#RiverheadTable

[riverheadbooks]

Riverhead Table: VERGE Edition

Earlier this month award-winning author Lidia Yuknavitch could be found in a restaurant basement kitchen, seasoning steak and mashing potatoes. Riverhead Table served dishes inspired by Lidia’s “extraordinary” (Kira Wizner, Merritt Bookstore) and “gutsy” (Kirkus Reviews) forthcoming story collection, VERGE, to journalists, writers and fans at Emma’s Torch, an incredible restaurant and cooking school for refugees in Brooklyn.

We designed our menu to reflect three specific themes from the collection: water, earth and flesh. We feasted on grilled shrimp and cheesy Cepelinai – a nod to Lidia’s Lithuanian background – made from scratch by Lidia; we drank wine flown in from the Oregon Wine Country, curated by our friends at the Willamette Valley Wineries; and we all listened hungrily as Lidia divulged the secrets behind the characters in her stories in a conversation with author and friend Melissa Febos.

We hope you’ll put together your own VERGE dinner party at home! Check out the recipes we used below, along with some photos from the evening. Special thanks once again to Emma’s Torch and Willamette Valley Wineries for partnering with us for this event.

Grilled Shrimp with Oregano and Lemon

This is a super easy dish to make for a crowd. We couldn’t manage to find metal skewers, and we were a bit too nervous to use bamboo skewers over the restaurant’s high-power stove, so we decided to use a good ol’ nonstick skillet and sauté them, just about a minute on each side. Shrimp cook quickly so they really don’t need to stay on the pan for too long!

Lithuanian Cepelinai: Potato and Cheese Dumplings with Vegetarian Gravy

This dish was a challenge. After many demos we simply could not boil the dumplings without them completely disintegrating in the pot! Our last resort method of pan-frying each tennis ball-sized dumpling turned out to be our saving grace. So when you’re trying this at home you can follow the recipe exactly as written until you reach the part where you’re supposed to throw the dumplings into the water—instead whip out a nonstick skillet, add a teaspoon or two of olive oil and pan-fry each side until golden brown. They should look like oversized gnocchi in the end! Top with gravy and enjoy.

Skirt Steak with Chimichurri

This dish was a big hit! It’s tender, flavorful, and kind of pretty to look at. And it’s a great way to serve steak to a whole bunch of people at once.

Roasted Eggplant with Za'atar

Because we had several other hardy dishes on the menu we knew that not everyone would want an entire half of an eggplant for themselves. We decided instead to cut the eggplant into cube, which allowed people to scoop as much or as little as they wanted on their plate. There are a ton of different ways to dress the dish so we went with farro and seasonal tomatoes, with a yogurt sauce on the side for drizzling.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Some people say brussels sprouts are so over, but thank goodness we don’t know any of those folks! This is always a popular option to serve as a vegetable side, and it served us well at Lidia’s dinner.

Fresh Herb Fruit Salad with Honey and Lime

This was a simple, fresh dessert to end a big meal. It’s also easy to make in batches for a lot of people!

[josephbethbooks-blog]

Riverbeth Table 1.0

“Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.” Charles Caleb Colton 

Ever since our good – nay, great – friends at Riverhead Books starting celebrating the literary with the culinary at Riverhead Table (a brilliant idea in which they use fantastic new books as an excuse to indulge in delicious food), we have been jealous from afar. So when Riverhead announced the release of The Regional Office Is Under Attack! by University of Kentucky Professor Manuel Gonzales (The Miniature Wife), we decided to throw our own gastronomical book party. Thus, Riverbeth Table was born.

Manuel, on top of possessing mad literary skills, happens to be a baker of incredible pies. With that in mind, and a scheduled date of 3.13 (the day before Rounded Pi Day), we decided on a pie-themed potluck.

The Menu:

Savory

Red Pepper, Rice, & Onion Quiche

Beef Pot Pie

Farro Parmesan Cheese Pie

Leek Feta Zucchini Tart

Pizza Pie

Sweet

Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate Pie

Key Lime Pie

Lemon Gingersnap Pie

We hosted Booksellers from both the Lexington and Cincinnati stores (where Manuel will be reading) as well as special guests including novelists Leah Stewart (The New Neighbor) and Michael Griffith (Trophy) to help celebrate The Regional Office…

The youngest attendee, Iris, awarded two prizes with Best Savory Pie going to Matthew for the Farro Parmesan Cheese Pie and Kim for the Best Sweet going to the Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate Pie.

Join us at one of Manuel’s readings! 

[riverheadbooks]

Riverhead Table: BLACK LEOPARD RED WOLF by Marlon James

Marlon James proved himself to be quite a master chef last time he hosted the Riverhead Table for his Man-Booker Prize-winning novel: A BRIEF HISTORY OF SEVEN KILLINGS. So when we read his latest novel—the instant New York Times bestseller BLACK LEOPARD RED WOLF—we knew that we would have to invite him back to #RiverheadTable.

And as you’ve probably noticed, Marlon’s been on the road a lot for this book. Some highlights include chatting with Seth Meyers, sharing a meal with Michael B. Jordan (who is by the way taking on the challenge of adapting this genre-blurring novel into a movie!), giving the J.R.R. Tolkien Lecture at Oxford, and talking to George R.R. Martin about fantasy. Despite his crazy schedule, Marlon capped his food-filled weekend on Grub Street Diet by pairing up with the award-winning chef, Evan Hanczor, and treating us with a ten-course dinner as epic as the book.

Epic meals require epic collaborations, and this time, we teamed up with Chef Evan’s Tables of Contents and Food Book Fair, and the sold-out dinner was hosted at Chef Evan’s Egg Restaurant in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

The evening was a feast for all five senses from the moment diners walked in: a playlist co-curated by Marlon and Raia Was played in the background, burning custom candles filled the space with fragrances inspired by the book (courtesy of Tanwi Nandini Islam, author and founder of fragrance company HiWildflower), the beautiful cover art served as the visual motif, tying together everything from cocktail napkins to name cards,

and of course—the food! Each course was appropriately accompanied by a bookmark detailing the passage from the book that inspired the dish, which included:

Dates, spiced nuts, and cured pig from La Quercia in medieval pouches

Spicy bone-broth soup, beer from Brooklyn Brewery, and palm wine

Crispy chicken skin, sorghum bread with butter and fat with soft-boiled egg

Blood sausage topped with cream and berries

Textures and shades of green

Lemongrass, fish, and blood

Goat tartare—yes, you read that right!

Crocodile and ugali porridge

Charred antelope

Goat curry—Drew Broussard can attest that it was a big hit of the night!

Millet porridge with extra honey

All of these served with specialty cocktails provided by Forthave Spirits

As the courses wound down, Chef Evan and Marlon shared some food for thought with diners, touching on topics ranging from their creative process in the kitchen and on the page, literary allergies, food imageries in the novel, cultural appropriation, and much more. The perfect evening rounded out with Marlon sipping on coffee and signing books, (sold at the event by McNally Jackson Books), and guests were sent home with an enviable gift bag containing: BLACK LEOPARD RED WOLF enamel pins, BLACK LEOPARD RED WOLF-inspired custom-made candles, and a bag of Egg Restaurant’s famous granola.

BLACK LEOPARD RED WOLF is, fortunately, a trilogy—meaning that we can look forward to at least two more epic Riverhead Tables in the near future. A huge special thank you to everyone who made this night possible!

Chefs from Brownsville Community Culinary Center, who helped Evan and his team in the kitchen

Author Wayetu Moore’s nonprofit, One Moore Book, that publishes culturally sensitive and education stories for children of countries with low literacy rates and underrepresented cultures; proceeds from tickets went toward this amazing nonprofit

Volunteers from Riverhead:

Glory, the mastermind, the architect behind all the Riverhead Tables

Claire and May-Zhee, who were on their feet all night serving food and pouring drinks

Kevin and Helen, who greeted guests warmly at the door

Brooke, who captured the event beautifully in photos

Here are some pictures from the night, and the rest can be found here!

[riverheadbooks]

Riverhead Table: WHAT IT MEANS WHEN A MAN FALLS FROM THE SKY

Lesley Nneka Arimah has had quite a year! We knew we wanted to do a Riverhead Table with Lesley from the moment she said that one of her favorite things to do in New York is finding new Nigerian restaurants to try with her friends. 

That was, oh, over a year ago, before she exploded on to the national literary scene. Her fantastical and revelatory story collection WHAT IS MEANS WHEN A MAN FALLS FROM THE SKY won multiple prizes--most recently the prestigious NYPL Young Lions Award and Kirkus Prize in Fiction--and was named a best book of year by The New Yorker, Buzzfeed, NPR, The Root and dozens more publications. 

We were finally able to step into the kitchen with Lesley earlier this month, and the meal she put together was worth the wait. There were no recipes to follow: just Lesley working from memory to teach us how to make a delicious home style Nigerian lunch with a Cajun twist. 

Huge thanks to our friends from Well Read Black Girl for joining us!   

MENU:

Coconut Rice

Garlic Shrimp

Plantains

Zobo Cocktail

Coconut Rice

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 medium onions, finely chopped

5 shallots, minced

3 green bell peppers, diced

4 large tomatoes, diced

6 cups water

2 bay leaves

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp ground cumin

4 sprigs fresh thyme

salt to taste

1 tsp paprika or ground red pepper

2 tablespoons chicken bouillon powder

2 14.5-ounce cans coconut milk

6 cups of parboiled rice, rinsed

Heat oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Add onion and shallots and cook for several minutes, until translucent. stir in all other ingredients except for the coconut milk and rice, bring to a boil, and let simmer, uncovered, for 8-10 minutes. Add coconut milk and return to a boil. Taste for seasoning. Stir in the rice  and reduce the flame to low. Cover the pot (make sure it is well sealed) and let the rice cook for approximately 30 minutes without opening. Let stand covered for 10 minutes. Fluff before serving.

Garlic Shrimp

2 pounds unsalted butter

2 heads of fresh garlic, minced

2 4.5 oz jars of minced garlic

1 tablespoon paprika

2 2-oz cans low-sodium Old Bay Seasoning

3 lemons

6 lbs raw, peeled, tail-on shrimp (16/lb or larger)

Melt the butter (yes, all of it) in a large sauté pan over medium heat. When it is bubbling, add all of the garlic, paprika, and Old Bay Seasoning. Stir to combine. Add shrimp, raise heat to medium-high, and toss, making sure all of the shrimp gets coated in the sauce. Squeeze on lemons. Cover and let cook for 6-7 minutes, turning occasionally, until shrimp are fully and evenly cooked. Serve with the rice, topped with the sauce.

What two pounds of butter, garlic and seasoning looks like!

Plantains

15 very ripe plantains (they should be heavily speckled, almost black), peeled, halved lengthwise, and sliced about ¼ inch thick at most

Vegetable oil for deep-frying

Place oil in a deep skillet or wok and place over medium-high heat. Test whether it is hot enough by dropping in a slice of plantain. If the oil starts to bubble around the plantain immediately but does not smoke, it is ready. Add the slices but only as many as you can fit without crowding. Cook until golden brown on one side, then flip and brown on the other. Remove from oil with a slotted spoon and drain on a baking sheet covered with paper towels. Keep warm in a low oven (200 degrees) until serving.

Lesley supervising editor Becky Saletan at the plantain station.

Zobo Mocktail

1 pound of dried hibiscus flowers

1/4 pound ginger, cut into 1-2 inch slices

8 limes

10 cups of water

Cheese cloth

2 cups sugar

Place 8 cups of the water in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the hibiscus flowers and ginger slices. Once the water boils, reduce heat and let simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool. In a small saucepan, make a simple syrup: mix the sugar with the remaining two cups of water, bring to the boil, and stir until the sugar dissolves; let cool. Strain the hibiscus-ginger mixture through cheesecloth, gathering the cloth and squeezing to get all of the juice. Fill a pitcher ¼ full with the hibiscus-ginger concentrate and stir in freshly squeezed lime juice and syrup to taste. Serve over ice in tall glasses, adding vodka to turn it into a proper cocktail!

After cooking we toasted to Lesley and her wonderful book with a couple of bottles of palm wine! Then we dug into the most satisfying meal we’ve had in ages. 

