Breads

October’s meeting was fantastic with so many different kinds of  savory and sweet breads it was impossible to taste them all! But we can bake them ourselves and try them at home with the recipe list available here.

Not Your Mom’s Casserole

Find all the yummy recipes from this month’s meeting here.

Salads

 

Download recipes here: 08.04.11 – salads.

Red, White & Blue

 

Get all the yummy recipes here.

 

 

Desserts, Desserts, Desserts…

Download this month’s recipe’s here.

Chocolate Fudge Pie Recipe

You might remember the delicious chocolate fudge pie from our first meeting.  Renate didn’t have a copy of the recipe to share at the time, but she recently delivered it to the library.  You can access the recipe online from Family Circle magazine (free registration required), or pick up a copy at our next meeting on Thursday, March 3 at 6:30 PM.

Thanks, Renate, for sharing the delicious recipe.

March 3: Appetizers

Our next meeting is Thursday, March 3 @ 6:30 PM.  Bring your favorite appetizer and the recipe.

Looking for some inspiration?  Try Rick Bayless’ new cookbook Fiesta at Rick’s for some delicious Mexican snacks.   Try something with Cajun flair from Emeril’s book Everyday’s a Party.  If you’re looking for something more classic, try Back to Basics by Ina Garten or one of the cookbooks by the editors of Gourmet magazine.

Whether you’ll be sharing an old family favorite or trying something new, join us!  Call the Reference Desk at 708-672-8017 to register, or email Rebecca.

 

February Meeting Wrap-Up

Our first meeting was a great success! Not only did we share recipes, we also swapped tips for dressing up brownies and explained how we dealt with less than perfect recipes.

Renate made her first pie ever, which was a hit. We all loved the rich chocolate filling and the flaky crust.

Ellen brought two dishes. Her cocoa chiffon pie has been a staff favorite for years. She also made chocolate pecan critters, which had an amazing texture.

Beth’s mocha truffles would look great on any dessert table, and the recipe she shared looks pretty manageable.  She brought some truffles rolled in a crunchy toffee topping and some rolled in cocoa.  I tasted the toffee version, which was fantastic.  I can’t wait to try the recipe for myself!

I made a barbecue sauce with chocolate and coffee, and while it wasn’t a very chocolaty dish, it was pretty tasty. The original recipe says to serve it over steak, but we ate it on pulled chicken sandwiches.

See the rest of the dishes from our February meeting on our Flickr account.  Keep an eye on the blog for more information about the recipes we used to create these dishes, and share your thoughts in the comments.

More savory dishes will be on the table next month, when we make and sample appetizers.  We’ll be meeting at 6:30 PM on Thursday, March 3.  You can email Rebecca or call the library at 708-672-8017 to register.  Hope to see you there!

February 10th: Chocolate

As you might remember, we got a bit of snow last week.

From Flickr user: celikins

Although the library was open on Thursday, February 3, I thought many of us would still be digging out cars or clearing paths for the mailman. So, our inaugural meeting of CRAVE will be tomorrow, February 10 at 6:30 PM.

We’ll be meeting in the Coffee Connection, which is on the 2nd floor near the large meeting room. The library will provide disposable plates and utensils, as well as some beverages. To participate, bring a dish that features chocolate, as well as the recipe that you use to make it.

I’ll be bringing chicken with a black barbecue sauce made with coffee and chocolate, and I can’t wait to see what you’re making!

Book Review: Julia Child, A Life

2011 is here, which means 365 more days to fill with books.  This year, I’m participating in three reading challenges:  the Debut Author Challenge and a Monthly Genre Challenge, which you can read about at the Crete Teens blog, and the Foodie’s Reading Challenge, which will be documented here on the CRAVE blog.

Julia Child: A Life

by Laura Shapiro

I’ve just finished listening to Julia Child: A Life by Laura Shapiro, read by Julia Prud’homme, which I downloaded from MyMediaMall.  Prud’homme, Child’s grandniece, was an excellent narrator.  Her voice was soothing, but not soporific, and her “Julia voice” thankfully steered clear of caricature.

As for content, I found Shapiro’s writing breezy and engaging.  Julia is known for being a beloved television personality.  Shapiro does justice to her celebrity while also exploring the lesser known, and less flattering, aspects of Child’s personality.

What I enjoyed most about the biography was the development of Julia’s relationships with Paul, Avis, and Simca.  Drawing heavily on Julia and Paul’s letters, Shapiro illustrates Julia’s desire to be a partner to her husband.

After listening to Julia Child: A Life, I’ve been adding more books by and about Julia Child to my “to read” list, including My Life in Paris and the newly released As Always, Julia the collected letters of Julia and Avis DeVoto.  You can search the catalog for these and more titles by and about Julia Child.

For more biographies of famous foodies, try one of the following titles:

Tender at the Bone or another title by Ruth Reichl

Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain

For biographies that focus on relationships, you may be interested in:

The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion

The Dirty Life: On Farming, Food, and Love by Kristen Kimball