Monday, December 6, 2010

Bookish Review: Boy Meets Girl

Meg Cabot novels are the literary equivalent of a chick flick or a Krispy Kreme doughnut. Quic, fluffy reads--they don't stay with you long, but they'll leave you smiling for a little while. This is an epistolary novel, told primarily in emails, instant messages, and journal entries. Kate, the main character, works with her best friend in the HR dept of a newspaper in NY. She has a horrible boss, is living on her friend's couch, and recently broke up with her boyfriend of 10 years--though he's not accepting the break-up. Things start to go wrong at work and she is thrown into a meeting with a lawyer--whose brother is involved with her horrid boss. But the lawyer doesn't seem to be horrid at all...

Very cute. Recommended beach read.

Friday, December 3, 2010

Bookish Review: Shades of Grey

Shades of Grey starts as most Jasper Fforde books do--by jumping in media res so you have no idea what is going on at first. The book takes place in a world where people are segregated into classes by how much of each color they are able to see. Purples--who can see blue, red, and purple--are at the top, and Greys, who have very little if any color perception are at the bottom. The book focuses on class differences and questioning the status quo. There is also a love story, of course. The book ends in a rather open-ended way, so I'd expect a sequel. Another interesting and inventive novel from Fforde, though not quite as enjoyable (and not as many literary "wink, wink"s as the Thursday Next books).

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Cookish: Party Time

I've been preparing for our annual Christmas Party. Here is a new recipe adapted from Allrecipes.com.

Tiny Chicken Turnovers

Ingredients

  • 2 chopped shallots
  • 1 minced garlic clove
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • shredded, cooked chicken meat (I used 2 legs and 2 thighs from a rotisserie chicken)
  • 3 tablespoons chicken stock
  • 1/4 teaspoon curry powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, diced
  • 1 pkg refrigerated pie crust (2 crusts)

Directions

  1. In a large skillet saute the shallot and garlic in the butter until tender. Stir in the chicken, chicken broth, seasonings, and cream cheese. Remove from heat and set aside.
  2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  3. On a floured surface roll out the pie dough to 1/16 inch thick. Cut with a 2 1/2 inch round cookie or biscuit cutter. (I used a pint glass.) Reroll scraps and cut more circles until the pastry is used up.
  4. Mound a heaping teaspoon of filling on half of each circle. Moisten edges with water and fold pastry over filling to make a half moon shape. Press edges with a fork to seal. Prick tops with a fork for steam vents.
  5. Place turnovers on a baking sheet and bake at for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown.

These were very tasty! I've been told that you can bake them, freeze them, and reheat at 375 for 5-7 minutes. I'll try that for the party! Makes about 30 turnovers.