Composing Love Smoky Pork Bánh Mì Sandwiches

While Composing Love by Audra North might look like a conventional contemporary romance, in a lot of ways, it isn't. There's the primacy of work, even something as formal as what I might term "calling". The hero and heroine are both enmeshed in questions of identity and ability as they relate to the world and even view themselves. And it's an intercultural romance between white, rebellious, hipster guy Chris Reichert and half black, half Asian, staid, conservative classical musician Minh Jackson. And at every moment, on every level, these two throw sparks when they brush up against each other.

When we first meet Minh, she and her Greek friend Gali are decompressing at a club in San Francisco. Minh has recently been on a series of bad dates predicated on the assumption that she can use a check-list to identify a potential mate. The latest in this ill-conceived string is a guy who likes both black girls and Asian girls and refers to dating half black, half Vietnamese Minh as like getting two for the price of one. In her entirely justifiable irritation, she slams headlong into Chris, sending her drink flying and her desires skittering in his unlikely direction. And when he shows up at her apartment later with his sister, who is looking for a new place to live, it sets them on a path toward both personal and professional fulfillment.

Minh captured my quirky little reader's heart immediately. She's bright, talented, loyal, a little bit uptight and entirely unsure of herself and her place in it. She really wants to compose music for movies, but whenever she submits her portfolio, she's told that her work is technically excellent, but has no passion. This has left her feeling uncertain whether she is really capable of composing at that level and getting ready to settle for something she views as "less". Chris, on the other hand, is bright, talented and has passion, but he's unwilling to compromise his unconventional outlook in order to fit in and it's holding him back, even if it takes Minh's gentle prodding for him to realize it.

A good portion of Composing Love takes place with Minh and Chris at work or discussing work, which is a relief in a romance marketplace full of billionaires and people who in theory have professions, but only seem to actually work when it's convenient for the plot. So much of both Minh's and Chris's identity is tied up in their capabilities and notions of success. Minh in particular struggles because her family has always cautioned her against breaking out of the box in any way (including her music), keeping everything she wears and is and does within very conservative bounds so she might fit into a society that is always to some degree biased against her. Both this logic and prior negative experiences with taking chances are things she has to think about critically before she can embrace both Chris and her potential as a composer.

I really enjoyed Composing Love, zipping through it in the course of a morning. Thoroughly three-dimensional characters with friends, family, personal histories and definite aspirations shouldn't feel this revolutionary in contemporary romance, but it did.

I found this recipe on Pinterest about a year and a half ago and it has become a staple of my weekly menu plan ever since. The title is "Smoky Pork Meatball Sandwiches", which sounds super conventional and American--like it might be served on a hamburger bun and have coleslaw on top. But I remember thinking when I made my grocery list that week that the combination of quick pickled radishes, cilantro, jalapeño and mayonnaise sounded awfully strange. Culinarily speaking though, I'm pretty adventurous and I decided to take the recipe at face value, thinking that I would taste as I went and if something ended up being gross, I'd just nix it and drench the whole thing in BBQ sauce.

So I made the quick pickled radishes, sliced up a pepper, pulled off a couple handfuls of cilantro and dug the mayo out of the back of the refrigerator while my husband looked at me skeptically. I baked the meatballs, cut open the hoagie/sub rolls and threw together a quick salad.

When we sat down at the table, we assembled the sandwiches, layering mayo with big handfuls of cilantro and nestling the meatballs in with sliced radish and jalapeño. I looked and him and he looked at me and we bit into them clearly thinking, "Well, here goes nothing."

I have no idea what my face looked like that day, but I know what my husband's face looked like. His eyes got all big and the corners of his mouth quirked up. And when we both finished chewing and swallowing that first bite, we both said, "HOLY CRAP THAT'S THE BEST THING I'VE EVER EATEN."

And once I thought about it for half a second, I realized that I'd been a complete idiot because even though the title of the recipe sounded all safe and conventional, what I'd really concocted was a very simple Vietnamese Bánh Mì similar to one I'd once had in a little sandwich shop in Falls Church. But when you're ordering off a menu that's mostly in Vietnamese and imperfectly translated, you just kinda avoid the tripe, you know what I mean? Once I understood that this was actually what the recipe was aiming at though, it suddenly became normal, familiar and honestly, not strange at all.

Check out the recipe here at Every Day with Rachel Ray. It's perfect just as it is.

Edited to add (10/13/14): If there's a reason for avoiding pork in your household, I would be totally comfortable substituting ground chicken or ground turkey in this recipe. Or even your favorite vegetarian meat replacement. I haven't tried it, but there's no reason at all why it shouldn't be equally delicious.

Disclosure: Audra North and I are friendly on Twitter and she gave me Composing Love for review purposes.

Truly Honeyed Cauliflower Soup & Sandwiches

A few weeks ago, I read a string of hero-as-chef romances all in a row: The Chocolate Thief by Laura Florand, Ruby by Jeffe Kennedy and this one, Truly by Ruthie Knox. I waited to review it until closer to the release date, which is this Tuesday. I'd read one other book by Knox in the past and fully expected to enjoy this one. I'm happy to report that it didn't disappoint.

