Andrea's Picks

New Classic Family Dinners

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newclassicdinners by Mark Peel

Mark Peel is the owner and executive chef of Campanile, one of the

finest restaurants in LA and he recently came to sign his book here.

The recipes come from his famous Monday night (the family cooks night

off presumably) Family dinners and are standby family favorites that

most home cooks whip together in a minute. His however, require

multiple steps but the resulting layers of flavour make the effort well

worth it. I say that now that I am an empty nester and can take the

time to make a lasagna that takes 4 days to prepare. The good news is

that most can be made several days in advance to allo

Mark Peel is the owner and executive chef of Campanile, one of the finest restaurants in LA and he recently came to sign his book here. The recipes come from his famous Monday Night (the family cooks night off presumably) Family Dinners and are standby family favorites that most home cooks whip together in a minute. His however, require multiple steps but the resulting layers of flavour make the effort well worth it. I say that now that I am an empty nester and can take the time to make a lasagna that takes 4 days to prepare. The good news is that most can be made several days in advance to allow the flavours to blend and then are a snap to serve at a dinner party.

The Good Soldiers

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goodsoldiers by David Finkel

A sobering and very cleverly written book about an infantry Battalion on

the front lines in a particularly nasty neighborhood in Baghdad during

the 2007 surge. The author, a reporter embedded with them for 8 of

their 15 month deployment meets them in Missouri as they prepare, in

Iraq where they fight and then back in the US where he visits wounded

soldiers and their loved ones. Each chapter is headed with a quote from

President Bush reporting on the progress of the surge and then reports

what was happening on the ground from the point of view of everyone from

the optimistic Lt. Col in charge to the private in the thick of the

fight unable to see the big picture unfold. Above all, it highlights

the extraordinary brotherhood that evolves among the men in combat.

A sobering and very cleverly written book about an infantry Battalion on the front lines in a particularly nasty neighborhood in Baghdad during the 2007 surge. The author, a reporter embedded with them for 8 of their 15 month deployment meets them in Missouri as they prepare, in Iraq where they fight and then back in the US where he visits wounded soldiers and their loved ones. Each chapter is headed with a quote from President Bush reporting on the progress of the surge and then reports what was happening on the ground from the point of view of everyone from the optimistic Lt. Col in charge to the private in the thick of the fight unable to see the big picture unfold. Above all, it highlights the extraordinary brotherhood that evolves among the men in combat.

Into Temptation

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intotemptation by Penny Vincenzi

Into Temptation by Penny Vincenze

Penny's final installment of the Lytton Family trilogy kept me company

on the very long flights between Philadelphia and Los Angeles as well as

late nights alone in a hotel room. Although I must confess that the

ending was rather rushed and one characters solution to a dilemma

surprising, the story of the clan was, as ever, highly entertaining,

enlightening, shocking and absorbing. I actually cried during one

particularly upsetting episode. Celia, in her indomitable way, opens

the story with an announcement that confounds the clan but as always she

acts as the beacon of the family and the Lytton publishing company.

Meanwhile the actions of Barty, the adopted waif who gains control of

Lyttons thanks to her marriage to the rouge cousin-by-marriage threaten

to upend control of the firm in a nail-biting saga that keeps us

guessing right to the last page. The next generation of Lyttons comes

of age revealing yet another layer of intrigue. So many personalities

are explored in this series that my daughter and I use them in ways to

explain our own and others idiosyncracies and behaviors. An ambitious

book club would have a blast selecting the trilogy as the conversations

would be endless.

Penny's final installment of the Lytton Family trilogy kept me company on the very long flights between Philadelphia and Los Angeles as well as late nights alone in a hotel room. Although I must confess that the ending was rather rushed and one characters solution to a dilemma surprising, the story of the clan was, as ever, highly entertaining, enlightening, shocking and absorbing. I actually cried during one particularly upsetting episode. Celia, in her indomitable way, opens the story with an announcement that confounds the clan but as always she acts as the beacon of the family and the Lytton publishing company. Meanwhile the actions of Barty, the adopted waif who gains control of Lyttons thanks to her marriage to the rouge cousin-by-marriage threaten to upend control of the firm in a nail-biting saga that keeps us guessing right to the last page. The next generation of Lyttons comes of age revealing yet another layer of intrigue. So many personalities are explored in this series that my daughter and I use them in ways to explain our own and others idiosyncracies and behaviors. An ambitious book club would have a blast selecting the trilogy as the conversations would be endless.

Something Dangerous

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somethingdangerous by Penny Vincenzi

This novel is another reason to read No Angel if you have not already

done so as it is the delicious second installment of the Lytton Family

Trilogy. Celia continues to rule the roost, but the twins, Giles and

especially Barty take over the narrative. I especially appreciated the

snappy way the story is written as it got me through a particularity

nasty bout of bronchitis over the Christmas holiday. Run, don't walk to

get yourself immersed with this fascinating family.

This novel is another reason to read No Angel if you have not already done so as it is the delicious second installment of the Lytton Family Trilogy. Celia continues to rule the roost, but the twins, Giles and especially Barty take over the narrative. I especially appreciated the snappy way the story is written as it got me through a particularity nasty bout of bronchitis over the Christmas holiday. Run, don't walk to get yourself immersed with this fascinating family.

