The Nightingale

I have been a fan of Kristin Hannah for awhile. The Nightingale did not disappoint me. She is an award-winning and bestselling author of more than 20 novels, all with very different twists. In The Nightingale, Kristin Hannah captures the epic panorama of WWII and illuminates an intimate part of history seldom seen: the women's war, with courage, grace and powerful insight. The Nightingale tells the stories of two sisters, separated by years and experiences, by ideals, passions and circumstances, each embarking on her own dangerous path toward survival, love, and freedom in German-occupied, war-torn France--a heartbreakingly beautiful novel that celebrates the resilience of the human spirit and the durability of women. It is a novel for everyone, a novel for a lifetime.

In the quiet village of Carriveau, France in 1939, Vianne Mauriac says goodbye to her husband, Antoine, as he heads for the Front. She doesn't believe that the Nazis will invade France . . . but invade they do, in droves of marching soldiers, in caravans of trucks and tanks, in planes that fill the skies and drop bombs upon the innocent. When a German captain requisitions Vianne's home, she and her daughter must live with the enemy or lose everything. Without food or money or hope, as danger escalates all around them, she is forced to make one impossible choice after another to keep her family alive.

Vianne's sister, Isabelle, is a rebellious eighteen-year-old girl, searching for purpose with all the reckless passion of youth. While thousands of Parisians march into the unknown terrors of war, she meets Gäetan, a partisan who believes the French can fight the Nazis from within France, and she falls in love as only the young can...completely. But when he betrays her, Isabelle joins the Resistance and never looks back, risking her life time and again to save others. "In love we find out who we want to be. In war we find out who we are." The Nightingale is definitely a book worthy of the reading time. It will have you crying and smiling, sometimes within the same chapter.

And as always, a delicious meal was thoroughly enjoyed as we discussed the intricacies of The Nightingale. Our meal's theme was French, of course! Bon appetit!

APPETIZER

Prosciutto, Apple and Goat Cheese Pinwheels

Serves: 12 pinwheels

Ingredients:

6 slices prosciutto, cut in half lengthwise

12 arugula leaves

12 slices/pieces of goat cheese-I used goat cheese with cranberries 

12 thin slices of Fuji apple

 (Can add chopped walnuts, pecans or other nuts on top of the cheese)

Instructions:

1. Place a strip of prosciutto on a cutting board.

2. Place one arugula leaf in the center of the prosciutto strip.

3. Place a thin slice of Fuji apple at one end of the prosciutto strip.

4. Top apple with a generous amount of goat cheese. Make sure to spread goat cheese evenly on apple. (Top with nuts if desired.)

5. Beginning from edge with the apple and cheese, roll prosciutto tightly to make a pinwheel.

Recipe adapted from: http://www.bemindfulbehuman.com/index.php/prosciutto-apple-goat-cheese-wraps/

ENTREE

Bacon Wrapped Pork Tenderloin with Roasted Potatoes

Ingredients:

4-5 lb. pork tenderloin

1 pound thick sliced bacon

Salt and pepper, to taste

Long’s Peak Dry Rub (from Savory Spice shop) or other rub of choice

Butcher’s twine

Medium sized potatoes, quartered and lightly coated in olive oil, add salt and pepper to taste.

Rub salt, pepper and dry rub over all of tenderloin.  Wrap bacon around roast, stretching the bacon to have ends meet.  Use butcher’s twine to tie and secure the bacon around the roast.  In large skillet, heat 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil, then brown all sides of the roast over medium heat.  Transfer to roasting pan, baking uncovered at 350 until internal temperature reaches 155°.   Add potatoes around the roast at the beginning of baking.  The roast may need to be covered during the baking process to avoid drying out.  Remove roast from oven, let rest for about 10 minutes, during this time, internal temperature will continue to rise.  Slice and serve with apple/wine sauce.  

Apple/Wine Sauce

Ingredients:

3 large Gala apples, peeled and diced into fairly large pieces

3 tablespoons of butter

½ cup white wine (sweet wine such as Pinot Grigio)

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

3 tablespoons brown sugar

1 cup apple jelly

In large sauce pan, melt butter, then add apples and saute covered for 3-5 minutes.  Add remaining ingredients, cooking over medium heat until apples are tender.  Reduce heat, uncover and let apples simmer until liquids are reduced.  Serve with pork tenderloin, on the meat or alongside. 

