beef mixed with noodles and roast chicken with carrots and potatoes.
2. In "Delicious Everywhere," Shauna writes about tastes and flavors of places she's visited. What are some of the tastes and flavors you remember from places you've visited?
I am not a world traveler like Shauna, nor do I have quite the memories for tastes, but when I was 21 (I think!) I went to Guatemala to visit a friend of mine who was serving there, and I have distinct memories of one of the best breakfasts ever in the home of some native Guatemalans...refried beans, scrambled eggs, sour cream, crusty rolls and coffee. Maybe it was the native air I was breathing that made it so good, but either way it was scrumptious!!! Also in Guatemala I remember the best tortillas (made by a native lady) and how good they were wrapped around hot-dogs cooked over an open fire.
3. In what area of your life do you most need the phrase "present over perfect"?
Shauna found this phrase helpful in the midst of the holiday season, and it could very well be a good mantra for me to adopt come December/early January (with one anniversary, two birthdays, traditional cookie-baking days, caroling, Christmas programs, gift giving/receiving and family gatherings!) but I also think that I need this on certain days (like today maybe?) when there just aren't enough hours for everything I need or want to accomplish, and I have to choose that being present is more important than being perfect (or completing my "to-do" list.)
4. "Last-Minute Lunch Party" is about using what you have on hand for a last-minute party. What are your go-to recipes or dishes that you always make for a last-minute party? What are the recipes that make you think of your friends and family around your table?
Maybe this would be a good time to confess that I don't actually do very many last-minute parties, per se, but things like hot dogs and large bowls of popcorn do come to mind as saving graces!!! When we get Sunday evening company (the kind that you know about, say, an hour before they arrive!) I have a favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe that makes a pan of fantastic bars and, served with coffee, they are always well-received! I will say that some of the best times we've had with unexpected guests were when we raided the fridge and sat down to leftovers, cheese and crackers and jars of pickles... and there was the infamous time that we served not only hotdogs, but leftover hot dogs!!! If there are a few plans in place in time to go to the store, some of the things that come to mind are mountain pies and barbecued ham sandwiches and special salads. And having a bucket of ice cream in the freezer at all times can be downright life-saving.
I really enjoyed Shauna's essay-type style of writing, and how she often tied a recipe in with her thoughts and memories. She has a very open and inspiring way of writing about being a parent, about her struggles with miscarriage and infertility, about "unplugging" from technology and multi-tasking now and then, and about the table being a sacred place where we gather to feed ourselves and the people we love.
Shauna emphasizes hospitality (even when things are far from perfect) and the fact that something special happens when we break bread around the table, when we laugh and tell stories while the candles burn low, and I was inspired to take those themes and make that more a part of my life! I know it's one thing to be inspired and quite another to peel potatoes and invite, but you have to start somewhere, and for me, the inspiration is a big part!
I wanted to make one of the recipes out of the book, and while several looked quite tasty (Magical White Bean Soup, Brannon's Caesar Salad and Sullivan Street Bread to name a few), it didn't take much thought to land on one that would require as little time and prep as possible!!!
After all, Shauna doesn't even use a candy thermometer for her Dark Chocolate Sea Salted Toffee, and that was right down my alley! I am not a fussy baker, which may be why I don't even own a candy thermometer, and I preferred her method of watching for the caramel color (like cappuccino) to bloom!
Dark Chocolate Sea Salted Toffee
Ingredients
1 cup butter (2 sticks)
2 cups sugar
1 cup dark chocolate chips
1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
Instructions
In a saucepan, combine butter and sugar, and bring to a boil.
Over medium- high heat, keep stirring until it turns a deep amber color,
Remove from the heat and pour into a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes, or until cool and solid to the touch.
Melt chocolate chips in a glass bowl over a pot of gently boiling water. When the chocolate is smooth, pour it over the toffee and spread with a spatula. Sprinkle with sea salt, and then refrigerate until cooled and solid. Break into irregular pieces.
Elasa, bored with her afternoon and waiting for her brothers to finish with their naps, was quite happy to help with the initial stirring of the butter and sugar while they melted together. I then took over while I waited for the magical color, and when it happened (after wondering if it ever would!) I poured it into my pan and noted with pleasure how quickly it hardened. Shauna didn't mention the excess butter that would kind of float around, but I took care of that by tipping the pan so the excess would drain and then pouring it into the trash.