May Fredericks is an essentially bright and sunny Midwestern Amazon. She has been dating a professional football player for several years and has just moved from Wisconsin to New York City to be with him. He chooses a special moment to ask her to be his wife. However, what should have been a big, romantic marriage proposal was more like Darcy's first proposal to Elizabeth in Pride & Prejudice. I won't reveal what happens, but May decides it's time to take her life in a new direction, setting off on her own into the wilds of New York City and getting mugged in the process. Her experiences of New York thus far have not been exactly positive.

Ben Hausman is a divorced, washed-out chef with an anger management problem. He loves to cook, but the high pressure atmosphere of world-class kitchens has him constantly tense, livid and burned out. He's killing time with darts, painful literature and gardening for his friends' farm-to-table restaurant until, as he conceives it, he can deconstruct and then reconstruct his personality into something better and more worthy of good things. One thing he does love though is New York. He keeps beehives all over the city and makes borough-specific honey and honey-flavored products for the local farmer's market. And before she leaves New York for good, Ben wants May to have some good memories of the city to take back to Wisconsin with her.

From the very beginning of the story, May is quite clearly a good thing. She's relentlessly positive, even in the face of the implosion of her "perfect" relationship and getting her purse stolen with her cell phone, credit cards and ID in it. Her insecurities are deep-seated, but it doesn't take Ben long to work his way past them. And the third-person perspective at least lets the reader know that Ben is trying to be a good guy, even when he sometimes fails spectacularly. The secondary characters in Truly are also well-drawn, including May's sister Allie, whose wedding May eventually rushes back to attend in Wisconsin with Ben in tow.

The set-up for Truly is a little bit far-fetched, what with May going off to the apartment of a complete stranger within a few minutes of meeting him, but Knox does her best to make it seem reasonable. I had to keep reminding myself that I did some pretty inadvisable things in my 20s too. But once you get past that and into the meat of the story, the transformation of both of these characters into more confident, better adjusted, worthier versions of themselves makes for a very satisfying happy ending. And the way it comes about, through honest communication and learning to trust, was exactly what contemporary romance should deliver.

I received Truly via NetGalley, but I would have happily purchased it and I will continue to avidly look forward to future titles by Ruthie Knox. A definite must-buy!

Have I mentioned that I love books featuring chefs? They make for very creative recipe options. I never would have considered making honey and cauliflower soup on my own, but when Ben sold honey-flavored soups at the farmer's market, I knew I had to try it. And it turned out that I was not the first to think of it because I found this recipe online when I went looking. I know you're skeptical. Don't be. The roasted cauliflower with the curry and the buckwheat honey drizzled on top just sing.

However, the soup on its own would be a lot to take as a main dish. So I paired it with a simple arugula and hazelnut salad with honey-champagne vinaigrette and this easy grilled goat cheese, arugula and clover honey sandwich. I even tasted a few different honey varieties to figure out what would work best in each component to create this honey-themed tasting menu. You don't have to use a bunch of different honey varieties like I did, but it sure was fun.

As for tips, cooking the cauliflower longer than 16 minutes resulted in charred cauliflower so keep a close eye on your veggies. I'm also not a big salt person, but I found that this particular soup had me adding quite a bit more than I usually do so definitely taste it once it's been puréed to get the seasoning right. Also, I'd been eying immersion blenders for a while and when the first stab at this soup turned out a bit lumpy and unevenly puréed, I decided to go ahead and take the plunge. I'm so glad I did! The immersion blender is just the right tool for this job, puréeing the roasted cauliflower thoroughly and evenly. My regular blender didn't do a bad job, but the immersion blender was better.

As for the sandwich, I've had it twice since running out of soup so even if cauliflower isn't your thing, you might try this non-traditional grilled cheese sandwich. The sweet honey with the bitter, nutty arugula and tangy goat cheese on the fluffy, eggy Challah is pretty much currently my very favorite thing. I'll probably have it again for lunch today.

And don't forget the salad! It's not strictly necessary, but it keeps you from having to eat an entirely brown dinner.

Curry Cauliflower Soup with Honey and Arugula, Goat Cheese and Honey Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
Makes: Two servings of soup & sandwich
Time: 35 minutes


Cauliflower Soup
1/2 head of cauliflower, cut into florets
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 onion, diced
1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 cup low-sodium chicken stock
1 cup water
1/2 tablespoon buckwheat honey per bowl (for drizzling)

1) Preheat oven to 450°F. Spread cauliflower florets on a baking sheet, drizzle with 1 tablespoon oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss to coat. Roast until florets are browned, about 16 minutes, flipping once halfway through.

2) In a small stockpot, heat 1/2 tablespoon of oil over medium heat. Add onions and sauté until soft and slightly browned. Stir in curry powder and cayenne (if using) and cook until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Add chicken stock, water, and cauliflower. Cover and bring to boil and then simmer 5 minutes.

3) Purée the soup with a regular or immersion blender until smooth. Return to pot if using a regular blender and reheat if necessary. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve in bowls with a drizzle of honey and sandwiches, recipe below.

Arugula, Goat Cheese and Honey Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
4 slices Challah or other soft bread
salted butter, softened
2 handfuls arugula
2 ounces goat cheese
1 tablespoon clover honey


1) Heat skillet over medium heat. Butter one side of each piece of Challah bread. Evenly divide remaining ingredients between two pieces of bread and top with remaining slices.

2) Place in skillet and cook until cheese is warmed and bread is golden, about 3 minutes each side.

3) Remove from heat and serve immediately.