Skip to main content

Toasted Marshmallow Fluff for a Fluffy Beach Read #FoodieReads


Summer of '69 by Elin Hilderbrand* was the pick for one of my online bookgroups. I had never heard of the author, but several of the group raved about her. Okay.

On the Page
When my boys asked how my book was, I shrugged my shoulders and said, "Eh...". I had never heard of Hilderbrand before this was selected for one of my book groups. She's a decent writer, but this book was dull and juvenile. But perhaps that was her goal since the protagonist IS a thirteen-year-old girl.

Given the title, I thought this would be more of a historical fiction. But there's not much history here. Vietnam, the lunar landing, Woodstock, civil rights. They all get a mention, but the book is really just a soap opera about people who summer in Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard.

People are people, says the matriarch of the family. These just weren't my people, nor very interesting people.

On the Plate
I will say that food - and drinks - are mentioned an awful lot.

"'Men in the den,' Nancy said, raising her pencil-line eyebrows. 'They drink bourbon, smoke cigars, and talk science. Blair was offered a glass of Chablis, which she gratefully accepted, and then a celery stick stuffed with salmon cream cheese and topped with paper-thin slices of olive, which she originally declined but then changed her mind and accepted" (pg. 50).

"...Blair woke up and immediately consumed two grilled-cheese sandwiches, a butterscotch pudding, three chocolate-coconut eggs, and a handful of black jellybeans from the Easter basket that Exalta still prepared for all four of her grandchildren even though three of them were adults" (pg. 55).

"'And hey, why don't you come to my house for dinner on Sunday night? Sundays we always do steamers.' 'Are you sure?' ...On Nantucket, she and Tiger harvested their own clams using rakes that belonged to their grandfather. No matter how thoroughly they rinsed them, they always ended up with sand in the bowl, and that was what made them authentic" (pg. 173).

"One martini, two martinis. Kate ordered escargots to start and Bitsy the  hot appetizer - a crepe of seafood tossed in bechamel - which she barely touches. 'Shall we order wine?' Bitsy asks. This seems excessive. Kate is already seeing double, and the garlic from the escargot is repeating on her, so she eats a piece of bread slathered with the sublime French butter" (pp. 219-220).

But the food scene that inspired me was when David takes Jessie to the Sweet Shoppe. "It smells the way all good ice cream parlors should, like toasted marshmallows, melted chocolate, and the malt-and-vanilla scent of just-baked waffle cones" (pg. 363).

There's no recipe. I just went to the store and picked up chocolate-dipped, sprinkle-adhered cones, vanilla bean ice cream, and marshmallow fluff. And the boys are always up to using my torch! This was a fun bit of fluff for a fluffy beach read. They enjoyed our toasted marshmallow adventure and asked why I had never thought about doing this before. I guess it was good for a sweet inspiration.

  
 

Not to worry, the next book I picked up is riveting. Stay tuned!

*This blog currently has a partnership with Amazon.com in their affiliate program, which gives me a small percentage of sales if you buy a product through a link on my blog. It doesn't cost you anything more. If you are uncomfortable with this, feel free to go directly to Amazon.com and search for the item of your choice.



Click to see what everyone else read in July 2019: here.

Comments

  1. I love marshmallow fluff
    Never thought of toasting it though

    ReplyDelete
  2. I still feel like I have read one of her books but it must not have been very memorable because all I remember is the author's name.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I at least like what you did with the recipe! What a fun treat.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Connecticut Lobster Rolls, Canned Lobster Bisque, and a 2019 Henry Fessy 'Maître Bonhome' Viré-Clessé #Winophiles

This month the French Winophiles group is looking at affordable wines from Burgundy.  Host Cindy of Grape Experiences wrote: "Burgundy, or Bourgogne, is known for its wines of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir... as well as Aligote, Gamay, Sauvignon, César, Pinot Beurot, Sacy, Melon in lesser quantities. Many of the well-known wines are quite expensive, but there are plenty of values to be found." Read her invitation here. And there won't be a Twitter chat for this event, so you will have to dive into the articles themselves to read about our pairings and findings. Here's the line-up... Wendy Klik from A Day in the Life on the Farm enjoys Domaine Chevillon Chezeaux Bourgogne Hautes Cotes de Nuits, 2018 Paired with a Maple Pecan Chicken . Camilla Mann from Culinary Adventures with Camilla shares her love of Connecticut Lobster Rolls, Canned Lobster Bisque, and a 2019 Henry Fessy 'Maître Bonhome' Viré-Clessé. Jeff Burrows of FoodWineClick! explains why we should Look t

Meyer Lemon Custard-Filled Matcha Turtles #BreadBakers

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all our of lovely bread by following our  Pinterest board  right here. Links are also updated after each event on the  Bread Bakers home page .  We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient. This month Stacy of Food Lust People Love  is hosting and she wrote: "Your bread can be large, as in one big animal, or small - animal-shaped rolls. Use your imagination! Points for flavor and shape!" If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send an email with your blog URL to Stacy at foodlustpeoplelove@gmail.com. Here's the animal-shaped bread basket from the #BreadBakers... Beef and Sweet Onion Dim Sum Pandas from Karen's Kitchen Stories Bird Bread Rolls from Ambrosia Easter Bunny Buns from Cook with Renu Ham and Cheese Elephant Rolls from Food Lust People Love Hedgehog Bread from Making Mir

Quick Pickled Red Onions and Radishes

If you've been reading my blog for even a short amount of time, you probably know how much I love to pickle things. I was just telling a friend you can pickle - with vinegar - or you can ferment - with salt - for similar delicious effect. The latter has digestive benefits and I love to do that, but when I need that pop of sour flavor quickly, I whip up quick pickles that are ready in as little as a day or two. I've Pickled Blueberries , Pickled Asparagus , Pickled Cranberries , Pickled Pumpkin , and even Pickled Chard Stems ! This I did last night for an upcoming recipe challenge that requires I include radishes. Ummmm...of course I'm pickling them! Ingredients  makes 1 quart jar radishes, trimmed and sliced organic red onions, peeled and thinly sliced (I used a mandolin slicer) 3/4 C vinegar (I used white distilled vinegar) 3/4 C water 3 T organic granulated sugar 1 T salt (I used some grey sea salt) 6 to 8 grinds of black pepper Proce