Midsummer Favorites

How has your summer been? It's hard to believe it's almost August. I've gathered together a few of my favorite things from this summer so far. I'd love to know what yours are!

1. "Euphoria" by Lily King

My favorite book this summer is Euphoria by Lily King. Inspired by the life of Margaret Mead, it tells the story of a married couple Nell and Fen who are working as anthropologists in New Guinea in the 1930's. When they meet another young anthropologist and decide to work with him, a passionate love triangle occurs. This book tells two fascinating stories: one, about the lives of anthropologists working in the field in the 1930's and two, a dramatic love story that threatens the careers and lives of the three main characters. At only 257 pages, this book delivers a powerful punch with such efficiency. I loved its intensity and passion.

Adventures Afoot

Where are you off to this summer? If you are thinking of going to England, I have the perfect book for you. Susan Branch has written a charming book about meeting and falling in love with her soul mate in Martha's Vineyard and going with him twenty-five years later on a two-month trip to the English Countryside. They cross the Atlantic on the Queen Mary II. If you are an Anglophile, you will love all Branch's references to English writers as well as her descriptions of the glories of the English landscape.

Here she is on The Peak District:

"The Peak District is gorgeous! We took a long muddy walk, up high on the hill behind the barn, looking over the rooftops of Wirksworth below us, across to the houses clinging to the hillsides in the far view; farmlands & woods, like a patchwork quilt of greens, ribboned by winding roads. I came back, chilled to the bone, jeans wet up to my knees; took my book & had a long hot bubble bath. I don't remember the last time I used a line-dried towel! I dry linens on the line, but not towels; I thought they'd be too scratchy, but not only do they feel wonderful, they smell like the wild flower fields outside."

And the Yorkshire Dales:

"Let's see if I can describe it for you because, as pretty as these pictures are, the don't begin to do it justice -- it's not that easy to capture magic.

The Yorkshire Dales is a collection of deep river valleys formed by glaciers during the Ice Age. It feels primeval -- if you walked out of there in 1756 & came back today, I don't think you'd see any difference in the landscape. Stunning views go for miles out to pinpoint-size stone houses clinging to hillsides, remote barns & crumbling out-buildings, sometimes with full-grown trees coming out of them. It's almost as manicured as a park, carpeted in buttercups & spotted with grazing farm animals. Rock walls divide pastures & disappear over the hills after crisscrossing the slopes, tracing patterns like a chain stitch in a huge patchwork quilt. The narrow road that cuts through The Dales is tightly bordered by shoulder-high wildflowers. Mayflowers & cow parsley hang over both sides of the dry-stone walls. Two-track rutted paths with grass growing down the centers cut between fields; hedgerows line river banks. Small villages & cottages with foxgloves peeking from dooryards come right up to the road's edge. We wait our turn to go over single-lane, arched stone bridges.

We stop often, turning off the car engine to get out and lean on the walls next to meadows of waving wildflowers & bouncing lambs, to listen to the silence, to smell the breeze & to look at the view so big, it almost hurts your heart to see it."

She writes beautifully about quintessential English topics such as the National Trust, hedgerows, pubs, driving in England, and cottage gardens. Each little essay is informative and laced with her watercolor drawings and poetic take on things. They are all extremely helpful and inviting for the traveller planning a trip to England. 

I love her description of being an Anglophile:

"I've never considered myself an Anglophile. I looked it up & read that an Anglophile is 'a person who's fond of British culture,' which sounds mild but I always thought there might be a sort of irrational cultishness to it, so I wasn't an Anglophile, I just liked England.

Now I realize an Anglophile is not made, she is born -- in the gardens of rural England, in a tearoom on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales, & she can't be held responsible. It's like falling in love, she has to go with it. She sees an English meadow in the middle of a stadium in London during the opening ceremony for the Olympics with real sheep & shepherds & geese & wildflowers & she realizes she's madly in love with the people that would do that. She hangs up her bunting, turns on Downton Abbey & says, sign me up." 

I have decided that Susan Branch and I are definitely kindred spirits.

