Cookbook Club Roundup - March 5th, 2016

Cookbook Club RoundUp! 

Our Cookbook Club members didn't disappoint with a wonderful selection of "Soup and Salad" dishes and recipes at this week's meeting. Here's what was shared:

Orange Blossom Special (a fruit soup), from Dairy Hollow House Soup & Bread Cookbook, by Crescent Dragonwagon.

(Kubbeh) Hamustaahatar, a soup, from Jerusalem: A Cookbook, by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi.

Ezogelin Corbasi - Spicy Lentil and Bulgur Soup, shared from a cooking class taken at 'Cooking Alaturka', in Istanbul, Turkey.

Curried Zucchini Soup, from The Essential New York Times Cookbook, by Amanda Hesser.

Beets, Apples and Ginger with Clementine Vinaigrette, from Cooking for Mr. Latte, by Amanda Hesser.

Here are some recipes that were shared:

Endive and Watercress Salad with Walnuts and Roquefort Cheese

2 endive
1 bunch watercress
1 firm Bosc pear
6-8 cherry tomatoes
½ cup walnut pieces
½ cup Roquefort, crumbled
Extra virgin olive oil,
Balsamic vinegar

Core and slice endive thinly. Core and slice pear thinly. Wash and stem watercress.  Slice cherry tomatoes in half.

Make vinaigrette, using ½ olive oil and ½ balsamic vinegar. Salt and pepper to taste.

Toss endive, pear and watercress with vinaigrette.  Pile on shallow bowl and surround with cherry tomato halves. Sprinkle with walnuts and Roquefort cheese. Taste and adjust for seasoning.

Honey Grapefruit with Banana Salad      

Prep: 5 minutes. Yield: 3 servings (serving size: 1 cup) 

1 (24-ounce) jar refrigerated red grapefruit sections (about 2 cups) 
1 cup sliced banana (about 1) 
1 tablespoon fresh chopped mint 
1 tablespoon honey 

Drain grapefruit sections, reserving 1/4 cup juice.

Combine grapefruit sections, juice, and remaining ingredients in a medium bowl. 

Toss gently to coat. Serve immediately, or cover and chill.

German Potato Salad

4 potatoes
4 slices of bacon
1 tablespoon of flour
2 tablespoons of sugar
1/3 cup water
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1/2 cup chopped green onions
salt and pepper to taste

Boil large pot of salted water to boil. Add potatoes; cook until tender but still firm about 15 minutes, drain cool and chop.

Place bacon in a large deep skillet and cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside. Reserve bacon fat.  

Add flour, sugar, water and vinegar to the skillet and cook in reserved bacon fat over medium heat until it is thick.

Add bacon, potatoes and green onions to skillet and stir until coated. Cook until heated and season with salt and pepper.

Serve warm.

For more information on our Cookbook Club, and to register, please email Barbara Davis at bdavis@nrpl.org or call (914) 632-8254.

Women's History Month: Women in New Rochelle's History

Women in New Rochelle's History 

In March, 1986, the New Rochelle Council on the Arts presented a groundbreaking, fascinating exhibit on important women in New Rochelle's history. Former Standard Star reporter June Schetterer researched and wrote an excellent booklet to accompany the exhibit. In honor of Women's History month 30 years later, we invite you to get to know some of the amazing women she profiled; click here to view a scan of “A Celebration of Women in New Rochelle's History.”

You can learn plenty more about New Rochelle's history in the E.L. Doctorow Local History Room on library's second floor! Discover more remarkable women in the New Rochelle Walk of Fame – right outside the library doors in Ruby Dee Park at Library Green.

New Rochelle Walk of Fame, Ruby Dee Park at Library Green

Secrets on the Shelves I

Secrets on the Shelves is a feature where we take a look at an interesting item that is located on the shelves of the New Rochelle Public Library’s collection.

Our first selection is in honor of Women’s History Month and it is located in the 800s on the 2nd floor. It is a book called The Plays and Poems of Mercy Otis Warren.  

Mercy Otis Warren was a female writer who wrote political propagandist poems and plays during the American Revolution. In a time where few women could read or write and those who could did not speak out, Warren spoke out in her plays and poems. In her work, she encouraged colonists to rebel against British rule and the infringement of their rights as citizens.

She corresponded with many of the Founding Fathers during the Revolution such as John Hancock, Samuel Adams, and future presidents George Washington, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson.

Many men are responsible for shaping our nation, but there were also some women whose voices have since been forgotten by the general public. If you’re interested in Mercy’s work, this book can be found on the 2nd floor under the call number 818.109 W.  A biography on Mercy called The Muse of the Revolution: The Secret Pen of Mercy Otis Warren and the Founding of a Nation by Nancy Rubin Stuart is also located on the second floor in the biography section under “W” for Warren.

Contributor: David Torres, Librarian @ NRPL

Cookbook Club Roundup - February 20th, 2016

Cookbook Club RoundUp! 

