Sometimes egg whites are used to make mohawks stand up.

A couple nights ago I made Ina's Parmesan Chicken. The recipe was suspiciously familiar, so I flipped to the Kid-Friendly section and checked the Parmesan Chicken recipe against the Parmesan Chicken Sticks--it's the same recipe, just without the sticks. Is that cheating? I was pleased to eat it a second time, and it was even better. I used a special seasoned breadcrumb that Casey gets from a local butcher, which was delicious. I liked the addition of the baby greens on top of the chicken, too.

We had the Zucchini with Parmesan on the side. (I know, parmesan overload. What can I say, I love-a the cheese.) This recipe is really only zucchini and onions sauteed with salt and pepper and dusted with parmesan--so HOW IS IT SO DELICIOUS? I am kind of notorious for underseasoning my food. Ina makes me look bad. There are, like, three things in this recipe and yet it does not taste underseasoned. I hope I can learn something from this cooking experiment!

This morning I decided to make Coconut Macaroons before it got too hot. Macaroons are not on the list of my Top Ten Favorite Cookies, so I thought I'd bring them to class tomorrow and share them with my cohort. The recipe went quite well--again, this is a recipe with only four ingredients, and it's relatively easy to put them together. Here's a picture of the lovely macaroons:


Now, you may be asking yourself why (extremely poor photography skills aside) I didn't take the cookies off the baking sheet and put them on a nice plate. IT'S BECAUSE I COULDN'T. They are GLUED to the parchment, and the two that didn't fit on the parchment are glued to the baking sheet. Why?? What did I do wrong?

I looked up some ideas for what to do if your macaroons won't unstick themselves. One helpful cook suggests that you put a little water between the hot pan and the parchment, generating a little steam and loosening the cookies.

Didn't work.

Another said that they would stick while warm but come off as soon as they'd completely cooled.

Also a lie.

I tried scraping them off with a spatula. Nope. I tried freezing them. Also failed. Finally I resorted to pulling the top half off and shoving it in my mouth, leaving the whole bottom stuck to the paper. It was delicious...but a waste of half a macaroon. Help! How can I save my cookies??

Some reviewses

Someone Like You
by Sarah Dessen
Young Adult Fiction
Available now in paperback

Sarah Dessen's books are always great. She's the best YA author out there in terms of everyday teenage life. Usually, her characters are fairly self-sufficient and don't have a great relationship with their parents--they are female, they have jobs, they go to school and don't get in trouble. The same is true in this book. The difference is that the self-sufficient "good girl" is not the protagonist in this book--she's the best friend.

Halley is the narrator, and she has an exemplary relationship with her parents until the summer before her junior year. After the death of her best friend's boyfriend, Halley starts dating Macon Faulkner, the town bad boy. She finds herself drifting further from her parents, omitting information and even lying to them on occasion. It doesn't help that her best friend, Scarlett, has a secret that Halley has to keep.

Reading this book makes me want to see the movie How to Be Bad, which was based on this book and another by Sarah Dessen.


Assassination Vacation
by Sarah Vowell
Adult nonfiction (history)
Available now in paperback

I enjoy Sarah Vowell because she's a comedian, a historian, and a crazy person all in one. Her books are technically history--this one is about the assassinations of Lincoln, Garfield, and McKinley--but they're just as much a commentary on the way that modern politics parallel historical events, for better or for worse. Vowell looks at a few different aspects of the three presidential assassinations: the political climate, the presidents' temperaments and viewpoints, the assassins' personal histories, and interesting trends that contributed to the events surrounding the assassinations. At the same time, she adds in some hilarious modern-day scenes that had me cracking up. She is one of those people who attracts interesting characters. I found myself wishing that I knew her friends, because they all seem so awesome. I think that history books could use more personal anecdotes--they are what kept me reading, even though I picked up the book for the history and not the funny stories.

A Character Guide to my Twitter

It has recently come to my attention that I frequently mention strange people like "Cervantes" and "Fat Spaniel" on my Twitter, but give no indication of who these oddly named characters are. So here is a character guide to the people you might encounter if you follow jakethegirl on Twitter:

Baby Talk Lady: Unfortunately, Baby Talk Lady is one of the more regular characters in my life. She lives on my floor, around the corner, and she talks to her dog (Fat Spaniel) as if he were a 6-month-old child. And not just sometimes. She is CONSTANTLY cooing at him and squealing when he does something cute, even at 2 a.m. when they're standing outside my door waiting for the elevator. Even when he is running into the road and causing car accidents. Even when he is peeing on someone's front steps.