The Moonflower Vine

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The Moonflower Vine by Jetta Carleton

I plucked this gem out of the stacks to read while in Kansas City for a

Thanksgiving reunion with our children since it is about a family in

rural Missouri. Based loosely on Carleton's own family and written in

the early 60's, its charm lies in the fact that they all truly love one

another although like most families, have their flaws and secrets. The

book opens with the narration of the youngest daughters reflections of a

bucolic summer reunion and then switches to a third person narrative of

each of the other family members in turn, much like Olive Kitteridge.

Loving, humorous and blissfully free of neurosis, perversion and

politics, this is a novel that both men and women who appreciate to

power of family will relate to and enjoy.

moonflowervine by Jetta Carleton

I plucked this gem out of the stacks to read while in Kansas City for a Thanksgiving reunion with our children since it is about a family in rural Missouri. Based loosely on Carleton's own family and written in the early 60's, its charm lies in the fact that they all truly love one another although like most families, have their flaws and secrets. The book opens with the narration of the youngest daughters reflections of a bucolic summer reunion and then switches to a third person narrative of each of the other family members in turn, much like Olive Kitteridge. Loving, humorous and blissfully free of neurosis, perversion and politics, this is a novel that both men and women who appreciate to power of family will relate to and enjoy.

The Day the Falls Stood Still

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The Day the Falls Stood Still by Cathy Marie Buchanen
This is a beautiful book! The sort we so often crave and rarely find. A tale of love, courage, honour, bravery, resourcefulness and fear that permeates the bones. Set in Niagra Falls at the turn of the 20th century when fortunes were made harnessing its power. Said fortunes were also lost as was the case for our heroine Bess Heath, whose patrician world is turned upside down when her fathers speculation fails. Much against her still proud parents wishes, she falls in love with the local Riverman, Tim Cole with whom she serepticiously persues a courtship in the most romantic manner I have read in a very long time. A tragedy at the Falls brings them publicly together and with it, their fate is sealed. And so ends the first 1/4 of the novel! World War I plays a role as do environmental concerns versus human convenience (I especially loved how Bess, a seamstress, was ready to sacrifice nature for the sake of an electric iron!!). This is a debut novel for this writer who I plan to keep my eye on!

The Peasant Prince; Thaddeus Kosciuszko and the Age of Revolution

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The Peasant Prince; Thaddeus Kosciuszko and the Age of Revolution by Alex Storozynski
The plain at West Point is dotted with statues of some of America's most recognizable leaders: Patton, Grant, MacArthur, Washington, Eisenhower. Overlooking the Hudson at a particularily scenic spot is also a very impressive monument dedicated to Thaddeus Koscieuszko. WHO???? It notes that he was an engineer and lay the foundation for the West Point fortifications but little else so I was delighted to read this recent account of his life and now understand why the dedication is so significant. Koscieuszko, born in 1746, was raised in a patrician Polish family which led to an appointment to the royal officer training academy; one of the finest of its kind in Europe at that time. Thwarted in love by the class system so entrenched in Europe that led to his death sentence he fled Poland to join the American Revolution not long after the Declaration of Independence was signed, proving himself to be one of the Continental Army's most talented engineers. He was known also as a defender of the common man (a human rights activist ahead of his time) standing up for the rights of slaves, women, Jews and Native Americans. Indeed, he bequeathed much of his estate, executed by Thomas Jefferson, to freeing slaves. Reading about this obscure man who had a most remarkable career both here and in Europe during times of great upheaval was quite an adventure!

Across the Endless River

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Across the Endless River by Thad Carhart

Speaking of adventure, this novel tells the story of Jean-Baptiste Charbonneau, the real life son of Sacagawea, translator for Lewis and Clark on the Voyage of Discovery. Jean-Baptiste, affectionately called Pompey, was born on the trail and spent his young years dividing his time between the Indian village of his parents (his father was the French Voyageur Toussaint Charbonneau, also a translator on the Voyage) and St Louis under the guardianship of William Clark who mentored and educated him. Leading this double life, made him the perfect host for the young German Duke, Paul of Wuerttemberg, an adventurer and collector of Indian and frontier paraphernalia. He invites Jean-Baptiste to return to Europe to help him display, catalogue and explain the significance of his collection to Europeans who were enthralled with Native cultures at the time. This adventure lasted 6 years and introduced him to a world both extremely foreign and yet strangely familiar.

City of Thieves

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City of Thieves by David Benioff

My husband and I drove up to San Francisco over Labor Day weekend, so an audio book suitable for both our tastes was in order. We really scored with this one read by Ron Perlman. Set during the Nazi siege of Leningrad (or Peter as it is stubbornly, if surreptitiously, referred to by her inhabitants) in the winter of 1942, two lads, strangers, land in a notorious Russian prison on charges of a dubious nature with execution a certainty. Miraculously, they are spared (or are they??) by a powerful colonel who sends them on a mission to secure a dozen eggs for his daughter's wedding cake 5 days hence. An unlikely friendship develops between the insecure, smart, earnest 17-year -ld Jew, Lev, and the colourful, handsome Russian soldier/lothario, Kolya, whose endearing bravura adds charm and humour to this otherwise harrowing tale. Together they scour the desperate city and ultimately head behind German lines in search of this rare commodity, meeting an extraordinary cast of characters along the way, determined to survive the cold, hunger, invading Wehrmacht as well as the Russian authorities. An extraordinary story, beautifully written and highly recommended!!