Recipe Weekend/ Book Review and Giveaway: Aftertaste: A Novel in Five Courses by Meredith Mileti

Synopsis: Ruth Reichl meets Nora Ephron in Aftertaste, a funny, sexy and appealing debut. Mira Rinaldi lives life at a rolling boil. Co-owner of Grappa, a chic New York City trattoria, she has an enviable apartment, a brand-new baby, and a frenzied schedule befitting her success. Everything changes the night she catches her husband, Jake, "wielding his whisk" with Grappa's new waitress. Mira's fiery response earns her a court-ordered stint in anger management and the beginning of legal and personal predicaments as she battles to save her restaurant and pick up the pieces of her life. Mira falls back on family and friends in Pittsburgh as she struggles to find a recipe for happiness. But the heat is really on when some surprising developments in New York present her with a high stakes opportunity to win back what she thought she had lost forever. For Mira, cooking isn't just about delicious flavors and textures, but about the pleasure found in filling others' needs. And the time has come to decide where her own fulfilment lies - even if the answers are unexpected. 




As an added bonus, included are recipes that Meredith came up with, that are pivotal to the book!




Review:  I finished this book in about 3 sittings, one of which was the doctor's office, and every time I picked it up, I could not believe it was a first novel and that the author was NEVER a professional chef! She interviewed several and did her research, very well! When one of my PR reps, suggested it to me, it sounded like a good book. Once I started to read it I realized it was so much more! It has so many levels, and is such a complete book!


The book had me from the beginning- Mira's response to finding her husband cheating was understandable and realistic. In fact, so much of the book read to me like things that my friends or I would do/think! Here's 2 examples:


1. One of Mira’s theories is that bakers are more rule-bound than cooks.  They respond to order and precision, following recipes EXACTLY,  while cooks are more creative and thrive on improvisation. I had to laugh at that- when I bake, I stick closer to the recipe, but cooking- always up for changing, adding, deleting! My friends agreed as well!


2. True happiness is to be found in one's ability to satisfy a basic human need spectacularly. Those of us who content to take our happiness secondhand, cook because what we want, what we crave, is to be needed, Nurturers, brokers of comfort, we hope to turn the tables on our own needs, by filling the stomachs and souls of the world.
Pretty thoughtful and every Southern cook and Jewish Mom very much understands!


If you're looking for a great book to add to a gift basket, this is it! It's a great book, one full of hope and insight, and wonderfully thought out characters! You'll love it!


And in the spirit of the book, here's a great recipe for Mira’s Cacao Nib Cookies, which she keeps tinkering with, trying to replicate a favorite local bakery cookie. I've been there, there is always some insanely normal ingredient that you don't think of that is the solution. Course sometimes, once you find the solution the cookie isn't the same- it looses it's magic, so I'm ok not getting it right, because the mistakes, like this one are pretty great! This recipe is like a chocolate shortbread!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
• 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt or fleur de sel
• 1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon Frangelico liqueur
• 1/3 cup cacao nibs (or, if you can’t find them, chocolate-covered espresso beans, coarsely chopped)
• Optional: 1/3 cup toasted hazlenuts, rough chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder, confectioners’ sugar, baking soda and salt together in a mixing bowl (a small whisk works well).
3. Cream butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer until fluffy. Add vanilla and Frangelico and mix to combine. Stir in the cacao nibs and toasted hazlenuts (if using). The dough will be crumbly.
4. Take a teaspoon of the dough and roll into a ball approximately the size of a walnut. (I use a small scooper for consistency). Place on a baking sheet lined with a Silpat mat or parchment paper sheet and flatten slightly.
5. Bake 12-15 minutes. Remove from oven and let harden a few minutes before cooling on a wire rack. Enjoy with coffee or tea.

Makes 2 1/2 dozen

About the Author:  Meredith Mileti lives in Pittsburgh with her husband, David and their three, mostly grown children. Since taking her first home economics course in junior high, Meredith has loved cooking for her family and friends. She is an adventurous and eclectic diner, and appreciates any well-cooked meal, whether from a seaside lobster shack in Bar Harbor, Maine, a friggitorie in Naples, a Michelin-starred restaurant in Paris or an undiscovered little gem in her own Pittsburgh neighborhood. Aftertaste is her first novel. Visit her website at: www.meredithmileti.com




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Disclosure / Disclaimer: I was sent this book, free of charge, for review purposes, by Darlene Chan PR. No other compensation, monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post. Nor was I told how to post about it.