food

♥ 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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sippin’ soup at happy harry’s café by michael rosen and richard holland

~ jama ~ 25 Comments

Doodle-ee-doo

Okay. I admit it. It’s entirely impossible for me to be objective about this book.

Look at the cover forcryingoutloud. See the rotund bearish guy with impish eyebrows wielding tiny cups and saucers on a tray? Well, if you think he’s cute there, wait till you see what he does in this story. His name is Harry and he makes SOUP! !

*dies*

Now, it would be one thing if Harry’s soup was merely good, the kind that makes people politely smile and nod their heads and say things like, “Mmmm, how tasty, I’d love another bowl.” But this Harry, red suspenders red-and-white checked kerchief I don’t need to wear a shirt in my own café Harry, makes EXTRAORDINARY soup — soup so unbelievably delicious people are always run run running to the café before the soup runs out.

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friday feast: one last lipsmacking, creamy-crunchy spread for peanut butter lovers month

~ jama ~ 63 Comments

November 30th already?  I’ve been having so much sticky fun, I hate to see the party end (sniff)!

Cornelius’ favorite: Ashdon Farms Peanut Butter Bears

This has definitely been the nuttiest November on record here at Alphabet Soup. So glad all you giddy goober peas emerged from your solitary shells, sent in poems, and feasted with us every Friday. At first I wasn’t quite sure whether I’d be spreading it on thick or thin, but thanks to all the generous Peanut Butter Poets, we had just the right amount of food to savor and digest each week. I’m so glad Father Goose Charles Ghigna initially suggested a Peanut Butter Poets Poll. It was the perfect excuse inspiration to turn a singles poll dance into a month-long poetry party. 🙂

Peanut Butter Cheese Ball via The Girl Who Ate Everything

We’re topping things off today with another lipsmacking menu that brings to mind Santa and his elves. Actually, Santa never had it so good with this bevy of beauties: Linda Baie, Cathy Ballou Mealey, Betsy Hubbard, Mary Lee Hahn, and Renée LaTulippe. And Santa himself? None other than our brilliant, beloved (and oh so cuddly) Children’s Poet Laureate, J. Patrick Lewis (who, BTW, is also this week’s Eye Candy)! No, we don’t mess around here. We serve up only THE BEST.

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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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