                    

DESSERT

Raspberry Clafoutis

Makes 8 servings

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups milk

4 eggs

1/2 cup sugar                                                                          

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup flour

3 cups fresh raspberries (or other seasonal berries)

*Garnish with fresh mint, if desired

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 8 small ramekins or creme brûlée dishes with nonstick  cooking spray.

2.  In a large bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs, sugar, vanilla and salt. Slowly whisk in flour. Beat well until no lumps remain. Mixture should be the consistency of thin pancake batter.

3.  Arrange raspberries in a single layer in bottom of prepared dishes.  Top each with batter.

4.  Bake 30 minutes or until center is set and top is lightly browned. Serve warm or at room temperature. Garnish with mint, if desired.

Gloria Steinem: My Life On the Road

Gloria Steinem is a writer, lecturer, political activist, and feminist organizer. She travels in this and other countries as an organizer and lecturer and is a frequent media spokeswoman on issues of equality. She is particularly interested in the shared origins of sex and race caste systems, gender roles and child abuse as roots of violence, non-violent conflict resolution, the cultures of indigenous peoples, and organizing across boundaries for peace and justice. She lives in New York City, and just published her first book in over twenty years, My Life On the Road.

When people ask Gloria why she still has hope and energy after all these years, she always says: "Because I travel. Taking to the road—by which I mean letting the road take you—changed who I thought I was. The road is messy in the way that real life is messy. It leads us out of denial and into reality, out of theory and into practice, out of caution and into action, out of statistics and into stories—in short, out of our heads and into our hearts."

Gloria Steinem had an itinerant childhood. When she was a young girl, her father would pack the family in the car every fall and drive across country searching for adventure and trying to make a living. The seeds were planted: Gloria realized that growing up didn’t have to mean settling down. And so began a lifetime of travel, of activism and leadership, of listening to people whose voices and ideas would inspire change and revolution.

My Life on the Road is the moving, funny, and profound story of Gloria’s growth and also the growth of a revolutionary movement for equality—and the story of how surprising encounters on the road shaped both. From her first experience of social activism among women in India to her work as a journalist in the 1960s; from the whirlwind of political campaigns to the founding of Ms. magazine; from the historic 1977 National Women’s Conference to her travels through Indian Country—a lifetime spent on the road allowed Gloria to listen and connect deeply with people, to understand that context is everything, and to become part of a movement that would change the world.

In prose that is revealing and rich, Gloria reminds us that living in an open, observant, and “on the road” state of mind can make a difference in how we learn, what we do, and how we understand each other.

Courtesy of gloria steinem.com

Now for our meal . . . terrific discussion fueled by delicious food. Enjoy!

APPETIZER

Easy peeezy - store bought hummus and naan bread. Delicious!

ENTREES

THREE SISTERS SOUP

Recipe by The Hoove:  “The Iroquois Indians cultivated and used the Three Sisters (corn, squash and beans) in their diet.  This is a recipe passed down by our relative.  You may use regular corn instead of hominy, but hominy is more traditional”.

Ingredients:

2 cups canned white or yellow hominy, reserve liquid to add for soup broth*

2 cups fresh green beans, trimmed and snapped

2 cups peeled and cubed butternut squash

1 ½ cups diced potatoes, I scrubbed the potatoes and did not peel them 

5 cups water

1 ½ tablespoons chicken bouillon granules (or reduce water and add one can of chicken broth, also the liquid from the canned hominy can be added)

2 tablespoons butter, melted

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Black pepper

Renaissance Gardens Seasoning from Savory Spice (this is a salt free blend of herbs and dried vegetables)

*I used dried hominy and precooked it about 12 hours in a slow cooker, always making sure that the hominy was covered in water.