Fat Spaniel: It's not Fat Spaniel's fault that he got such a lame owner. In fact, I recently discovered that he is actually extremely well-behaved when Baby Talk Lady is out of sight. Last week I got off the elevator and FS came barreling around the corner to greet me. I could hear Baby Talk Lady trying to lock her door (and talking baby talk), but she seemed to be having trouble because she never appeared. Fat Spaniel trotted behind me to my door and I, in a momentary lapse of judgment, held it open for him to see if he wanted to come in. FS passed the test: he sat down and looked at me, saying, "I know you're trying to trick me. I know you think I'm poorly behaved. But give me a break--you would act out too if you had this lady talking at you all the time. I'm not coming in." We stared at each other for a few seconds and then I said, "Suit yourself," and closed the door.

Cervantes: Cervantes is a guy who always seems to be at the gym, no matter when I go. He earned his nickname by virtue of his beard, which is grey and pointy, and his accent, which is Spanish. He's a really nice guy, but I hope I never learn his real name because I like to think he is secretly living the life of a modern-day Don Quixote.

Harold: Harold is Harold's real name. He is a 54-year-old black man who looks like he's about 35. He went to college in Illinois, came out here to make his fortune, and unfortunately acquired a drug habit. I met him at the bus stop, where he used to hang out during the day. Then he went to rehab for a while but didn't make it to the end of the program. Sometimes, while he's sweeping the Church's Chicken parking lot in exchange for lunch, he sees me at the bus stop and drops by to say hello. He is kind, friendly, smart (street-smart and book-smart), and hardworking, but he has that one single weakness that cancels out all his virtues. I hope that someday he'll kick his habit because he's a really really neat guy and he deserves to have a job and a home and a family.

Cohort 1: This is my class, the 23 student teachers that I spend half my life with. Every single one of them is awesome. I'm so lucky that I'm part of the cohort. We have a lot of fun.

Casey: Casey is my fiance and roommate. He's pretty much the best ever.

Naked Man: On the way to the gym, I pass through a little park. Sometimes there is a man sitting under a tree in one of those folding chairs. If it's 60-70 degrees, he wears a track suit. If it's 70-75, he takes off the jacket and wears a t-shirt or a muscle shirt. If it's 75-85 degrees, no shirt. Above 85 degrees, his outfit consists of: short shorts. He always tries to talk to me when he's naked. It's gross.

Reviews by Anna

Gah! This post is extremely long overdue, for which I apologize. As some of you may know, I'm in an intensive graduate program that condenses two years of study into twelve months. We were on a break for the last five weeks, but now we're back into it--and, as part of the program, I am student teaching Kindergarten in the morning and attending classes in the afternoon and evening. This does not leave a lot of time for reading or reviewing, but I'm going to do my best. And don't worry, I'll still be cooking delicious Barefoot Contessa recipes and blathering on about them. (I know you probably were NOT worried, but humor me.)

In the meantime, I have some reviews that readers sent me. Enjoy!


The Roar
by Emma Clayton
Young Adult Fiction
Available now in hardcover
Review by Anna Hart

If the simple the fact that the story is posed in London in the future doesn't grab your interest, Emma Clayton's thrilling sci-fi novel Roar will pull you in on its own. It gives you a fresh new feel, with a touch of Star Wars added, like a delicious dash of exotic spices. Even though it's from a twelve-year-old's point of view, I think older readers (including myself, of course) will enjoy this book.

Mika lives in futuristic London, behind a huge wall that protects the citizens from the mysterious animal plague that swept the city many years ago. But since his twin sister vanished a year ago, Mika has suspected there is more to his world than he has always been told. When an organization starts recruiting children to play violent, very realistic virtual reality games, Mika uses it as a chance to search for his missing twin and uncover a startling truth.

Mika is easy to root for. Throughout the story, he is a brave and believable character that you want to stick with for the exciting ride; even when the dialogue gets a bit sketchy. He manages to discover secrets, and unravel their truths in ways that kept me reading with eager anticipation. When the end of the book came and a fountain of surprises erupted before me, I was quite disappointed that the book had finished.

At one point, the book touches on the fact that humans didn't take care of the earth, and that was what caused the disastrous animal plague. I thought 'Oh great, this is going to be some environmentalist book that bashes people while at the same time trying to be a science fiction, action packed adventure.'I was pleasantly surprised to find that yes, it was an action packed adventure, but there was no bashing involved.