[riverheadbooks]

Riverhead Table: THE STARS IN OUR EYES

When we decided to build our next Riverhead Table around THE STARS IN OUR EYES—“a fast, fun look at celebrity culture” (Washington Post) by the luminous Julie Klam—we knew immediately that we wanted to host a Classic-Hollywood-Steakhouse-Slash-Oscars-Viewing-Party style cocktail event. There would be glitz! There would be glam! There would be mini steaks on toast and lots of champagne! 

So we gathered a couple dozen friends—just the usual pals like Meg Wolitzer and Roz Chast to name a few (excuse us while we fan girl in the corner)—at the beautiful Upper East Side home of New Yorker writer Patricia Marx to celebrate Julie’s new book with cocktails, crudités, and more. We hope you’ll try some of these fun party recipes during award season! 

MENU

Shrimp Cocktail

Crudités Vegetables with Remoulade Sauce

Crostini with Steak and Horseradish Cream

Mini Wedge Salads

Chocolate Mousse

+ a cheese platter from Whole Foods because, well, it isn’t a Riverhead party without a cheese platter.

(Julie Klam channeling Ina Garten)

INA GARTEN’S SHRIMP COCKTAIL (Recipe from Food Network)

Total Time: 15 minutes

Yield: 6 servings

1 lemon

Kosher salt

2 pounds large shrimp in the shell (about 30)

1/2 cup chili sauce (recommended: Heinz)

1/2 cup ketchup (recommended: Heinz)

3 tablespoons prepared horseradish

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/4 teaspoon hot sauce (recommended: Tabasco) 

Cut the lemon in half and add it to a large pot of boiling salted water. Add the shrimp and cook, uncovered, for only 3 minutes, until the shrimp are just cooked through. Remove with a slotted spoon to a bowl of cool water. When the shrimp are cool enough to handle, peel and de-vein them. Keep cold until ready to serve. For the cocktail sauce, combine the chili sauce, ketchup, horseradish, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce. Serve with the shrimp.

CRUDITÉS VEGETABLES WITH REMOULADE SAUCE (Recipe from Epicurious.com)

Total Time: 15 minutes

Yield: Makes 8 to 10 servings; dip makes 3/4 cup

1 bulb fennel, sliced

1 bunch radishes, trimmed

1 bunch small young carrots, trimmed and peeled

2 Belgian endive heads, trimmed and leaves separated

2 small Persian cucumbers, quartered lengthwise

4 teaspoons kosher salt

For the remoulade:

1/4 cup plain yogurt

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1 tablespoons capers, rinsed and chopped

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste 

In a large bowl or resealable plastic container, combine vegetables with salt and 4 cups water and stir to combine. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours (and up to one day). In a small bowl, combine yogurt, mayonnaise, capers, lemon juice, mustard, and parsley. Stir well to combine and season with salt and pepper to taste. Drain the vegetables well and serve alongside the sauce.

DO AHEAD: The vegetables can be prepared, covered, and refrigerated up to 1 day ahead of time. The sauce can be made up to 2 days ahead of time.

CROSTINI WITH STEAK AND HORSERADISH CREAM (Recipe from Williams Sonoma)

Total Time: 30 minutes

Yield: 28 servings 

1 1/2 lb. flank steak, trimmed of excess fat

3 Tbs. olive oil

Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

2 Tbs. prepared horseradish

3 Tbs. sour cream

1 French or sourdough baguette, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices (about 28)

Paprika for garnish 

Season the steak and make the horseradish cream

Preheat an oven to 350°F. Place a rack in a roasting pan. Brush both sides of the steak with 1 Tbs. of the oil. Season generously with salt and pepper. Place on the rack and let stand at room temperature. In a small bowl, whisk together the horseradish and sour cream.  Make the crostini Arrange the baguette slices on a baking sheet and brush lightly with the remaining olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Bake until golden, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a platter.  Cook the steak Preheat a broiler. Broil the steak until firm but still quite pink in the center, about 6 minutes per side. Let rest for 5 minutes. Cut the steak with the grain into slices about 2 inches thick, then thinly cut the slices crosswise across the grain.  

Arrange 1 or 2 slices on each crostini, top with a dollop of the horseradish cream and sprinkle with paprika. Transfer to a platter and serve at room temperature.

MINI BACON AND BLUE CHEESE WEDGE SALAD (Recipe from Brit&Co)

Total Time: 1 hour (mostly spent assembling!)

Yield: 12 servings (more if you’re conservative with your lettuce leaves) 

Ingredients for the salad

1 heads iceberg lettuce

1 pint cherry or baby plum tomatoes, each one sliced in half

1 package of bacon, cooked crispy and crumbled

1/2 red onion, chopped (optional)

Blue cheese dressing (store-bought or homemade)

Blue cheese crumbles

cocktail toothpicks 

Ingredients for the dressing

3 ounces blue cheese crumbles

3 tablespoons buttermilk

3 tablespoons light sour cream

2 tablespoons Lemonaise Light (or mayo)

2 teaspoons white wine vinegar

Juice from 1/2 lemon

Pinch of sugar 

Pinch garlic powder Salt and freshly ground black pepper 

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Place your slices of bacon on a baking sheet and bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, or until it reaches your preferred level of crumbliness. Slice your tomatoes and onions according to the above guidelines while the bacon is cooking. 

Make Blue Cheese Dressing

Full disclosure, we used store bought blue cheese dressing. (We had a limited amount of time to cook so we had to take some short cuts!) But here’s how to make the dressing if you have the time: In a small bowl, mash blue cheese and buttermilk together with a fork until mixture resembles large-curd cottage cheese. Stir in sour cream, mayonnaise, vinegar, lemon juice, sugar, and garlic powder until well blended. Season to taste with salt and pepper. 

Mini Salad Assembly

Slice a head of lettuce in half through core. Cut each half into three wedges. Cut each wedge in half again. Keep in mind that each mini salad needs around 3-4 lettuce leaves. Spear 2-3 tomato halves with toothpick and secure into each lettuce wedge or stack. Drizzle with blue cheese dressing and sprinkle with bacon bits, chopped onion, and more blue cheese if desired. Season with salt and pepper and serve! 

CHOCOLATE MOUSSE DESSERT (Recipe from Chowhound.com)

Total Time: 2.5 hours

Yield: 15 cocktail servings

**We highly recommend using an electric mixer for this recipe (unless you intend to replace “arm day” at the gym with the making of this recipe—in that case by all means use a regular whisk) 

5 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

1 cup very cold heavy cream

3 large egg whites (no traces of yolk), at room temperature

Sweetened whipped cream, for serving (optional) 

Fill a medium saucepan with 2 inches of water and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Place chocolate and 1/4 cup of the heavy cream in a large heatproof bowl. (Place remaining cream back in the refrigerator until ready to use.) Nest the bowl over the saucepan, making sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water. Melt chocolate, stirring occasionally with a rubber spatula, until smooth and combined with the cream. Remove the bowl from the saucepan and set aside to cool slightly. 

Place egg whites in a second large bowl and whisk vigorously until stiff peaks form, about 3 minutes (make sure the bowl and whisk have no trace of oil or fat, or the whites will not whip properly); set aside. (Alternatively, you can use an electric mixer.) Clean and dry the whisk (or your beaters if you’re using an electric mixer). Place the remaining 3/4 cup heavy cream in a third large bowl and whisk until stiff peaks form. (Alternatively, you can use an electric mixer.) 

Using a rubber spatula, fold half of the whipped cream into the melted chocolate, then gently stir in the rest (try not to deflate the whipped cream). Gently fold the egg whites into the chocolate-cream mixture just until there are no longer large blobs of whipped cream or egg white (do not overmix). 

Spoon the mousse or pipe it from a pastry bag into serving cups and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Serve with additional sweetened or flavored whipped cream if desired.

We have to admit -- we’re pretty good at catering parties. Give us a call if you’re interested in hiring us for your next event. 

Just kidding about that. But, seriously, keep scrolling to enjoy some photos from our classic Hollywood cocktail party and don’t forget to go buy a copy of THE STARS IN OUR EYES by Julie Klam!

(Riverhead Books Executive Editor Jake Morrissey raises a glass to Julie Klam.)

(Roz Chast.)

(Meg Wolitzer.)

(Patricia Marx says a few words about THE STARS IN OUR EYES and Julie Klam.)

(A dedicated reader.)

[riverheadbooks]

Riverhead Table: Food Book Fair Edition!

We’ve had some fantastic Riverhead Tables over the past year. From taking over Ruffian Wine Bar & Chef’s Table for a Pakistani feast with Mohsin Hamid to cooking an Eat, Pray, Love inspired meal with Elizabeth Gilbert in her home kitchen, we consistently found new and creative ways to celebrate our authors and their books through food. 

Earlier this month we took things up yet another notch with our very first public event at the 2017 Food Book Fair, which was held at the famous Ace Hotel in Manhattan. If you’ve somehow never heard of the Fair, it’s the one weekend a year when famous chefs, food + drinks writers and restaurateurs come together to celebrate food in print. There are book signings, panels, cooking demos…the works! To be included on the same event schedule as, oh, Food52, Cherry Bombe, Mario Batali, April Bloomfield, Melissa Clark and so many others was MIND BLOWING. 

We invited Riverhead authors Emma Straub and Katie Kitamura to help us host a boozy Greece-Meets-Brooklyn brunch party inspired by their novels MODERN LOVERS (representing Brooklyn) and A SEPARATION (representing Greece). We served small bites of sausage, spanakopita, parfaits, mimosas and more to a room full of book lovers, foodies, and friends. Even April Bloomfield stopped by to check us out! It’s an overused expression but we believe it’s a fitting one to use in this case: 

We. Couldn’t. Even. 

Since we weren’t able to cook the food as we normally would, we decided that the next best plan of action would be to ask some of our favorite Brooklyn based food businesses to help us out by donating some of the main ingredients. And, girl, did they deliver. We want to give an enormous THANK YOU to The White Moustache, The Meat Hook and to our dynamite friends at Jones of Boerum Hill for helping us make the event a success! And we wouldn’t have been there at all if the Food Book Fair organizers hadn’t invited us to participate in the first place, so THANK YOU to Kimberly, Amanda and the #FBF2017 team for everything.   

Thanks to everyone who decided to spend their Food Book Fair experience with us. For those who didn’t, check out our photo recap below! 

The Menu

A Do-It-Yourself Mediterranean “Avocado” Toast Bar

Spanakopita

Breakfast Sausages

Toasted Fennel & Garlic Sausages

Greek Yogurt with Fresh Berries, Honey and Granola

A special tasting of The White Moustache’s new line of probiotic tonics in various flavors (yum!)

Mimosas

April Bloomfield and Emma Straub. 

Sentences about breakfast from Modern Lovers and A Separation.

Breakfast sausages from The Meat Hook! We also served their Toasted Fennel & Garlic sausages. 

Fruit parfaits featuring Greek yogurt from The White Moustache! They’re based in Red Hook, Brooklyn but you can find their delicious products in a store near you. 

The White Moustache also just launched a new line of refreshing probiotic tonics in different flavors. Guests at our event were able to try honey lime (our favorite!), passion fruit, honey lime and fresh ginger. 

What food item is more “Brooklyn” than avocado toast? We wanted to put a Riverhead Table twist on the concept, so we created a DIY Mediterranean toast bar packed with hummus, tzatziki, figs, olives, cheese, eggplant and more for people to use to create their own personal toast masterpieces. 

The spanakopita (Greek spinach pie) was a hit, too! 

Emma and Katie posing with each other’s books. 

[riverheadbooks]

Riverhead Table: A BRIEF HISTORY OF SEVEN KILLINGS by Marlon James -- WITH Marlon James!

A BRIEF HISTORY OF SEVEN KILLINGS by Marlon James took the world by storm when it was published in 2014. It’s a New York Times bestseller and won the coveted Man Booker Prize last year--that means it’s the best work of fiction written in the English language. That’s a big deal!

We’ve heard that many book clubs have taken on the challenge of reading Marlon’s 700+ page novel, so we figured there was no better time than the present to give it the #RiverheadTable treatment. But this time we turned the heat way up! Not only did we ask Marlon to cook a traditional Jamaican feast with us (he said yes), and not only did we partner with the soon to open Brooklyn restaurant Winsome (thanks for letting us use your kitchen and dining space, guys!), but we also ended up making dinner for 20 PEOPLE. That’s right. 2-0. A few members of Marlon’s family, NYC friends and our awesome apron partners Jones of Boerum Hill all came ready to eat. 

