Dublin-based novelist (journalist, screenwriter, book reviewer) John Banville for an hour to about his latest novel, Ancient Light, his mystery series, writing, writers, and more, and as the show goes on, it gets downright jolly.
Download audio.
(Broadcast date: 12.19.2012)
Cheryl Strayed, author of Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail, Torch, and Tiny Beautiful Things was on the show yesterday, talking about memoir, craft, and the writer’s life.
(Broadcast date: October 10, 2012)
(If you’d like to be receive weekly reminders regarding the week’s guest, sign up on the mailing list.)
The Christmas season isn’t the only time for Snickerdoodles, but it’s a good reason to bake them. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Mix 1/2 C. butter with 3/4 C. sugar and an egg. Sift together 1 1/3 C. sifted flour, 1 tsp. cream of tartar, 1/2 tsp. baking soda, and 1/8 tsp. salt. Mix into the butter mixture. Roll into balls the size of small walnuts.
Roll in a mixture of equal parts of sugar and cinnamon. Place 2 inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes until lightly browned, but still soft. (I bake for 8 minutes because my son likes cookies on the soft side.)
Makes 2 1/2 dozen 2″ cookies. Unless you don’t eat cookies or you have a house crowded with cookie eating friends, hide them because they are seriously addicting.
If you loved Fifty Shades of Gray and hate people making fun of it, don’t watch this. (Thanks, Kelly Sonnack, for posting on Facebook.)
I love making most cookies but these are perhaps the most angelic looking cookies, and those most apt to melt in the mouth. They have a history, too. Most countries and cultures offer recipes for half-moon butter cookies using ground nuts and sugar. The history of these, as I know it, has the cookies in Budapest around 1686 during the Turkish siege of the city. Bakers working at night heard the Turks digging an underground passage into the city and were able to warn the authorities. To reward the bakers who saved the city, they were permitted to make a special crescent pastry in the emblem that decorates the Ottoman flag. Here they are:
1/4 cup sifted confectioners’ sugar
2 cups sifted flour (I often will use part whole wheat pastry)
1/2 cup unsalted butter
3 ounces ground pecans or unblanched almonds (both are great)
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine the sugar, flour, and butter by cutting the butter into the dry ingredients–by hand or mixer.
3. Add ground nuts until the dough is smooth and not sticky.
4. Taking a handful of dough at a time, roll it into long 1″-wide cylinders. Slice into 1/2″ long pieces and shape into small crescents. Place on ungreased cookie sheets.
5. Bake 10-15 minutes until they just begin to brown. Remove to a cooling rack then place on a dish and sprinkles with confectioners’ sugar. I use a sifter to apply the sugar, letting it fall like snow onto the cookie.
Makes about 30.
Regina Brooks, founder of Serendipity Literary in NYC came on the show mid-November to talk about publishing, her books, and so much else. Such an engaging and generous guest.
(Broadcast date: November 14, 2012)
Palm Springs Noir, an anthology published by Akashic Books, edited by Barbara, also features her short story “The Water Holds You Still.” Order anywhere you buy books.
Amazon
Bookshop.org
Keep up to date on Barbara's many activities and postings by subscribing to her mailing list.
Get in the flow with typewriter music by Travis Barrett.
Support Indie bookshops and this site by purchasing books through my BookShop