I had a bit of a problem connecting to the villain of the story. My friends, the villains do, in fact, need to be identifiable, as twisted as that may sound, but I had trouble relating to this particular 'bad guy.' Even in the end, when the motives for his evil deeds become clear, I still felt that he could have had much more depth.

With that aside, the book was completely enjoyable and I would personally recommend it to sci-fi fans and people who simply enjoy a good tale. Emma Clayton certainly wrote an amazing first novel that kept me guessing and sucked me in all the way through until the end.


The Midnight Charter
by David Whitley
Young Adult Fantasy (Steampunk!)
Due September 1st
Review by Anna Hart

***CONTAINS SPOILERS***

Do you need something? Well you aren't going to get it if you don't have something worthwhile to trade...not in Agora anyways.

Mark comes from the slums of Agora, only managing to escape the deadly plague because his father sold him. Lily is the servant who takes care of Mark in his new home. In their world where everything -including their lives- can be bought and sold, their only goal is survival.

When the two get a chance to switch lives, they take it. Lily goes outside in the world and Mark remains in the tower, acting as a servant to the mysterious Count. While Mark moves up in fame and fortune, becoming a wondrous astrologer, Lily starts the first Almshouse for the poor. Both of their lives remain entwined, seemingly by destiny. But when Lily discovers the Midnight Charter -started by Agora's founders- she realizes that her city and its elite have some very serious secrets. She and Mark are forced to make dangerous decisions...some that may alter the very future of Agora itself.

Creative and interesting, but also a book that makes you think. The Midnight Charter does have a distinct message hidden in it, but not the cliche messages that often bore one to tears when reading a YA novel.

In the beginning the book slid along quickly and smoothly, keeping me completely mesmerized by Agora's political intrigue and intertwined secrets. As the book slows down a bit, you are attached enough to the characters to continue reading. And if you stick with it to the end, well, the revealing of the mysteries was all the reward I needed.

Overall, I recommend this book for people who enjoy hidden meanings spiced masterfully with entertainment. I would read this book again, simply to uncover more and more of the secrets.

foodz

Hello, my lovelies! I've been away on vacation--visiting family in Syracuse, NY--for the last ten days. While I was there, I read a few great books, but first things first: food!

Just before I left, I made Ina's Tequila Lime Chicken and her mashed potatoes. Both were stupendous. The garlic, tequila, and lime, and orange juice gave the chicken SO much flavor. It's a super simple recipe and one that I will definitely add to my "easy dinners" file. (Yes, I keep a little box of recipe cards--are you surprised? You knew I was a nerd.) As for the mashed potatoes--wow. It's hard to mess up mashed potatoes, but these were perfectly seasoned and delicious. Here's a picture of our dinner. As usual, I will not be winning any awards for food photography.

The next morning I woke up early so I decided to try Ina's Slow-Cooked Scrambled Eggs with Herbs. Now, I think most people can make scrambled eggs fairly successfully. I know I can. It was tempting to just do my usual thing and add the herbs, but in the end I made myself follow Ina's instructions. I turned down the heat a little, used half & half instead of milk, and stirred them for what seemed like forever. And seriously? Best scrambled eggs I've ever had. Who knew that turning down the heat a little could make such a huge difference? The parsley and scallions were delicious. I'm excited to try the variation with goat cheese.

Once in Syracuse, my mom picked 3 recipes from the Family Style Cookbook. I recruited my stepsister Julia (age 10) to be my sous chef. Here she is:

We made the Parmesan Chicken Sticks, the Mac & Cheese, and the Garlic Sauteed Spinach. All three were delicious, although only my mom and I would eat the spinach. Julia and her dad and brother are picky eaters.


Here's the chicken, breaded by Julia. I taught her the "wet hand, dry hand" technique and she was a pro--she didn't bread her fingers at all. She also stuck the chicken on the skewers. This is a really good kid-friendly recipe for chicken. It was perfectly cooked inside and crunchy outside.

I thought the spinach was great, even if there was WAY too much for two people. Plenty of garlic and salt and lemon.

The winner, however, was the mac & cheese. I have a new favorite pasta recipe. We couldn't find Gruyere anywhere, so we substituted Fontinella, which was delicious. Again, Julia's dad and brother picked around the tomatoes, but I thought they were a fabulous addition. I wish I'd made real fresh breadcrumbs, though. My mom made the shopping list and I didn't check it against the recipe before I went to the store, so I got regular bread crumbs. They were good mixed into the mac & cheese, but a little dry.

And the winner is...

JONAH HELLER

has won the Summer Reading Challenge!

CONGRATULATIONS, JONAH!