Here is where this edition of #RiverheadTable gets interesting for our readers: Marlon’s cooking style is as laid back as it gets, meaning his recipes come from memory and are often improvised. He created two of the dishes we ended up serving at dinner on the spot! Which means the menu we’re about to share with you isn’t exact by any measure. We did our best to keep track of everything Marlon did or had us do in the kitchen, but we can’t promise that we got it completely right. 

What we can promise is this: after five separate grocery runs and four hours, dinner was delicious. We know you’ll have a great time trying to recreate Marlon’s dishes for your next party. So put on your apron, chill a bunch of beer in the fridge and invite A LOT of friends...otherwise prepare your fridge for a hefty amount of leftovers!

Jamaican Jerk Lamb with Honey & Pistachio Crust with Wilted Watercress

Ripe Plantains in Raisin & Cinnamon Reduction

Potato Rundown

Sweet Potato & Black Bean Patties with Tomato & Molasses Sauce

Jamaican Jerk Lamb with Honey & Pistachio Crust with Wilted Watercress

For the lamb:

4 racks of lamb (or whatever the butcher thinks can feed 20)

2 bottles Jamaican Jerk Seasoning (Walker’s Wood or Eatons – NO EXCEPTIONS)

Salt

Black pepper

Canola oil 

For the crust:

Canola oil spray

1bunch chives, minced

1 bunch thyme, leaves separated from stems and minced (stems discarded)

1 bottle honey

1 bunch sage, minced

1 cup plain bread crumbs

1 pack shelled pistachios, crushed fine but ideal to have some chunky pieces in it

1 pack cashews, crush to a fine powder

For the wilted watercress:

10 cups watercress leaves with stems

10 cups arugula 

Pre-heat your over to 400 degrees. Using a sharp knife, cut the rack of lamb into individual medallions of fairly uniform thickness. In a large bowl coat the medallions in honey and Walker’s Wood Jamaican Jerk Seasoning (VERY IMPORTANT: The only other acceptable substitution for Walker’s Wood is Eaton’s—others simply won’t do). Heat a generous amount of canola oil in a heavy skillet or sauté pan over a medium/high flame. Fry the medallions in batches for about 1 minute per side until browned. Set aside. 

Make the honey/pistachio crust while the medallions cool! Mix your finely crushed cashews, pistachios, bread crumbs, thyme, sage, and chives together. Add salt and pepper to taste. 

When the medallions have cooled, spray a thin layer of canola oil on each side of the medallions and generously coat in the nut and bread crumb mixture. You want a thick crust! 

Once medallions are coated, spray medallions again on each side with canola oil and roast on a large baking sheet in the oven for about 15-20 minutes, depending on medallion thickness. You want the inside temperature to be about 130 degrees for medium rare, and the crust to be slightly browned. Take the medallions out of the oven when done and keep warm. 

Now make the vegetables: Quickly heat up the arugula and watercress in a lightly oiled sauté pan, about one to two minutes or until just gently wilted. Use this as bedding for the lamb medallions! 

Ripe Plantains in Raisin & Cinnamon Reduction

6 large ripe plantains, still slightly firm

2 medium green apples or 1 large green apple, peeled, cored and finely diced

1 container of cranberries

1 cup orange juice, plus extra

1 teaspoon cinnamon powder, plus more to taste

2 tbsp stick of unsalted/unsweetened butter

1 can chunky cranberry sauce

1 bottle canola oil (or similar)

1 bottle of red cooking wine

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. Slice plantains on a diagonal, about a ½ inch thick. Deep fry in 350-degree canola oil until light golden brown, about 5-7 minutes. The center of each slice should no longer be tough or raw. Set aside. In a medium sauce pan throw in the cranberries, apples, 1 cup orange juice, 1 cup red wine, cranberry sauce, and cinnamon powder. Simmer it over medium heat, stirring frequently until it reduces and thickens quite a lot, roughly 15 minutes. This is a reduction sauce so you want it to be the correct consistency – be patient! Once the sauce is ready, place the plantains in an oven-proof baking dish and pour the sauce mixture over them. Toss well. Add a 2-second pour of red wine and of orange juice (just enough to moisten the mixture—we told you this would be inexact and interesting!), toss and mix. Put the dish into the oven, uncovered, for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes take the dish out, add 2 tablespoons of butter on top of the plantains, smear all over the top and then put the dish back in the over for another five minutes. Toss a final time and serve warm. 

Potato Rundown

2 lbs Yukon Gold Potatoes, peeled and quartered (or 3-4 lbs yellow baby potatoes, not peeled and cut into halves)

1 can coconut milk

1 bunch thyme, leaves separated from stems and minced (stems discarded)

1 bunch tarragon, minced

1 bottle coconut oil 

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Boil your peeled and quartered potatoes (work in batches if necessary) until you can slightly pierce through a piece with a fork. Heat 2 tablespoons of coconut oil in a sauté pan or large skillet. Add boiled potatoes (again working in batches if necessary) and sauté with thyme and tarragon. Add coconut milk to the pan little by little to keep the potatoes moist and continue to simmer until they are nearly mushy but retain their shape. Stir occasionally so that the potatoes don’t burn, then season with salt/pepper to taste.

(That’s Richard, Marlon’s brother!)

Sweet Potato & Black Bean Patties with Tomato & Molasses Sauce 

For the patties:

4 cans black beans, drained

3 large sweet potatoes, quartered

1/2 -1 cup cooked brown rice

1 small bag of whole wheat flour

1 large egg, beaten

Canola oil

1 small bundle of chives, minced

Half of a large red onion, minced

Small bundle of tarragon, minced

For the sauce:

4 medium tomatoes, roughly chopped

1 bottle of molasses

Salt and pepper

Pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees. Place your sweet potatoes on a baking sheet and drizzle with some canola oil before placing in the oven for 25-30 minutes. Roast until you can push a fork through the meat of the potatoes, then remove from oven and let the piece cool slightly. When cool enough to touch place the piece in a large bowl and use a potato masher (or your hands) to mash them completely. Set aside. Empty all four cans of drained black beans into a bowl and mash, again either with the potato masher or with your hands. Combine the mashed sweet potatoes and beans, and then add the cooked brown rice and the beaten egg. Mix well. Add minced chives, tarragon, red onion, salt and pepper. Add a dusting of whole wheat flour and mix well again. Grab a handful of the mixture and form into a patty. Repeat until you’ve used all of the mixture. Carefully deep fry for approximately 3 minutes or until the outside of each patty is slightly crispy. Top with additional salt and pepper to taste. 

Make the sauce while the patties cool: Place your roughly chopped tomatoes into a blender and puree until smooth. Pour the tomatoes into a saucepan and simmer over medium heat. Add a little bit of molasses until you reach the sweetness and flavor you desire. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve on the side so that your guests can put as much or as little of the sauce on their potato patties as they like!

And there you have it! A home style Jamaican feast for your next book club or dinner party. Thanks again to Winsome, Jones of Boerum Hill and Marlon James for making the latest #RiverheadTable one to remember! 

[riverheadbooks]

Riverhead Table: BIG MAGIC and EAT PRAY LOVE

How do you design one meal around the concept of creativity? That’s the challenge we faced when we found out we would be sharing our next #RiverheadTable with internationally beloved and bestselling author Elizabeth Gilbert to celebrate the paperback release of her latest book BIG MAGIC. We tossed a few ideas around before Liz’s brilliant editor, Rebecca Saletan (who you’ve probably seen in other #RiverheadTable posts like this one), suggested we focus on color. Bingo. After all, BIG MAGIC’s cover art depicts a literal explosion of vibrant color, and the book itself is all about finding the courage to pursue your boldest creative impulses. And is there no more colorful cuisine than that of South East Asia, which also happens to be a region Elizabeth Gilbert explored in a little book called Eat Pray Love?

With an arsenal of recipes in hand for brightly hued curries, sunny saffron rice, fruit sorbet and more, two carloads of Riverhead staffers drove out to Elizabeth’s beautiful home in Frenchtown, NJ for a day of creative cooking!

Thanks as always to our friends at Jones of Boerum Hill for our custom Riverhead aprons, and a special shout out to Rosa and Emily of Marie Claire! They bravely rolled up their sleeves to peel shrimp and crack coconuts (on the sidewalk with a hammer) alongside us. If you somehow didn’t catch their epic Facebook Live tour of Elizabeth’s house then you should definitely do that here ASAP. 

We hope you’ll try one or all of these recipes for your next book club or dinner party! If you do, don’t forget to tag us using @riverheadbooks and #RiverheadTable.

THE MENU

Fresh green salad with edible flowers

Paneer Makhani (Indian cheese in butter-tomato sauce)

Baked tandoori shrimp

Basmati Rice with Cinnamon Saffron

Chapati bread

Coconut, red chili and mint coriander chutney

Cucumber-mint raita

Homemade blueberry, strawberry and mango sorbet

Hibiscus tea

Lots of white and red wine, because why not?

FRESH GREEN SALAD WITH EDIBLE FLOWERS (6 servings; 5 minutes total cooking time) From Martha Stewart Living

1 teaspoon red-wine vinegar

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

12 cups tender baby salad greens (about 5 1/2 ounces)

1-2 packages edible flowers (We bought ours from the lovely folks of Windfall Farms!) 

Combine vinegar and mustard in a bowl. Gradually whisk in oil, then season dressing with salt and pepper. Toss dressing with greens and top with flowers. Serve immediately.

Elizabeth Gilbert and a very colorful BIG MAGIC-inspired salad.

Emily from Marie Claire using a widely used method called “hammer and sidewalk” to open coconuts for our chutney recipes.

NOTE: You’ll need a good blender or Vitamix for the following chutney recipes! And if you don’t yet know what “tempering” means, we suggest reading this helpful NPR article before you begin. It never hurts to learn new cooking techniques, especially when they are integral to a culture’s cuisine!

SOUTH INDIAN COCONUT CHUTNEY (makes approx. 1 cup; 10 mins total prep/cooking time)

Ingredients:

1 cup of grated coconut (We cracked open fresh coconut but pre-packaged is also fine. No judgment here.)

1/4 cup of roasted Bengal

3-4 of green chilies

1/2″ piece of ginger

2 tbsp of chopped cilantro

3 tbsp plain whole-milk yogurt

For tempering:

1 tsp of oil

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1/4 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp of urad dal

1/4 tsp of asafoetida or hing

1 of dry red chili, torn into halves

1 sprig curry leaves

Grind together the coconut, Bengal gram, ginger, coriander, green chilies and salt. Add about 3-4 tbsp of water until you get a smooth consistency. Add yogurt and mix well. Next, heat oil for tempering in a pan and add the ingredients for tempering in the order listed above. When the mustard seeds start to pop, dunk the contents into the yogurt mix and stir.

RED CHILI CHUTNEY RECIPE (makes approx. 1/3 cup; 10 mins total prep/cooking time)

Ingredients:

1 cup of peeled and sliced shallots

10-12 dry red chilies (you can add less or more, depending on how spicy you like things!)

1 pinch of asafoetida or hing

1 small piece of tamarind (or 1 tsp tamarind paste)

1-2 tsp of salt (adjust to taste)

2 tsp of oil

1 clove of garlic

Heat the oil in a pan and add the chilies. Keep the flame on low and fry for one minute until the chilies start to look glossy and smell roasted. Remove the chilies and add the sliced shallots to the same pan. Fry until golden. Add the hing, garlic and salt. Stir and then turn off the flame. Add the tamarind. Cool completely and grind with the chilies in the blender until it becomes a smooth paste.

 Art Director Helen Yentus considers a piece of tamarind.

MINT CILANTRO CHUTNEY (makes approx. 1 cup; 10 mins total prep/cooking time)

Ingredients:

2 cups of fresh cilantro leaves

1 packed cup of mint leaves

2-3 green chilies

1/4 cup chopped onions

2-3 cloves of garlic

1 pinch cumin

1 heaping tsp chaat masala

1/4 tsp sugar

A squeeze of lemon or lime juice

Adding a little bit of water a time, grind all ingredients together to a smooth chutney. Taste as you go along and adjust the ingredients (even adding salt, if you prefer) until you reach a flavor you like.

Publicity Director Jynne Martin gives the mint cilantro chutney a nudge. 

