February 2010 recipes

Wayne:    Crab Rangoon
Sue:         A plethora of Chinese and Japanese appetizers
Ronnie:    Bok choy salad, with crispy noodles
Emily:      Cioppino
Kathy:      Apple Clafoutis

Emily's Cioppino

Based on Epicurious’s Quick and Easy Cioppino and Grandfather’s Cioppino – these are the proportions I used. We were nine. I suspect if we hadn't eaten such great appetizers, we might have finished the pot. As it was, there's enough left for another dinner for two.

• 1 fennel bulb, stalks discarded and bulb cut lengthwise into 6 wedges
• 3 medium onion, quartered
• 4 stalks celery
• 5 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
• 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 bay leaves 
• 3 teaspoons dried thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon dried hot red-pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes in juice
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• @ 1 ½ cups homemade tomato sauce (last summer’s, from freezer)
• 2 cups water
• 2 cup full-bodied red wine
• 1 (8-ounce) bottle clam juice
• 1 cup shrimp stock from shells (or use two bottles of clam juice
• 1 pound skinless fillets of thick white-fleshed fish such as halibut, hake, or pollack, cut into 2-inch chunks
• 1 cup white wine
• Pinch of allspice
• Pinch of cinnamon
• 1 pound cultivated mussels
• 2 pounds large shrimp, with tails
• 2 pounds scallops
• 2 pounds crab legs

PREPARATION
(in the morning or day before)

1. 1. Pulse fennel, onion, celery and garlic in a food processor until coarsely chopped.
2. Heat oil in a large heavy pot over medium-high heat until it shimmers, then stir in chopped vegetables, bay leaves, thyme, red-pepper flakes,salt, and black pepper. 
3. Cook, covered, over medium heat, stirring once or twice, until vegetables begin to soften, about 4 -6 minutes. 
4. Add tomatoes with their juice, water, red wine, clam juice and shrimp stock and simmer, covered, for about an hour.

BEFORE SERVING

1. Reheat, adding white wine, allspice and cinnamon.
2. Add mussels, check to see they all open.
3. Add the remaining seafood and fish, and enjoy!

Emily on Oz

Since I can't be with you at the Lione's, here's just a few quick thoughts on Rhyming Life and Death:

Earlier this year I took a creative writing class. I thought it would be fun - I didn't realize or anticipate how really hard it would be. After all, I've been a writer for my whole adult life. I'd never written fiction but, after all, I'm pretty good at writing just about anything else....so what would be so hard?

Whew. What a surprise. It's tough.

We spent a bunch of time on character development, and the assignment was to go someplace -- a coffee shop, a book store, a train station, whatever -- and observe people and make up stories about them. We had a long list of characteristics to fill in. Some were expected and easy: age, economic status, clothing, hair, etc. But others were much more difficult, meaning we needed to make up the story behind the person. I confess: my imagination wasn't up to the task.

So reading Rhyming Life and Death I was in awe of Oz's ability to do just this -- and also intrigued by how he wrote a book about writing a book.

I'll be interested in how the conversation goes.

EG

January 2010

December was cancelled due to weather...so the next meeting is January 16th at the Liones. Book is Rhyming Life & Death by Amos Oz (here's a link to some reviews).

Emily & John can't be there as we're committed to celebrating the 65th birthday of a good friend....but we'll be happy to host  in February - -the 20th.  I'm pretty sure it's Wayne's turn to lead a book. 

Sorry we won't be with you....

Emily

November 09: A Death in the Family

November 21, 2009, Lois & Mark's
Book: A Death in the Family by James Agee.
Discussion leader: Emily

Continue reading for some of my notes and and links to articles that I found useful in preparing. Emily. 

November Recipes

Kathy: shrimp and artichoke
Kathy: olive and chile rolls
Sue: salad
Lois: pork roast with sauerkraut
Emily: pear, apple and cranberry crisps from The Barefoot Contessa

Agee's perception of childhood

Much of the narrative of A Death in the Family is told from the point of view of children, and primarily through the eyes of Rufus. Agee uses childhood as a lens through which to perceive reality; a child's lack of guile is the best narrative avenue to present many of life's complications, as such presentation allows us to draw our own inferences. Children typify the questioning stance that every character in the novel must eventually embrace when faced with Jay's death.