Members of our brand new Cookbook Club brought some delightful dishes and recipes to this week's gathering. Here's a sampling:

Caviar Pie, from Mother’s Club of New Rochelle 1987 Cookbook.

Chipotle & Rosemary Spiced Nuts, from Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa, How Easy Is That? Fabulous Recipes & Easy Tips.
           
Turkey and Zucchini Burgers with Green Onion and Cumin, adapted from Jerusalem: A Cookbook.

Zahatar Cherry Tomatoes Crostini, from Rose Water and Orange Blossoms: Fresh & Classic Recipes from my Lebanese Kitchen, Maureen Abood.

Marcella Hazan’s Famous Tomato Sauce, originally appeared in Marcella Hazan's Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking. 

Some members shared their own recipes too, these included Dill Pickles; Sauerkraut; Spinach, Cheese & Veggies Quiche; and Gougeres. 

What, you may ask, is a gougere?

Choux pastry, or pâte à choux, is used to make sweet profiteroles. When cheese is added for a savory dish, they are called gougeres. These mini-pastries should be crisp and golden on the outside and light and fluffy within.

Gougeres – Cheese Puffs

Makes about 3 dozen

Ingredients

1 cup Gruyere or Parmesan Cheese, finely grated

1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces

½ teaspoon Kosher salt

1 cup flour

4 large eggs

Method

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Put the butter and water in a saucepan and bring to a rolling boil. Reduce the heat to low and add the flour and salt, all at one time.

Stir rapidly and continuously with a wooden spoon as the mixture comes together. Cook for up to three minutes, or until the mixture forms a smooth ball.

Take the pan off the heat and allow it cool for a few minutes. Beat the eggs. Add them to the warm dough one at a time, beating thoroughly to incorporate. Mix in the grated cheese.

Using a teaspoon, place spoonfuls of the mixture on to a baking tray lined with parchment paper, leaving room between each spoonful for the pastry to puff up. Bake for 10 minutes, then turn the heat down to 325 degrees for another 20 minutes, or until the pastries are cooked through and golden.

Gougeres can be made a few hours ahead of time and reheated before serving.

Remy's Soup

Remy's Soup

Chef D'Amour Giovanni Green from Break Bread Not Hearts had a lot of help in making a wonderfully hearty vegetable soup. Here's Giovanni's simple recipe. 

Ingredients

Potatoes – three medium sized
Parsley – one bunch
Carrots –three medium sized
Portobello Mushroom – one to two large caps
Baby Spinach – ¼ pound
Scallion – three stalks
Garlic – 4 cloves
Diced/Crushed Tomatoes – one 28 oz. can
Coconut Milk – one 14 oz. can
Salt, Pepper, Thyme, Red Pepper Flakes (optional)
Butter or Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Love

Directions

1. Begin by being thankful and excited for the meal you are about to prepare.  
2. Rinse potatoes and cut them into small bite sized cubes, mince the garlic, and remove the gills from the portobello mushrooms.  Slice the mushrooms into thin strips.
3. In a saucepan or stockpot drizzle 2-3 tablespoons of the olive oil or the butter over medium heat.  You can now add the potatoes, garlic, and mushrooms with a pinch of salt and pepper.  Stir constantly until the garlic turns light golden brown, about 2-4 minutes.
4. Add the can of diced tomatoes, can of coconut milk, a healthy dash of salt and pepper and increase the heat to medium high until the soup begins to boil.  Once boiling reduce the heat back to medium-low and allow to simmer for 15 minutes.
5. Slice carrots into any shape and drop into the soup and cook for an additional 5-7 minutes.  If you want the carrots to be soft cut them into smaller pieces.  If you like them with a bit more crunch cut them into larger pieces and cook for a shorter period of time.
6. Once the potatoes and carrots are cooked through the soup is ready to be served.  Thinly slice the scallions and the spinach.  Place the spinach at the bottom of a bowl, ladle the soup on top, and garnish with scallions and thyme.
7. Enjoy with love!


This recipe in the film comes together based on the ingredients available at hand to the characters.  Allow your imagination, taste buds, and the rest of your senses to guide you when preparing this soup or any other meal as a team.

In our Lumen Winter Gallery

Postcards of Historic New Rochelle

New Rochelle’s grand resorts, meandering shoreline, leafy neighborhoods, stately structures, and impressive Fort Slocum military base were captured in images for a multitude of postcards that traveled the world. The Golden Age of Illustration coincided with an important era in the Queen City’s history, as will be displayed in this exhibit of vintage postcards from the library’s local history collection. The exhibit of enlarged postcards provides a wonderful glimpse into the early 1900s, when New Rochelle was coming into its own identity as one of America’s premier suburban communities. 

New Music!

New Music!

We have a lot of new music titles available to help you beat the January blues! Check out our full collection in our Bliss Music Center on the 3rd Floor!