Her quotes are so well chosen. Here is one from her description of the Yorkshire Dales:

"A day in the car in an English country is like a day in some fairy museum where all the exhibits are alive & real." -- Rudyard Kipling 

And another:

"England, with its history & air of magic, the soil & woods thick with meanings that survive in fragments, is an empire of the imagination." -- T. S. Eliot

She even includes a selection of books she has loved "that will make your trip to England even grander." Some of her favorites are: "Excellent Women" by Barbara Pym, "Howards End" by E.M. Forster, "Cold Comfort Farm" by Stella Gibbons, "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Bronte, "All Creatures Great and Small" by James Herriot, and "Bridget Jone's Diary" by Helen Fielding. Hmm...all my favorites!

The book is filled with her whimsical watercolor illustrations and feels more like like a personal diary and homemade album then a travel book. She includes recipes for English dishes such as Coronation Chicken, Hot Milk Cake, Sticky Toffee Pudding and Pimm's Cup.

There are pubs, country walks, churches, antique stores, gardens and teas. She highlights Sissinghurst, Charleston, Beatrix Potter's Hilltop, and so many others you don't want to miss. Ellen Terry's home Smallhythe Place sounds especially delightful to visit. Last year I went to the English Countryside and visited Cornwall, Devon, and the Cotswolds. It was one of my favorite trips ever. Susan Branch's book has given me more places to visit for next time. Pick this book up, whether you are planning a trip or not. If you are an Anglophile, you will be happily transported for a few pleasurable hours to "England's green and pleasant land." If you weren't planning to go, I guarantee you will want to now.

The story of her romance and marriage is delightful. This book contains everything you need for a glorious trip to the English Countryside!

Happy summer adventures!

A Summer Lunch

It's hard to believe that August is halfway over and fall is right around the corner. But summer vegetables and fruits are at their peak right now. With the markets fairly bursting with fabulous summer produce, I got inspired the other night to make dinner using everything I bought at my local farmer's market. Peaches, figs, tomatoes, eggplant, lemons, mint, and berries --they all came together for dinner. The abundance and variety of summer produce is so wonderful. It occurred to me that this menu would also make a great summer lunch. So here goes, a summer lunch (or dinner) menu that takes advantage of the fresh produce available right now!

Grilled Peaches

We sliced peaches and brushed them with olive oil, salt and pepper. Then grilled them on an indoor grill pan just until slightly softened and showing grill marks. Topped with a slice of Manchego cheese and a mint leaf, they looked like summer on a plate.

 Figs and Goat Cheese

 Another great summer appetizer is figs served with softened goat cheese, no cooking required! 

Blistered Eggplant with Tomatoes, Olives, and Feta

Next was an eggplant and tomato salad from the September issue of Martha Stewart Living. It was delicious and I loved how fresh and abundant it looked. And it couldn't be easier to make. You simply broil the eggplant which gives it that great "grilled" look. Then, after the eggplant cools down, you layer it with the heirloom tomatoes. Dress the mixture with olive oil, salt and pepper, and scatter parsley, olives and feta cheese on top. This dish is a winner.

It makes a fabulous first course, though if you add a couple slices of sourdough bread, it could easily be a main course. Go here for the recipe.

Linguine with Shrimp and Lemons

The main course was Ina Garten's Linguine with Shrimp, one of my favorite dishes to make in the summer. Sunny and fragrant with lemons, it makes me think of being on vacation in Greece. Go here for the recipe.

Meringues and Berries

And finally, dessert couldn't have been easier. I bought meringues from the bakery at Farm Shop, a restaurant in Santa Monica, and topped them with juicy strawberries and blueberries. Instant summer dessert!

I hope you are enjoying the summer. With fall right around the corner, August is a great month for taking advantage of the best produce at the farmer's markets and cooking easy and simple dishes. You barely need a recipe for showcasing these luscious ingredients! 

Bon Appetit! 

Napa Goodness

How is your summer going? I just got back from a long weekend in Napa where my husband and I celebrated our wedding anniversary. Napa was the perfect place to go; it's not that far from home and yet it feels worlds away. And it is one of the most magical spots for a celebration. We spent three days exploring and just hanging out...

There were quaint farms and wineries

Welcoming signs

Lush vineyards

Cooking demonstrations at the Culinary Institute

Champagne tastings

Beautiful spots to relax

Icy drinks by the pool

Country flowers

Favorite places for lunch

A magical setting for celebrating an anniversary

And great wines and champagnes for making that special toast

It was the perfect place to be!