CUCUMBER-MINT RAITA (Makes approximately 8 servings; 15 min for prep + 2 hrs minimum refrigeration) From Bon Appétit

Ingredients:

1 large unpeeled English hothouse cucumber, halved, seeded, coarsely grated

2 cups plain whole-milk yogurt

1/4 cup packed chopped fresh mint

1 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp plus pinch of cayenne pepper

Salt and pepper 

Wrap the grated cucumber in a kitchen towel and squeeze until dry. Whisk the yogurt, mint, cumin, and 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper in medium bowl. Add cucumbers and toss well. Season raita to taste with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours. (You can also refrigerate it up to one day ahead of time.) Sprinkle the finished raita with a pinch of cayenne pepper before serving.

BASMATI RICE WITH CINNAMON SAFFRON (Makes approximately 4-6 servings; 10 min prep; 3 hrs inactive time; 37 mins cooking time)

From Madhur Jaffrey’s “From Curries to Kebabs: Recipes from the Indian Spice Kitchen” 

Ingredients:

1 tsp saffron threads 3 tbsps hot milk 1/4 tsp ground cardamom 1/4 tsp sugar 2 cups basmati rice 2 tbsps corn, peanut, or olive oil 2 medium cinnamon sticks 2 2/3 cups water 1 teaspoon salt Place the saffron on a piece of foil. Fold some of the foil over the saffron and crush it with a rolling pin or wooden potato masher. Put the crushed saffron in a small cup. Add the hot milk, cardamom, and sugar. Mix with a small spoon and set aside for 3 hours. (NOTE: We definitely did not let the saffron sit for 3 hours and the flavor came out great. You should be fine after an hour!)

Put the rice in a large bowl and wash in several changes of water. Drain well then add fresh water to cover generously. Leave to soak for 30 minutes. Drain well again. 

Pour the oil in a heavy, lidded pan that will just hold the cooked rice comfortably and set over medium heat. When the oil is hot, put in the cinnamon sticks. Stir for 10 seconds, then add the rice. Reduce the heat to medium-low and stir the rice around until the grain look translucent, about 2 minutes. Add 2 2/3 cups of water and the salt. Bring to a boil. Cover. Reduce the heat to very, very low and cook for 25 minutes. Turn off the heat. Carefully lift the lid and quickly dribble the saffron milk in any haphazard pattern. Quickly cover again and leave for 10 minutes. Mix the rice very delicately with a slotted spoon before serving.

TANDOORI SHRIMP RECIPE (Makes 4 servings; 40 mins prep time; 10-15 minutes cooking time) 

Ingredients:

Bamboo skewers, soaked in water before using

1 lb shrimp, shelled and deveined, tails on (tiger prawn preferred)

Olive Oil, for basting

1/2 tbsp chopped cilantro

1 lime, cut into wedges 

Marinade:

1/3 cup whole-milk yogurt

1 tsp finely minced garlic

1/2 tsp Garam Masala

1/4 tsp chili powder

2 tbsps lime juice

1 tbsp oil

1 1/2 tsps salt or to taste

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

Red coloring, optional 

Mix all marinade ingredients in a medium or large bowl. Stir well. Add the shrimp to the mixture and marinate for at least 30 minutes, or best for two hours. Thread the shrimp onto the bamboo skewers, set aside. Line a large baking sheet (or two medium sheets) with aluminum foil or parchment paper and arrange the shrimp skewers in a single layer. Using a small brush, baste both sides of the shrimp with the oil. Roast for 10 minutes or until the shrimps are cooked. Broil for 1 minute or until the top surface is slightly charred. Remove from the oven, garnish with chopped cilantro and serve immediately with lime wedges.

MADHUR JAFFREY’S FRESH INDIAN CHEESE IN BUTTER-TOMATO SAUCE (Paneer Makhani)

(Makes 15-20 servings; 30 mins prep time; 15 mins cooking time) 

Ingredients:

3 lbs fresh Indian cheese (paneer), cut into chunky cubes (pictured above)

6 cups (2 28-oz cans) tomato puree

4 fresh tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped

1 quart heavy cream

3 tbsp peeled and finely grated fresh ginger

4 tsp garam masala

3 tbsp lemon juice

2 tsp sugar

4 fresh hot green chilis, finely chopped

2 tbsp salt

1 tsp red chili powder

1 tbsp ground cumin

4 tbsp dried fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi), crumbled (optional)

freshly ground black pepper

1 stick unsalted butter

4 tbsp olive or peanut oil

2 tsp whole cumin seeds

1 cup chopped fresh cilantro 

Combine the tomato puree, cream, ginger, garam masala, lemon juice, sugar, green chili, 1 tbsp of the salt, chili powder, ground cumin and fenugreek leaves in a large mixing bowl. Stir thoroughly and set aside. Put the cubed cheese into another bowl. Add 1 teaspoon salt and some black pepper. Toss well to mix. Put the butter, oil and cumin seeds in a medium, non-stick pan and set over a medium heat. Put all the cheese cubes in the pan in a single layer and brown them very lightly on at least two sides. Pour the tomato sauce over the top and carefully stir to mix. (Use two pans if it looks like the sauce will overflow.) Bring to a simmer, then heat very gently for 4–5 minutes, stirring with a light hand as you do so. Sprinkle the fresh coriander over the top before serving.

Director of Marketing Kate Stark peels ginger for our blueberry ginger sorbet.

NOTE: You’ll need a good blender or food processor, plus an ice cream maker for each of the following sorbet recipes! 

BLUEBERRY GINGER SORBET (Makes approx. 3-4 cups; 40-50 mins active cooking time; 4 hours total)

Ingredients:

4 cups blueberries, washed (about 1 1/4 pounds)

2 tbsp minced ginger

3/4 cup sugar

2 tsps lemon juice, to taste

1/4 tsp kosher salt, to taste

Purée blueberries and ginger in a blender or food processor until smooth. Add sugar and blend for 30 seconds. Add lemon and salt, blend, and adjust to taste. Strain purée into a bowl and transfer to refrigerator; chill for 2 to 3 hours until very cold. Churn sorbet in ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. Transfer sorbet to freezer to firm up for 2 to 3 hours before serving.

MANGO SORBET (Makes approx. 3-4 cups; 40-50 mins active cooking time; 4 hours total) 

Ingredients:

4 1/2 to 5 cups ripe mangoes, peeled and diced (about 2 pounds)

1/4 cup water

3/4 cup sugar

1 tsp lime juice, to taste

1/2 tsp kosher salt, to taste 

Put diced mangoes in the blender with water and blend on high speed until very smooth, about 30 seconds. Pour through a fine-mesh strainer into a large measuring cup, pushing purée through strainer with a spoon, until you have 3 cups of purée. Reserve remainder for another use. Transfer strained purée into a large bowl and whisk in sugar until well dissolved. Whisk in lime juice and salt in small increments, adding more to taste. Chill purée in refrigerator until very cold, 2 to 3 hours. Churn in ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions, then transfer to airtight container and chill in freezer at least 4 hours before serving.

STRAWBERRY SORBET (Makes approx. 3-4 cups; 40-50 mins active cooking time; 4 hours total) 

Ingredients:

2 quarts strawberries (about 2 1/2 pounds)

1 cup sugar

2 tsps lemon juice, to taste

1/2 tsp kosher salt, to taste

Remove tops from strawberries and purée in a blender or food processor until smooth. Add sugar and blend for 30 seconds. Add lemon and salt, blend, and adjust to taste. Strain purée into a bowl and transfer to refrigerator; chill for 2 to 3 hours until very cold. Churn sorbet in ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. Transfer sorbet to freezer to firm up for 2 to 3 hours before serving.

HIBISCUS TEA (Makes 2 quarts; 5 mins prep time; 25 minutes “cooking” time)

Ingredients:

2 quarts water

3/4 to 1 cup sugar (depending on how sweet you would like it to be)

1 cup dried hibiscus flowers

1/2 cinnamon stick (optional)

A few thin slices of ginger (optional)

Allspice berries (optional)

Lime juice (optional)

Orange or lime slices for garnish

Put 4 cups of the water and the sugar in a medium saucepan. Add cinnamon, ginger slices, and a few allspice berries if you would like. Heat until boiling and the sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat. Stir in the dried hibiscus flowers. Cover and let sit for 20 minutes. Strain into a pitcher and discard the used hibiscus flowers, ginger, cinnamon, and allspice berries. Add remaining 4 cups of water (or if you want to chill the drink quickly, ice and water) to the mixture, then chill. Alternatively, you can add ice and chilled soda water for a bubbly version. Add a little lime juice for a more punch-like flavor. Serve over ice with a slice of orange or lime.

***

It was a gorgeous evening and our hostess happened to have the most beautifully decorated wrap-around porch, so we decided to have an outdoor dinner party! Our BIG MAGIC / EAT PRAY LOVE meal was feast for the eyes as well as for our hungry bellies. Keep scrolling to see more behind the scenes photos from our day with Elizabeth Gilbert. 

Senior Publicity Manager Liz Hohenadel sets the #RiverheadTable on Elizabeth Gilbert’s porch.

Head Designer Taylor Grant, Associate Publicity Al Guillen and Marketing Manager Mary Stone prep the shrimp!

Rosa of Marie Claire in one of our custom made Jones of Boerum Hill aprons.

Celebrating BIG MAGIC in paperback!

Liz and Liz (ha!) decorate the salad with edible flowers.

Our hostess with the mostess. Let’s eat!

The full #RiverheadTable team :)

[riverheadbooks]

Riverhead Table: THE REGIONAL OFFICE IS UNDER ATTACK! (Sort of.)

Sometimes a book we love doesn’t have an obvious food theme, but does that mean we can’t put together a delicious meal for it? Certainly not! For this edition of #RiverheadTable we invited author Manuel Gonzales to help us design a menu for his new novel THE REGIONAL OFFICE IS UNDER ATTACK! For those of you who have yet to pick up this fantastic novel, it features a group of badass lady assassins who use the guise of a regular office setting (cubicles and all) to keep their true identities secret. But, let’s face it, there was no way were going to go with a “catered office lunch” theme for this meal! So what’s a team of bookish cooks to do? Luckily for us Manuel is a straight up culinary genius. 

Manuel: “Well, what do you guys think about tacos, and pie for dessert?”

Us: “Um…YES, PLEASE!” 

You see, not only did Manuel’s mother teach him how to make homemade Mexican tortillas (among other delights!) but he is also a professional pie baker. That’s right, folks. PROFESSIONAL WRITER AND PIE BAKER EXTRAORDINARE. So we really designed this month’s #RiverheadTable around our author, and we think that totally counts. 

THE MENU

8-Hour Slow Roasted Beef Brisket

Vegetarian Taco Filling

Homemade Tortillas

Pico de Gallo, Guacamole, and the Easiest Salsa Recipe Ever

Mexican Chocolate Pie

As always a special thanks to our apron masters Jones of Boerum Hill for crafting our beautiful work wear!

8-HOUR SLOW ROASTED BRISKET

8-10 lbs of beef brisket

4 lemons

1 small can of sliced pickled jalapenos

1 medium yellow onion, sliced

2-3 tsp salt

Pepper

4-5 garlic cloves (or garlic powder)

1 12oz beer (dark or light – A note from Manuel: “Usually we use Corona or Negra Modelo but my mom hasn't been opposed to using Bud Light or Coors Light, either.” 

Place the brisket in either a larger roasting pan with a cover or a large crock pot (you may need two crock pots for this much brisket). Preheat the oven to 250 degrees. Trim off a little bit of fat from the meat, but leave most of the fat on. Put the brisket into the roasting pan and pour the beer over it. Then generously sprinkle the salt all over the meat. Add the onions. Cut lemons in half and squeeze lemon juice over meat and toss rinds into the pan as well. About 1/3 to 1/2 of the sliced jalapenos go in there as well, as well as about an 1/8 of a cup of the jalapeno brine from the can. Garlic gloves -- four or five -- or a generous shake of garlic powder. Cover with a lid and put into the oven and let it cook for about four hours and then flip and let it cook another four hours, then keep it warming in the oven until we're all ready to eat. Test for seasoning, add more salt if necessary.

