Book Review: Bread and Wine AND Fabulous Friday Food: Cassoulet
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You guys know I love food, right?
And you know I love to travel, right?
Find me a book that combines a love for both, and you’ve got
me at hello.
Hello, Shauna Niequist!
Shauna has just this week released her third book, Bread and Wine, and I was lucky enough
to receive an advance copy to review. Let me tell you, I devoured this book. As
in, I was so hungry to read it and to keep reading it that I had a hard time
putting it down.
This is a memoir, as are all of Shauna’s books. (Her others,
which I have also read, are Cold Tangerines and Bittersweet—both
very good.) But this one’s a memoir that involves food and cooking and a little
bit of travel.
Right up my alley.
Here’s one of my favorite passages from the book. It’s a
little long, so hold on for a minute:
“I hold all these places and
flavors with me, like a fistful of shiny coins, like a charm bracelet. I want
to be everywhere at once. I want a full English breakfast at a pub in London,
and hot buttery naan in New Delhi for lunch. I want conch fritters at a beach
bar in the Bahamas, and an ice-cold Fanta overlooking Lake Victoria. I want
Cowgirl Creamery’s Triple Crème Brie at the Ferry Market in San Francisco, and
the gingerbread pancakes from Magnolia Café in Austin. I want it all—all the tastes,
all the smells, all the stories and memories and traditions, all the textures
and flavors and experiences, all running down my chin, all over my fingers.
Sometimes
people ask me why I travel so much, and specifically why we travel with Henry
so often. I think they think it’s easier to keep the kids at home, in their
routines, surrounded by their stuff. It is. But we travel because it’s there. .
. . We travel because I want my kids to learn, as I learned, that there are a
million ways to live, a million ways to eat, a million ways to dress and speak
and view the world. . . .
I
want my kids to learn firsthand and up close that different isn’t bad, but
instead that different is exciting and wonderful and worth taking the time to
understand.” (page 87)
There. She has fully articulated one of the wonders of
travel with kids. I love that!
Besides interesting, thought-provoking stories about her
life and faith, Shauna fills her book with amazing recipes. I can’t wait to try
her recipe for Sweet Potato Fries with Sriracha Dipping Sauce or
Esquites/Mexican Grilled Corn which is taken from one of my absolutely,
positively, MOST FAVORITE Mexican restaurant: Bien Trucha in Geneva, IL. (I was
pretty excited when she mentioned that one.)
And if all that hasn’t convinced you to get the book and
read it, I’ve got a bonus for you: a Fabulous Friday Food post featuring one of
Shauna’s recipes.
Today we’re making Real Simple Cassoulet from Bread and Wine.
I’ve wanted to try making cassoulet since my husband had it at his very special birthday dinner back in January. He raved about this simple, classic French
dish made with meat and beans. Wouldn’t you know, just a couple of weeks after that dinner, I’d be
reading Shauna’s book. And wouldn’t you know that she would actually give me a
recipe for cassoulet that didn’t seem too intimidating or difficult.
In fact, it was EASY! Not only that, it was delicious. My
husband absolutely loved it and commented on it for a long time after that
meal. In fact, I think he put it in his top-five-of-all-time favorite recipes.
That’s how much he liked it.
After dinner he said, “That one’s a keeper.”
So here we go, making a “keeper.” Hopefully you’ll try this
one and put it in your top five list too.
First, assemble your ingredients. You'll need olive oil, Italian sausage (here's where I deviated just a little from Shauna's original recipe--she used turkey sausage, but I used the real thing), chicken broth, onion, carrots, parsnips, tomato, cannellini beans, thyme, garlic, bread crumbs, parsley, and butter. It seems like a lot of ingredients, and it is, but if you do all of your chopping ahead of time, this baby will come together really quickly.
Side note: I had never cooked with parsnips before. Never even bought one. But, I've gotta say, I will definitely be using them in the future. They are kind of sweet, very interesting, and yummy.
Now go ahead and add the stock, tomato, beans, garlic, thyme, and the sausage. Salt and pepper too.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a small bowl, combine bread crumbs, parsley, and butter and sprinkle over the cassoulet. Bake, uncovered, until the crust is golden brown, about 10-15 minutes.
And voila! You have a delicious, comforting dish to warm the hearts of your friends and family.
I served this with a green salad and some French bread. Yum! And now I want more.
I hope you'll try this one. It was so delicious. And, as my husband says, it's a keeper.
Thanks, Shauna!
Now tell me, have you read Shauna Niequist's book yet? Do you think you'll try to make cassoulet? What are you cooking this weekend?
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For a printable version of this recipe, click here.
To purchase Shauna's book on Amazon, click here.
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Disclaimer: I received a copy of Bread and Wine in exchange for this blog post. All the views expressed here are entirely my own.