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I hope you have been enjoying the summer. The last couple of weeks were a great time for me to catch up on some reading -- a delicious summer novel as well as stacks of magazines and newspapers.

There is so much to talk about! Stay tuned...

But I am wondering, have you seen this?

Or this?

Two different covers of the August issue of British Harper's Bazaar and it is out now. There is a ten page article that features the women of "Downton Abbey" in a glamorous photo spread. The timing couldn't be better for those of us still going through "Downton" withdrawal. The fifth season of the show debuts in Britain this fall. Can't wait to get a copy of the magazine. Looking forward to reading about the "Downton Sisterhood"!

A Friend in the Kitchen

Now that it's summer and the weather is warm, I have been thinking about all the entertaining possibilities coming up. My mind immediately went to outdoor entertaining since everything tastes better outdoors. And what could be better than being surrounded by nature? More than anything else, summer entertaining should be easy and relaxed. I may have found the perfect book to help.

What's a Hostess to Do?  by Susan Spungen was published last year and is filled with great ideas for entertaining. I have been a fan of her writing for a long time, especially the articles she used to write for "Martha Stewart Living." Spungen was the founding food editor of the magazine and wrote a regular column on entertaining. I have torn out so many of her recipes over the years. Her parties always seemed effortless and chic. She eventually left the magazine and went on to become a culinary consultant for movies such as "Julie and Julia," It's Complicated," and "Eat, Pray, Love." You probably remember how beautiful the food scenes in those films were. I was so excited to see that she had written a book on entertaining.

Since I was having an outdoor cocktail party last week, I pulled down her book to see what she had to say about "effortless entertaining." My immediate reaction was: I love this book. Packed with great ideas for every kind of party, it is divided into clear sections such as The Buffet, The Dinner Party, The Cocktail Hour, Outdoor Parties, and Holidays and Other Special Occasions. It has fabulous recipes. Spungen doesn't skip a detail on how to plan a party and everything she suggests makes so much sense. She explains how to word the invitation, decorate with a theme, time your party preparations, arrange a table, mix cocktails, put together a cheese plate, and throw a party outside. For a cocktail party she suggests a buffet table, easy bite-size hors d'oeuvres, and keeping everything informal and carefree. Her approach is the opposite of fussy, which sets a great mood for the guests and keeps everyone relaxed. The idea is to have fun at your own party and your guests will do the same.

Her first suggestion was something I always do: take out paper and pen and start making lists. I wanted everything to be in one place so I used a notebook with dividers and made lists for everything I needed. The notebook was divided into sections:  the bar, menu, serving pieces, linens, and flowers and decor. 

I started with the flowers --  peonies and roses felt perfect for a party in June  

Next was the food. Shrimp cocktail was at the top of my list when I created the menu. I chose four recipes from "Ten Quick Hors d'Oeuvres" in Spungen's book, which includes the shrimp, and also added an eggplant dip from The Barefoot Contessa. All the recipes are easy to make, can be done ahead, and are able to sit on the buffet table for hours. The shrimp and cocktail sauce (above) is always a good choice because it is so simple. I made it a little more special by substituting Gazpacho Seafood Dip for the cocktail sauce. A friend gave me this recipe. Although a little more work, it was so much more interesting than a regular cocktail sauce. Plus it can be made days ahead of time. See the recipe below.

Everyone loved these cherry tomatoes stuffed with hummus and topped with slivers of olive from the book 

Eggplant dip with homemade pita chips from Barefoot Contessa was all done ahead

Smoked salmon on blinis couldn't be easier using frozen blinis from the market

As evening began to fall, we set out the flowers on the table

We put out glasses, ice buckets, and candles

A big cheese tray was another wonderful suggestion from the book

Cocktail-size paper plates and napkins made clean up easy

Sparkling rose and white wine in ice buckets allowed everyone to help themselves

The next day I was thinking that there are certain food writers who feel like a friend in the kitchen.  Their books are filled with inspiration, great recipes, and good common sense. Laurie Colwin, Ina Garten and Melissa Clark are three that come to mind. Susan Spungen is another. If you love to entertain, be sure to get a copy of her book. It will give you lots of good and practical ideas for entertaining this summer. My favorite tip? Make a big batch of topping for fruit crisp and store it in the freezer for when you are ready to make a crisp. Genius!