VEGETARIAN TACO FILLING (Approximate prep/cook time: 1 hour | 1 large bowl of filling)

3 tbs vegetable oil

1 medium white onion, diced

6 to 8 plum tomatoes, roasted and pureed

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 large poblano chills

1 ear of corn (or a bag of frozen kernels)

4 medium zucchini, sliced into medallions

Cilantro, roughly chopped

1/3 cup heavy cream (or crema from a mexican grocery)

salt and pepper

queso fresco

Roast poblano chilies over a stove top burner until the skin is slightly charred. You might want to turn on your oven hood for this! You can also char the chilies in your oven using the broil function, just make sure to keep an eye on them and make sure they don’t totally burn. Once you’ve charred your chilies, take them off the fire and set them aside to cool.

Add a tablespoon of oil to a skillet and heat over medium flame. Once the oil it hot, add your tomatoes and roast them until they’re slightly charred and overall very pruned. Take the tomatoes of the stove and put them in a food processor. Puree until smooth. 

While your chilies are cooling you can go ahead and prep your other vegetables. Dice the onion, slice your zucchini into thin medallions, and separate the kernels from the ear of corn. If the chilies are cool enough to handle then peel them and discard the skins. Slice the chili open lengthwise and remove the seeds. Then continue to the slice each chili into long strips. 

Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet. Sauté the onions and garlic until translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the tomato puree and simmer for another 5-8 minutes, until the mixture is thickened but still runny. Add the zucchini, corn and chilies. Sauté for another 5 minutes. Add the heavy cream, stir and let simmer for 10 minutes, partially covered. Add a generous dollop of queso fresco to the skillet and stir. Season to taste with salt and pepper, then empty the skillet into a large bowl. Stop with roughly chopped cilantro and keep warm.

HOMEMADE TORTILLAS (Approximate prep/cooking time: 45 minutes | ~20 tortillas)

NOTE: You’ll need a rolling pin and a comal, a stone plate traditionally used to cook tortillas. If you don’t have a comal you can use a nonstick skillet. 

3 cups flour

1 tsp salt

1 tbs lard

1 cup warm water

Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl. Stir in water with your hands. Turn onto a floured surface; knead 10-12 times, adding a little flour or water if needed to achieve a smooth dough. Let rest for 10 minutes. Divide dough into balls about 2-2.5 inches wide. Using your fingers and working outward from the center, gently begin stretching each disc until you can easily roll it out. On a lightly floured surface, use your rolling pin top roll each portion into a thin 7-in. circle. Put your comal on the stove over medium heat. Once it’s piping hot, place one tortilla at a time on it. Cook it on each side for about 1 minute. Keep the finished tortillas warm by keeping them in a basket under a clean dish towel.

PICO DE GALLO (Approximate prep time: 10-15 minutes | 1 bowl of pico de gallo)

1 fresh jalapeno

2-3 roma tomatoes

2 limes

1 small red onion

1 bunch of cilantro

Salt

Garlic powder 

Dice the tomatoes and onion put in a medium bowl. Dice the jalapeno (scoop out the seeds if you don’t want your pico de gallo to be spicy, or leave some in to add a kick) and add to the bowl. Roughly chop your cilantro and add to the bowl, as well. Squeeze in as much lime juice as you like and combine the ingredients well with a spoon. Season to taste with salt and garlic powder. 

GUACAMOLE (Approximate prep time: 10 minutes | 1 bowl of guacamole)

same ingredients as pico de gallo (minus jalapeno)

2 to 3 ripe avocados 

Slice open your avocados and throw out the seeds. Scoop the avocado meat into a medium bowl. Just as you did for the pico de gallo, dice the vegetables and add to the bowl. Use a spoon to combine the avocado and vegetables until you get a creamy, dip-worthy consistency.  Squeeze the juice of two limes over the guacamole to keep it from browning, then season to taste with salt and garlic powder. Add some cayenne pepper if you want a bit of spice!

THE EASIEST HOMEMADE SALSA EVER (Approximate cook time: 10 minutes | 1 bowl of salsa)

1 28 oz can of whole peeled tomatoes

1 firm green jalapeno, halved

1/4 cup cilantro, roughly chopped

small white/yellow onion, quartered

2 garlic cloves

Salt and pepper 

Put all of the ingredients into a food processor and puree until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

MEXICAN CHOCOLATE PIE (Approximate prep/cook time: 3 hours | 2 full pies) 

For the pie crusts 

2 sticks unsalted butter, frozen (and cubed if you like)

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1 ½ cups heavy cream 

Whisk the flour and salt together in a large mixing bowl. Add the butter and work it into the dough until you only have very small chunks left (if any). Add the cream into the dough little by little using a wooden spoon until you have a cohesive lump. On a lightly floured counter knead the dough about 10 times until it forms a ball. Divide it into two, flatten them into discs and then wrap each in plastic. Chill them in the fridge for at least one hour before rolling them out flat. After you’ve rolled them, gently place them into two pie dishes and shape your crust. 

Blind bake your crusts!

2 1lb bags of uncooked dry beans 

What is blind baking a pie crust, you ask? It’s basically a trick bakers use to cook pie crust before adding the main filling. The process keeps the pastry from puffing up, and also helps prevent unattractive sagging on the sides. 

How do you do it? Preheat your oven to about 425 degrees. Once you have your pie dough in your pie dishes and shaped into the crust of your dreams, line the pie with aluminum foil and pour one bag of uncooked dry beans right on top of that. Pat the beans down so that they’re pressing against the bottom and sides of the pie. Place the pies into the oven and bake for about 12-15 minutes, or until the edges start to look golden. Take the pies out of the oven and remove the beans, then return the bean-less crusts to the oven for another 5 minutes (to allow the bottoms to cook a bit).

Chocolate filling

2 eggs

1 cup sugar

3/4 cup flour

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp ancho or other chile powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 sticks butter

1 cup bittersweet (60% cacao) chocolate chips

1 tsp vanilla 

Beat the eggs and sugar together on high speed in the bowl of an electric mixer until light-colored and creamy, about 7 minutes. On low speed, mix in the flour, cinnamon, chile powder, and salt until blended. Melt the butter over low heat on the stove. Add the chocolate chips to the mixing bowl and then pour the hot butter over. Let sit for about 5 minutes, until the chips are melted. Add the vanilla and mix again to combine all ingredients. Pour into your blind baked pie shells and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes, or until the chocolate mixture has set into a brownie-like texture. Do not overbake.

And there you have it! We hope you’ll try some of these recipes for your next Manuel Gonzales-themed book club. Share your photos with us by using the hashtag #RiverheadTable!

Manuel’s kids joined in on the tortilla rolling!

Editor Laura Perciasepe and Manuel show ‘em how tacos are done. (With beer, apparently.)

So professional he doesn’t even need to see the dough to roll it out. 

[riverheadbooks]

Riverhead Table: I’M SUPPOSED TO PROTECT YOU FROM ALL THIS

Eating isn’t always a group activity. Why grab a friend every time you’re hungry when you can just eat and run? But there is no denying the comforting intimacy of sharing a meal. The act of gathering around a table, of cooking with and of feeding others, has existed for centuries as a way of demonstrating the utmost care and generosity toward one’s community. So while almost everyone is capable of cooking nowadays (microwaved baked potatoes, anyone?) we tend to look back on the dishes our mothers, grandmothers and aunts prepared for us when we were growing up as the gold standard to which we compare all other meals. 

Which is why we were beyond excited when Nadja Spiegelman, author of the new memoir I’M SUPPOSED TO PROTECT YOU FROM ALL THIS, said she would recreate an entire homemade supper for us using some of her mother and grandmother’s classic recipes. We arrived at her cozy Brooklyn apartment armed with fresh ingredients from upstate New York (kudos to editor extraordinaire Rebecca Saletan for procuring the gooood stuff) and proceeded to whip up a little taste of Paris. 

As always we hope you’ll try preparing our #RiverheadTable menus for your friends and sharing your photos on Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr or Facebook using our hashtag!

THE MENU (NOTE: All of the recipes we used made enough food for a party of 10) 

Ratatouille

Fig and Goat Cheese Salad

Roasted Rack of Lamb

Gougeres

Lemon Tart

Carla, one of our publicity team members, chopping vegetables for the ratatouille.

Ratatouille 

1 red onion

5 zucchinis (green and yellow)

3 heads of garlic

1 eggplant

1 pound unpitted green olives or Kalamata olives (with a bit of the liquid the olives marinate in)

fresh thyme

5 tomatoes

1 can peeled tomatoes

Olive oil

Red wine vinegar

Sea salt 

Preheat oven to 375. 

Chop eggplant, zucchini and tomatoes into big, hearty chunks.Dice red onion and 3/4 cloves garlic. Add chopped eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, red onion and diced garlic to a baking dish. Add olives and any juice from the olives. Add a generous helping of olive oil, salt and a splash of red wine vinegar. Toss the ingredients thoroughly. Pour in the liquid from the canned tomatoes, break the peeled tomatoes apart with your hands as you add them in. Generously top with sprigs of fresh thyme.

Take the two heads of garlic and peel as much of the paper away from the garlic as you can without peeling the individual cloves. Chop off the tops. (NOTE FROM NADJA: I use a good sharp knife to decapitate the shorter cloves individually, but its ok if not all are decapitated.) Rub the tops with some olive oil and wrap each head in aluminum foil. Place the tray of vegetables and the aluminum-wrapped garlic heads in the oven. Cook for 1 hour, stirring midway through.

Remove the garlic and the vegetable tray from the oven. Unwrap the garlic and let it cool. They should be golden brown! (NOTE FROM NADJA: But even if it is not toasty looking it should still taste awesome and soft and nutty and delicious.) Squeeze the cloves out into the ratatouille and mix it around. Serve immediately.

Nadja Spiegelman.

Fig and Goat Cheese Salad

7-8 fresh figs

one long log of fresh goat cheese

1 package slivered almonds

1 tbsp butter

3/4 cup sugar

2 tsp salt (or try a splash of soy sauce...it’s delicious!)

2 containers or bags of arugula

1 shallot

2 tbsp dijon mustard

balsamic vinegar

olive oil 

Melt the butter in a pan over medium heat. Pour in the slivered almonds and stir constantly. Add the sugar and the salt. Continue to heat, stirring constantly, until the almonds begin to brown. Remove them from the heat as soon as they do - they burn quickly. Set aside. 

Cut the figs length-wise so that the pieces are circular. Cut the log of goat cheese into circular pieces as well. Dice the shallots. Mix into the salad, reserving slices of fig and goat cheese with which to decorate the top of the bowl. Pour the candied almond slices on top. 

For the vinaigrette:

Mix the mustard with a splash of balsamic vinegar and combine with a fork. Taste it. If it tastes more of either mustard or vinegar, counterbalance with the opposite flavor, until the quantities taste equal. Pour in a slow steady stream of olive oil, whisking constantly. Once finished you can pour the entire amount of vinaigrette over the salad and toss before serving, or you can allow guests to serve themselves.

Roasted Rack of Lamb (2 chops per guest)

Rack of lamb

1 head of garlic

Fresh rosemary

Olive oil

Salt and pepper 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. 

Place the rack in a roasting pan. Chop a handful of the garlic cloves into large chunks and insert the pieces into the meat of the lamb. Make sure the garlic is spread out evenly, and chop more pieces if you need to. Rub the racks with olive oil then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Top with a generous number of fresh rosemary sprigs. Put the rack in the oven for about 20-25 minutes for medium doneness (the top should be golden brown). Or for a more accurate doneness use a meat thermometer to make sure the internal temperature is 130-135 degrees. Remove from the oven and let the meat rest for 5-10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Nadja on cheese grating duty.

Gougeres (makes 28 pieces)

Recipe from Food & Wine

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup milk

1 stick unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons

Coarse salt

1 cup all-purpose flour

4 large eggs

1 cup shredded Gruyère cheese, plus more for sprinkling

Ground pepper

Grated nutmeg 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line two baking sheets or one large baking sheet with parchment paper. In a medium saucepan, combine the water, milk, butter and salt and bring to a boil. Add the flour and stir it in with a wooden spoon until a smooth dough forms; stir over low heat until it dries out and pulls away from the pan, about 2 minutes.

Scrape the dough into a bowl; let cool for a minute. Beat the eggs into the dough, one at a time, beating thoroughly between each one. Add the cheese and a pinch each of pepper and nutmeg.

Transfer the dough to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch round tip (or just cut a small hole at the end) and pipe tablespoon-size mounds onto the baking sheets, 2 inches apart. Sprinkle with more cheese and bake for 22 minutes, or until puffed and golden brown. Serve hot.