I melted my chips in 30-second increments in the microwave, instead of in a glass bowl over boiling water, but that worked marvelously, too, just so you know!
Shauna notes that the toffee gets a little melty if you leave it out on the counter, so she likes to keep it in the fridge and serve a little plate of it after dinner with vanilla ice cream and coffee.
Well, we didn't eat it after supper with vanilla ice cream and coffee (although I like the idea!) but rather enjoyed it after putting together a set of bunk beds in the children's room for Elasa & Gavin (as if the day wasn't crazy enough!!!) and we all gave it top ratings!
I love that mixture of sweet and chocolaty and salty all in one bite, and the way it all lingers on the tongue could be quite addictive...
In closing, let me leave you with a quote from the last chapter in Bread and Wine that I thought summed up the heart of the book quite well:
We don't come to the table to fight or to defend. We don't come to prove or to conquer, to draw lines in the sand or to stir up trouble. We come to the table because our hunger brings us there. We come with our need, with fragility, with an admission of our humanity. The table is the great equalizer, the level playing field many of us have been looking everywhere for. The table is the place where the doing stops, the trying stops, the masks are removed, and we allow ourselves to be nourished, like children. We allow someone else to meet our need. In a world that prides people on not having needs, on longer and faster, on going without, on powering through, the table is a place of safety and rest and humanity, where we are allowed to be as fragile as we feel. If the home is a body, the table is the heart, the beating center, the sustainer of life and health.
Come to the table.
Why, Bread and Wine, by Shauna Niequist, of course!
I didn't know when I chose this book that the review would come on the very day that I was giving achievement tests to nine third graders in the morning, or that I would be faced with nine workbooks to check, or that I would be finishing the book on the day that the book review was due, or that I would not have tried a single recipe...but here we are! Sticking to schedule, but giving myself a few breaks in the brain department while I am at it!!!
Why try to come up with my own unique questions when I can have the fun of answering ones already thought up for me?
The book club section in the back has discussions for four weeks, with 4 questions for each week, but I just hand-picked one question from each week to suit my purposes. If anyone else decides to read and review the book, you may pick & choose from the same section, answer the same questions I did, or just give us a little review on the book! You know I always love to hear from other readers, however you choose to do it!
So. while the butter & sugar part of Dark Chocolate Sea Salted Toffee crackles and hardens, and a pan of leftover enchiladas from last week reheat in the oven, I will commence...
1. In "My Mom's Blueberry Crisp," Shauna tells us about her food memories and the foods served around her family's table when she was growing up. What are some of your memories from your family's table during your childhood?
My mom is a great cook- and I think anyone who knows her could vouch for that- but I must say that her cherry pies, served warm and flaky-crusted with vanilla ice cream, are unmatchable! Other memories that spring to mind would be Sunday lunches of canned roast beef mixed with noodles and roast chicken with carrots and potatoes.
2. In "Delicious Everywhere," Shauna writes about tastes and flavors of places she's visited. What are some of the tastes and flavors you remember from places you've visited?
I am not a world traveler like Shauna, nor do I have quite the memories for tastes, but when I was 21 (I think!) I went to Guatemala to visit a friend of mine who was serving there, and I have distinct memories of one of the best breakfasts ever in the home of some native Guatemalans...refried beans, scrambled eggs, sour cream, crusty rolls and coffee. Maybe it was the native air I was breathing that made it so good, but either way it was scrumptious!!! Also in Guatemala I remember the best tortillas (made by a native lady) and how good they were wrapped around hot-dogs cooked over an open fire.
3. In what area of your life do you most need the phrase "present over perfect"?
Shauna found this phrase helpful in the midst of the holiday season, and it could very well be a good mantra for me to adopt come December/early January (with one anniversary, two birthdays, traditional cookie-baking days, caroling, Christmas programs, gift giving/receiving and family gatherings!) but I also think that I need this on certain days (like today maybe?) when there just aren't enough hours for everything I need or want to accomplish, and I have to choose that being present is more important than being perfect (or completing my "to-do" list.)
4. "Last-Minute Lunch Party" is about using what you have on hand for a last-minute party. What are your go-to recipes or dishes that you always make for a last-minute party? What are the recipes that make you think of your friends and family around your table?