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Here is the recipe for Gazpacho Seafood Dip: 

1/4 cup chili sauce

1 cup ketchup

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 green pepper, chopped

1 onion, chopped

1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped

1 large tomato, peeled, seeded and chopped

2 tablespoons vinegar

2-3 drops Tabasco sauce

1 tablespoon olive oil

In a blender or food processor fitted with the metal blade, combine all ingredients. Refrigerate up to 1 week. Serve with seafood and avocado slices, if desired. Makes 3 cups.

Summer Reading

Photo via here

What is it about summer reading that feels different? We want our books to be engrossing, entertaining  and enlightening. We want a book that we can't put down. Memorial Day weekend is the official kick-off to summer. And it is always a good idea to have some enticing books at hand for summer reading -- whether it's in the backyard, at the beach, or on vacation. After combing through various book reviews, magazine articles and websites, I came up with the following list of ten intriguing summer books. Each one is guaranteed to take us away even if we stay home this summer. Please feel free to add your own suggestions and together we can create a great list.

 Four Novels

You might think that after The Paris Wife there was nothing new to say on the subject of Hemingway and his wives. But there is more to the story. In Mrs. Hemingway: A Novel  we learn that Hemingway married four of his mistresses: Hadley Richardson, Pauline Pfeiffer, Martha Gelhorn and Mary Welsh. Naomi Wood explores the idea that the dashing Hemingway was never in short supply of women; after all, he was Hemingway! What was unusual was the number of those women he wanted to marry. He seemed to need the stability of marriage and the security of a wife at home to relieve him from the strain of writing. But he also needed excitement for his books and that's where the mistresses came in. Naturally there were always women happy to move into either position: that of wife or mistress. The Hemingway myth continues to fascinate us. This book about the women who adored him may bring us closer to understanding this complicated genius.  

A new novel by Michael Cunningham is always an occasion. His books are smart and enlightening; they ask a lot of questions about life that sometimes have no easy answers, but they always make us think. In his two previous books "The Hours" and "By Nightfall", Cunningham took classic tales of literature -- "Mrs. Dalloway" and "Death in Venice" -- and updated them for the modern reader. The title of The Snow Queen is taken from the Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale. It would seem that this book is also loosely based on a classic tale, this time a fairy tale. The book starts with a fairy tale kind of event: one of the main characters see a mysterious light in the sky and becomes obsessed with it. The question is: was it a brush with the divine or simply an airplane or a cloud? Set in New York, the plot concerns two unhappy brothers with messy and complicated lives, searching for some meaning in life. Cunningham's books are always beautifully written and filled with ordinary people trying to navigate the challenges of modern life. I loved "The Hours" and "By Nightfall."   

For the armchair travelers among us, The Vacationers sounds like the perfect summer read. It takes us away to the Spanish island of Majorca. The Post family go on this trip together but by the time they reach their destination things are far from perfect. They have gone through a crisis which will play out on the vacation. Here is what I have learned about this book: it is beautifully written; Majorca is vividly evoked; and the characters are deliciously appealing. I can't wait to get my hands on a copy and be swept away to Majorca in what looks to be a very appealing family tale.

I was lucky enough to hear the former editor-in-chief of "Gourmet" magazine Ruth Reichl talk about her new book Delicious! A Novel here in Los Angeles. She told us about the genesis of the novel. She had been on a book tour for more than a month after "Gourmet" closed its doors and when she came back to pack up, the offices were empty. When she opened the door to the magazine's library she thought what if this was a fabulous Victorian library? What might happen next? The book starts with a culinary bang (I am about 50 pages into it). The heroine Billie Breslin wants to work at a food magazine called "Delicious" and in order to get the job she has to first cook for its editor. She has an extraordinary talent for creating recipes and understanding flavors and her recipe for Gingerbread will knock your socks off. The book tells the story of this enterprising young woman finding her way in the big city, learning about herself and discovering her passions along the way. It seems as if it will be a love letter to New York as well as to the culinary arts. So far, I am obsessed with the idea of making that Gingerbread in the fall! 