And congratulations to everyone else who participated! We had a great turnout this year, and I was blown away by how many hours you guys read. You should all be proud of yourselves!

Reviews

I cannot. Stop. Reading. The Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich. I'm making myself read other books between each one, but I'm not particularly successful all the time. I've read 10 of the 15 Stephanie Plum novels in the last month. They are so hilarious. However, I feel like I should do some reviews of what else I've been reading:


Outliers: The Story of Success
by Malcolm Gladwell
Adult nonfiction
Available now in hardcover

Malcolm Gladwell is the new black. His books, which look at trends and patterns in a unique and compelling way, will probably never stop selling. I hadn't read them before because I'm not that interested in business books, but customers kept coming in and telling me cool little factoids that they'd learned from Outliers and I was intrigued. I listened to the audio book--read by the author--on a road trip and now I'm hooked on Gladwell too.

Outliers takes apart several instances of "success"--Bill Gates's career, professional hockey in Canada, Jewish lawyers in New York--and goes over them with a fine-tooth comb. He shows which aspects of success are rooted in personal drive and capability, and which aspects are the simple fortune of being in the right place at the right time. There was no point where I stopped paying attention or thought, "this is not relevant to someone who does not work in the corporate world." Gladwell is really good at balancing interesting facts and useful information. His sections are never too long or too wordy. I'm really glad I read this!

I've also read The Tipping Point, and it's just as good or better.


Fever 1793
by Laurie Halse Anderson
Young adult historical fiction
Available now in paperback

I loved this book. It's about the Yellow Fever epidemic of 1793. It takes place in Philadelphia, which was then the capital of the United States. The store is told by Mattie Cook, a 14-year-old girl whose family runs a coffeehouse 2 blocks from George Washington's house. Mattie has a crush on a painter's apprentice named Nathaniel, but when the fever strikes she is sent out to the country and doesn't know if Nathaniel has survived the epidemic.

Laurie Halse Anderson is known for two things: impeccable historical research (as in Chains) and great emotional depth (as in Speak). This book has them both. Mattie is trying to survive a horrifying historical event, but at the same time she is a 14-year-old girl, and this aspect does not get left by the wayside. The writing is great, the plot is gripping, and the characters are believable. This is a great book.

Fried chicken, rosemary polenta, and green beans

Last night, because I did an opening shift and got done with work at a reasonable hour, I made a few recipes from the Family Style cookbook. My suspicions were confirmed: Ina Garten is a genius.

First I made the Rosemary Polenta. This was the first time I'd made polenta since April 2008, when the Great Polenta Overdose occurred. Right from the start, it smelled SO GOOD. You can't really go wrong with milk, cream, butter, rosemary, and garlic. My only complaint was that the recipe takes a long time--you have to make the polenta, cool it down, and then pan-fry it--and I had to do the first part while the sun was up and my apartment was 83 degrees.

A little while later, I made the Green Beans and Shallots and a variation on the Fried Chicken.



Both were super easy. Just saute the shallots, blanch the beans, dredge and fry the chicken. Then I fried the polenta and it was good to go. Or that would have been the case if I was capable of successfully frying things.

I should have taken a picture of all the polenta wedges that fell apart during the various stages of getting them out of the cooling pan and into the frying pan. Next time I will cook the polenta a little longer before I cool it--maybe that will help. Here is the finished plate:

The Beginning of the End

Ladies and Gentlemen--

The Summer Reading Challenge is almost over! Your last day to turn in Reading Records is Friday, August 14th at 5:00 p.m.

Your last day to turn in Secret Bonus Tasks (and get the prize) is Tuesday, August 11th. You can still turn in Bonus Tasks up until the 15th, but you won't get a prize for it after I've left for my vacation on the 11th.

Good luck!

The Julie & Julia Copycat Challenge

As you may recall, last week I mentioned Julie & Julia, which is both a book and a movie about Julia Child and the influence that her recipes had on a woman named Julie Powell. Because I am a foodie and an avid reader, I was inspired to do the same thing that Julie Powell does in the movie: cook all of the recipes in a single cookbook. Julie chose Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking, which has about 550 recipes. I chose Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa Family Style Cookbook, which has about 100.

Tonight I began the "Julie & Julia Copycat Challenge" with dessert: stewed berries and rum whipped cream.
I could probably quit now and be satisfied. IT WAS SO GOOD. And so simple. The recipe is basically sugar, berries, cream, rum, and vanilla. I also added some fresh-baked biscuits because I'm a carb-o-holic. Here are some pictures of the "before and after."