Maybe this would be a good time to confess that I don't actually do very many last-minute parties, per se, but things like hot dogs and large bowls of popcorn do come to mind as saving graces!!! When we get Sunday evening company (the kind that you know about, say, an hour before they arrive!) I have a favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe that makes a pan of fantastic bars and, served with coffee, they are always well-received! I will say that some of the best times we've had with unexpected guests were when we raided the fridge and sat down to leftovers, cheese and crackers and jars of pickles... and there was the infamous time that we served not only hotdogs, but leftover hot dogs!!! If there are a few plans in place in time to go to the store, some of the things that come to mind are mountain pies and barbecued ham sandwiches and special salads. And having a bucket of ice cream in the freezer at all times can be downright life-saving.
I really enjoyed Shauna's essay-type style of writing, and how she often tied a recipe in with her thoughts and memories. She has a very open and inspiring way of writing about being a parent, about her struggles with miscarriage and infertility, about "unplugging" from technology and multi-tasking now and then, and about the table being a sacred place where we gather to feed ourselves and the people we love.
Shauna emphasizes hospitality (even when things are far from perfect) and the fact that something special happens when we break bread around the table, when we laugh and tell stories while the candles burn low, and I was inspired to take those themes and make that more a part of my life! I know it's one thing to be inspired and quite another to peel potatoes and invite, but you have to start somewhere, and for me, the inspiration is a big part!
I wanted to make one of the recipes out of the book, and while several looked quite tasty (Magical White Bean Soup, Brannon's Caesar Salad and Sullivan Street Bread to name a few), it didn't take much thought to land on one that would require as little time and prep as possible!!!
After all, Shauna doesn't even use a candy thermometer for her Dark Chocolate Sea Salted Toffee, and that was right down my alley! I am not a fussy baker, which may be why I don't even own a candy thermometer, and I preferred her method of watching for the caramel color (like cappuccino) to bloom!
Dark Chocolate Sea Salted Toffee
Ingredients
1 cup butter (2 sticks)
2 cups sugar
1 cup dark chocolate chips
1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
Instructions
In a saucepan, combine butter and sugar, and bring to a boil.
Over medium- high heat, keep stirring until it turns a deep amber color,
Remove from the heat and pour into a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes, or until cool and solid to the touch.
Melt chocolate chips in a glass bowl over a pot of gently boiling water. When the chocolate is smooth, pour it over the toffee and spread with a spatula. Sprinkle with sea salt, and then refrigerate until cooled and solid. Break into irregular pieces.
Elasa, bored with her afternoon and waiting for her brothers to finish with their naps, was quite happy to help with the initial stirring of the butter and sugar while they melted together. I then took over while I waited for the magical color, and when it happened (after wondering if it ever would!) I poured it into my pan and noted with pleasure how quickly it hardened. Shauna didn't mention the excess butter that would kind of float around, but I took care of that by tipping the pan so the excess would drain and then pouring it into the trash.
I melted my chips in 30-second increments in the microwave, instead of in a glass bowl over boiling water, but that worked marvelously, too, just so you know!
Shauna notes that the toffee gets a little melty if you leave it out on the counter, so she likes to keep it in the fridge and serve a little plate of it after dinner with vanilla ice cream and coffee.
Well, we didn't eat it after supper with vanilla ice cream and coffee (although I like the idea!) but rather enjoyed it after putting together a set of bunk beds in the children's room for Elasa & Gavin (as if the day wasn't crazy enough!!!) and we all gave it top ratings!
I love that mixture of sweet and chocolaty and salty all in one bite, and the way it all lingers on the tongue could be quite addictive...
In closing, let me leave you with a quote from the last chapter in Bread and Wine that I thought summed up the heart of the book quite well:
We don't come to the table to fight or to defend. We don't come to prove or to conquer, to draw lines in the sand or to stir up trouble. We come to the table because our hunger brings us there. We come with our need, with fragility, with an admission of our humanity. The table is the great equalizer, the level playing field many of us have been looking everywhere for. The table is the place where the doing stops, the trying stops, the masks are removed, and we allow ourselves to be nourished, like children. We allow someone else to meet our need. In a world that prides people on not having needs, on longer and faster, on going without, on powering through, the table is a place of safety and rest and humanity, where we are allowed to be as fragile as we feel. If the home is a body, the table is the heart, the beating center, the sustainer of life and health.
Come to the table.
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