June 2012 Host:  Karen

Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

Summary

This is the story of the 1942 Vel D’Hiv roundup of Jews in Paris as seen through the eyes of eleven year old Sarah, a French Jew.   It is also intertwined with the story in 2002 of a French journalist, Julia Jarmond, who is writing about the Vel D’Hiv roundup for a magazine on the sixtieth anniversary of the event.  During the summer of 1942, French Jews were rounded up by the French police (something a lot of people, even the French, are to this day not aware of) in collaboration with the German occupiers.  When the police knocked on Sarah’s door, she hid her younger brother in a cupboard which was their secret hiding place, and then locked it, keeping the brass key with her.  His fate is eventually revealed in the story.  Over 4,000 children under the age of fifteen were herded to the Velodrome, an indoor cycling arena.  More than 10,000 French Jews were confined in this arena for days with no food, water, or even bathrooms, unaware they were to eventually be shipped to Auschwitz’s gas chambers.  Julia Jarmond, through her research of the roundup, is drawn more deeply into Sarah’s story as she finds that her French husband’s family history is connected to Sarah’s family history.  We all really enjoyed this historical novel (although we found the Sarah’s story in the ‘past’ much more interesting than the ‘present’ day story dealing with Julia) and would highly recommend it. 

Menu

Asian Eggplant Spread

Ingredients

-1 medium eggplant 

-1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger root

-1/2 teaspoon ground anise

-2 scallions, minced

-1 ½ tablespoon soy sauce

-1/2 teaspoon dark sesame oil

-1 tablespoon rice vinegar

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Pierce the eggplant with a fork in several spots, place it directly on the oven rack with a baking sheet on the rack below to catch drips, and bake it for 45 to 60 minutes, until very soft and somewhat collapsed.  Remove the eggplant from the oven.  Alternately, you can grill the eggplant.  When it is cool enough to handle, cut the eggplant in half, scoop out the flesh, and discard the skin.  Thoroughly chop through the flesh crosswise and lengthwise; you should have about 1 ½ cups.  In a bowl, combine the eggplant with the ginger, anise, scallions, soy sauce, sesame oil, and rice vinegar and mix well.  Add more soy sauce to taste as needed.  Serve with pita, rice cakes, or crackers, or as a garnish.  From Moosewood Restaurant Low-fat Favorites

Ceasar Salad with Dressing

For the garlic croutons:

Ingredients

-4 Tablespoons butter

-1 clove garlic, minced

-3 ¾ inch thick slices French bread, cut into cubes.

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large sauté pan, melt butter over medium heat.  Stir in garlic and stir for 1 to 2 minutes more.  Add bread cubes and toss to coat.  Spread on a baking sheet.  Bake for 15 minutes or until crisp and dry.  Check frequently to prevent burning.  Cool.

For the dressing:  (from Food Network Magazine, May 2012)

Ingredients

-1 pasteurized large egg yolk

-1 ½ teaspoons dijon mustard

-1 small clove garlic, grated

-Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

-1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

-1 ½ teaspoons caper brine (from a jar of capers)

-1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

-1/4 cup canola oil

-2 anchovy filets finely chopped or approximately 1/3 tube anchovy paste

Directions

Make the dressing in the bowl of a food processor: combine the egg yolk, mustard, garlic, and ½ teaspoon each salt and pepper.  Pulse to blend.  With the machine running, pour the lemon juice and caper brine into the mix.  Slowly pour in the olive oil and then the canola oil, blending until smooth.  Transfer the mix into a bowl and taste for seasoning.  Stir in anchovies.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to use, up to one day. 

For the salad:

Ingredients:

-1 large head of romaine lettuce washed and cut into approximate 1 inch squares

-9 to 12 ounces cherry tomatoes

-1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

-1/4 cup freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese

Gently combine all of the above ingredients and just before serving, add croutons and dressing

Spicy Potato Sticks from Weight Watchers Turnaround Cookbook

and Parmesan Steak Fries from Everyday Food Great Fast Food cookbook by Martha Stewart Living

Spicy Potato Sticks

Ingredients

-2 large baking potatoes, scrubbed and cut into thin strips
-2 egg whites, lightly beaten
-3/4 teaspoon of ground cumin
-1/2 teaspoon of salt
-1/2 teaspoon of chili powder
-1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 425. Spray large nonstick baking sheet with canola oil nonstick spray. Combine all ingredients in large bowl and toss to coat. Transfer to baking sheet and arrange in single layer. Bake until barely tender, about 15 min. Increase oven temp to broil and broil 5 inches from the heat until crispy, about 10 min longer.

Parmesan Steak Fries

-3 large egg whites
-coarse salt and fresh ground pepper
-3 baking potatoes (8-10 oz each)
-1 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 425. In wide, shallow bowl, whisk egg whites w/ 1 teaspoon salt until frothy. Cut each potato into 6 long spears; add to the egg whites and turn to coat. Lift spears out of the egg whites, shaking off excess. Working over a plate, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese until coated (do not shake off excess). Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake without turning until the potatoes are fork tender and gold brown, about 30 min. Season with salt and pepper.

Barbecue Ribs

Barbecue Chicken

Dessert

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