Staff Review: The Mystery Writers of America Cookbook

If you're a fan of mystery novels, I'm willing to bet at least one of your favorite authors has a recipe in The Mystery Writers of America Cookbook. Just pulling from our staff reviews on this blog, there are recipes from James Patterson, Laura Joh Rowland, Gillian Flynn, and Richard Castle. Yes, the best-selling fictional mystery author Richard Castle shares his recipe for "Morning-After Hotcakes."

Some of the recipes are drawn from the pages of a given author's novels, while others are personal favorites. Each recipe is accompanied by a short anecdote from the author explaining its significance, and a few of the recipes are almost like reading a very short story. In my opinion, the best part is that there are recipes for culinary experts, and recipes for those of us more interested in eating something than in making it. So obviously, I had to check this out and try a few myself (with a little help from my partner in crime)!

Appetizer: Male Chauvinist Pigs in a Blanket by Nelson DeMille
Even without having read DeMille's series following the adventures of anti-terrorism expert John Corey, I can say with certainty that I have a good feel for the character after trying this recipe. This is some straightforward, beer and sports, bachelor style cooking.

We did make a few changes to the recipe: we used cocktail sausages instead of  cut up hot dogs because that's what we had, we skipped the yellow mustard because neither of us like it, and we watched cartoons instead of a sports game.

The Verdict: Simple, tasty, and fast. We weren't sure how much impact the beer marinade had on the overall flavor, but that might be due to the hot dog substitution.

Entrée: Kinsey Millhone's Famous Peanut Butter & Pickle Sandwich by Sue Grafton

I followed this recipe exactly. Both because Sue Grafton is very, very clear that substitutions are not allowed, and because this recipe made me realize that reading A is for Alibi as a teen is probably when I started eating peanut butter and pickle sandwiches myself. My variation calls for kosher dill pickles, a slice of hard cheese (horseradish cheddar if you can get it), and a little hot sauce.

My partner was less enthused by the idea of a pickle and peanut butter sandwich, but he was hungry enough to be willing to try something unexpected. Especially since it's such a quick recipe to assemble.

The Verdict: I could eat this sandwich every day (or a variation thereof). The pickle chips were very drippy, and you'd probably do well to pat them dry on a paper towel first, especially if you are making your sandwich to eat later in the day. We were split on the pickles; I found them very sweet, my partner thinks that substituting actual sweet pickles is the way to go.

Entrée: Innocent Frittata by Scott Turow

Scott Turow is another author whose books I haven't read (yet), but I've always wanted to try my hand at a frittata. The fact that Turow's recipe includes information on how the frittata could be used as a murder weapon just makes it even more delicious.

This was the most complicated of the recipes we tried, but even so it only took about 40 minutes from start to finish to put together. Rather like a quiche with no crust, this is a solid base recipe that opens itself up to endless variations.

The Verdict: We liked it! Seriously, my "dramatic" picture doesn't do it justice. My partner in crime didn't even mind the artichoke hearts (he's not a fan, but I love them, so we compromised and halved the amount called for). The only other change I'd make is to use fresh, rather than canned, mushrooms.

Overall, I highly recommend that anyone who loves food and mystery novels check out The Mystery Writers of America Cookbook to try their hand at some deviously delicious recipes! And if you happen to find yourself looking for even more recipes from mystery novelists, check out The Cozy Cookbook, which focuses on recipes by cozy mystery novelists.

~Sarah, Adult Services

Staff Review: The Age of Ambition: Chasing Fortune, Truth, and Faith in the New China by Evan Osnos

Age of Ambition by Evan Osnos, the 2014 National Book Award winner for nonfiction, is Carnegie-Stout's adult book-discussion selection for June. The discussion will take place June 14th at 7 PM and there's a lot to discuss! Osnos presents everyday life in the new economically-booming China. His focus is on the years 2005 - 2013, which he spent in China as correspondent for The Chicago Tribune and The New Yorker magazine.

I wanted to read this book because China has dominated the news for so many years now, yet I had no real sense of what it's like to live there. We hear what sounds like good news: greater prosperity, rising standards of living, economic development, increased openness, but we also hear the bad: staggering levels of corruption, pollution, shoddy construction, economic inequality, censorship. So, what is it really like to live in China today?

Osnos is a good writer and a faultlessly objective journalist. I could detect no political ideology on his part, and he pays the same respect and attention to pro-democracy individuals that he pays to those who are strongly one-party nationalistic. He presents China more anecdotally than statistically, having conducted his research by talking to hundreds of people: interviewing individuals with a wide variety of outlooks, occupations, and incomes; building long-term relationships; traveling broadly; tracking people and issues over time. Living in the polarized political environment that constitutes the United States today, I was almost taken aback by his ability to report without bias. His narrative is fascinating, comprehensive, and human.

That said, I found the picture he paints of life in China today to be grim. A sense of oppression settled over me as I read and didn't lift until close to the end of the book, when Osnos speaks to the growing demand by the Chinese people for governmental transparency, truthful news, freedoms of information and expression, cleaner air, ethical codes of business, the right to spiritual or religious lives, and on and on. There's no doubt he is right about that growing demand, but the most recently selected governing body of the Chinese Communist Party, which he describes in the book's final chapters, gives little sign of acquiescing in any way (and, in fact, quite the opposite), and as with all authoritarian regimes, they oversee and censor all media outlets, including the Internet, and control the military, police, and weaponry. The coming years should be very interesting.

~Ann, Adult Services

New Movies - If you like it, you should put a hold on it!

Have you looked at our movies lately? Carnegie-Stout Public Library has a lot of fantastic movies, old and new. We are getting new movies in all the time. Check out our website, or come down to the library to find out the latest and greatest releases on DVD and BluRay.

If the movie is on the shelf right now, we can pull it for you tomorrow. If it is checked out, you will be in line to get it when it becomes available. Ask a Librarian at the Recommendations Desk if you have questions. We are always happy to help. We love movies too.

New Item Tuesday

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New Item Tuesday

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Staff Review: The Expatriates by Janice Y. K. Lee

The Expatriates is Janice Y. K. Lee's second novel. (Her first, The Piano Teacher, received glowing reviews from editors if not from all readers.) This new effort is a compelling read about affluent ex-pats in bustling, present-day Hong Kong. The city is temporary home to thousands of lawyers and business-people, who, along with their families, are all benefiting quite nicely from the global economy.

Set within -- but also in stark relief against -- this backdrop of monied privilege are the troubled lives of three very different women, from whose rotating vantage point the novel is narrated.

Mercy, a young Korean-American Columbia grad, has come to Hong Kong to try to find the big, fancy job that has thus far eluded her back in the States. Hilary, a 38-year-old with a troubled, or, more accurately, receding marriage, is unable to conceive the child she so wants. Margaret, the beautiful, kind, nearly impeccable landscape architect, has left her career behind to accompany her husband to Hong Kong, where the whole family suffers a tragic event that leaves them (and this reader) reeling.

I enjoyed this novel very much. Unlike the characters in too many novels these days, these women are sympathetic, although not always entirely likable. Like all of us, they make mistakes and they pay the price. The novel resolves nicely too, in a realistic way that may not satisfy those who crave really happy endings but doesn't leave the reader at all hopeless either. The author does a wonderful job of evoking the lifestyles of those for whom Asia is both workplace and playground, while at the same time demonstrating that money is often of very little value when it comes to solving serious personal problems. In a money-mad age, we sometimes forget that last bit.

~Ann, Adult Services