Directions:

Place the hominy, green beans, squash and potatoes into a pot, adding water and chicken bouillon.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Simmer until vegetables are soft, but not overcooked.  In a separate small dish, blend flour into the butter, making sure it is smooth, then stir into the soup.  Increase heat to medium and cook for 5 more minutes, or until soup thickens. Season with pepper and Renaissance Gardens Seasoning and serve.

Tandoori Chicken

Adapted From America's Test Kitchen Season 10-my changes in bold italics

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:

We found a few ways to simulate tandoori chicken that marinates for 24 hours before being cooked at a very high heat in a traditional beehive-shaped clay oven. For marinated flavor in no time, we rubbed the chicken with spices, then dipped it in yogurt. Next we cooked it in a low-temperature oven before giving it a quick broil to char the exterior. The result: a chicken tandoori recipe with juicy, well-seasoned meat and a lightly charred crust.

We weren’t going to let a 24-hour marinade or the lack of a 900-degree oven keep us from turning this great Indian classic into an easy weeknight dinner.

Serves 4

We prefer this dish with whole-milk yogurt, but low-fat yogurt can be substituted. If garam masala is unavailable, substitute 2 teaspoons ground coriander, ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom, ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon, and ½ teaspoon ground black pepper. It is important to remove the chicken from the oven before switching to the broiler setting to allow the broiler element to come up to temperature. Serve with basmati rice and a few chutneys or relishes.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons vegetable oil 

6 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through garlic press (about 2 tablespoons) 

2 1/2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger 

1 tablespoon garam masala (see note) 

2 teaspoons ground cumin 

2 teaspoons chili powder 

1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt (see note) 

4 tablespoons juice from 2 limes, plus 1 lime, cut into wedges 

2 teaspoons table salt 

3 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken parts (breasts, thighs, and drumsticks, or a mix, with breasts cut in half), trimmed of excess fat (I kept skin on and made slits in skin)

Instructions:


1. Heat oil in small, nonstick skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add garlic and ginger and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add garam masala, cumin, and chili powder; continue to cook until fragrant, 30 to 60 seconds longer. Transfer half of garlic-spice mixture to medium bowl; stir in yogurt and 2 tablespoons lime juice and set aside. 



2. In large bowl, combine remaining garlic-spice mixture, remaining 2 tablespoons lime juice, and salt. Using sharp knife, lightly score skinned side of each piece of chicken, making 2 or 3 shallow cuts about 1 inch apart and about 1/8 inch deep; transfer to bowl. Using hands, gently massage salt-spice mixture into chicken until all pieces are evenly coated; let stand at room temperature 30 minutes. Marinate longer-1 hour-refrigerate. Then let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before cooking.



3. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position (about 6 inches from heating element) and heat oven to 325 degrees. Pour yogurt mixture over chicken and toss until chicken is evenly coated with thick layer. Arrange chicken pieces, scored-side down, on wire rack set in foil-lined, rimmed baking sheet or broiler pan. Discard excess yogurt mixture. Bake chicken until thermometer inserted into thickest part of chicken registers 125 degrees-breasts and 130-legs and thighs (approx. 30-45) minutes. (Smaller pieces may cook faster than larger pieces. Transfer chicken pieces to plate as they reach correct temperature.)



4. After removing chicken from oven, turn oven to broil and heat 10 minutes. Once broiler is heated, flip chicken pieces over and broil until chicken is lightly charred in spots and instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of chicken registers 165 degrees for breasts and 175 for legs and thighs, 8 to 15 minutes. Transfer chicken to large plate, tent loosely with foil, and rest 5 minutes. Serve with chutney or relish, passing lime wedges separately.



DESSERT

Pecan Pie

Ingredients:

Pastry for 9 inch crust

3 eggs

2/3 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup butter, melted

1 cup corn syrup

3 cups pecan halves or broken pecans

Directions:

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Place pastry into pie plate. Beat all ingredients together, except for pecans, using a handbeater. Stir in pecans and pour into pastry-lined pie plate.

Bake until set, 40 to 50 minutes. Cool slightly. Serve warm or refrigerate. This was the best pecan pie!

NOTE: Recipe adapted from the original Betty Crocker Cookbook, copyright 1969.