Lemon Tart

Recipe from DavidLebovitz.com

For the tart shell

3 ounces unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

3 tablespoons water

1 tablespoon sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

5.5oz or 1 rounded cup flour 

Preheat the oven to 410 degrees.

In a medium-sized ovenproof bowl, such as a Pyrex bowl, combine the butter, oil, water, sugar, and salt. Place the bowl in the oven for 15 minutes, until the butter is bubbling and starts to brown just around the edges. When done, remove the bowl from oven, dump in the flour and stir it in quickly, until it comes together and forms a ball which pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Transfer the dough to a 9-inch tart mold with a removable bottom and spread it a bit with a spatula. Once the dough is cool enough to handle, pat it into the shell with the heel of your hand, and use your fingers to press it up the sides of the tart mold. Reserve a small piece of dough, about the size of a raspberry, for patching any cracks.

Prick the dough all over with the tines of a fork about ten times, then bake the tart shell in the oven for 15 minutes, or until the dough is golden brown. Remove from the oven and if there are any sizable cracks, use the bits of reserved dough to fill in and patch them. Let the shell cool before filling.

For the filling

1 cup freshly-squeezed lemon juice

grated zest of two lemons, preferably unsprayed

3/4 cup sugar

12 tablespoons butter, salted or unsalted, cut into cubes

4 large eggs

4 large egg yolks 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium-sized non-reactive saucepan, heat the lemon juice, zest, sugar, butter, eggs and egg yolks. Have a mesh strainer on hand. Stir until the butter is melted, then whisk the mixture continuously until the mixture thickens and holds its shape when you lift some of it up with the whisk and it visibly mounds up when dropped back down over the rest of the mixture in the saucepan. It should just take a few minutes. Pour the warm lemon curd through a strainer into a bowl, scraping with a rubber spatula to press it through. 

Smooth the lemon filling in the cooked and cooled tart shell, then pop it in the oven until the curd is just set, about 5 to 6 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool before slicing and serving.

Keep scrolling for more images from our French supper with Nadja Spiegelman!

Publicity staffer, Jennifer, serves cocktails just before dinner.

Nadja and her good friend Kate, who flew in all the way from Paris!

Lemon tart slice with home made cream. Yes, it was as delicious as it looks.

Perfectly cooked lamb chops.

Musician and writer Jonathan Meiburg (Shearwater), editor Rebecca Saletan and Nadja.

Publicity staffer Abigail and editorial assistant Michelle at the table. 

Publicity Director Jynne.

[riverheadbooks]

Riverhead Table: FATES AND FURIES + THE INTERESTINGS!

Authors Lauren Groff and Meg Wolitzer’s most recent novels have several things in common. For starters they’re New York Times bestsellers, not to mention that both are beloved by readers, celebrities (including VERY FAMOUS heads of state) and pets. They also each feature a main character—Ash from The Interestings and Mathilde from Fates and Furies—who…well, let’s just say they enjoy the finer things in life. These women are incredibly refined, and are not the type to ever suggest Chinese take-out for dinner. So what would happen if they got together for a meal? The food would almost certainly need to fulfill the following requirements:

1)     Must have small portions.

2)     Absolutely no meat.

3)     Champagne or other alcohol must be present.

Meg generously invited us into her New York City apartment for this edition of #RiverheadTable and, along with Lauren, special guest chef Rachel Fershleiser of Tumblr and our Riverhead staff (plus Jet, Meg’s adorable pup), we put together a sophisticated, French-inspired light lunch menu that would please even Mathilde and Ash’s discerning palettes. We cooked, we sang (that’s right folks, there was harmonizing) and we ate well!

Lauren Groff and Meg Wolitzer

Meg and Rachel Fershleiser (aka Bakemaster Flex)

Senior Publicity Manager Claire McGinnis ties a custom Riverhead Table puppy accessory to a very concerned Jet Wolitzer...it looks good on you, Jet!

THE MENU

Cheddar Gougères

An assortment of French cheese (we bought ours from Murray’s!) and homemade fig jam

Petit Pots à l’Absinthe

Champagne spritzed with Lavender Essence

Cheddar Gougères (Cooking time: ~1 hour | Serves: 10-12)

1 stick unsalted butter

4 large eggs

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup water

1 cup shredded sharp cheddar

Preheat your oven to 425° and make sure your racks are positioned in the upper and middle slots. Lightly rub your stick of butter on the surface of two large baking sheets. Afterward, put the entire remaining stick of  butter into a large saucepan and combine with water and salt. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium/high heat. Remove from the heat, then add your flour and whisk until smooth. Let it cool slightly, then beat in one egg at a time using an electric mixer at medium speed. Make sure to mix thoroughly between each egg! Once all of the eggs are in, beat in the shredded cheese except for two tablespoons. Using a regular tablespoon, scoop level portions of the dough onto your baking sheets and place them a little over an inch apart. Sprinkle with the rest of your cheese on top. Place the two baking sheets on your pre-positioned oven racks and bake for 28 minutes. IMPORTANT: To ensure an even cook, make sure to switch the pans as well as turn them halfway through baking, around the 14 minute mark. After 28 minutes, lower the temperature to 400°. Take the trays out of the oven. Pierce each gougère with a skewer in order to allow some steam to escape (this will prevent them from getting soggy!), then return the pans to the oven. Bake for another 7-8 minutes until golden. Transfer the gougères to a cooling rack or platter. Serve them warm!

Homemade Fresh Fig Jam (Cooking time: ~1 hour | Makes roughly 1 ½ pints)

2 pounds purple figs

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/4 cup plus 2 tbs fresh lemon juice

1/2 cup water

1 packet unflavored gelatin powder (optional)

(NOTE: Fresh figs aren’t normally in season until the summer, but we lucked out and found some at a local grocery store. There are plenty of dried fig jam recipes out there if you can’t find fresh ones!)

Wash your figs, then stem and cut each one into roughly 1/2-inch pieces. Put them in a medium to large saucepan and combine with the sugar. Let the mixture sit, stirring occasionally for about 15 minutes. The sugar should mostly dissolve. Add all of the lemon juice and water into the saucepan then bring to a boil. Stir until the sugar is dissolved. Continuing to stir occasionally, simmer the fig jam over low to medium heat until the fruit softens and the juice thickens, about 20 minutes. If the liquid is still runny after 20 minutes, add the one pack of unflavored gelatin powder little by little until you get the thick consistency you want. Take the jam off the heat and fill your jars, leaving about 1/4 inch of space for cooling. Seal the jars and cool to room temperature. Store them in the refrigerator for 2-3 months! We served ours along with creamy French cheese, sliced baguette and walnuts.

Petit Pots à l’Absinthe (Cooking time: 15-20 minutes + overnight chilling | Serves 10)

(NOTE: This dish is normally chilled and served in small, individual ceramic or glass bowls, but we decided to make one large “family style” Petit Pot for our lunch. The below recipe quantities reflect this change, so reduce them by about a third if you prefer to use smaller bowls.)

2 tablespoons absinthe

3 tablespoons sugar

1 cup whole milk

1 1/2 cup heavy cream

2 teaspoon unflavored powdered gelatin dissolved in 3 tablespoons of water

Fresh berries of your choice to serve

Combine the cream, milk and sugar in a saucepan and bring to a rapid simmer. Watch it carefully because the milk will overflow! (Trust us, it happened.) Take the saucepan off the heat and whisk in the dissolved gelatin and absinthe. Pour the liquid through a fine sieve and into the medium ramekin or glass bowl you plan to serve it in. Gently cover the bowl with plastic wrap, making sure that the plastic directly touches the surface of the liquid. Refrigerate overnight (or at least 6-8 hours) until it’s set and a little wiggly. When you’re ready to serve, remove the plastic wrap and top the pot with your berries!  

After cooking it was time to open the champagne and feast! Well first sing, then feast!

Lauren and Meg getting ready to sing some tunes.

Special thanks once again to Jones of Boerum Hill for our aprons, and to renowned natural perfumer Mandy Aftel, author of Fragrant: The Secret Life of Scent, for donating a bottle of her divine lavender cooking essence! We had such a fun time at this month’s #RiverheadTable, and we hope you’ll try some of these recipes at home. If you do, share your experience with us on Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram or Facebook using the hashtag #RiverheadTable.

Bye, Jet!

[riverheadbooks]

Announcing: Riverhead Table!

We here at Riverhead Books love two things above all others: books and food. If you follow any of our social media accounts then you’ve probably seen images of us celebrating our books with giant platters of cheese, delicious homemade rum cake or with dishes from our authors’ home countries. So we are excited to launch Riverhead Table, a brand new cooking series that takes our love for reading and eating to the next level!

We believe that food brings people together, so each month or so our staffers will gather to put together a food menu inspired by one of our books, document the making of each dish and post the recipes here for all of you to enjoy! We hope you’ll decide to jazz up your next book club meeting by cooking along with us and sharing your photos using #RiverheadTable on Tumblr, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

A huge shout out to the creative geniuses at Jones of Boerum Hill for creating the most beautiful custom Riverhead Books aprons for this ongoing series! We look 100x more professional and—let’s be honest—FABULOUS, all thanks to them.

Without further ado, our inaugural Riverhead Table book is THE PAYING GUESTS by award-winning novelist Sarah Waters! Tea, tea sandwiches and tea biscuits (did we mention tea?) appear throughout this gripping, sensual, must-read mega-hit novel, so we decided on—what else?—a tea party menu.

Goat Cheese and Fig Cucumber Cups

Tomato-Cheddar tea sandwiches

Cucumber Butter tea sandwiches

Pesto Chicken tea sandwiches

Ginger Cookies

Any kind of tea you want (we also had wine)

Goat Cheese and Fig Cucumber Cups (Makes 6-8 servings; Prep Time: 15-20 minutes)

Ingredients:

1 large cucumber or 2 regular cucumbers 4oz soft goat cheese 2oz fig jam

Wash the cucumbers then score the skin of each with a fork (from top to bottom). Cut off the ends, then cut the rest into 2-inch pieces. Use a melon baller or teaspoon to hollow out the inside of each piece (about ¾ of the way down) so that you have a well. Fill each cucumber cup with goat cheese and top them with fig jam.

Tomato-Cheddar Tea Sandwiches (20 tea sandwiches; Prep Time: 15-20 minutes)

Ingredients:

10 slices of white bread

Mayonnaise

10 slices of tomato

Aged cheddar

Basil leaves

Spread mayonnaise on white bread, then make a sandwich with sliced tomato, aged cheddar and basil. We prefer to trim off the crusts and cut into four triangles.

Cucumber Butter Tea Sandwiches (20 tea sandwiches; Prep Time: 15-20 minutes)

Ingredients:

10 slices of white bread

4 tbs softened butter

1/2 tsp grated lemon zest

1 tb fresh herbs

1 cucumber, sliced

Mix the softened butter, lemon zest and fresh herbs in a small bowl. Spread on white bread and sandwich with sliced cucumber. Again, cut into four triangular pieces.

Homemade Pesto & Chicken Crostini (15 or so crostini; Total Time: 1 hour)

For pesto:

2 cups fresh basil

2 garlic cloves

1/4 cup pine nuts

2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper

1/2 cup freshly grated Pecorino cheese to taste

For rest of this recipe:

2 boneless chicken breasts, cooked and sliced

1 baguette, sliced into thin rounds

1 container grape tomatoes, sliced in half

How to make pesto: Put the basil, garlic and pine nuts in a food processor. Pulse the mixture until it’s roughly chopped. Then add a ½ cup of oil and process until you have a smooth mixture. Season with salt and pepper and mix in as much or as little cheese with a small spatula.

How to assemble the crostini: Spread a bit of the pesto onto each baguette round (you can add a bit of oil into the pesto if it isn’t as smooth at you like). Top with sliced cooked chicken breast and grape tomato halves. Top with more pesto if you want! 

Ginger Cookies (Makes 40 cookies; Total Time: ~1 hour)

Ingredients

12oz plain flour

1 level tsp baking soda

2 level tsps ground ginger

1 stick and a half of butter

3/4 cup light brown sugar

4 tbs golden syrup

1 large egg, beaten

Pre-heat oven to 350°F. Put all of your dry ingredients into a bowl. Mix in the butter with your fingers until the mixture looks like bread crumbs. Add the sugar, syrup and the beaten egg. Stir well and bring it all together to form smooth pastry dough. 

