cookbooks

another cup of downton tea with chocolate madeleines

~ jama ~ 47 Comments
downton-abbey-cooking-scene-with-earthenware-bowls
Daisy and Mrs Patmore teach Lady Sybil how to make a cake in happier days (ITV photo).

If, like me, you’re a Downton Abbey fan still reeling from the tragic events of this past Sunday’s Episode 4 and are in dire need of comfort, you’ve come to the right place.

There now, have a nice cup of tea and we’ll talk.

HOW COULD THEY??!!

Lady Sybil was my favorite Crawley sister, and as Mrs Hughes said, “The sweetest spirit under this roof is gone.” I’ll certainly miss her progressive thinking, optimism and open-hearted goodness. The episode was a painful reminder of how powerless even upper class women were when it came to critical medical decisions. Who knows a patient better than her lifelong physician? Who knows a child better than her own mother? And what about a husband’s right to decide what happens to his wife?

Downton Abbey Joss Barratt Photographer
Jessica Brown-Findlay as Lady Sybil and Allen Leech as Tom Branson (Carnival Film & Television, Ltd., 2012)

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shortbread and scones from the unofficial downton abbey cookbook

~ jama ~ 41 Comments

“Are we going to have tea, or not?” ~ Violet, the Dowager Countess

Yes, we are definitely having tea today, along with a couple of treats from The Unofficial Downton Abbey Cookbook by Emily Ansara Baines (Adams Media, 2012)!

Thank goodness Season 3 is finally underway, as I was suffering from extreme DA withdrawal for the last several months. So thrilled that the always brilliant Dame Maggie Smith won a Golden Globe on Sunday, that Mrs Hughes is okay, and that the Crawleys don’t have to sell the Abbey after all. I’m also crushing on Thomas after seeing Rob James-Collier on numerous talk shows — his character may be slick-haired surly and restrained, but when he smiles in real life — hubba hubba!

I think he would work at Alphabet Soup, don’t you? (ITV)

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♥ love me some latkes, part one ♥

~ jama ~ 57 Comments

Oy! It’s Hanukkah already and though I’ve been waiting patiently for a nice Jewish grandmother to adopt me, she hasn’t come forward yet. Cornelius suggested we should just go ahead and make our own latkes while we’re waiting.

Mmmm, latkes — the mere thought of crisp, golden potato pancakes with dabs of sour cream and applesauce makes my mouth water. I can picture mothers and grandmothers busy in the kitchen preparing their special recipes for loved ones, happy families gathered around the table eager to try the latkes first despite all the other delicious dishes being served. And why not? Latkes are irresistible and so comforting, a perfect ode to oil for the Festival of Lights!

Since I really wanted to impress any grandmotherly prospects, I decided to forego the classic white potatoes recipe in favor of something a little different. Actually, I got a special request from poet friend Gail Gerwin to share the Sweet Potato-Apple Latkes recipe from The Apple Lover’s Cookbook which I reviewed recently. I was only too happy to oblige, despite the fact that Gail is too young to be my grandmother (she’s a terrific cook, though, if you remember the delicious Stuffed Cabbage she made for Passover Seder this past April).

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holiday gift books for literary foodies

~ jama ~ 41 Comments

“My cat, Sneaky Pie, is writing a cookbook for cats, but I don’t think dried mole would be appetizing.” ~ Rita Mae Brown

“My Eldest Daughter” by Carl Larsson (1907)

‘Tis the season for wishing and gifting, feasting and singing, prancing and jingling your tinkly bells. Surely the best holiday gift to give or receive is a book with bite.

For today’s menu, a platter of twelve tasty titles sure to please the literary foodies on your list. Whenever I crave a little smackerel of something, I pull one of these from my shelves and dip, sip and savor. Whether cookbook, anthology or compendium, there’s something here for every appetite, especially for those who, like me, love food trivia and are endlessly fascinated by what writers, other famous people or characters in novels eat and cook. Bon Appétit!

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on the hunt for peanut soup

~ jama ~ 42 Comments
Cornelius found Rosalyn Carter’s recipe for peanut soup in this book.

I would be terribly remiss if I didn’t serve up an extra special peanut butter recipe this month. With winter nipping at our heels and holiday stress rearing its ugly head, only one thing will do: SOUP! Hearty, comforting peanut soup!

photo of King’s Arms Tavern via history.org
King’s Arms Tavern Cream of Peanut Soup

I had my first bowl of peanut soup at King’s Arms Tavern in Colonial Williamsburg back in the early 80’s. For our first Christmas in Virginia, it was positively magical savoring spoonfuls of rich creamy broth in a firelit 18th century dining room. I remember thinking it was odd to have soup made from peanuts, then being pleasantly surprised at the marvelous flavor.

I just learned this Southern favorite probably wouldn’t have been on the menu back in the 18th century. Peanut soups, mushes and stews were likely part of the slave diet, but peanuts would not gain national acceptance as something more than animal feed or simple fare until after the Civil War. Still, Jefferson did raise peanuts at Monticello, and Washington liked peanut soup enough to eat it daily as a first course.

Cornelius found the King’s Arms Tavern recipe for Cream of Peanut Soup in this book.

The earliest peanut soups prepared in this country were probably more stew-like; slave recipes may have been styled after tomato-based soups popular in central Africa or a Sudanese soup made with lamb bones, garlic and rice. Sarah Rutledge’s version (Carolina Housewife, 1847) included oysters.

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