True Story/Crime Caper

Advance word about this soon to be published crime caper is that it should be made into a movie. And I must say the story, which is true, sounds fascinating enough to be a film. The Map Thief concerns E. Forbes Smiley III, a rare maps dealer, who made millions of dollars stealing priceless maps. The genteel world of cartography seems an unlikely setting for a crime book. But Forbes was cutting valuable maps out of rare books with an X-Acto knife for years, slipping them in his blazer, and and taking them out of esteemed libraries such as Yale's Beinecke, Harvard's Houghton, Chicago's Newberry, the British Library in London and the New York Public Library. Smiley sold the maps for big sums of money, including a 1742 Boston City plan for $185,000.00. It is amazing that he got away with it for so long. In all, there were 97 maps sold for around $3 million. The FBI finally caught up with him. Who knew the world of antiques maps could be so cut throat! 

Newly released English classic

It's always fun to discover a neglected classic that is finally back in print. In this case there are three titles by Angela Thirkell that have been released by Virago Modern Classics: Summer Half, August Folly, and The Brandons. Each one sounds like the perfect summer read. If they are anything like Wild Strawberries (read more here) they will whisk us away to an idyllic English summer between the two wars. Think summer fetes, strawberries and cream, tea on the lawn, cricket matches, and young people falling in love. You can order them here.

Vintage Style Book 

Rebecca Tuite has written a book about the history of the all-American preppy look: Seven Sisters Style. She went to Vassar College and during her time there became fascinated with the iconic look that was born in the fifties and sixties at the Seven Sisters colleges: Vassar, Mt. Holyoke, Bryn Mawr, etc. Even though styles are much different on those campuses today, there is a legacy that lives on. Jackie Kennedy, Sylvia Plath, Ali MacGraw and Katharine Hepburn all went to a Seven Sisters college and they shared a distinctive sense of style. This book traces it to their formative experiences at their respective Seven Sisters college. Think boyfriend blazers, bermuda shorts, plaid kilts, tennis sweaters and knit polos. That unique sensibility is the premise of Rebecca Tuite's book. She explores this iconic look that still lives on at campuses and in popular culture today in three manifestations: the tomboy, the prepster, and the ladylike society girl. From everything I have read, this book can be read from cover to cover, or dipped into every now and then as it sits on the coffee table. It looks like a beauty.

 Memoir

Molly Wizenberg is the creator of the hugely popular food blog Orangette. Her first book A Homemade Life was on the New York Times bestseller list. In her new book Delancey: A Man, A Woman, A Restaurant, A Marriage she tells how she and her husband opened a restaurant in Seattle, sparking the first crisis in her young marriage. I am so inspired by Wizenberg's creative spirit and the passion she brings to the topic of food. This book is part love story, part restaurant industry tale. It is being described as charming, funny and poignant. I can't wait to read it.

 Literary Tell-All

In 1982, twenty-year-old Nina Stibbe moved from the countryside to London to become nanny for the two children belonging to London Review of Books editor Mary-Kay Wilmers and the director Steven Frears, whose films include "Philomena" and "The Queen." Stibbes writes home to her sister every week about her adventures living with this bohemian and intellectual family. As she says, "Being a nannny is great. Not like a job really, just like living in someone else's life." Of course this household is not your typical household; it was often filled with artistic and intellectual personalities. The playwright Alan Bennet was a neighbor and regular guest at the dinner table. Stibbe's charming and hilarious letters are collected in this book and form a memoir of her life as a London nanny. They consist mostly of dialogue and one critic has said she recounts the family conversations with a playwright's ear. Maybe the result of hanging out with Alan Bennett? This book is supposed to be very funny and has been compared to the writing of Helen Fielding.

 Garden Book

Summer is garden season and it is always fun to discover a new garden book. Virginia Woolf's Garden was published back in October but is just starting to appear in bookstores. I bought it on my recent trip to New York. The book tells the story of the magical garden at Monk's House where Caroline Zoob lived with her husband as tenant-curator for ten years. It gives us an extensive look at the garden Leonard lovingly created for his wife Virginia so she could get some relief from the strains of writing. I was lucky enough to visit Monk's House last October and the garden was beautiful (read more here). You could almost hear the echoes of late-night conversations and feel the spirit of Virginia's writing. The day we visited the apple trees were so heavy with fruit they touched our heads as we walked below. It is a glorious garden to visit. This book will take you there.