On a lightly floured surface roll out the dough to be about 1cm thick. Use a 2” round cookie cutter to cut out each cookie until you’ve used all of the dough. Evenly space them out on your baking tray and chill them for 20 minutes.

Place your cookies in the oven for 10-15 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the tray and place on a cooling rack.

Et voilà! You now have the perfect tea party themed menu for your THE PAYING GUESTS book club. 

Have a question? Leave us a message! We hope you enjoyed the first Riverhead Table! A new book and menu pairing will be here before you know it.

[riverheadbooks]

Riverhead Table: WONDERLAND

Vanilla. Pepper. Cloves. Cinnamon. Nutmeg. According to Steven Johnson’s latest book WONDERLAND: How Play Made the Modern World these are the spices that make the world go round, some even as far back as 1721 BCE in Syria! When we consider the food we eat—from Thanksgiving meals to that giant bag of Doritos sitting in our snack drawer—we don’t always think about what goes into them, and we’re not just talking ingredients, here. We’re also talking about history. As Steven writes, “Like many forms of delight, the taste for spice propelled us far from our roots—not just geographically but also existentially. That strange new taste on the tongue that would send any child into howls of pain could be savored by an adult, its pain turned into pleasure. Spices enlarged the map of possible desires, which in turn enlarged the map of the world itself.” 

So for this edition of #RiverheadTable we decided to focus on these five core spices to show just how propelling and versatile they can be. Special thanks to Steven for being on grill duty, and thanks as always to Jones of Boerum Hill for our fashionable aprons!

Cacio e Pepe (Serves 11)

Ingredients

2 lbs dried spaghetti (2 boxes)

8 cups baby arugula or spinach

4 cups grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus more to serve

1/2 tbs black pepper, plus more to taste

1/2 cup lemon juice (or more if you like super lemony pasta)

2 tbs red pepper flakes, plus more to taste

8 tbs minced garlic

1-2 sticks of unsalted butter

1/2 cup EVOO 

In a large pot of heavily salted boiling water, cook the spaghetti to al dente according to the package directions. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water (it comes in handy), then drain the pasta. 

(NOTE: You might have to do the next couple of steps in two parts, depending on how big your skillet actually is.) In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Make sure it doesn’t burn! Add the olive oil, then add the garlic, red pepper flakes, and black pepper and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. 

Add the lemon juice to the skillet, then toss in the drained pasta and toss to coat. Add the cheese and toss, adding the pasta water, a couple of tablespoons at a time, just to help the cheese coat the pasta. Add the arugula or spinach and toss until it wilts, about 1 minute. Season to taste with additional salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes. Serve with more cheese.

Riverhead staffers Jessica and Kevin on the pasta station!

WONDERLAND author Steven Johnson marinates the salmon.

Salmon with Vanilla Balsamic Marinade (serves 11)

Ingredients for Marinade

6 tbs EVOO

1 shallot

2 tsp dried parsley

2 tsp dried basil

3/4 tsp brown sugar

3/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce

3 tbs balsamic vinegar

1 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract   

Ingredients for Salmon

11 salmon filets (or half of a large salmon, deboned by your fish guy/gal if you can’t do it yourself)

Salt and pepper

Vegetable oil 

For the marinade, combine the olive oil, shallot, parsley, basil, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, balsamic vinegar, Dijon mustard and vanilla paste into a food processor and puree. Pour evenly into two containers and set one container aside.

Preheat your grill. (NOTE: If you bought half a fish we recommend slicing it into three large pieces.) Brush each filet with canola oil and season with salt and pepper. Brush the tops of the fillets with the marinade, then discard any leftover marinade.

Place the filets marinated side down on a grill rack over direct heat. Grill for 8-10 minutes or until dark grill marks appear and the marinade begins to caramelize. Turn the filets and grill for 3 to 4 minutes longer. Serve with the reserved marinade.

Oven Method: Don’t have a grill? No problem! Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Place your marinated salmon on a lightly greased baking pan and cook for 15 minutes or until done the way you like it.

Steven really enjoys being on grill duty!

Simple Kale Salad (serves 11)

Ingredients

Kale (we bought one large box but feel free to buy in bunches--3 should do)

7 tbs EVOO, plus more if necessary

1/3 cup lemon juice, plus more if necessary

6 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup grated parmesan, plus more for serving

Salt and pepper to taste

In a large mixing bowl put the kale, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic cloves, parmesan and salt. Using your hands start massaging the kale salad and continue to do this for about 3-4 minutes (you want the kale to reduce down to about half of what you started with). Taste the salad and add pepper and continue to massage for another few seconds. Taste again and adjust seasoning accordingly.

Spice Cake (with Vanilla Ice Cream)

Ingredients

1 cup milk

3 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup unsalted butter, softened until easily spreadable

2 cups dark brown sugar

2 1/2 cups bleached all-purpose flour

1/4 cup cornstarch

4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp ground allspice

1/2 tsp ground cloves

Vanilla ice cream  

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and lightly flour a metal or disposable foil 9-by-13-inch pan. Whisk dry ingredients and spices in a large bowl. Mix milk, eggs and vanilla extract in a 2-cup measuring cup.

Beat softened butter into dry ingredients, first on low, then medium, until mixture forms pebble-sized pieces. Add about 1/3 of the milk mixture and beat on low until smooth. Add remaining milk mixture in two stages; beat on medium speed until batter is just smooth. Add the sugar; beat until just incorporated, about 30 seconds. Pour batter into cake pan.

Lydia from our marketing team masters the Kitchen Aid. 

Bake until a cake tester or toothpick inserted into the cake's center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Set pan on a wire rack; let cool for 5 minutes. Run a knife around the pan perimeter and turn cake onto rack. Let cool then serve with a scoop or two of vanilla ice cream!

The right spices can make even the simplest of meals stand out! Don’t be afraid to play around with them in the kitchen and enjoy the delicious meal you end up with.

Setting the table for our Wonderland inspired dinner.

Special guest model/chef Scully :)

Cheers to spices!

Bring on the eats.

**BONUS** We decided to take the concept of “playing with our food” to the next level by also partaking in some weird (but awesome) tasting experiments. We each dissolved one mBerry Miracle Fruit Tablet on our tongues to see how the flavors of various fruits and cheeses would change. The results were surprisingly delicious. Lemons tasted like lemonade and green apples tasted pleasantly sweet instead of tart!

Dinosaurs tasted the same even after mBerry consumption.

[riverheadbooks]

Riverhead Table (Breakfast Edition): MODERN LOVERS

For this edition of #RiverheadTable we decided to head into uncharted territory: BREAKFAST. We find that there are two categories of people:

A) Non-breakfast eaters.

B) People whose passion for the first and arguably most important meal of the day runs deeper than an actual ocean, and so they don’t quite understand how people in category A function.

Writer Emma Straub, her husband and their two boys are category B people, and for that we are thankful! So, along with the good folks of the awesome new breakfast focused website Extra Crispy, we visited Emma’s gorgeous Brooklyn home to make her family’s go-to breakfast dishes. Plus, we got an fun bonus: In celebration of her brand new epically fantastic bestselling new novel MODERN LOVERS Emma and her oldest son River modeled their custom Print All Over Me MODERN LOVERS-inspired outfits for us! Could breakfast be any more delightful? We think not. 

As always, a special thanks to Jones of Boerum Hill for our aprons!

Emma, about to pop a bottle of champagne while wearing her Print All Over Me MODERN LOVERS muumuu.

The Menu

Mike’s Granola Recipe

Buttermilk Pancakes

A variety of sausages courtesy of The Meat Hook (We have yet to venture into sausage making!)

Yogurt with fresh berries

Champagne and/or orange juice

Mike's Granola Recipe 

(A NOTE FROM EMMA: “Granola is one of those wonderful foods that you really can't murder unless you burn it. Otherwise, it'll taste good no matter what. I don't really like to measure things, and this is a perfect recipe not to measure.”)

2 cups or so of old fashioned oats

1/2 cup or so of honey

A dollop of oil—canola, vegetable, whatever!

Handfuls of other good stuff—nuts, raisins, dried fruit, chocolate chips, coconut flakes, whatever crazy thing you're into.

Preheat oven to 325. Squeeze the honey into a small pot on the stove. Over low-ish heat, add the oil and stir absentmindedly until it's all one thing and seems warm and delicious. Put oats in a bowl. Add the honey mixture and nuts and mix around. (*Important*: DO NOT ADD raisins, dried fruit, or anything melty here.) Spread out the oats mixture in a thin layer on a baking sheet, and pop in oven. Take a peek about 10 minutes later and give the oats a stir. Give it another 10 minutes or so, or until your kitchen smells like granola. Take out the oats, put them in a bowl and let them cool a little bit. (If you're excited, don't let them cool, just go to town and add all the raisins and cranberries and dried apples and chocolate chips your little heart desires.) Mix. Eat. 

Emma’s son, River, likes to help make pancakes!

Buttermilk Pancakes (makes eight 3 ½-inch wide pancakes)

(A NOTE FROM EMMA: This recipe is from “Staffmeals” by David Waltuck, and I stole it from Workman Publishing 15 years ago, during my 6-month stint as an editorial assistant. I loved the cookbooks and I especially love the boy I met in the elevator who later became my husband.)

1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

1 tbs sugar

1 tbs salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

5 tbs unsalted butter, melted

1 large egg, separated

2/3 cup buttermilk

1/3 cup milk

Canola or other vegetable oil, for greasing the griddle

Maple syrup for serving 

Place the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and baking powder in a medium-sized mixing bowl and stir to combine. Place the melted butter and the egg yolk in a small bowl and whisk to blend. Add the buttermilk, milk, and egg white and whisk thoroughly to combine. Pour the egg mixture into the dry ingredients and mix until combined, but do not overwork. The batter should be quite thick and very lumpy. Heat a griddle over high heat until very hot (a drop of water should sizzle on contact). Lightly grease the griddle with a small amount of oil, then lower the heat to medium. Using a ¼-cup measure, pour the batter onto the griddle. Don’t crowd the pancakes; you want the batter to spread comfortably, leaving enough room between cakes to be able to turn them easily. Cook the pancakes until they begin to firm up and bubbles appear on the surface (watch closely; sometime the cakes firm up before the bubbles show up), 2 to 3 minutes. Use a spatula to lift a pancake to check its bottom side; if it’s nicely browned, slide the spatula all the way under and flip the cake. Check all pancakes before flipping. Continue cooking the pancakes until the second side is nicely browned, about 1 minute more. Serve the pancakes immediately with the syrup, if desired.

Extra Crispy’s editorial director Meredith Turits working the pancake station!

We added some breakfast sausages, fresh fruit, a healthy bowlful of yogurt and some juice to our champagne. Et voilà! A simple yet satisfying breakfast for you and your friends. We highly recommend enjoying it on a sunny rooftop with a view. 

River waiting patiently at the table for his pancakes. 

Extra Crispy assistant editor Kate Welsh on berry duty!

Extra Crispy culture editor Margaret Eby, Meredith Turits, Riverhead editors Danya Kukafka and Sarah McGrath.

Tasty breakfast sausages from The Meat Hook in Brooklyn. 

The Team!

[riverheadbooks]

Riverhead Table: THE MOTHERS

December is half over, which means the holiday season is here and a New Year is just around the corner. We made many delicious meals this year—from jerk lamb chops with Marlon James to spicy Indian curries with Elizabeth Gilbert--so forgive us if It’s hard to believe that we’ve actually arrived at our last #RiverheadTable post of 2016! 

It was also a big year for THE MOTHERS, the debut novel by rising literary star Brit Bennett that took America by storm. You probably saw it on TV, heard about it on the radio, glimpsed it at your local ice cream shop, and you definitely read about it in all of your favorite magazines. 

Real Simple was one of the big magazines that brought THE MOTHERS to the masses. They called it “stunning,” “heartbreaking” and “brutally honest,” all of which are #accurate descriptions. We asked Real Simple if they would partner with us to make a dish inspired by Brit’s novel, and they not only said “yes” but they made our food reality show dreams come true by inviting us into their test kitchen to broadcast the entire process on Facebook Live! (We knew we would be famous one day, we just had to be patient.) 

Because THE MOTHERS is set in Oceanside, California and Brit herself is a Southern California native, we decided to recreate a beloved SoCal dish: the breakfast burrito. Breakfast burritos are laid back but hearty, and—just like what happens in the novel—it can get a little spicy if you let it. We used Real Simple’s basic recipe and added some fun twists to customize our burritos the way we like them. 

Special thanks to Grace, Samantha and Dawn of Real Simple for making this edition of #RiverheadTable the coolest one yet! And, as always, no Table would be official without our custom aprons from Jones of Boerum Hill. Want to watch us make burritos and talk about THE MOTHERS in Real Simple’s test kitchen? Check us out here: https://www.facebook.com/realsimple/videos/10154195923823163/

THE MENU

Breakfast Burritos with a variety of toppings

Mimosas (obviously)

The Riverhead and Real Simple crew with Brit Bennett!

Real Simple's Breakfast Burrito (Serves 1 | Total cooking and assembly time: 20 minutes) 

1 tbsp olive oil

2 large eggs, beaten

Kosher salt and black pepper

1 oz sliced Monterey Jack

1 oz sliced deli ham (or any meat you want, really!)

18-inch multigrain flour tortilla, warmed

Hot sauce (optional)

Fresh cilantro leaves (optional)

Any other toppings you like! 

DIRECTIONS

Heat the oil in a small nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the eggs and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often, until the eggs are just set, 1 to 2 minutes. Wrap the eggs, cheese, ham, and cilantro (if desired) in the tortilla. Serve with the hot sauce, if desired.

We prepped fresh spinach, diced fresh onions, pickled onions, salsa, green peppers and more to fill our burritos.

Brit on egg cooking duty.

Assembling what will eventually become breakfast burritos...and tacos. (Sometimes you just have to go with the flow!)

Behind the scenes at the first official #RiverheadTable and Real Simple Facebook Live.

Finished burritos! 

Filling some of our burritos with pickled onions. Delicious! 

Real Simple’s Food Director, Dawn Perry, pours mimosas to toast to THE MOTHERS.

Cheers!

Don’t forget to tag #RiverheadTable if you make your own breakfast burritos, and check out Real Simple’s arsenal of recipes at realsimple.com. Thanks again for a great year of cooking, eating and literature, everyone! We’ll have new recipes and books to share in 2017. 

[riverheadbooks]

Riverhead Table (West Coast Edition!): A MASTER PLAN FOR RESCUE

There is no better time to travel than during the summer months, and so we decided to hit the road! Welcome, fellow cooks, to the first official West Coast edition of #RiverheadTable. Armed with our custom aprons designed by Jones of Boerum Hill, writer and Lit Camp Writers’ Conference founder Janis Cooke Newman brilliantly arranged a dinner party for 26 in the gorgeous Northern California home of friend, writer and founder of The Castro Coop Scott James and his partner Jerry Cain. Scott and Jerry had just moved in, so Janis and her team of sous chefs had fun improvising their cooking strategy (“It turns out a cardboard box makes a pretty good cutting board.”)!

Janis designed a sumptuous Parisian bistro-style menu to celebrate the paperback launch of her latest novel A MASTER PLAN FOR RESCUE, which the San Francisco Chronicle hailed as “a finely crafted novel” and Woman’s Day called, “[a] moving adventure.” We asked Janis to tell us about how she came up with the idea for her dinner party and she said: 

“A Master Plan for Rescue does actually feature a cookbook in its pages. It’s called Victory Meat Extenders and was a book given out by butchers during World War II to help housewives make the most of their meat ration coupons. While I did consider building a menu around the recipes in that book—recipes that include things like Emergency Steak and Codfish Casserole, Pork-U-Pines and English Monkey (which, mercifully, contains exactly zero meat)—I decided I liked my guests too much. Instead, I designed a menu around my character Rebecca’s dream of escaping Nazi Germany for Paris—the kind of meal you might have found in a Parisian bistro in the 1930s.”

And what a meal it was! Scroll down to see what Janis and her team cooked up, and special thanks to photographer Katy Raddatz for capturing every moment!

Our hostess with the mostest, Janis Cooke Newman, serving crostini to the guests!

THE MENU 

Hors d'oeuvres:

A trio of crostini appetizers:

Goat cheese with olive oil & lemon rind

Green olive, basil, and almond tapenade

Chicken liver paté

Paired with a Domaine de Fontsainte gris de gris rosé

Entrées:

A composed salad of greens with pear, walnut and blue cheese

Tartine (or other rustic) country bread and butter

Paired with a Kuentz-Bas pinot blanc

Poulet á la Moutarde (Chicken with Mustard) served over egg noodles

Roasted asparagus in olive oil

Paired with Kermit Lynch Cotes du Rhone 

Dessert:

Lemon tart with fresh whipped cream

The crostini: Each of these three toppings can be made ahead. Before serving, thinly slice several French baguettes and spread with a different topping. It’s nice to garnish the green olive spread with a sliver of almond, the goat cheese spread with a sprig of fresh thyme, and the chicken liver with a few grains of coarse sea salt. 

Green olive, basil, and almond tapenade (serves 6 to 8, increase as necessary)

from My Paris Kitchen by David Lebovitz

2 cups pitted green olives

1/3 cup whole untoasted almonds

1 small clove garlic, peeled and minced

1 ½ tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 tablespoon capers, rinsed and squeezed dry

½ cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves

½ cup olive oil

Sea salt or kosher salt

Put the olives, almonds, garlic, lemon juice and capers in the bowl of a food processor. Coarsely chop the basil leaves, add them to the processor, and pulse the machine a few times to start breaking them down. Add the olive oil and a sprinkle of salt. Pulse the food processor until the mixture forms a coarse paste, one that still has a little texture provided by the not-entirely-broken-down almonds.

Goat Cheese and Garlic Spread (makes 1 cup)

from Trattoria by Patricia Wells 

8 ounces robioloa or other mild fresh goat cheese

2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 plump fresh garlic cloves, minced

In the bowl of a food processor, combine all the ingredients and blend until smooth and silky.

Chicken liver paté (about 2 dozen crostini)

from Food52.com 

1 lb. organic chicken livers

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 large shallots, thinly sliced

1 large garlic clove, smashed

3 anchovy filets (or 1 tablespoon anchovy paste)

1 tablespoon capers, minced

4-6 sage leaves

2/3 cup dry white wine

½ teaspoon grated lemon zest

½ cup grated parmigiano reggiano

Trim any sinews from the livers an dry well with paper towels.

In a large skillet, melt the butter and olive oil over medium-high heat. Sautee the shallots, garlic, anchovy, capers and sage until the shallots are lightly browned, about 6 minutes or so.

Season the chicken livers with salt and pepper and add to the pan. Cook over high heat until browned, then add half of the white wine (1/3 cup) and keep stirring with a wooden spoon, breaking up the livers as they start to cook through. When the wine is absorbed, add the second 1/3 cup and repeat the process.

Remove from heat and transfer to a food processor. Process until quite smooth, then add lemon zest and cheese and process again. Taste and add salt or pepper as needed. 

Composed salad of greens with pear, walnut and blue cheese 

For the dressing: For every 4 servings of greens, whisk together 2 tablespoon Dijon mustard, 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar, and salt to taste in a small bowl. While whisking, slowly pour in ½ cup peanut oil until lightly blended. Place the amount of fresh greens (whatever looks best in the market) you will need for the number of individual salads you are preparing in a large bowl. Toss with just enough dressing to lightly coat. Toast enough walnuts under the broiler to sprinkle on each salad plate. Peel, quarter, and thinly slice enough pears to place two on each salad plate. 

For each composed salad: 

Place a small handful of greens on the plate. Top with two slices of peeled pear, some crumbled bits of a good blue cheese, and a sprinkling of toasted walnut pieces. We served this salad alongside thick slices of country bread from Tartine—a legendary San Francisco bakery. If you can’t get Tartine bread, look for something chewy and rustic.

Poulet á l Moutard (Chicken with Mustard) (serves 4 to 6, increase as necessary)

from My Paris Kitchen by David Lebovitz 

½ cup plus 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard

¼ teaspoon sweet or smoked paprika

Freshly ground pepper

¾ teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt

8 chicken thighs

1 cup diced smoked, thick-cut bacon

1 small onion, peeled and finely diced

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (or ½ teaspoon dried)

1 cup white wine

1 tablespoon whole mustard seeds, or grainy mustard

2 to 3 tablespoons crème fraiche or heavy cream

Warm water (optional)

Chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley or chives for garnish 

Mix ½ cup of the Dijon mustard in a bowl with the paprika, a few generous grinds of the peppermill, and the salt. Toss the chicken pieces in the mustard mixture, lifting the skin and rubbing some of it underneath. Heat a wide skillet with a cover, or a Dutch oven over medium-high heat and add the bacon. Cook the bacon, stirring frequently, until it’s cooked through and just starting to brown. Remove the bacon from the pan and drain on paper towels. Leave about 1 tablespoon of bacon fat in the pan, discarding the rest. Add the onion and cook for about 5 minutes until soft and translucent. Stir in the thyme, and let cook for another few minutes, and then scrape the cooked onion into a bowl. 

Add a little bit of olive oil to the pan, if necessary, and place the chicken pieces in the pan in a single layer. (If they don’t all fit, cook them in batches.) Cook over medium-high heat, browning them well on one side, then flip them over and brown them on the other side. It’s important to get the chicken nicely colored, as the coloring—as well as the darkened bits on the bottom of the pan—will give the finished sauce its delicious flavor.

Remove the chicken pieces and put them in the bowl with the onions. Add the wine to the hot pan, scraping the darkened bits off the bottom with a sturdy flat utensil. Return the chicken pieces to the pan along with the bacon and onions. Cover and cook over low to medium heat, turning the chicken in the sauce a few times during cooking, until the chicken is cooked through, about 15 minutes. Check doneness by sticking a knife into the meat next to the thigh bone; if it’s red, continue cooking for a few more minutes. 

Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard, the mustard seeds, and the crème fraiche. If the sauce has reduced and is thick, you can thin it with a little warm water. Sprinkle chopped parsley over the top and serve over freshly cooked egg noodles.

Roasted asparagus 

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Wash and snap off the fibrous ends of enough asparagus to serve approximately 5 relatively thick spears to each person. In a large bowl, toss the asparagus with enough olive oil to lightly coat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Spread the asparagus—in a single layer—on a baking sheet or in a flat, low-sided sheet pan. Place in oven and cook for 12-15 minutes, until asparagus are soft and just beginning to brown. Serve with slices of lemon.

Cheers to Janis and her sous chefs!

Lemon tart 

Believe it or not, we bought our lemon tart from Trader Joe’s, and it was incredibly delicious! If you live near a fancy bakery, you could also go that route.

We hope you enjoyed our first West Coast #RiverheadTable! Who knows where we’ll end up next? Tune in next time, but until then check out more scenes from Janis Cooke Newman’s dinner below.

But wait, there’s more! A note from Janis about her amazing guest list:

“I built my guest list around Rebecca’s Parisian dream as well. Rebecca has a fantasy of taking an apartment in Latin Quarter cafés and inviting in the entire Paris ex-pat community—James Joyce and Jean Cocteau, Marcel Duchamp and Virginia Woolf. My Riverhead Table (a sit-down dinner for 22 plus staff) became what I liked to think of as a Bay Area version of that kind of party, with Pulitzer Prize-winning and best-selling authors side by side with book critics, radio interviewers, and indie booksellers. Even the kitchen staff in our spiffy Jones of Boerum Hill aprons were local authors.”

The guest list: 

Scott James (author & founder of The Castro Coop) & Jerry Cain – hosts

Jane Ciabattari (VP and former President, NBCC) & Mark Ciabattari

TJ Stiles (two time Pulitzer Prize winner) & Jessica Stiles

Frances Dinklespiel (Best-selling author) & Gary Wayne

Michelle Richmond (Best-selling author)

Cristina Garcia (National Book Award Finalist) & Gary Aguilar

Michael Krasny (author & KQED Forum radio host)

Bridget Kinsella (journalist for Shelf Awareness & publicist at New Harbinger Press)

Evan Karp (founder of Quiet Lightning literary series, journalist SF Chronicle)

Elaine Petrocelli & Bill Petrocelli (Book Passage)

Margie Tucker & Michael Scott (Books Inc)

Calvin Crosby (President of the Northern California Booksellers Association) & Ann Seaton

Susanne Pari (author) & Sharam Shirazzi

Kitchen Staff: Janis Cooke Newman (author), Lee Kravetz (author) Shana Mahaffey (author), Kurt Reinhardt (actor). 

Photos by Katy Raddatz